We first brought your attention to the need to protect the breeding stock of the Spurdog fishery (the older and larger females) early last year.
Since then we have been working along with others to keep the socioeconomic benefit of this fishery to the recreational angling sector uppermost in Defra’s mind.
Our persistence has led Defra to ask Cefas to run an online workshop to explore the importance of Spurdog as a target species to the recreational sector, including charter vessel operators.
This workshop is not just an opportunity for the recreational angling sector to protect the Spurdog fishery but equally importantly to position itself as a sport which delivers significant social and economic value and be recognised as a full partner in marine conservation decisions which can potentially affect your business.
The link to register for this meeting which on Wednesday 15th January 2025 at 7pm is below.
When 180 charter skippers signed a letter to the Minister in 2020, she reversed her decision not to allow recreational sea angling for Bluefin so don’t underestimate the collective power of charter skippers and anglers when they come together.
You can dial in even if you don’t fish for Spurdog and your anglers can also dial in. The more of us who join this workshop the more seriously we will be taken. If you want any more information please get back to me.
Thanks again for your continued support – Pat Smith Database
I lost Internet connection for over a week following Storm Darragh hence a lack of reports on the website. Please see a brief round up of news. A Merry Christmas to all readers and all the best fishes for 2025
Bideford and District Angling Clubs Christmas Competition
Keith Mountjoy secured top spot in Bideford and District Angling Clubs Christmas Competition held on their home water Tarka Swims with a fine net of 31lb 6oz. Martin Turner was runner up with 25lb 2oz and Craig Lamey third with 21lb 13oz. Nineteen members braved the tail end of Storm Darragh that decimated fixtures that weekend.
SEA RESULTS
Jon Stevens won Bideford Angling Club 48 hour Sea Rover with thornback ray weighing 11lb 10.5oz
Combe Martin SAC
Ollie Passmore won Combe Martin SAC’s Christmas competition with a bass of 4lb 11oz.
Several quality bass have been caught by Combe Martin SAC members over recent weeks with Kyle Bishop tempting a fine bass of 9lb 9oz and Ollie Passmore a bass of 8lb 4oz.
Shane Hookway fished a rock mark to tempt a fine bull huss of 11lb 12oz.
Appledore Shipbuilders
Only 14 fish came to the scales with the majority released after weigh in swimming away strong.
Winning was Toby Evans with a Flounder of 1lb 7 1/4ozs. Nikki Atkinson was second with another flounder of 1lb 6 3/4ozs and Andrew Atkinson was 3rd with a Flounder of 1lb 5 3/4ozs. Everyone who entered walked away with a Christmas fare prize as there were more prizes than fish caught!
It was also the December winter league this weekend.
Andrew Atkinson took all 3 places with Poutings of 2lb 0 1/4ozs, 1lb 6ozs and a whiting of 1lb 3 1/4ozs.
Above) Joe Keating, Dave Chapman, Nick Tamlin, David Richards, Colin Combe, Tom Rushby, Tony Buckland, Bill Pink, Roy Pink, Andrew Facey, Steve Burnell, Brian Sedgebeer
Bulldog Trout Fishery held their first Christmas Competition with twelve keen anglers competing for the top prize of a Christmas Turkey and all the trimmings. I arrived shortly after 8:30am to find competitors tackling up in the fishery car park full of optimism for the day ahead.
Nigel and Tom assured all taking part that the lake had been well stocked and talked of a few special fish with a twinkle in their eye and shared their hopes for a grand days sport.
The fishing lodge was well stocked with coffees and teas to last the day with boiling water on tap. The competitors were briefed on the rules as bacon rolls were handed out and eagerly devoured.
The atmosphere was certainly full of Christmas cheer with a few warm spirits to warm the inner soul before heading out onto the lake.
The lake had been pegged out with twelve pegs with the peg number written on the bottom of the coffee cups which was an ingenious way of sorting the draw. The plan for all anglers to rotate around the lake with an air horn sounding every twenty minutes ensuring that all got a chance to fish each peg throughout the day.
Cast off was at 9:30am and the anticipation was tangible as anglers paced towards their pegs. It was a grey overcast morning with light drizzle driven by a light south west breeze. Pretty perfect conditions for fishing I thought as I watched on enjoying the opportunity to observe without taking part.
Most anglers elected to start the day with lure fishing tactics with black and white being the predominant colours along with the popular olive blue flash damsels.
I walked out onto the lakes central spit and stood beside Joe Keating who connected with the first trout of the day on his first cast just 15 seconds after the horn had signalled the start. a hard fighting rainbow of over 3lb.
(Above) Joe Keating with the first fish of the day
I looked around the misty lake and noted that most had well bent rods as the lakes residents seized the anglers offerings. I dashed around keen to capture some of the action and share in the fun.
Andrew Facey with a fine tiger
I noted that the angler fishing in the corner was locked in battle with a larger than average fish and walked around to witness the tussle. Brian Sedgebeer was carefully parrying the lunges of a good fish and I shared in the tension as the fish was slowly coaxed towards the waiting net. I sensed that Brian breathed a big sigh of relief when the trout, with its broad marbled flanks eventually slipped over the rim of the submerged landing net. A large fin perfect spartic trout that was undoubtedly one of those special trout stocked prior to the competition.
(Above) Brian Sedgebeer with an 8lb 4oz spartic the biggest trout of the day
The action was frantic in that first half an hour with good numbers of trout succumbing to the early bombardment of large lures. Cats whiskers and black lures proving most effective.
It was no surprise to those of us who had fished small Stillwater competitions when the catch rate plummeted as the fish appeared to wise up quickly.
Nigel and Tom appeared mid-morning with a tray of hot mince pies and clotted cream.
I did several laps of the lake chatting with anglers some of them long-time friends and others total strangers who all chatted freely about all things piscatorial as anglers do. From time to time a line zipped tight and a rod bent as a hard fighting trout tested the anglers tackle and skill. I did my best to capture the moments of triumph and each anglers success.
Dave Chapman had certainly tuned into the successful tactics for the day being the first to complete his six fish limit bag just before dinner with the help of his young son Freddie wielding the landing net with a degree of skill and dexterity that would put many senior anglers to shame.
(Above) Dave Chapman and young Freddie
The warm fishing lodge and roaring wood-burner proved a welcome respite from the grey cool heavy drizzle of this winter day. Dinner was served; roast pork baps, apple sauce, stuffing, roast potatoes and crackling. The air was full of cheery laughter, tales of fishing, reminisces and those things that fishers and men talk about on such days.
With appetites satisfied the rivalry reconvened as anglers resumed their circuit of the lake. There was general expectation that there would be a flurry of sport after resting the lake over the dinner break. To my surprise this was not the case and for half an hour or so the trout proved difficult to tempt.
As the afternoon drifted by there were flurries of activity and trout began to rise around the lake from time to time. A wide variety of flies lures and tactics were employed with floating lines, intermediate lines and sinking lines all put to good use.
(Above) Andrew Faceys well stocked fly box
The last hour of the day saw Colin Combe complete the second six fish limit of the day, a bag that contained a brace of really chucky rainbows that would undoubtedly give him a good chance of victory.
(Above) Colin Combe with a fine brown trout
( Above) Colin Combe with a 4lb 14oz spartic
(Above) Roy Pink with fine a brown trout
There was a flurry of activity as the light faded towards the close of play and when the horn sounded to signal the competitions end there were at least three anglers in contention.
The weigh in revealed some superb bags of quality trout with the top three taking away some superb prizes consisting of food and fishing.
(Above) Colin Combe with his 24lb winning bag
The winning bag of six trout was caught by Colin Combe and weighed a total of 24lb and included a fine spartic of 4lb 14oz along with rainbow trout of 5lb 7oz and 5lb 6oz. Runner up was Dave Chapman with six trout for 19lb 1.5oz and Joe Keating third with five trout for 18lb 10.25oz. The biggest trout of the day was caught by Brian Sedgebeer a stunning Spartic trout of 8lb 4oz.
Winter is often the best time to visit these smaller Stillwaters with the trout in peak condition in the cold clear well oxygenated water. Nigel and Tom will be hosting regular events over the coming months and are being supported by the Angling Trust as a venue to host Go Fishing and well-being events.
A fun and informative family day out with activities such as fly tying and casting demonstrations, trade stands, expert advice from trout, sea and coarse fly fishers and food and drink available from Roadford Lake Café (don’t forget season permit holders get a 10% discount in the café too)!
Tickets are available now, so book online to benefit from;
£7 advanced ticket price (tickets will be £10 on the door, free entry for under 18s)
Free parking
Exclusive 10% discount on next year’s trout season permits, available to Fly Fair attendees only
Barnstaple & District Angling Clubs AGM was held at the Ebberley Arms in Barnstaple with a very good proportion of the membership in attendance. The clubs committee are undoubtedly a hard-working and dedicated team full of optimism despite difficult times on the river.
The club has purchased a new stretch of fishing on the Middle Taw that was for many years owned by John Saunders affectionately known to local anglers as ‘Gandy’. Sadly no salmon were landed from the beat this year. Fortunately the wild brown trout fishing was superb with plenty of stunning fish over 1lb caught.
Alan Jump works tirelessly working to enhance South Aller Lake the clubs sole remaining coarse fishing lake. The lake offers excellent fishing for tench, crucian carp, roach, perch, eels and carp to mid doubles. The secluded lake set in an old quarry surrounded by mature trees is a wildlife haven far removed from some of today’s commercial lakes with their platforms and gravel paths.
Don Hearn gave a passionate and detailed report on the clubs fishing at Newbridge. Three salmon were caught from the beat this year one of the worst in living memory. There were positive reports of roach and dace being caught from the club water which is an encouraging sign as the river was once a thriving coarse fishery renowned across the country for producing huge roach many of them over 2lb.
The numbers of shad entering the river is of great interest to scientists and the presence of these fish is likely to offer conservation funding and protection for this iconic North Devon river.
The official proceedings were followed by fascinating talks from Lucy Robinson and Mike McNally both from the Devon and Cornwall Police Wildlife Team. Mike and Lucy explained how important all information is and how it can be used to piece together the complex and intricate jigsaw puzzle of crime detection.
The illegal netting of elvers was a fascinating part of the talk with the massive value of these fascinating fish fuelling a vast criminal network that exports to the Far-East.
Sadly the Wildlife Crime department is underfunded as is the Environment Agency and other regulatory bodies that try to protect our natural world.
In this day and age poachers have sophisticated technology at their disposal such as thermal imaging that can target a deer at over mile distance.
Reporting of incidents is 100% anonymous and can be reported via Crime Stoppers 0800 555111 Crimestoppers-uk.org
To report pollution incidents call the EA on 0800 807060
Club Members at the Gandys Beat
DON HEARNS – Report
A difficult year for all game rivers it seems and no exception on the Taw.
Opening day at Newbridge
We started the season with a first day meet and BBQ at the new club hut in a hail shower! A good number attended though, including Gary Herbert who drove all the way from Guildford for it. Good effort and despite the weather a brilliant social occasion enjoyed by all who came. Hopefully we can repeat this event next year. Game fishing can be a solitary affair and sharing tall tales of days gone by with like-minded people is always worthwhile as it keeps us all in contact with each other and is one of the reasons our club life is so appreciated.
We start the season full of hope, as ever, but had little reward after the spring.
A few Salmon and sea trout were caught/lost early on but little showed after June. The summer of course was low water and plagued with algae blooms as ever. We did see fish moving up in the last week of September in the spate and assume they went straight upriver. As in previous years the rain came too late for us and that seems to be the pattern these days. There is much discussion as to why so few fish are seen and the more we discuss the more complex it becomes. I had a report from the Tamar, which is a monitored river, that the return of fish was very low. It’s assumed something is happening at sea. Not sure if that is the case but it seems the west country is suffering more than the East coast. Super trawlers, climate change to gulf stream, dirty rivers or maybe a combination of everything. We haven’t had any late season sea trout reported either. I and others spent many nights on several Taw beats without a sign of one, so it wasn’t down to of lack of effort. The only thing for sure is that there is always a chance of a fish and nobody ever caught one watching the T.V.!
It has been noted that the Brownies seem to be doing ok with several fish in the 2lb to 3lb range being reported and many members have scaled down to enjoy good sport with them. More brownies have been reported than ever before in recent times and often save a blank which is welcome. The Shad showed again early in the season and are of great interest as it’s another important protected species and reports of any captures are welcomed as it helps in the fight for our water quality. The recent industrial farming introduced into the Lower Taw valley is putting a lot of pressure on an already troubled river and hopefully there is a way to make it more acceptable. The EA farm inspectorate are investigating this process and we can but hope it can make a difference.
The Southwest rivers trust have asked us for permission to install water monitoring equipment on our waters and of course we welcome it and will assist them all we can. We are not sure where it will be at the moment, but we’ll keep you all posted. If you do find telemetry in the river, please know we are aware and avoid disturbing it. If you haven’t sent in your catch report, please do so even if it’s nil. Please include all species, also an indication of AGM attendance would be helpful.
As most of you know our AGM will be held in the Ebberly Arms, Bear Street, Barnstaple on Tuesday 12th November at 7.30pm. There is free evening parking in the car park at the rear. This is always a friendly social evening, and we are expecting a good attendance as in previous years.
For those struggling with downtime, a reminder that Bass, Mullet and Pike on the fly are always an option and we are lucky enough to have good access locally. We hope you enjoyed your time on the water and wish you tight lines for next season.
Don Hearn
and all at B.D.A.A.
Colin Ashby presenting Dave Winter with the Salmon Trophy
The evening concluded with an auction of fishing books donated by the late John ‘Gandy’ Saunders widow. An amazing £205 was raised has been donated to Devon Air Ambulance.
Several awards were presented including the best salmon of 13lb to Dave Winter.
Steve Maddox was awarded the Claude Pugsley roach cup and Jim Simpkins the bass trophy for a fly caught bass of 5lb. The sea trout trophy was won by Matt Cooper.
After the meeting members enjoyed reflecting upon past glory’s and future aspirations.
The first weekend of November brought the 2024 season to a close for most Charter boats operating out of Ilfracombe. The calm weather resulted in a good end to the season. Last weekend Bluefin Charters, Predator 2 and Carrick Lee all had successful trips with tope to 42lb boated with several large fish lost. Bass, bull huss, pollock, scad, conger, wrasse, whiting and dogfish were caught and the trips were even more made memorable with sightings of porpoise, seal and tuna.
South Molton Angling Club – Bluefin
A quick report from Edward Rands on the clubs last sea trip of the season from Ilfracombe.
We set sail from the harbour at 07:30, early enough for me!, but the days are shorter now.
Our destination was Lundy, about 90 minutes later we were there jigging feathers and retrieving all sorts of plastic lures and began catching mainly pollack with a few wrasse now and again. Although the weather was overcast we were on the west side in some shelter from the easterly wind.
We drifted various marks and then decided to anchor for a while to finish the day off where we caught a little conger, some bull huss and a couple of scad which were used as bait and helped Chris Allin catch a 42lb tope which will take the Tope cup.
The shout was reel in and we headed home with a bucket full of pollack fillets which we shared around. The journey home was quite lumpy with wind against tide but everyone managed and no motion sickness occurred.
The list was
40 pollack to 5lb
6 ballan wrasse
3 scad
4 pouting
10 huss to 10lb
1 strap conger
1 tope 42lb
A very enjoyable day out with plenty of fish, good company and good banter.
Thanks to John and Ted for looking after us again on “Bluefin” and everyone else for supporting the cause.
PREDATOR 2
I enjoyed the last trip of the season on a mates trip on Predator 2 skippered by Dan Welch relishing a last chance to explore the reefs and deep channels West of Ilfracombe.
Big tope and big bass were on our agenda though it was good to be out fishing once again whatever we managed to catch.
The sea was calm as we left Ilfracombe just a light Easterly blowing down the channel. The grey November sky was mirrored by the sea the North Devon cliffs dark and sombre as we watched familiar landmarks pass by.
We explored close to the rocky shore at first casting lures to be rewarded with a few hard fighting pollock and wrasse.
Robin Bond with a good pollock
With the tide easing Dan suggested we get out and drop the anchor in hope of a big late season tope or ray.
We soon reached our intended mark and a variety of baits were sent down onto the sandy ridges that have a reputation for tope and ray.
I had baited with a mackerel head and guts impaled on a 6/0 Sakuma Kong Hook with heavy wire trace. To my surprise after just a few minutes I felt a savage tug. I let out a few yards of slack and waited until the rod tip pulled over before leaning back into the fish. The rod hooped over and line was ripped from a moderately tight drag. I held on relishing the battle confident in my tackle as whatever had taken the bait started to accelerate away. Suddenly without warning the rod tip sprang back and I felt deflated knowing that I had lost contact with something special. I reeled in to find that the fish undoubtedly a big tope had come off.
Heartened by this we all fished on expectantly catching a succession of small huss and dogfish before the tide eased.
Dan suggested moving further out into faster tide to fish a channel between rocky reefs.
The anchor went down once again and fresh baits were sent down. For the next two hours a steady stream of decent huss and conger ensured regularly bent rods typical of Bristol Channel reef fishing. I also lost a large fish after a very brief connection.
Jonathon Stanway with a conger
Ross Stanway with a huss
Skipper Dan Welch with a well bent rodA well marked huss of close to 10lb Skipper Dan Welch with typical Bristol Channel huss and conger
When the tide strength demanded close to 2lb of lead to hold bottom we headed back close inshore to search a tide rip for bass. Here we enjoyed an hours great sport with bass, pollock and wrasse falling to lures the black fiiish minnows bringing most success.
We headed back to Ilfracombe against a lively sea driven by the East breeze. Pollock were filleted along with a couple of good table sized bass. We all chatted about more trips next year with plenty of excursions planned for 2025.
Pete Tyjas chats with Charles Inniss at the Half Moon Inn a must listen for anyone interested in the River Torridge and North Devon’s salmon
Fly Culture
New Podcast – Episode 254
Charles Innis – One River
Pete Tyjas makes the drive over to visit Charles Innis at the Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash in Devon.
We talk about his relationship with the inn that goes back to the 1950s when his family took it on as a fishing hotel.
He tells me about his love for the Torridge, looking after guests and running the inn with his brother.
Charles is honest about the good and the not so good times and how a newspaper article made a huge difference to the business.
Now in his 80s he is still deeply involved with the fishing there and shares his deep knowledge and understanding of the river that means so much to him.
I had some rough questions planned but I just pressed record and let the conversation flow in whatever direction it took.
Bluefin tuna are now present off the South West Coast in huge numbers during late Summer and Autumn generating a great deal of interest amongst sea anglers consequentially bringing a valuable boost to the local economy.
These immensely powerful fish were once prolific in the North Sea feasting upon the herring shoals that migrated to the area each autumn. The Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough became the home of the British Tunny Club in 1933 and for the pre-war years became the destination for the rich and famous to battle with these leviathans fishing from rowing boats using strong tackle specially built for the purpose. There was a cessation of fishing during the war years and a revival of the sport following these dark times until the early fifties when the fishery collapsed due to the overfishing of herring.
Whilst tuna were caught off the Yorkshire coast they were also sighted off the Cornish coast and in 1936 several fish were hooked and lost. Brigadier J A L Caunter in his book Shark Angling In Great Britain records numerous sightings off Looe during the late forties.
My own interest in tunny was fuelled by books telling of this historic fishing. Tunny – The Rise and Fall of Britain’s Biggest Fish written by Chris Berry and The Glory Days of the Giant Scarborough Tunny by Mark Ross are both excellent tomes that recount those historic days of battles with giant fish. Both of these books were published in 2010 before the current revival in tunny catches.
Fireside reading
Fortunately todays anglers are wiser and all tuna are carefully revived and released at the side of the boat. Tagging of these majestic fish has provided a wealth of valuable scientific data that can be used to ensure the correct management of valuable stocks.
Today anglers targeting these fish are provided with top quality tackle and fish from well-equipped Charter boats. All the skill rests with the skipper locating the fish. All the angler does is bring the hooked fish to the side of the boat. A task that brings a sense of trepidation for these immensely powerful fish can exceed 1000lbs with 400lb plus fish relatively common.
Whilst many cite global warming as the likely reason for the tunny revival this is unlikely to be a major factor. It is more likely to be a change in the migration of food fish and conservation efforts across the globe. There are concerns at the impact of these huge shoals of tuna on stocks of bass and migrating salmon and sea trout. As an angler I relish this opportunity and hope to savour the experience of a lifetime.
Looe on the South Cornish coast is a seaside town that is very close to my heart as it was here close to sixty years ago that my angling journey started with mackerel and garfish from the Banjo Pier.
I climbed on to the Charter boat ‘Sowenna’ skippered by Dan Margetts in mid-October with four fellow anglers. Jeff Pearce, James Coggan, Rory Nugent and Bruce Elston. We were fortunate to be getting out to sea; for the previous day had seen named Storm Ashley sweep up across the UK with winds to over 60mph. Whilst a residual swell remained winds were light and from the South West with sunshine promised for later in the day.
The tuna fishing had been exceptionally good prior to the storm and we hoped that the strong winds hadn’t broken up the bait fish shoals and the hunting tuna.
John McMaster prepares
A moderate swell was rolling shoreward as we headed out anticipating an angling adventure. Never having caught a tuna before there was a touch of trepidation. Would I be physically able to deal with such a powerful fish? I had seen two caught on previous trips and knew that these were seriously strong testers of both angler and tackle.
I watched the horizon and spotted a large gathering of active birds. I immediately alerted skipper Dan and John Mc Master and we steamed optimistically towards the activity.
Beneath the swooping melee of birds the surface was disturbed as tuna smashed into shoals of bait fish.
The trolling gear was sent astern spreaders of bright lures with a stinger in their midst. We drew numbers to see who would be first. Jeff pulled 1, Bruce 2, myself 3, Rory 4 and James 5.
Tuna broke the surface tantalisingly close as birds continued to swoop and dive into the water. After a while the shoal dispersed and both hunters and hunted disappeared.
Dan suggested we head West to an area that had been proving productive over recent weeks. The skippers all work together sharing knowledge for there is a common desire to see this fishery prosper and as the fish are I believe generally nomadic there are no hotspots as such.
After steaming for ten miles or so we again spotted active birds and tuna along with a pod of dolphins.
Again the gear was sent astern and the steady troll resumed. Tuna broke the surface on a regular basis all around the boat.
We chatted, waiting in anticipation, Dan provided tea and coffee at regular intervals. Gulls, storm petrels, a lone skua and gannets filled the sky.
The tuna were here in numbers and from time to time a huge fish would crash out of the water its sides glistening in the sunlight before crashing back into the calming sea.
Suddenly a screaming reel set off cries of “tuna !”
Jeff who was harnessed and ready stood beside the screaming reel waiting for the first run to slow and for the other rods to be cleared ready for the battle ahead.
We all watched excitedly giving Jeff encouragement as he took the rod and commenced battle. Half an hour or so later the tuna was boat side and Dan grabbed the leader signifying that the battle was won. Sadly the fish detached itself at this point and Jeff did not get a picture.
It was Bruce’s turn next and we had to wait another couple of hours for the next fish. This was Bruce’s first tuna and he played the fish with determination savouring every moment.
The tuna was eventually brought boat side where it drenched us all as its powerful tail thrashed the water to foam. The tuna was estimated at 160lb its flanks of silver, emerald and gun metal grey a sight to behold. We admired its beauty as the fish was allowed to recover whilst we captured valuable images of the triumphant moment to store in life’s memory trove.
It was my turn next and I waited with mixed emotions. The sky was now a vivid blue the sun slowly sinking illuminating the vast seascape as the day ebbed away. Activity had by now eased the tuna and their prey had moved off. Pessimism was starting to battle with my expectation.
A half a mile or so closer to the shore we again spotted a large gathering of birds. John and Dan scanned the horizon with binoculars and we once again set off for a fresh area.
Gannets dived into the sea, gulls and other birds swooped in a feeding frenzy. Tuna broke the surface and the lures trailed through the feeding tuna to no avail.
Time was ticking, Dan really wanted to get me a tuna waiting and persevering with dogged determination and belief.
As my hope slowly evaporated it happened! The line flicked out of the clip the reel screamed and I took my place beside the rod and screaming reel. As the run eased I ensured the line remained tight whilst the other tackles were removed from the vast playing field.
I took the rod from the holder, Dan and John assisted in clipping the reel to the harness and I leant back to take the strain. Far away on the straining line a huge fish pulled back. The next half an hour was a game of give and take with line regained inch at a time with the powerful heavy fish taking it back with short powerful runs.
I savoured every moment of what seemed like the summit of an angling life. The sun slowly sinking towards the horizon as the fish that filled my dreams was tiring. Eventually the leader appeared and we all peered expectantly into the depths, the battle was seemingly won. Then unexpectedly the rod sprang back and that empty feeling of loss only an angler knows descended. The hook hold had given way the fish gaining freedom tantalizingly close to the boat. Dan and John congratulated me on getting my tuna. It was handshakes and congratulations for in one sense the deal was done I had caught a tuna.
“If you were intending to release the fish, then the leader wound to the rod tip or being grasped by a deckie can fairly be considered a caught fish.”
In footballing terms it seemed like a one all draw for it was neither a loss or a victory.
We steamed back to Looe the sun setting in the West as familiar landmarks on the Cornish coast passed by in the golden light of dusk. Gannets, glided over the calm waters I relived the drama of the day enjoying the company of fellow anglers vowing to return again to finish my quest.
Our son James had been mountain biking whilst I fished; he had successfully caught a 300lb plus tuna the previous year. As we approached the iconic Banjo Pier it was good see James sat rod in hand fishing. It was there that my lifelong love of angling had started with my own father. With the passion still burning strong I vow to return even as life’s autumnal years descend.
How long tuna will remain in British waters only history will reveal for there are no guarantees in this ever changing world we live in.
As Autumn descends and seasons start to transition a trip to the river brings mixed emotions. Recent heavy rain has brought a tinge of colour to the river and there is hope of salmon and sea trout. The lower Taw and Torridge are both coloured and unfishable and so I have headed to a stretch of fishing on a tributary of the Taw.
I have thrown a heavy rod into the back of the car just in case I see a salmon but it’s the wild browns that I am seeking today with my ultra-light Snowbee Classic, a 4 wt thistledown line and a weighted nymph set up.
It is a delight to travel light to river and wander the bank flicking the nymphs into likely runs, pots and pools.
A cool North West Wind is sweeping clouds across the blue sky. Swallows and martins are swooping low over the grass undoubtedly feeding hard in preparation for their incredible migration to warmer climes. Large numbers of pheasants are strutting their stuff in the riverside fields oblivious to the rituals that await in October when the shooting season commences.
I work my way slowly up river and fail to connect over the first section. I change to a smaller nymph and shorten my leader slightly as the heavy nymph is catching the bottom too frequently.
I extend the line casting up and watching the bright orange section of my furled leader. I detect a twitch lift the rod and feel the vibrant life of a small brownie on the line. It comes off after a few seconds but my confidence is boosted and I fish on with renewed positivity.
A few casts later and a spirited trout of perhaps 6” is brought to hand and briefly admired.
Time is ebbing away as I reach my favourite pool and I work my way up working the nymph through the familiar waters. Connection comes as expected as a fine wild brown of perhaps 10” is brought to the net. I extract a further two beautiful wild browns of similar size but each is very different. Their flanks a sublime blend of rich colours, olives, golds, bronze and crimson. Their colours blending with the autumn hues to create a palette to please the most discerning artists eye.
I leave the river determined to return again before the season ends in a couple of weeks. Trouble is there are bass, mullet, tope and maybe a salmon calling from elsewhere. But still that constant beauty of the wild brown trout remains always there a reassuring presence for the past fifty odd years.
The below report gives a fasicnating insight into the complex marine eco=systems that surround us. Well worth a look through.
The State of the South-West’s Seas Report
‘It was an astounding year for marine life in south-west England – but not everywhere.’
Every year brings exciting and interesting observations of marine life and environmental conditions that help us to understand how the marine environment ‘works’, how it is changing and whether management of human activities and impacts is making a difference to the health of our seas. Capturing and interpreting those observations and activities is what the group of specialists reporting in the ‘South-West Marine Ecosystems in 2023’ do. Their report on 2023 has just been published.
During 2023, we have seen a species new to science being identified in south-west waters, an unprecedented bloom of string-like gelatinous plankton accompanied by dinner-plate sized jellyfish popping-up in late August and proof that ‘common’ (Mediterranean) octopus are breeding in our waters. Seawater temperatures during 2023 were warmer but there were no spectacular impacts – just some range extensions of southern species already here. Whilst there were no additional non-native species found in 2023, some of the ones that are already here increased in abundance and extended their distribution. There are increased sightings of whales and dolphins and some unusual fish species have been caught or sighted. 2023 saw the most turtles recorded in the south-west area for nine years. 2023 saw continued increases in burrow-nesting seabirds and auks: both continuing to benefit from rat eradication on Scilly and Lundy.
Changes that occurred or started some years ago persist – examples are the recovery of spiny lobsters after local extermination in the 1960s and 1970s, and the return of bluefin tuna to south-west waters.
Numbers of seals are ‘steady’ but more seals were recorded dead across Cornwall in 2023 than born and entanglement in litter and disturbance by human activity remains a concern.
There are ‘old friends’ that the interested public may think are signs of warming or changing seas but which have in fact been known from our waters for more than 200 years – such as the tropical-looking grey trigger fish and slipper lobsters.
Meanwhile, some seabed marine life is not looking as vibrant as in previous years. One example is a cold-water species, the spectacular and colourful plumose anemones – abundance seems to have reduced dramatically in inshore areas of the mainland coast but so also, it seems likely, have many other sea anemone species. Also, a group of hydroids (relatives of sea anemones) collectively known as ‘flower-head hydroids’ seem to be much less abundant in enclosed waters at least. Marine life at Lundy continues to be in poor condition compared to the mid-1980s and there is no clear sign (yet) of recovery of populations of the nationally rare sunset cup coral around the island.
The report is the ninth report in the series. It includes detailed chapters on oceanography and storms, plankton, the seashore and seabed, fish and turtles, coastal birds, seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Management chapters include fisheries, marine planning, marine protected areas, water pollution and plastics pollution. Webinars on these topics for 2023 can be viewed on this YouTube channel
The report, published by the Plymouth-based Marine Biological Association, reflects the work of both hundreds of volunteer citizen scientists and professionals working in the south-west. This summary of conclusions below is from the report.
Oceanography. The year started with relatively warm conditions throughout the water column with temperatures around 9.5 °C off Plymouth. This cooled to the minimum recorded temperature (for 2023) in mid-March of 9.3 °C. June 2023 was noteworthy in that sea surface temperatures were 2 – 3 °C above the long-term (1991-2020) mean in the Celtic Sea and 1 – 2 °C above the long-term mean in the western English Channel. By late June off Plymouth, surface waters were around 17.8°C and, at depths below 30 m, around 13.9 °C; both associated with a sustained meteorological (and marine) heat wave. Contact: Tim Smyth [email protected]
Storms. The patterns of storms in the spring of 2023 were unremarkable but were more normal in the autumn of 2023 and in the winter of 2023 to 2024. There were very few named storms in the January – April period of 2023. The impact on natural systems, species and habitats was on the unremarkable side of normal, but seal pups and juveniles were seriously affected by the autumn storms in 2023. Contact: [email protected]
Plankton. There were unusual reports in terms of numbers and geographic extent of both salps (colonial seasquirts) and hydrozoan ‘Crystal Jellyfish’ Aequorea sp(p) in late summer in the English Channel. Whilst blooms of both have previously been recorded, they have not been concurrently reported at so many different locations. Sightings of true jellyfish in 2023 revealed similar patterns to those seen in previous years with barrel jellyfish making a return, having been only rarely reported in 2022. Contact: Angus Atkinson (for general plankton): [email protected] and Jeanette Sanders (for observations of jellyfish): [email protected] ; South Devon Jellyfish Survey
Seashore and seabed marinelife. There were no increases in extent or abundance of warm water species that might suggest significant climate change effects although a record of eggs of a Common (‘Mediterranean’) Octopus suggests that they are breeding in our waters. There were declines in the occurrence and abundance of some species including, conspicuously for divers, of cold-water Plumose Anemones in inshore areas. Contact: Keith Hiscock[email protected]
Fish.Sharks. On 1st May, a c. 293 cm subadult female Smalltooth Sand Tiger Shark was found floating dead off Lyme Regis. The observation followed one found stranded in Hampshire and about 320 km north of any previous record. Bony fish. The recent pattern of changes continues with several less familiar species becoming more established around south-west England: these include variable blennies, combers and axillary sea breams. Contacts: Douglas Herdson [email protected] and Simon Thomas (sharks and rays) [email protected]
Reptiles. 2023 saw the most turtles recorded in the south-west area for nine years. The majority of the reports were of juvenile Loggerhead or Kemp’s Ridley turtles most of which were ‘cold shocked’. Contact: Douglas Herdson [email protected].
Marine. and coastal birds. 2023 saw continued increases in burrow-nesting seabirds and auks: both continuing to benefit from rat eradication on Scilly and Lundy. HPAI (‘bird flu’) badly affected terns and black-headed gulls in Dorset, but there was good news for sea-watchers with thousands of southern-breeding shearwaters flooding into the south-west in late summer. This included an estimated 16,000 Cory’s shearwaters in one day off Scilly. Contact: Alex Banks [email protected]
Seals. More seals were recorded dead across Cornwall in 2023 than born (half the dead seals were less than a year old) The largest seal disturbance on record and caused directly by people, saw 250 seals stampede off two adjacent SSSI beaches resulting in an enforcement letter from Natural England. Contact: Sue Sayer – [email protected]
Whales, dolphins & porpoises. There continued to be high numbers of cetaceans inshore in 2023. Since 2015 there have been marked increases in many cetacean species in inshore waters. There is limited ongoing research investigating this shift and cetacean research in the UK continues to be poorly funded. Contact: Duncan Jones [email protected] (toothed whales and dolphins) and Dan Jarvis (Baleen Whales) – [email protected]
Fisheries. In 2023, the landings of many traditional fisheries such as brown crab and mackerel continued to decline, whilst landings for other species such as crawfish and spurdog increased as a result of stock recovery. Analysis undertaken by the MMO showed an overall reduction in the quantities of fish and shellfish landed in the south-west since 2016. It is likely that climate change will continue to benefit some species, such as black seabream, red mullet and anchovy and to result in declines of some other species, such as lemon sole, Atlantic cod, haddock and megrim. Contact: [email protected]
Marine protected areas. Currently 81% of MPAs within the IFCA Devon and Severn area are closed to bottom-towed gear, compared to 75% in the Isles of Scilly and 40% in Cornwall. The MMO is responsible for introducing fisheries management measures to all offshore MPAs by the end of 2024. There is an increasing recognition of the need to adopt a whole site approach to MPA management for effective marine nature recovery. Contact: Carli Cocciardi [email protected]
Water quality. The year 2023 was the sixth wettest on record contributing to a higher percentage of sewage overflow spills. One hundred percent of storm overflows have now, however, been fitted with event duration monitoring devices which will allow complete coverage, real-time data and targeted improvements. Contact: [email protected]
Marine planning. ‘The Marine Planning Monitoring Surveys 2023 Two-Page Summary Report revealed that, overall, the MMO South West Marine Plan remains widely utilized by a diverse array of stakeholders for decision-making and supporting development proposals. Policies related to biodiversity and heritage are among the most frequently applied. The development of floating offshore wind turbines represents a significant technological advancement and demonstration projects are anticipated to be operational within the next few years, with further commercial deployments in the pipeline. Contact: Mae van Loef [email protected] and Ellie Hoad [email protected].’
Marine plastics. Excellent volunteer work continues in the southwest to remove plastics from the marine environment. Analysis of debris from coastal cleans in 2023 by the Clean Ocean Sailing (COS) organisation also highlighted high density polyethylene (HDPE), plastic bottles and nets and ropes to be the most commonly removed debris. Contact: Dan Wilson [email protected]; and Delia Webb [email protected]
Neri Campbell at the Marine Biological Association [email protected]
Kelly Marie-Davidson at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory [email protected]
Some key points:
This is the tenth report in this series
The South-West is the only English region currently to produce such a report
The State of the South-West Seas report has been prepared by a group of specialists working within the umbrella of the South-West Marine Ecosystems (SWME) programme. The SWME programme brings the marine and coastal community together annually to consider and communicate the changes that are taking place in our local seas.
It includes detailed chapters on oceanography and storms, plankton, the seashore and seabed, fish and turtles, coastal birds, seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Management chapters include fisheries, marine planning, marine protected areas, water pollution and plastics pollution.
