“Pike anglers are strongly advised by the Pike Anglers Club to always carry a strong pair of side cutters in case there is a need to cut through hooks to aid unhooking.” These Berkley Side wire cutters are ideally suited to this purpose and a wide range of other uses for the sea angler and lure angler.
They are excellent tools for snipping off those old rusty hooks on lures prior to replacing them.
It is also a good idea to carry a pair of side cutters for use in an emergency. I once had a large hook penetrate a finger whilst in Egypt fishing for Nile perch and was forced to have the hook cut free to remove it from my finger. Many hours away from hospital I dread to think how we could have proceeded without a pair of side-cutters.
Heavy duty wire traces used in sea angling need top quality side cutters for cutting traces to length when making traces and for the occasional instance when a hook is too deep to remove from a fish.
The Berkley side cutters have carbon steel jaws, Corrosion Resistant Composite Coating, Ergonomic Co-moulded handle, spring assisted one handed operation and an adjustable lanyard.
These smart looking side cutters are a useful addition to any sea angler or lure fisher’s armoury.
I often comment that one of the joys of sea angling is the unexpected. During late Autumn and winter the coast certainly has a few surprises along with the target species. Kevin Legge tempted this specimen pouting of 1lb 9oz on a recent visit to the shoreline.
The beaches can still produce bass when the conditions are right but its not always bass that find the bait. This small turbot was a welcome surprise on a recent trip.
This conger estimated at 18lb put a good bend in Kevin legges rod on recent session on the rocks.
On the same session I was pleased with this small spotted ray.
December mullet were once rare yet mullet fishing now seems well worth the effort throughout the entire year.
I Joined South Molton Angling Club for their Christmas get together at Blakewell Fishery where members hoped to win the Mac McCarthy Trophy for the biggest trout caught this season. The biggest trout up until this date was fine rainbow of 5lb 6oz from Wimbleball.
The morning was incredibly mild for mid December with an overcast sky that occasionally allowed glimpses of bright winter sun. I was hoping to once again slip into the bay where the trout had been shoaling the previous week. I joined club Chairman Ed Rands in the favoured spot and began working the bay with a damsel nymph.
Within an hour both Ed and I had secured five fish limit bags of quality fish with my five totalling just over 20lb and Eds around 15lb. We both chatted with Matt Kingdon who moved into the bay and continued to tempt the trout that had by now wised up a little. Strangely it seemed that the trout wanted a virtually static fly often taking the small black lure Matt was using as it sank through the water. It was fascinating to watch as Matt watched the end of the line twitch setting the hook with a quick strip of the line.
14 members fished Appledore Shipbuilders December Rover.
The winner was Andrew Atkinson with a specimen Flounder of 2lb 4 3/4ozs.
James Atkinson secured second spot with a club specimen 3 bearded Rockling of 1lb 8ozs and Josh Atkinson was third with a Dogfish of 2lb 5ozs.
As winter storms sweep in its time to take great care when fishing North Devon’s Open coast. Rather than repeat previous words on safety please see link to a previous article that still holds good.
Between winter storms with the water stirred up there is every chance of catching good sized winter specimens. I relish the winter shore fishing at this time launching big baits out into the dark waters hoping to tempt a predator hunting the food rich water. I enjoyed a session on a rough night recently choosing a mark that gave some protection from the strong North West Wind. As the light faded a couple of small whiting seized my mackerel and squid bait. Then as darkness descended dogfish and small conger rattled the rod tips. As the tide pushed in and large waves pounded the shoreline we moved to a more elevated position and cast our baits into the rocky bay hoping for a late bass. A few more small conger were tempted along with a pleasing huss of around 7lb.
Spurdog should show soon with every chance of a tope, big conger, huss or ray. Reports of a few whiting are encouraging as these fish will undoubtedly have those big predators in pursuit. It’s time to fish heavy, wire traces, heavy leaders and a tough main line of at least 20lb b.s.
Combe Martin SAC member Alex Mcleish tempted a specimen rockling weighing 1lb 9oz during his latest trip the coast.
Blakewell Fisheries Christmas competition was held as a lower key affair this year in part due to high COVID rates in the area with only a small number of local anglers invited. Sunday morning dawned cold and showery as the draw for pegs was made along with a glass of port and a cup of tea.
The competitors drew lots at the start of the match with the intention of rotating around every hour. With the water cold and clear it was surprising that trout proved hard to tempt at first with several anglers struggling to get any takes at the start of the competition.
As the morning progressed it soon became apparent that the trout were tightly shoaled in the bay with any angler fishing there enjoying consistent takes. I was fortunate to draw this peg just before dinner and quickly added a brace of trout to the single trout I had tempted on my second peg. The best fish close to 4lb. The first two trout falling to a bead headed cats whisker the third to an orange blob!
A fine full tailed rainbow.
Paul Grisley with a pleasing Blakewell rainbow.
Dave Winter with his best trout of the day.
A hot pasty dinner and cool beer enabled anglers to exchange opinions and tales around the venues large outdoor dining table.
After dinner the rotating pegs format was to a large extent ignored as the bay again fished well. I moved to the corner of this bay away from the other anglers and flicked a bead head PTN out on a short line. After fifteen minutes my bag limit of five fish was completed. By now the trout were wising up as lures seemed to lose their pulling power.
As the afternoon grew colder competitors gathered for the weigh in with a hot cup of tea. Over half the competitors had managed to take limit bags with several rainbows topping 4lb.
1st – James Burdus – 5 for 16lb 13oz
2nd – Paul Grisley – 5 – for 15lb 15oz
3rd – Dave Winter- 5-for 15lb 8oz
4th Wayne Thomas – 5 – for 12lb 5oz
James Burdus with a brace of 5lb plus rainbows
Many thanks to hosts Richard and John Nickell for holding the event.
Richard told of the impact of changing climate on the trout fishery with warmer temperatures resulting in extensive weed growth throughout the year. The traditional season on small still-water trout fisheries has certainly changed across the country with the best of the fishing now starting in late October through until early summer. Increasing numbers of trout fisheries now close during July, August and September. Extensive farming could also be impacting with run off from fields helping to promote weed growth.
Blakewell is open for the rest of 2021 with a short break over the Christmas holiday. The lake will close for most of January when the lake will be drained to allow treatment of the weed growth. It will reopen rejuvenated in February with excellent prospects for late winter, spring and early summer.
It is sad to relay the sad news of the death of Humphrey Wood who contributed a huge amount of time and effort into preserving the River Taw. I fished at Kingford several years ago whilst writing ” I Caught A Glimpse” and have fond memories of visiting the hut mentioned by Alex Gibson below.
Dear Members,
I hope that you are all well, it is with sadness that I pass on the below from Alex.
All members will be sad to hear that Humphrey Wood died recently. He played an important role in West Country fishing life generally and made a huge contribution to the Taw in particular.During the first part of my Chairmanship, from about 2008 to 2015 Humphrey and I worked together on the Weirs Project. It would be hard to overstate his contribution to the success of this major achievement. RTFA, as it was then, was the beneficiary of his technical knowledge and the range of his contacts in the EA and Westcountry Rivers Trust, our partners.Humphrey fished at Kingford, a part of the river he loved. The fishing hut he built with Ron Warwick, another RTFA stalwart, can be seen from the road on the way from Kingford Bridge to Portsmouth Arms; it is a fitting monument.Humphrey and Polly moved from Roborough to Broughton in Hampshire a few years ago, but Humphrey never lost his interest in Taw matters. I was able to keep him in the picture with phone calls from time to time. He will be greatly missed by all in the fishing community who knew him.
Alex Gibson November 2021
Extract for my book I Caught a Glimpse referring to the hut
The fishing hut provides the angler with a resting place during the angling day, a place to pause for contemplation, saviour a brew of tea and exchange tales and tactics with fellow anglers. Ron worked with Humphrey Wood on his fishing hut on the middle Taw. This hut features in the book, “Fishing Huts –The Anglers Sanctuary” by Jo Orchard Lisle. A pleasing book that details angling huts throughout England.
Humphrey Wood’s hut was built to replace the old hut that was swept away by a big winter flood. To avoid a repeat performance the new hut was built upon stilts. Heavy duty posts that were driven deep into the ground using the appropriate tool. Ron told me that each post had to be inch perfect so that the hut would sit firmly in its place. The building of the hut took a couple of months and on completion a small party of family and friends assembled to drink a toast and share a good luck cake to celebrate the occasion.
The hut with its elevated position should provide many years of service and will be host to many happy days beside the ever-flowing Taw.
There is something reassuring about the perpetual ebbing and flowing of the tide. Watching the cool swirling waters as the light faded memories flooded in with the tide . I had started fishing in saltwater over fifty years ago whilst on holiday with my parents in this Cornish seaside town of Looe.
Over the years we have been drawn back many times. We had walked out onto the Banjo pier and It was pleasing to have glimpsed the flashing flanks of grey mullet in the clear water.
I looked out at the horizon where I imagined the tuna shoals that have recently migrated into the waters off Cornwall potentially opening the dawning of a new age of recreational catch and release fishing.
I had looked out from this pier as a teenager and caught the flickering light of the Eddystone Light far out in the channel. I had since fished the Eddystone reef for pollock and caught blue shark many miles offshore.
Fifty years ago, I started on an angling journey that has taken me to many locations yet those childhood memories linger. An orange tipped float beneath harbour lights disappearing pleasingly as small pollack seized the strips of mackerel. Sharing the joys of catching crabs with our son James sat on the harbours edge as Pauline grabbed at his coat tails fearful that he would slip into the water.
Moments of reflection and lost spirits carried upon a flooding tide.
A Riverfly Monitoring volunteer alerted me to what he thought could have been a Killer Shrimp whilst carrying a survey on the River Torridge. I passed the details to our local E.A Fisheries officer who alerted the relevant bodies. Fortunately on this occasion it was a false alarm but the relevant bodies are always grateful of reports in their fight against invasive species that can devastate the local eco-system. The EA can be contacted via their Hotline – 0800 807060
www.nonnativespecies.org
KIller Shrimp Species Description
Scientific name: Dikerogammarus villosus AKA: Killer Shrimp
Native to: South-east Europe
Habitat: Still or flowing freshwater and brackish water, often among hard surfaces or vegetation.
A highly invasive shrimp, with only a few known populations in GB. A key ID feature is the presence of cone shaped protru- sions on the tail. Often larger than native freshwater shrimp species and sometimes with a striped appearance.
It is a voracious predator, killing invertebrates and small fish. It quickly dominates habitats it invades and can significantly alter their ecology.
It is tolerant of poor water quality and can survive in damp conditions for up to five days. It could therefore be spread in ballast water and also by people on kit used in the water, including an- gling gear, boats, kayaks and trailers. Good biosecurity is essential to reduce the risk of spread.
As a non-resident species it could be an offence to release or allow the escape of this species into the wild.
Suspected records of this species should be sent with a photograph to: [email protected]
Another species of concern is the top mouth gudgeon see information and links below.
I was fortunate to grow up in North Devon and as a teenager in the mid to late 1970’s I realise looking back how lucky we were. I wrote a short piece a few weeks ago reflecting upon the wild brown trout that were abundant in the local rivers including the River Umber that runs through Combe Martin.
As youngsters we also enjoyed the freedom to explore and fish the local coastline. In those days access to the coast was far more readily available and even were land was private a courteous request would generally secure access. In many cases free access was taken for granted as normality as it had been for many generations.
Over the years I have seen these freedoms slowly eroded partly due to the ignorant actions of the few and partly due to the ever increasing population of this crowded isle.
We took a stroll along the Old Coast Road near Combe Martin a familiar path and part of the Coastal Path. This old road provides access to several fishing marks that have been a pleasure to fish over the past fifty years. Many memories came flooding back as we walked beneath those old trees where as a young angler we paused to catch our breath after trudging up the steep steps from the rocky foreshore.
Sadly, the signs of restriction have appeared forbidding vehicular access. Physical barriers to prevent access and numerous signs stating the area is now out of bounds for vehicles. I understand that this was in part caused by an influx of people following the first COVID lockdown combined with articles in the National papers extolling the beauty of this stretch of coast.
The loss of freedoms once enjoyed have been brought about by many factors including a combination of an increased population, Lack of respect for land and an intolerance of landowners.
Access to vast areas of the coast have been lost or restricted over the years. As anglers we need to do our bit by ensuring we leave no litter and respect landowners only crossing land after gaining permission or perhaps paying the relevant toll.
This sense of loss can also be felt inland with many old lakes and ponds lost to angling. Whilst we are fortunate to have a vast number of commercial fisheries those smaller club waters have dwindled.
I revisited a local pond once rented by Barnstaple & District Angling Association. The deep dark waters were surrounded by trees their leaves resplendent in rich autumn colours. Fallen limbs disappeared into the depths and the brooding atmosphere held a certain fascination as I recalled those days of forty odd years ago when I had fished in the weekly matches held by B&DAA.
The glimpse of a kingfisher brought a flash of colour to the day. A couple of pheasants rustled through the brambles.
I read on a sign of the plans to turn the area into a holiday complex. Supposedly eco- friendly and in tune with nature. I cannot help but think that the place would be far better left alone with perhaps the occasional angler contemplating the disappearance of a crimson topped float. These neglected corners of the countryside are precious and should not be sacrificed without serious consideration.
As Autumn fades and the chill of winter approaches sea anglers are looking forward to potentially productive nights on the North Devon coast. The key to enjoying winter fishing is keeping warm and dry and the correct clothing is essential in meeting this requirement.
Braunton based Reeds Chillcheater’s manufacture an impressive range of clothing for dealing with extreme weather conditions. I visited their premises for a chat with assistant manager Nigel Beattie.
The recent uptake in outdoor pursuits post COVID lockdowns has resulted in a busy time for Chillcheater’s with sales of the companies Storm Jackets and Storm trousers surging. Worn in conjunction with the companies transpire fleece inners they will keep the angler warm and dry in the harshest of conditions. Other items in the transpire fleece range include socks, long trousers, short trousers, long sleeve tops, zipped or unzipped tops, beanies and balaclavas.
Nigel assured me that after sales is an important factor and in the unlikely event that any clothing fails to meet expectations or is damaged then repairs can be undertaken to rectify the issue.
The company continues to develop new products for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts for the UK market and far beyond. With Christmas looming orders will need to be placed in good time to ensure delivery before Christmas. My own Storm Jacket is still in use and repelling water effectively after at least four seasons of use.
Followers of North Devon Angling News can obtain a 10% Discount just enter the code – BC10 when ordering on line.
