Andy White has kicked off his winter’s fishing in style landing two belters from The Copse!!! These two fish went 31lb and 24lb. Furzebray winter ticket now available for Copse and Willow starting today they are £100 which covers both lakes… Unlimited fishing for the next 3 months… Please call 01769572653..
Combe Martin Sea Angling Club held their AGM at the White Lion Braunton where fourteen members attended to hear a summary of the previous years fishing and to set ideas in motion for the year ahead.
2018 Club award winners:-
Best Specimen from the shore – Kevin Legge – conger 28lb
Best specimen from a boat – Rob Scoines – spur dog 18lb 2oz
Best specimen by a junior – Joshua Jeffery – thin lipped grey mullet 4lb 6oz
Best bass – Kevin Legge – 9lb 9lb 2oz
Best mullet – Joshua Jeffery – thin lipped grey mullet 4lb 6oz
Best flatfish – Matt Jeffery – flounder 1lb 14.75oz
Best wrasse – Ross Stanway – ballan wrasse 4lb 7oz
Best ray – Jonathon Stanway – small eyed ray – 11lb 2oz
Best cod – Rob Scoines 12lb 4oz
Best rockling – Rob Scoines – 1lb 9oz
Merit Award has been won by Daniel Welch for his success over a wide range of species from both boat and shore.
Top six specimens – Daniel Welch total – 646.737 Runner up – Ali Laird – 634.913
Top Six mullet – John Shapland – 631.906
Subscriptions for the coming year are :- Family £15. Senior £12.00. Senior Citizen – £5 Junior £1.00
The clubs full calendar of events will be formulated by mid December incorporating ideas from the membership at the meeting.
There was a full debate around a few suggested changes to specimen weight sizes and the following amendments were agreed.
Boat pollock to be reduced from 12lb to 10lb
Shore – spotted ray to be reduced from 5lb to 4lb 8oz
Shore – Thick Lipped mullet to increased from 4lb to 4lb 4oz
Shore – thin lipped mullet to be increased from 3lb 8oz to 4lb
The club are also introducing a new fish of the season prize for all club members.
A full report should appear before long on the clubs website. The club would like to thank Sakuma Tackle and High Street Tackle who have supported the club throughout the year.
For details on joining the club visit their website – www.cmsac.co.uk
http://www.highstreetackle.co.uk
Combe Martin SAC member Ian laird enjoyed a hectic session on a local rock mark catching a brace of Huss numerous dogfish and a few small conger. The rough weather should encourage a few larger fish close inshore with the next set of bigger tides likely to bring in a few spurdog.
Stafford Moor is renowned for its Specimen Carp and bumper Match fishing nets but is also holds a good head of other specimen fish including perch and huge eels. Neilsen Jeffery is a well known Match angler but enjoyed a great pleasure session on Beatties Lake landing several bream and this stunning perch of 3lb.
Dan Walbridge headed to a remote rock mark on the North Devon Coast and enjoyed a successful session landing seven dogfish, a 6lb bull Huss, a bass, rockling, pollock, small conger and had a whiting bitten clean in half by something larger. Tope, conger or spurdog?
Paul Hutchings enjoyed a blank session but enjoyed the company of a cormorant that enjoyed feasting on scraps of bait. Paul tells me that the bird enjoyed blue and mackerel but declined squid strips. Whilst I find cormorants an unwelcome visitor on inland lakes and rivers I enjoy seeing them on the open coast where I feel they belong. There presence inland is a major issue but how much of that is man kinds fault in decimating baitfish numbers?
Flyn Mardell has had a good run at Furzebray carp lakes of some stunning 20’s topped off by the one up zip at 31lb. Colder weather has slowed sport but as soon as the wind goes round to a warmer direction carp will go on the feed and I expect to see some stunning fish from Furzebrays three lakes.
Winter League – Comp 1: November 2018:
A big well done to the twelve Appledore Shipbuilder members who braved a cold North East wind to secure some good fish.
Results:
1st – Graham Snow Mullet 4lb 9 1/4ozs
2nd – Josh Atkinson Small Eyed Ray 8lb 2ozs
3rd – Josh Atkinson Small Eyed Ray 7lb
The third match of the Winter Teams league at Stafford Moor was a cold one yet Mark Cullerton still managed a stunning bag of carp totalling 141lb 11oz.
Team Baittech won the event with 6 points and a total weight of 326lb 2oz.
Nick Jones, Mark Cullerton, Tom Downing and Ben Evenden
Joanne Combes thanks all who fished the Match with the next winter league match on December 9th.
The fisheries Christmas match is on on Sunday 23rd December including some complementary nibbles.
I was looking around on my computer and found the Journal report from Ten Years ago. Might be of interest I thought. A few points of Interest.
Flounder fishing was Ok but ragworm digging hard going.
What happened to Barnstaple Rod N Reelers?
A few familiar names in the report and interesting comment on the state of angling at the time. Is this feature worthwhile if popular I could make it a regular feature?
Comments on NDAN’s facebook page please.
ANGLING REPORT
Where are the fish?
Sea anglers are having a bleak time at present with fish hard to find all along the coast. The cod of past winters are virtually non existent and even the dogfish are not prolific. I am hearing more and more concerns about foreign trawlers plundering fish stocks ever closer to our shores. The lack of saltwater sport is of great concern to all connected with the sport. The estuary is a traditional retreat for sea anglers to seek the humble flounder that are showing in reasonable numbers in both estuaries. There is certain appeal to the estuary landscape in winter with its flocks of bird and ever changing sky. Bait digging has been particularly hard going this year with ragworm in short supply. Of course nature is cyclic and has a habit of coming good eventually, as I feel sure it will this time.
Bideford Angling Clubs latest mid week rover saw Damien Babb secure victory with a dogfish of 2lb 1½oz. Close behind was Mike Grayson with a doggie of 2lb 1¼oz. Dick Talbot’s dogfish of 1lb 14¾oz was third.
Barnstaple Rod N Reeler’s November Rover saw Steve Baker take top spot with a fine rockling of 1lb 13½oz. In runner up spot Julian Stainer with a dogfish of 2lb 7¼oz and in third John Passmore with a doggie of 2lb 4oz.
Andrew Atkinson won Appledore Shipbuilders Christmas Competition last Sunday with a flounder of 1lb 8½oz. In runner up spot was Graham Fisher with a flounder of 1lb 7¼oz. Junior member Cameron Atkinson took third with a flattie of 1lb 7oz. Thirty-Three anglers took part, which included 9 juniors. Chelsea Babb was amongst the other juniors to catch landing a flounder of 15⅛oz and Millie Ayres aged four was thrilled to catch her first ever fish a flounder of 11¾oz.
Combe Martin Sea Angling Clubs annual general meeting at Braunton Cricket Club saw members vote for a radical change in competition format. The coming year sees the club adopt an optional catch and release policy for all club competitions. The club are also introducing month long competitions to help enable members to enter competitions whatever the restraints placed upon them by this demanding 24/7 society.
There was also an in depth debate regarding the forthcoming Marine Bill and the need for involvement in the consultation process. The club is to join the Angling Trust in the New Year which is the national body set up to represent all anglers.
Wistlandpound Flyfishing Clubs AGM saw members pay respect to their late Chairman Terry Hulland with a minute of quiet reflection. Terry had been a keen supporter of the club for many years and his presence and enthusiasm will be greatly missed.
Bob Gooding has been elected as the clubs new Chairman with David Eldred stepping forward as vice chairman. Nigel Bird continues in his joint role as secretary and treasurer. A full calendar of events was compiled at the meeting with most fixtures at the clubs home venue of Wistlandpound.
The clubs Tony Lovemore cup for the most consistent angler in competition was awarded to Colin Combes with 1610 points. In runner up spot David Eldred with 1567 points with Terry Hulland third with 1546.
Members had enjoyed a good season at Wistlandpound with members averaging 2.56 fish per rod in competitions. Anyone interested in joining this small friendly club should contact Nigel Bird on 01271 883252.
Cold winter weather seldom puts rainbow trout off the feed and great sport can be enjoyed at small still water trout fisheries. Southern Wood fishery is nestled in a wooded valley near Bratton Fleming and has been fishing well with several big rainbows gracing the net. Dave Mocks recent visit to the fishery was rewarded with a three fish bag for 19lb 8oz the best trout scaling 8lb 8oz. Dave Richards also landed a three fish bag for 17lb with a best of 7lb 8oz. Neil Roulde secured a fine double figure rainbow of 10lb 12oz in a four fish bag that totalled 31lb and also included a 9lb specimen. David James from Derby landed a brace for 17lb and Paul Cossey of Cambridge a four fish bag for 27lb. Brown trout have also been giving good sport with fish up to 3lb 12oz that have to be returned of course as they are out of season.
Ilfracombe Match groups two-leg match against Bude Pirates saw a very close finish with Ilfracombe securing victory by one point with 242 points. The second leg was fished at Highampton lakes last Sunday when a bitterly cold wind suppressed the fish’s appetite. John Pyle of Ilfracombe secured individual success with a bag of skimmers totalling 2lb 6oz. Kevin Hill of Bude took runner up spot with 1lb 13oz and his team-mate Ade Larkin third with 1lb 4oz.
DIARY DATES
December 7th– Blakewell Fishery Christmas Competition – Sold Out
December 7th– Bideford Angling Clubs Rover
December 7th– Appledore Shipbuilders Rover
December 6th7th– Combe Martin SAC – Christmas Competition
Fishing 6.00pm Saturday to 7.30pm Sunday.
Weigh in at Braunton Cricket Club 7.30pm
December 6th7th– Rod N Reelers Rover
December 7th– Triple Hook Club – ladies and Junior Flounder Open
Fishing 9.00am to 1.00pm Weigh in at Royal British Legion
AMAZING PB KOI CATCH!!
If Carlsberg made Fish I think they’d look like THIS!! Brett Davies had a day on the famous Koi Lake with his girlfriend Derian and they had a fantastic day of nonstop catching including this stunning 11lb 7oz Koi making it a new personal best for Brett!
Brett shared with us –
“I stalked this fish for 45 minutes. There were multiple failed casts, a good few rejections of the free-lined dog biscuit, and a lot more whispered swear words. Then on probably the tenth cast, the bait dropped just on the fishes’ nose and it came up sweet as nut and gulped the biscuit down.
The fight was absolutely mental, probably 3 or 4 minutes of dogged power, mostly right under the rod tip. I did forget to say that even though I had 12lb line straight through to a size 8 hook, I was using one of the light lure rods I had with me for the lure weekend, and it was bent double.
I eventually slipped the net under and I knew it was biggest Koi I’d personally seen at Angler’s Paradise in more than 20 years visiting, shaking like a leaf I was.
Seeing the scales spin around to well over 10lb shocked me. A new PB Koi at 11lb 7oz and it’s also one of my many favourite Angler’s Paradise experiences. Lovely.”
