

Club man of the year was Nathan Clements who does a sterling job running the clubs shore fishing section.
COARSE FISHING AWARD WINNERS
Monthly Competition Champion : Nathan Underwood
Runner-up Craig Lamey
Third Keith Mountjoy
Midweek Series: Winner Nathan Underwood Runner up Martin Turner
Best bag in competition Richard Jefferies
Pairs winners Nathan Underwood and Darren Polden Junior series winner Imogen Babb Runner up Hope Polden.
SEA ANGLING AWARDS
Valentine bowl – most points in the Monthly Rover.
Andrew Clements 54 points
Keira short trophy – most points in 48 hour rover.
Julien Stainer + Andrew Clements 13 points
Stephanie Vanstone – Best specimen caught from the shore.
Stephen Found thick-lipped mullet 7lb 175% 5th August
Jason Talbot memorial plate – Best specimen ray caught from the shore.
Antony Smith Thornback Ray 12lb 8 138.888% 2nd October
Snake Plate – best specimen Conger caught from the shore.
Richard Jefferies Conger eel 22lb 8 112.5% 21st August
Best round fish from the shore
Stephen Found thick-lipped mullet 7lb 175% 5th August
Best specimen flat fish caught from the shore ( no ray)
Stephen Found Flounder 1lb 11 ¼ 86.156%
Best specimen shark from the shore.
Andrew Clements Bull Huss 15lb 11 ¼ 157.041% 29th March
Winner of end of season competition
Stephen Found spur 14lb 1 ½ 140.937% 29th January 2023
Big Mike Memorial vase
Nathan Clements bass 4lb 27th August
1st- John McCulham 34pts
2nd- Dan Lock 32pts
I joined fifteen members of South Molton and District Angling Club at the Coaching Inn South Molton for their AGM. As always the event ran smoothly thanks to the sterling work undertaken by the club’s officers. Club Chairman Eddie Rands and Secretary/Treasurer Roger Bray gave their reports to the membership reflecting upon a year plagued by low water levels. The environment and river health were top of the agenda throughout with grave concerns regarding pollution from agriculture and South West Waters numerous sewage treatment works.
South Molton Club is a small friendly club that welcomes new members at a very reasonable cost offering superb wild brown trout fishing on five miles of the river Bray. The club also organise forays to the coast with both boat and shore fishing events.
https://www.southmoltonanglingclub.co.uk
(Below) The cup winners for 2022.
From left to right
Richard Power 30lb tope, Wayne Thomas bass just under 10lb,Steve Bendle 5lb rainbow and Steve Edmonds 7lb pollack.
After the meeting I was priveleged to deliver a talk on my fishing and the variuos paths it has taken me on.
Combe Martin SAC members Martin Huntingdon and Stef Jones enjoyed some exciting spurdog fishing on a Private boat off the North Devon Coast. The best at 16lb 8oz fell to Stef with Martins best scaling 15lb 8oz.
Stefan also enjoyed some excellant pollock sport off Beer aboard Orca Charters boating a pollock of 9lb 2oz.
Combe Martin SAC member Shaun Quartly fished a beach in Somerset targetting ray and was surpised when he reeled in a small red coloured fish that swallowed the hooks down deep. The fish is believed to be a bluemouth a rare visitor to English waters. The fish weighed 6oz and is the first one ever recorded by a club member.
Shaun also landed a spotted ray and a dogfish.
Calmer conditions have resulted in a down turn in sea angling sport with specimen fish hard to find over the past week. Despite this some good fish were recorded by anglers fishing the first week of February a time of year when catches traditionally start to decline. The seasons and the migration of fish in our waters is without doubt under going change with reports of mackerel from Ilfracombe in the past week and the presence of grey mullet throughout the calendar year.
1st Antony Smith Bull Huss 7lb 9oz 75.625%
2nd Andrew Clements Dog 2lb 3oz 72.916%
Club seceretary Nick Phillips won with a specimen whiting scaling 1lb 10oz. Runner up was Wayne Thomas with dogfish of 2lb 8oz.
Whiting, dogfish, spotted ray and conger were also caught by members who fished marks across North Devon.
Combe Martin SAC member Ollie Passmore enjoyed a foray to South Devon with his fiancé in search of ballan wrasse. They enjoyed some great sport landing numerous beautiful wrasse with personal bests for both Ollie and Natasha. Ollie’s best wrasse scaling 4lb 4oz and Natasha’s 3lb 1oz. Ollie told me that with sport slow on the North Coast a trip down South seemed a good plan.
Specimen ballan wrasse have become increasingly rare on the North Devon coast in recent years which is a mystery as they are not targeted extensively by commercial fishing. Large wrasse are caught from time to time and a concerted effort could well produce some good specimens. Large wrasse are frequently tempted from South coast marks using lure fishing tactics a technique that has not caught on in North Devon even during the summer months when there is good water clarity.