Chay Boggis fished at Lower Slade Reservoir to tempt this stunning personal best perch of 2lb 8oz.
Devastating Tackle Theft
Combe Martin Sea Angling Club member Kody Chugg was devastated when thieves broke into his car and stole over £500 worth of sea angling equipment including 3 reels that included 1 penn 525 mag, 2 slh 30, lots and lots of tackle! Shakespeare’ seat box, small green and yellow tackle box. If any one has any information please pass it on to Kody or send a message to NDAN and I will contact Kody.
Pike at Simpson’s Valley
Pike are the traditional target of winter coarse anglers and Ian Grimes (Above) enjoyed success with the species landing a personal best of 25lb 8oz at Simpson Valley Fishery near Holsworthy. Colin Howis (Below) also enjoyed success at the fishery tempting a fine 26lb pike on float-fished mackerel.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who have supported North Devon Angling News since its launch in 2016.
Don’t forget to keep those pictures and news stories coming and share your success with anglers across the angling community.
To visit the websites of North Devon Angling News Sponsors click on the advert to visit their website.
South West Fly Fair
The South West Fly Fair has become an eagerly anticipated event on the West Country Anglers Calendar and is well worth a visit on the eve of a new salmon and trout season. Don’t think its all about trout and salmon though as there is something for anglers of every persuasion. I hope to see you there on the day.
North Devon Tackle Shops
There is something special about the local tackle shop; a vital part of angling’s social structure and a focal point where you are likely to bump into fellow anglers and engage in fishy talk. In North Devon we are fortunate to to have several great tackle shops each of them having a special niche within the local angling scene. At this time of year the local tackle shop is of course a great place to locate Christmas presents for the angler! I am very grateful for the support North Devon Angling News receives from Summerlands Tackle at Westward Ho!, High Street Tackle, Ilfracombe and North Devon Tackle in Barnstaple.
(Above) Jamie Miller at North Devon Tackle where they stock an extensive range of bait and tackle for Carp, Coarse and Sea anglers. Click on their advert below to browse on line. An ideal present for anglers is a gift voucher for North Devon Tackle.
( Above) Danny Watson at High Street Tackle Ilfracombe. Danny and Pauline specialize in bass fishing lures and carry a very impressive range to tempt both angler and bass. They also have a a wide range of sea and coarse tackle to satisfy the needs of all local anglers.
(Above) Just a few of the lures on display at High Street Tackle. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
(Above) Heather at Summerlands Tackle Westward Ho! Summerlands tackle is well established family business that has a vast range of tackle for all angling disciplines their latest offers that would make ideal Christmas presents are :-
Fenix 1750 Lumen’s headlight – HP30R was £139.99 now £116.99
Rovex Boots – Was £49.99 now £39.99
Deeper Pro + was £219.99 now £199.99 (Below)
Free 525 Mag 2 Reel with every Century Beachcaster sold whilst in stocks last. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
I am sure all the local tackle dealers would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all their customers. The recent news regarding the reprieve for bass anglers will come as a relief to all our local tackle dealers. Whilst it is unfair that anglers are restricted to catch and release for bass when commercial fishing can still retain fish it is far better than the total ban that was being discussed.
I would like to to wish all our local tackle dealers a Happy and prosperous New Year. As I said earlier local tackle shops are part of anglings rich social network; many a fishing excursion has been planned in the tackle shop.
Bideford Angling Club AGM – Date
Bideford Angling club are holding their AGM at 20.00 on Friday 19th Jan. 2018 at the Bideford Conservative club. All proposed rule changes or applications for office must be received by 29/12/17 Please Email [email protected] Or PM Pete Skinner on facebook..
Fancy luring a Pike?
Opportunities to fish for pike are limited in North Devon with only around half a dozen venues holding the species. If you fancy a try at pike fishing Anglers Paradise has a good stock of these toothy critters available to target with lures. See report from Zenia at AP below.
PIKE ALERT
Ashley Bunning used his day off work to have a couple of hours on Valhalla. Ashley caught 3 Pike in total with this being the biggest and used a Ecogear Ikajaco Lure to catch them.
Remember our Predator Lake Valhalla is now open for all to fish until February, time to get some Winter Lure Fishing in!
Call 01409 221559 to book.
Big Cat from day ticket catfish lake
Adam Elsbury, aged 26 from Reading, had a Holiday to remember at Anglers Paradise after catching his biggest ever fish, a Monster 62lb Catfish from the Specimen Cat Lake beating his previous Personal Best of 14lbs which he caught just 2 years ago meaning he’s beaten it by 48lbs!! This is the New Cat Record for this Lake too as the previous was caught by Ryan Owen at 60lbs.
It is unusual to bank a catfish so late in the season but with mild conditions the season gets extended.
Adam caught the Beast at midday just 3 hours after casting and used a simple running rig with a 22mm Halibut Pellet and a 20mm Halibut Boilie on the hair with a small PVA bag full of Micro Halibut Pellets.
Lure Weekend – Full Report from Zenia
Anglers Paradise just held their annual Lure Weekend which was a great success. Full report from Zenia. The weather was testing, rain, wind and hail but every Angler still stuck it out till the end of the Competition!
There were 20 Lure Anglers that took part and the 4 Teams were Captained by Nathan Edgell from Fladen, David Watkin-Smith from Quantum, Kevin Cox from Fox Rage and David Drake from Drennan. The Competition ran over 2 days of fishing on 4 different Lakes that consisted of our Predator Lake Valhalla, the Specimen Cat Lake, the Trout Lake and the Bottom Cat and Carp Lake at Eldorado of which all Teams fished each Lake in rotation.
In total, there were 11 Pike, 14 Perch, 2 Trout and the 1st ever Anglers Paradise Lure caught Koi and Golden Orfe to come out in the annual Competition, there was also a big Catfish lost, so no Cats were landed this year!
The Winner of the whole Competition was Damon Braxton who caught 3 different Species at a combined length of 108cm, Damon caught a 39.5cm Koi (which is the 1st ever Koi to be caught on a Lure here!) a 10.5cm Rudd and a 58cm Pike. Fladen and Anglers Paradise Sponsored this Event meaning Damon Won a Week’s Holiday for 2 at Anglers Paradise and a huge range of Fladen Predator Tackle, including a Rod, Reel, Lures and Clothing. Damon’s Team Captain was Fladen’s very own Pike King – Nathan Edgell, who was very proud of his Team Member to Win the Competition!
The Runner Up was Lee Paynton who had a Perch and a Pike at a combined length of 92cm, Sponsored by Quantum. Third Place was Tom Wilson who also had a Perch and a Pike with a combined length of 80.5cm, Sponsored by Fladen.
Tom Wilson took the Crown for the Biggest Pike with a respectable 68.5cm Pike from the Specimen Cat Lake, although Nathan Edgell actually caught the Biggest Pike measuring 86cm but as he’s a Team Captain – it doesn’t count!! Tom was in Team Quantum with Captain David Watkin-Smith leading him to Victory! Tom won some pretty special prizes from Quantum including a Spinning Rod, a Spinning Reel, a Specialist Bag, a Rod Guard and other goodies – Thank you so much to Quantum for the amazing Prizes.
Ben Taylor Won the Biggest Trout Category with a lovely 45cm Rainbow Trout, it was hard going on the Trout Lake all weekend but in the end he and Joe Drury were the only 2 to catch Trout on the last day of fishing!! Ben was in Team Fox with Kevin Cox from Fox as Captain (and Joe Drury as stand in Captain on Sunday) who both gave Ben plenty of tips and inspiration to help him win this title! Ben won a Fox Rage set up of a Rod, a Reel and some Lures – Thank you to Fox Rage for the great prizes and for sponsoring this Category.
Lee Paynton caught the biggest Perch measuring 33cm from the Specimen Cat Lake. Lee was in Team Drennan with the wonderful Dave Drake as his Team Captain, Lee won an absolute superb selection of Drennan Lures – he could start up a new Lure Shop with them!! Special thanks to Drennan for the amazing prizes and for sponsoring this category. This was Lee’s 1st ever Lure Weekend with us, and we are so happy that not only did he win but he also shared with us that he loved every minute and will be back for next year’s Anglers Paradise Lure Weekend!
The Winning Team was Team Fox – which consisted of Jim Williams, Ben Taylor, Bex Nelson and Father and Son Dominic and Dylan Cooke, Captained by Kevin Cox, (with help from Joe Drury as stand in on Sunday) knocking Team Fladen’s Nathan Edgell off his Thrown!! They won with 5 species, Pike, Perch, Rudd, Trout and the winning/deciding fish was a Golden Orfe caught by young Dylan Cooke just 10 minutes before the end of last session!!