Combe Martin SAC member Ross Stanway took a trip over the border into Somerset in Search of cod and was rewarded with this fine thornback of 9lb 9oz .
Estuary Sport
Robbie Hancock secured the Triple Hook Clubs RBL Shield with a flounder scaling 1lb 111/2oz. Dennis Toleman took runner up spot with a flounder of 1lb 2oz. Large amounts of floodwater and associated debris made fishing difficult though several flounders were landed by non club members over the weekend. I would expect flounder fishing to
(Above) Ian Hooper with a flounder that brought a broad smile despite the cold wind.
(Above) Kyle Blackmore with pleasing flounder.
(Above) Kyle Blackmore with an estuary bass
Cod up channel
Kev Goodman had a quality cod of 11lb on Jay Jay up at Watchet. The party had a good days sport after the strong winds subsided with a mixed bag of fish including whiting, spurs, smoothies, ray, conger and dogfish. Still spaces available for weekend trips up until Christmas.
Mixed bags for sea anglers
Ian Laird landed this 9lb 15oz bull huss whilst fishing a local rock mark. The fish was part of a haul that consisted of smoothound, dogfish and pollock.
(Above) This 3lb 6oz codling was tempted by Chay Boggis from a local beach whilst targetting bass.
Ali Laird fished the estuary to land nine flounder to 1lb 9oz. Flounder fishing should be good for the next few weeks with heavy rain flushing out the river.
(Above) Ollie Passmore with a grey mullet of almost 3lb.
(Above) Ollie Passmore with a bull huss of 10lb 4oz.
November can be an exciting time for sea anglers with a vast range of species to target. A big squid or mackerel bait presented on a pennel rig is likely to bring rewards from deep water marks all along the coast. Make sure you use a substantial hook length to withstand sharp teeth. I use a minimum of 80lb b.s mono or fluorocarbon for my shore fishing with a heavy wire trace if tope are a possibility, contrary to popular opinion.
Small Eyed Ray – Still showing from local marks
Ian Hooper fished a local shore mark to land dogfish, whiting and this fine small eyed ray of 9lb 1.5oz. The fish was tempted using peeler crab presented on a pulley rig on a 3/0
Big Bull huss for Josh
Josh Atkinson put in the effort to make several trips throughout the back end of October and he was rewarded with 2 decent specimens, these were a locally caught Bull Huss of 13-7-8 and an Undulate Ray of 11-12-8 from Dorset’s chesil Beach. Josh was not sure he would have landed the Huss if it wasn’t for the strength and quality of the Cox & Rawle meat hooks as most hooks would probably have bent out when lifting a fish of that size. The fish was lifted as it was too rough to get to the shoreline with the net. Both fish were also released to fight another day.
Cod Fishing Trips
Sea Angling – Results round up.
Jazza John secured the top spots in Appledore Shipbuilders monthly rover with flounder scaling 1lb 105/8oz and 1lb 93/4oz. In third was James Atkinson with a whiting scaling 157/8oz. Jack Pike took first and second in the junior section with flounder of 1lb and 157/8oz.
Antony Smith weighed in a thick-lipped grey mullet of 3lb 2 1/2oz that was the only fish weighed into Bideford Angling Clubs Monthly Sea Rover. The fish was tempted on a half a side of mackerel. Grey Mullet were once considered a summer species but recent seasons have seen the species caught all year round from marks along the North Devon Coast.
Large numbers of small conger and dogfish are proving a nuisance out on the open coast with baits devoured before larger specimens get a chance,
Double Figure cod
The cod competition is underway and 45 years waiting for a double figure cod came to an end for paul Chidgy when he boated this handsome 15lb 12oz cod on Dan Hawkins boat off Watchet. Double figure cod are the main target of the Watchet and Blue Anchor Charter boat fleets over the coming months but there should be a few ray and conger to bend the rods in between cod.
Are huss the most photogenic of sea fish?
Bull huss have to be one of sea angling s most photogenic fish with their Leopard like spots. Chay Boggis landed this beauty from a local rock mark. It pulled the scales down to 9lb 5oz.
Quality fish like this are out there to be caught but there are also plenty of small eels and dogfish about that tend to get to the baits first as I found out on a session at a local rock mark last night, Its good to get out though and with settled conditions its good to just be there waiting.