4 Dec 2016

BLAKEWELL CHRISTMAS COMPETITION

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Blakewell Fishery’s Christmas Competition is always a highlight of the local game fishing calendar and this year competitors enjoyed some great sport beneath the winter sunshine. The trout seized anglers fly’s from the start of the event with rods bent all around the lake during the first hour. The twenty eight anglers landed a total of 168 trout; twenty eight six fish limit bags!

Four double figure trout were landed the best to the rod of Peter Fairclough weighed a touch over 13lb.

Peter Fairclough – 13lb Rainbow Trout

Phill Colwill landed an 11lb 2oz rainbow trout, Peter Furze a rainbow of 11lb 1oz and James Thomas a rainbow of 10lb 9oz.

James Thomas – Rainbow Trout 10lb 9oz

The winning bag of the day was taken by Pete Furze and totalled 28lb 4oz, runner up was Phil Colwill 25lb 14oz, third Peter Fairclough 24lb 5oz and forth James Thomas 23lb 6oz.

Double figure trout for Phil Colwill, James Thomas and Peter furze

Several brown trout were also brought to the scales the best a fish of 3lb 14oz to the rod of Brian Howarth.

A pleasing brown that seized my damsel fly nymph.

The competition was punctuated by a delicious stew cooked by the Blakewell team and the packed tea room was filled with chatter as friends old and new exchanged tales and experiences.

Mulled wine, stew and minced pies!

Reflections in the lake

Moorhens are just one of many birds at Blakewell

Richard and John Nickel were pleased to have Simon Kidd sales and marketing manager at Snowbee, fishing the competition and donating some great tackle prizes for the end of day draw.

Simon Kidd of Snowbee

The path to the lake

There are fish everywhere at Blakewell

3 Dec 2016

ON THE COAST

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

There are rewards for those who are prepared to brave the cold and venture out onto the rocks and beaches along North Devon’s coast.

Whiting,dogfish, conger and huss are dominating catches with a few spurdog beginning to show and don’t write off the chance of a big bass.

Kyle Bishop landed this 28lb tope back in October after numerous blank outing in search of these hard fighting shark. (Above) Still every chance of one of these before the end of the year!

Several bull huss have been tempted over recent days including this fine specimen to the rod of Ollie Passmore that weighed 9lb 1oz. ( Below)

(Above) Young Archie Porter with a fine 7lb bull huss caught from a local beach.

3 Dec 2016

WINTER CARP FISHING

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Carp Fishing | 0

There is far more to fishing than catching fish and I always love to see images from the waters edge. I obtained this fantastic image from Stafford Moor from ‘Steve Pinn (aka The Bivvy Tramp)’ – As he is affectionately known by some of his mates. Photography and angling go together hand in hand especially in carp fishing where the angler is so often waiting expectantly amidst the natural landscape.

Fortunately I am sure the ice has gone now and with luck this will bring the fish on the feed!

3 Dec 2016

A VISIT TO THE TACKLE SHOP- SUMMERLANDS

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Carp Fishing, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

There is no place better for buying tackle than your local tackle shop and before Christmas I intend to visit the local shops that have supported North Devon Angling News in its first six months. I started today at Summerlands Tackle at Westward Ho! This well established family run tackle shop has been trading for as long as I can remember and has a fantastic range of products for all angling disciplines. In my view its far better to walk into a shop and see the products. Tackle shops are also at the heart of the angling social scene a place where anglers often bump into old friends and swap tales from the waters edge.

Among the many offers in the store on the run up to Christmas are :-

PENN 525 Mag Reel RRP £169.99 on offer for £89.99 with free Rovex line

Preston Innovation Thermal Suit RRP £139.99 on offer for £119.99

Chub RS Flat bed+ Bed-chair RRP £109.99 On offer for £54.00 “Limited Stock”

All Subject to availability.

3 Dec 2016

BLAKEWELL WINTER TROUT

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Blakewell Fishery hold their popular Christmas Competition on Sunday December 4th and there should be plenty of quality trout caught if previous competitions are anything to go by. This 6lb rainbow was part of a four fish bag weighing 14lb to the rod of Rodney Daniel. It will be interesting to see the total winning weight at the Christmas Competition. One big double can make all the difference!

Full report on the competition to follow Sunday or Monday night!

1 Dec 2016

Jon gets spurred on in the cold night

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Jon Patten has allowed me to post his latest exploit here on North Devon Angling News. This is the second spurdog I have heard of from the shore so far this year which is a promising sign so early in the winter season.

Decided on a little evening session the other night based on the hunch that there may have been a spur or two about from one of the local beaches,With temperatures failing to minus 5 we hoped that we would be busy thus keeping us warm. Baits were sent out into the murky depths of the Bristol channel where hopefully something would dine on our scrumptious offering, Barely 10 minutes had passed and the first of our bites came, in fact a flurry of bites consisting mainly of dogfish, eels,whiting and huss……Nothing big but enough to keep us occupied which was very pleasing watching the rods continuously nodding amongst an array of shooting stars coming down from the skies
Our session was almost over when i saw a bite that after a couple of pulls the line fell slack almost to the floor,a couple of turns of the handle saw tension regained and a swift movement of the rod top saw weight at the end of my line
After a little bit of a scrap i could see eyes at the waters edge signalling the reflective eyes of our intended quarry the spurdog, it might not have been a big one ………but the account was open and hopefully the first of several this winter as this once rare visitor now visits our shores more frequently than years gone by
Varivas sport 20lb main line, 130lb flouro carbon trace and 8/0 BMX hooks
Bait used ……squid, sandeel, mackerel and bluey

30 Nov 2016

Winter Boat sport off Ilfracombe

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Toby Bassett who sent me this report and pictures of a very enjoyable day on John Barbeary’s Bluefin off Ilfracombe .

I am sure the bigger spurdog will start to show soon and there is every chance as the winter progresses that someone will hook that elusive big cod or fifty pound plus conger.

Fishing aboard the bluefin..with john Barbeary, Dave Clements. Pete Gregory, Troy Laing .loads of huss..and small female spurs…cracking weather with the sun shining all day long….also caught were. Eels. Dogfish, a thornback ray…Good fun had by all with plenty of banter and early Christmas cheer.

30 Nov 2016

YOUNG SUCCESS IN PARADISE

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sidebar, Young At Heart | 0

A very proud Zenia at Anglers Paradise sent me this report on the early angling success for her two young son’s.

This is a very special latest catches as it is about my 2 son’s Zaine and Zeejay who both love fishing and our youngest who is 3 went for his first time with Joe at the weekend and is now hooked, please find enclosed the pictures and write up.
We have been waiting until our youngest Son Zeejay who has just turned 3, showed the signs that he was ‘ready’ to start his fishing journey, and now came the time that we felt he was ready for his first fishing trip! Joe aka Daddy decided to take Zeejay Lure Fishing at Valhalla in search of some Perch to wet his appetite and hopefully catch his 1st ever Perch on a Lure. The weather was cold, but Zeejay just loved being with his Daddy and Fishing for the first time so he didn’t care, he just wanted to catch a ‘Phish’!
They couldn’t believe their luck when they landed Zeejay’s 1st ever Pike!! Zeejay’s face was a picture, and he was speechless (which is VERY Rare) when they got it into the net!

It was then our eldest son’s turn, Zaine who is 5, and he managed to land himself this lovely little Perch on a Lure, so we had 2 very happy brothers with their catches! It’s so great to share our love of the sport with our sons and we hope that others will do the same with theirs and get out there!

29 Nov 2016

SAVE OUR SEA BASS

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Tuesday, November 29th, 2016

An appeal to all anglers from the Angling Trust

Readers of North Devon sea Angling News
Please act now to to stop bass netting and get a fairer deal for sea anglers. Sign the petition and share on your Facebook page.

The Angling Trust is pressing hard to secure a better outcome for threatened bass stocks at the crucial forthcoming meeting of EU fisheries ministers on December 12th.
Across Northern Europe, sea bass stocks are in deep trouble because of commercial overfishing and the repeated failure of politicians and fishery managers to follow scientific advice and introduce the necessary conservation measures. The Angling Trust and Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (B.A.S.S.) have pressed hard for a ban on bass netting and we fully support the EU Commission’s proposals for 2017 for a sustainable and well managed recreational and commercial hook and line only bass fishery.
Last year’s disproportionate restrictions on anglers and increased commercial catch limits were bad for bass, bad for coastal businesses, bad for the tackle trade and damaging to our sport. The Commission’s proposals would not only see the removal of the damaging bass nets, which also kill sea birds, porpoises, dolphins and seals, but the introduction of a more flexible monthly bag limit for anglers. This would be good news for the struggling charter boat fleet and for the fishing tackle trade as more anglers would once again go bass fishing.
But there’s a real danger that the proposals will be watered down in the face of political pressure from commercial fishermen and so we need to stand up and be counted as anglers.
The campaign seems to be going well and we already have over 6,000 signatures on our national petition. Lots of people have gone on to the campaign page to either sign or to send an email to their MP. However, we need to keep the pressure up and this is where YOU can help.
It would be great if you could sign the petition and share on YOUR Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to send on to friends and family, too!
Click here to sign the petition
If you use Facebook and/or Twitter, then please post a message along these lines (you can use the image at the top of this email):
“Let’s support our fellow anglers by signing the national petition to get rid of the damaging bass nets and give these wonderful fish a future. The decision will be made on December 12th so we’ve not got long. Click here to sign. It only takes a minute so…PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE NOW.”
Should you wish to know any further information, click here for our full briefing.
We have a wonderful opportunity to save our bass and move to a net free fishery as, for once, the EU Commission have adopted what we anglers have been demanding for years. Your help in making this happen would be greatly appreciated.
Best wishes and many thanks for your support on this and other issues.
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive
Angling Trust & Fish Legal

29 Nov 2016

The most handsome fish of all? Upper Tamar Perch

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Coarse Fishing, Sidebar | 0

adam-moxey-4-00 — *Adam Moxey -4lb perch*

Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey enjoyed a memorable session at perch mecca Upper Tamar last week. Fishing from the perch boat they caught four fish over 3lbs, two fish over 2lbs lots of small perch and a cracking 4lb fish all on 3 inch soft plastics. Congratulations lads! Anyone who wants to book the perch boat needs to call 01566771930.

Author Archives: Wayne Thomas