Seth Tuson and Toby Craven enjoyed a super session at Jennets Reservoir banking 13 carp between them. The biggest was a stunning 30lb 3oz common carp.
Thirty Pound Jennett’s Carp
Angela Harding – Book Release at The Arundell
On September 25th The Arundell are hosting an evening with Angela Harding celebrating the release of her new book ‘Still Waters and Wild Waves’. A book that will undoubtedly connect with many anglers and those who love the waters edge.
https://www.thearundell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Angela-Harding-25th-Sept.pdf
The rivers have cooled with some welcome, refreshing rain and the grayling are now coming into the peak of condition. The Arundell are running specialist grayling nymphing courses on the weekends of the 5th/6th and 12th/13th October.
This course will take you through tightline nymphing, indicator fishing and the duo method. The course also includes 2hrs hours of fly tying, constructing tungsten beaded jig flies, weighted shrimps and caddis flies. After the fly tying, we’ll look at tackle set up, tapered leaders, tippet, indicators, fly size and fly weigh.
For more details please go to the link in our bio or email [email protected]
Catching Late Season Beauty
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 State of the South-West’s Seas Report
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 marine life. 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]
For information on SWME contact
Bob Earll – [email protected]
Keith Hiscock [email protected]
Ruth Williams [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.
- Webinars on these topics for 2023 can be viewed on this YouTube channel
- The report reflects the work of both hundreds of volunteer citizen scientists and professionals working in the south-west.
TREVOR TELLING MEMORIAL
Since Mark Underhill and his family have been managing Wimbleball Trout Fishery it has gained a reputation as one of the West Countrys best venues. Its hard fighting trout and spectacular scenery bring anglers back time after time. Trevor Telling was a very well-liked and respected member of the Wimbleball Fishery team giving valuable advice to visiting anglers inspiring them with his positive and friendly demeanour. Trevor has undoubtedly played a significant role in building Wimbleball’s reputation. Trevor loved Wimbleball and it’s anglers and was remembered at a Memorial Competition at the reservoir on September 8th, 2024. The competition was organised by Alan Cross a close friend of Trevor. Below is Alan’s full report.
The competition was opened by Karen Telling (Trevor’s wife) who thanked everyone for their turning out in weather that only fishermen could appreciate.
Total money raised on the day from fishing entries, raffle and donations was £305.
That is all going to the South West Fishing for Life charity. Trevor was a fishing instructor with them, helping ladies who are going thru cancer treatment.
Sale of Trevor’s fishing tackle and donations previously total of £1,565 went to Exeter Hospice Care who looked after Trevor in his final week’s and supported Karen and Charlotte.
A Total of 3 bank fishermen and 22 boat fishermen took part in the competition.
The winners were
Martin Williams with 8 fish total and a biggest fish of 6 lbs 9oz’s for boat fishing and Andrew Hill with 2 fish and his biggest fish was 4 1/2 lb’s.
Both fishermen were presented with a memorial shield by Jeff Pearce from Wimbleball Fishery.
A total of 56 fish with a combined weight of 119 lb’s 6 oz.
Winners of the raffle prizes of boxes of flies from Trevor’s own selection were
Wayne Middleton
Andrew Hull
Neil Jones.
Three ladies and their instructors from the South West fishing for Life charity turned out to fish as well, they didn’t want to enter the competition but enjoyed their fishing catching a further 4 fish.
Karen closed the competition by drawing the raffle and congratulating everyone on their catches and again thanking them for turning out to remember Trevor. This will be an annual match to celebrate Trevor and of course allow us fishermen to talk about how big the one that got away was.
I shared a boat with Snowbee Ambassador and Wimbleball team member Jeff Pearce and as always enjoyed a great day of fishing and fishing talk. The fishing proved to be challenging but with the combination of determination, trial error and experience we managed to catch five superb hard fighting trout. It rained pretty well all day but this failed to dampen our enthusiasm as the misty vistas still gave a certain dramatic back drop to proceedings.
The warm and convivial atmosphere at the start of the day and conclusion were a fitting tribute to Trevor whose spirit lives on at this jewel in the crown of Exmoor Fly Fishing.
A Long Drift of Expectation
The calm waters merged into the misty grey of the morning light. Archie cut Reel Deals engines and readied the shark rods as we began a long drift of expectation.
The five of us sent down jigs and feathers to catch fresh bait. Archie baited the circle hooks that were suspended beneath brightly coloured drinks bottles that would bob optimistically upon the ocean.
Mackerel, scad and pollock were swung on board as we drifted. We drew numbers, Peter Robinson drawing number one, Bruce Elston, number 2, Kieran (from Wales) number 3, I was number four so knew from the off that I would only do battle if we had a good day with the sharks. Toby was number five cementing the fact that it was not his day! A broken rod, lost sunglasses sealing that old comes in three saying! Fortunately Toby is a resilient sole who carries an infectious smile throughout.
Archie Porter was Skipper for the day as Reel Deal founder and owner Dan Hawkins was down South chasing tuna, skippering with Happy Days Adventure Fishing.
Archie has gained valuable experience working with Dan on Reel Deal and skippering Predator 2 before it was bought by Daniel Welch who is now embarking on his own journey with the boat.
With the rubby-dubby sending out a stream of particles and scent it was now time for a brew and to drift with wind and tide.
We were drifting over rocky reefs and we all used various jigs and lures to tempt hard fighting pollock from the clear water. Scad and the occasional jumbo sized mackerel were added to the bait stash with fresh baits added to the shark set ups from time to time.
I love the expectation of shark fishing the mystery of what lies beneath and what could be? Banter and chat flowed freely with tales of fish and the wider world. Topics from toxic politics, music, life and recipes.
Whilst the sea was mirror calm a rolling swell lifted the boat gently as the immense power of the Atlantic ocean stirred. As the mist lifted we glimpsed white water as the swells crashed into the wild and rugged North Cornish Coast.
Somewhere on the cliffs Hawkers Hut nestles high up overlooking this treacherous coastline. Robert Stephen Hawker was an eccentric clergyman who lived between 1803 and 1875. Hawker is said to have spent many hours in the hut writing poems and smoking opium. He is perhaps best remembered for his compassionate desire to provide Christian burials to shipwrecked seamen washed up on the shores. He also wrote the famous Cornish song, The Song of the Western Men” with its chorus line “ And Shall Trelawny die? / Here’s twenty thousand Cornish men / will know the reason why!’. A song that is sung by Cornish Male voice choirs with great passion. The hut is now preserved by the National Trust and is well worth a visit.
The day drifted past and after tempting several pollock I decided to change tactics. I baited two size 4 Sakuma Chinu hooks with slivers of fresh mackerel. Down into the clear water to be bounced along the rocky sea bed.
The rods sensitive tip jagged sharply and a small black bream was briefly admired before being released. Toby Bassett always keen to chase different species followed suit and soon caught three handsome bream two of which were keepers.
There was a moment of drama when a shark float bobbed and disappeared a large swirl preceding close by. The gulls and fulmars that had been bobbing in the rubby-dubby slick took off. Peter grabbed the rod apprehensively but nothing happened! Was it a wary shark, a tope or cuttle fish? The bait was damaged but the evidence inconclusive.
As the day drifted into afternoon a breeze came from the North West. We relished the blue sky and warm sunshine, the shark floats spread out perfectly in the slick and expectations grew, conditions were perfect.
Something large intercepted my tiny mackerel baits and put a serious bend in the rod before biting through the trace.
At the bow of the boat Bruce hooked a powerful tope as he bounced a large scad bait just off the seabed. A good tope of over thirty pounds appeared in the clear water and came off as Archie grabbed the leader.
A few minutes later Bruce was in action again this time bringing the tope to the boat where it was expertly netted by Archie. At 38lb it was a new personal best for Bruce.
In the mean time I hooked two more tope on my small hooks and inevitably suffered bite offs. I couldn’t resist the chance of a tope and tied on a short leader, a 150lb b.s trace a 6/0 Sakuma Kong hook and sent down a side of mackerel. A few minutes later I was locked in battle the spinning rod taking on an impressive battle curve. I piled on the pressure determined to get the tope to the boat without severing the hook-length or wrapping in the mainline. A tope of over twenty pounds was soon secured safely and its image secured.
The action packed flurry of tope sport brought the day to an end all too soon. Reel Deal bounced comfortably over the lively sea past Hartland, Baggy and Morte Point the wild cliffs and coast as always pleasing to the eye. The occasional gannet was circling searching for fish.
We pondered on the lack of porbeagle, earlier in the year there had been some good days with multiple catches of shark. September is often a prime month and it is likely that they will show in numbers later in the month if of course the bait fish are there. Last year tuna arrived off the coast in late September will they arrive again? The only way of answering these questions is of course to drift in expectation.
CMSAC – FUN FISH 2024
Hard to believe that its Autumn and yet another CMSAC Fun Fish is over. Twenty three anglers braved the initially inclement weather to join the fun of fishing. The forecast gave a warm calm morning with the slight chance of a shower! Wrong; the fishing that commenced at 10:30am was greeted by heavy rain, grey sky and a gusty east wind. Many like myself had looked at the forecast and not even packed a waterproof! After forty odd years of fishing I really should know better!
Despite the weather there were broad smiles as anglers of all ages cast their lines into the harbour from the landing stages of the old pier. The Fun Fishing Competition was run on a simple points basis with 3 points for the first of each species, 2 for the second and 1 for the third. There were also prizes for heaviest fish, longest fish and family with most points.
Combe Martin Sea Angling Club give grateful thanks to the events sponsors, High Street Tackle, Barnstaple Bait and Tackle and Ilfracombe Aquarium. Our guest Mat Mander Chief Officer of Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority once again made the long journey from South Devon to join us all on the pier. Mat gave valuable advice to young anglers and was on hand to take any questions about the sterling work undertaken by D & S IFCA.
https://www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk
There were good numbers of fish caught from the start with ballan wrasse, pouting, poor cod, pollock and small red bream among the catch’s. The stars of the day were the young anglers who delighted in catching the fish with some catching their first ever fish!
I was asked by several about what tackle and tactics to employ for starting off and my advice is to start off with a cheap LRF outfit and target the small fish that abound close to pier. It is possible to get set up with a serviceable outfit for less than £100. I will try and put together a short feature on this in the near future.
Our local tackle shops High Street Tackle and Barnstaple Bait & Tackle are great places to call in for advice with a wide range of suitable tackle and bait in stock.
The exciting thing about the fun fish is seeing what each year produces. This year the appearance of small red bream was a first for the event. There were no mackerel or garfish caught which was a surprise as this summer has been quite good. One year a big fish will undoubtedly show!
Ilfracombe Aquarium donated a family entry to the event and were delighted to receive red bream and corkwing wrasse to house in the aquarium.
Hopefully Nick and I will be dashing around the pier again next Sea-Ilfracombe Festival with camera and clip board. Thank you to all who joined in to make this year another success.
Winning Family – Stanway Family – 46 points
Heaviest Fish – Jake Stanway – Ballan Wrasse 9oz
Longest Fish – Ted Childs – Corkwing wrasse – 20.5 cm
Winning Angler Ben Clark – 32 points
Runners up –
Ross Stanway – 29 points
Solly welch – 23 Points
Ted Childs – 20 Points
George Gove – 18 Points
Jake Stanway – 17 Points
Dave Welch – 14 points
Finlay Stanway – 13 points
Ollie Hunter – 11 points
Callum Gove – 11 points
Bella Mitchell – 11 Points
Beth Hunter – 9 Points
Archie Cameron – 8 points
Louis Cameron – 8 Points
Aaron Birchall – 3 points
Jack Philips – 3 points
Lila Mitchell – 3 points
Species Caught : – 12
Pollock
Pouting
Poor Cod
Ballan wrasse
Corkwing wrasse
Red Bream
Whiting
Shore rockling
Rock goby
Tompot-blenny
Shanny
Number of fish – 96 Fish – 23 Anglers
A Luring Day on Predator 2 – Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe Harbour an oasis of calm as a glow appears to the East as the sun starts to climb from its overnight absence. The sounds of voices drift across the calm waters of the harbour as boats are readied for the day ahead.
Dan Welch and Ross Stanway are already on board Predator 2 readying the boat for another mates trip to continue the exploration of the Bristol Channels potential.
As I arrive at the Quay I speak to three anglers sat waiting to board Dan Hawkins Reel Deal. They have driven overnight from Oxford and are hoping to connect with the porbeagle that prowl the waters at the mouth of the Bristol Channel.
We are heading out to fish with lures hopping from wreck to reef and watching for signs of feeding birds that could indicate shoals of silver bass. Dan Hawkins on Reel Deal had found some quality bass the previous day whilst travelling back from an unsuccessful foray to the shaking grounds.
Todays friends group consisted of Skipper Dan Welch, Ross Stanway, Shaun Quartly, Shane Murch, Paul Lorrimore, Callun Gove and myself. Dan is keen to continue to explore the lure fishing potential and today we are heading West to fish marks off Baggy Point and Bideford Bay.
There is a still a bit of chop on the sea, residue from the previous days stronger winds. We were all full of hope and optimism for the adventure that lay ahead as we bounced over water watching the spectacular sunrise above towering cliffs up channel from Ilfracombe.
We passed the familiar rock outcrops of Bull Point and Morte Point before reaching the first mark a good distance off Baggy Point. By now the sun was higher in the sky its warm rays illuminating the seascape.
We all tied on the lures that we had confidence in sending them down into the deep clear water to connect with the fish that lurk around the rusting wreck.
There are surprisingly many wrecks scattered around the Bristol Channel, symptoms I guess from an era when navigational equipment and modern safety was less advanced. Wrecks provide shelter and food for many fish and I ponder if we could create artificial reefs to improve upon fish populations. Perhaps the new seaweed farms, and off- shore windfarms will create some protected habitat that will benefit fish populations?
Within seconds of the lures reaching their destination rods hooped over as hard fighting pollock smashed into the lures diving for sanctuary within the rusting hulk. The first drift produced some stunning pollock to around 4lb and bass to 3lb.
There is a great deal of skill involved in manoeuvring a boat into position so that the anglers lures can be presented to the fish. The wreck or reef is shown on the boats navigation system, but the strength and direction of tide has to be factored in with the wind direction as to the boats starting position that is calculated to give maximum time drifting over the structure.
It is noticeable that each drift tends to bring diminishing returns as the fish seem to wise up quickly. Changing lures sometimes seems to bring increased success though I’m not sure if this is my perception or simply luck on the day? I change to a Seadra slow jig decorated with a stunning mackerel flank. It looks good to me and I work the lure with confidence catching several bass and pollock.
Ross Stanway hooks a very powerful fish that powers off testing his light spinning tackle to the limit. Dan assisted by following the fish whilst we all pulled in our lines to watch the drama unfold. We all speculated upon what Ross has hooked hoping that we would at the very least get a glimpse before the gossamer thin braid parted. My guess was a tope as Shaun had had a pollock bitten in half by a hungry tope a few minutes before the fish appearing with the pollock within its jaws before swimming free after shaking its head to tear the fish in half.
We all peered into the clear aqua water, suddenly a shape appeared below the boat. A sleek and powerful tope of around thirty pounds hooked foul hooked in the tail! Dan scooped the fish into the net and swung the fish aboard. Ross wrestled with the powerful fish and held it aloft for a quick photo before dropping it back over the side where it disappeared back into the mysterious depths with a flick of its tail.
After a couple more drifts sport eased off and Dan suggested a move to a rocky pinnacle in Bideford Bay. Half an hour steam away we chatted and watched for birds working that could indicate bait fish.
There is always anticipation on arriving at each new mark asking the question with our lures. Sadly this mark proved to be a pouting haven with these plump fish seizing our lures. Whilst these fish have little sporting value they are a valuable source of food for many predatory fish and their flanks of pearl and beige have a rich beauty in life. Sadly they often perish as their swim bladders are unable to cope with the pressure change as they are brought to the surface. They can be kept for bait or at worst provide a welcome meal for the sea birds that always follow fishing boats.
The light breeze from earlier in the day had by now dropped off leaving the sea a tranquil calm that seems so rare this summer. A commotion a few hundred yards away caught our attention. Was that a huge tail slashing the water amongst a pod of dolphins? A thresher shark perhaps? There have been several sightings recently.
We moved closer, the dolphins swam gracefully rolling in the calm sea. We put out lures hoping for a bass whilst we enjoyed the marvellous spectacle of the dolphins.
After the hectic sport at the start of the day we were now struggling to find feeding fish. We headed back to the wreck where we had started the day. Part way across Bideford Bay we spotted a mass of birds a sure indication along with a couple of fishing boats that bass were in the area.
Indications on the fish finder confirmed the presence of fish and so we sent down our lures. I hooked a hard fighting bass of around 5lb and several other smaller fish were added to the days tally before the birds dispersed and the fish disappeared.
By now a brisk east wind was sweeping down the Bristol Channel creating white caps on the waves. Judging by the Beaufort scale it was indeed a fresh breeze.
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.
| 5 | Fresh Breeze | 29-38 | 19-24 | 17-21 | Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters. Moderate waves, many white horses | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4 |
The Beaufort Scale like the shipping forecast holds a certain resonance and connection with maritime history. That provides me with sense of historical enchantment and fascination with Great Britain’s connection the sea.
Connection with fish seemed harder to find now as the flood tide pushed against the wind. Natures roulette spins continually and we fished the shallow waters off Morte Point in our last roll of the dice. Shaun foul hooked a specimen mullet that fought hard in the tide. Dan tempted a ballan wrasse before declaring time to head back to Ilfracombe.
Ilfracombe on a warm summers day at Summers end was a stark contrast to the peace and tranquillity of the early dawn. Hundreds of tourists rested on the beach, strolled around the shops, licked ice creams and savoured those last few days of the tourist season. How quick this summer has flown. Our son James plays his last game of league cricket as I type this, it is hard to believe, its seems such a short time since he was wielding his bat for the first game of the season.
September brings much expectation for the sea angler of North Devon with so much promise if natures roulette wheel obliges and we play our hands wisely.
END OF AN ERA – SUMMERLANDS TACKLE TO CLOSE
I was saddened to learn earlier this week that Summerlands Tackle Shop at Westward Ho! is closing soon a big surprise, it seems that they have always been there. No longer will we be able to pop into Summerlands whilst visiting Westward Ho! In fact Summerlands was generally the main reason for us to visit Westward Ho!
Nick Laws founded Summerlands Tackle back in 1985 close to forty years ago and for as long as I can remember there has always been a cheery welcome from the family run business. Nick has lived in and around Westward Ho! all his life and has fished the local shore since his childhood days when he would fish the beach with his father taking home the occasional bass for his mother to cook.
Summerlands became the social hub of the local angling community with anglers of all disciplines meeting to swap tales over a coffee and the occasional slice of cake. Local tackle shops are at the core of anglings social network and many a friendship and trip to the water’s edge has been forged.
In recent years Nick and Louise have taken a back seat with the business their daughter Heather and her husband Simon taking the reign’s and keeping it very much in the family.
On hearing the news that Summerlands was closing I headed down to wish the family well for the future. The quick visit soon became a couple of hours as other local anglers called into the shop chatting about the good times they had enjoyed over the years. Heather told me that she was heartened by the warmth that had been evident from the well -wishers who had called into the shop having heard the news.
I asked Heather if she had a message for customers and this is the piece she carefully prepared for the shops social media page.
“So as our family now moves on and explores new possibilities and the founders of Summerlands get their well earnt retirement. All that is for us to say is THANK YOU. It has always been about you the customer and you are the part we are saddest about leaving. The friendships we have made with customers and also within the trade we will always cherish and it has been an absolute honour to serve you and work with you over the last four decades. We hope to see you to say goodbye and celebrate our final chapter with you as we close the book on the best fishing tackle shop adventure ever. Tight lines always we will miss you the Summerlands Tackle family over and out.”
Much has changed in the world of angling and beyond in the past forty years and we reflected upon this as we chatted. Nick reminisced fondly about fishing forays to Ireland where he had enjoyed fishing those famous surf beaches for bass. The tackle of the day was very basic in comparison to many of the state of the art rods sold in Summerlands over the past decades.
Over the coming weeks starting on Saturday 31st August there will be an EVERTHING MUST GO SALE.
On a personal note I wish all those at Summerlands the best for the future and would like to thank them for their support with North Devon Angling News since 2016. The closing of Summerlands will leave a void in the local angling scene but we are fortunate that we have several excellent tackle shops across North Devon.
FUN FISHING 2024
Combe Martin SAC are hosting their annual Fun Fishing event on Ilfracombe Pier on Sunday September 1st 10:30am util 12:30pm.
We will have Matt Mander from the D & S IFCA at the event to answer all those questions surrounding management of our coastal waters. We also hope to have attendance from the RNLI and Coastguard. There will be prizes from our local sponsors and the chance to chat with CMSAC Club members. The fun competition is a species competition with all ages and abilities welcome under 16’s must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
As this coincides with the Sea Ilfracombe Festival there is plenty to do in Ilfracombe after the fishing with live music and street stalls and other activities.
Hope to see you there.
