Thin Lipped mullet have been hard to find in the estuary over recent weeks but Combe Martin SAC member Graham Snow persisted and located a specimen thin lip of 3lb 9oz despite strong winds making fishing difficult.
SOUTH MOLTON CLUB – ENJOY VARIETY OFF CLOVELLY
South Molton Anglers boat trip off Clovelly aboard Independent charters saw members enjoy a variety filled day with several species coming to the boat including tope,mackerel, horse mackerel, bull huss, pollock, bass, black bream, pouting and the inevitable dogfish. Club sea trip co-ordinator Eddie Rand’s declared ‘good weather and good company!’
Top Tope Sport
Boat anglers are enjoying some top tope sport off Ilfracombe with packs of these hard fighting fish hitting baits. The season is shaping up to be a good one for the species with mackerel numbers encouraging the fish into the Bristol Channel. Toby Bassett was one of the anglers to share in great days sport aboard John Barbeary’s Ilfracombe based Charter boat ‘Bluefin”. The anglers landed in excess of 80 tope the best scaling 34lb to the rod of John Passmore.

Daniel Stone
Daniel Stone fished aboard James Gubb-Fradgley’s boat off Lynmouth and landed a personal best tope scaling 36lb. They also landed bull huss to 15lb, conger to 25lb, several smaller tope and numerous mackerel.
Another Big Bass
Combe Martin SAC Member Derek Ferret fished a local beach to land this superb bass scaling 13lb 3oz. The fish was tempted using Ammo Frozen mackerel and was returned alive after weighing and photographing. This is the third big double I have heard of so far this season a promising omen as we are still early in the season regarding bass with the best yet to come!
I hope to have better pictures of this fine fish in a couple of days.

Netting Ban Consultation Reminder
Devon and Severn IFCA are holding a number of events to publicise the proposed Netting Permit Byelaw. Please join Officers at the promotion trailer that will be at the following venues between 1600hrs and 2000hrs. This is your opportunity to ask questions and find out more information. Large charts showing estuaries and coastal areas will be on display as well as the byelaw and permit conditions. Copies will be available for you to take away. Please advertise this as widely as possible within the fishing community.
Churchfields car park, Appledore, EX39 1RL 15th August 2016
Cove car park, The Cove, Ilfracombe, EX34 9EN 16th August 2016
Fish Quay, Sutton Harbour, Plymouth, PL4 0LH 17th August 2016
Imperial Road Recreational Ground, Exmouth, EX8 1DB 18th August 2016
The Den, Den Crescent, Teignmouth, TQ14 8AA 19th August 2016
Quay West car park, Quay West, Minehead, TA24 5UP 22nd August 2016
Entrance to Sailing Club, The Promenade, Clevedon, BS21 7QU 23rd August 2016
Manor Road car park, Sidmouth, EX10 8RR 24th August 2016
Car park, Creek boat park, Gould Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8DU 25th August 2016
Freshwater Quarry car park, Blackball Lane, Brixham, TQ5 8BA 26th August 2016
The byelaw, permit conditions and charts can be viewed in advance on our website: www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk/public-consultation-
Its big bass time!!!
Liam Stevens has landed one of the biggest bass so far this season a fine specimen of 15lb 8oz that was landed from a shore mark in the Ilfracombe area. The fish was tempted using mackerel presented on a 3/0 hook on a running ledger set up. Liam had persisted after suffering from a large amounts of weed fouling his line the previous night. The fish was weighed and witnessed by Peter Read and photos taken by Ben partridge. Liam is a member of Combe Martin Sea Angling Club.
The remaining months of the year are sure to turn up large specimen bass with many marks along the North Devon coast capable of producing fish to make anglers dreams come true.
ROCK DWELLING WRASSE
Andrew Parish used King ragworm purchased at Braunton Bait Box to tempt this handsome ballan wrasse from a mark near Combe Martin. Ballan wrasse were plentiful along the North Devon coast during the 1980’s but catches have not been as good over recent seasons. A contributory factor could be that less anglers target the species these days as they tend to reside in among thick kelp and rock that deters some anglers. It would be great to see some pictures of these fine fish. Crab baits were always favourite for the bigger specimens though king ragworm was always a great bait for numbers of fish. Recent developments have seen wrasse targeted with great success using lures a method that is perhaps underused in North Devon?

Combe Martin Club News
Graham Snow took the top two places in Combe Martin SAC’s Fish of the month competition with a fine thick-lipped mullet of 4lb 15oz and a thin-lipped mullet of 4lb 1oz. In third place was Kevin Legge with a bass scaling 9lb 2oz. Club member Ross Stanway got August’s competition off to a good start landing a fine specimen rockling of 1lb 13.5oz.

Appledore Shipbuilders News
David Atkinson won Appledore Shipbuilders Monthly Rover with a fine gilthead bream scaling 4lb 53/8oz. Runner up spot was secured by Steve Ford with a gilthead of 4lb 2.75oz and in third was Josh Atkinson with a smoothound scaling 6lb 15oz. In the Junior section it was Chelsea Babb that took the prizes with a ballan wrasse of 3lb 3.75oz.
Top fish of the week was a stunning bass taken from a local beach scaling 12lb 9.75oz by Paul Downing.
Netting Permit Byelaw Consultation
Dear All,
Devon and Severn IFCA are holding a number of events to publicise the proposed Netting Permit Byelaw. Please join Officers at the promotion trailer that will be at the following venues between 1600hrs and 2000hrs. This is your opportunity to ask questions and find out more information. Large charts showing estuaries and coastal areas will be on display as well as the byelaw and permit conditions. Copies will be available for you to take away. Please advertise this as widely as possible within the fishing and angling communities.
Churchfields car park, Appledore, EX39 1RL 15th August 2016
Cove car park, The Cove, Ilfracombe, EX34 9EN 16th August 2016
Fish Quay, Sutton Harbour, Plymouth, PL4 0LH 17th August 2016
Imperial Road Recreational Ground, Exmouth, EX8 1DB 18th August 2016
The Den, Den Crescent, Teignmouth, TQ14 8AA 19th August 2016
Quay West car park, Quay West, Minehead, TA24 5UP 22nd August 2016
Entrance to Sailing Club, The Promenade, Clevedon, BS21 7QU 23rd August 2016
Manor Road car park, Sidmouth, EX10 8RR 24th August 2016
Car park, Creek boat park, Gould Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8DU 25th August 2016
Freshwater Quarry car park, Blackball Lane, Brixham, TQ5 8BA 26th August 2016
The byelaw, permit conditions and charts can be viewed in advance on our website: www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk/public-consultation-
POLITE NOTE: Please do not send responses to this email address. Responses are to be sent to [email protected] AND [email protected]
The public consultation closes on 22nd September 2016.
Kind Regards,
Laura Bullock
Enforcement Officer
Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority
Brixham Laboratory
Freshwater Quarry
Brixham
Devon
TQ5 8BA
Tel (office): 01803 854648
Website: www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk
Twitter: @DevonSevernIFCA