Richard Jefferies caught the is 16lb 1oz smoothound whilst fishing for bass at a North Devon rock mark. The fish was tempted using a large spider crab hook bait. Richard told me that the fish siezed the bait within seconds of tbe bait hitting the bottom almost dragging him off his feet. As he was landing the fish a large bass seized the bait that was hanging free from the hound. The bass came off! The fish was one of several hounds and double figure bull huss caught.
Combe Martin SAC member David Jenkins fished the Taw estuary to land a dozen thin lipoped grey mullet to 3lb 6oz and golden grey mullet of 1lb 7oz.
Several golden grey mullet have been caught in the Taw estuary in recent days an encouraging sign early in the season. These hard fighting members of the mullet family are found off local beaches in large numbers but prove difficult to tempt.
Ollie Passmore tempted this specimen thornback ray of 11lb 3oz from a North Devon Rock mark. Thornback ray are not often caught from North Devon rock marks but recent seasons have seen an upturn in these captures.
Daniel Hawkins is delighted to announce that Reel Deal Charters have been invited to take part in the CHART 22 Tuna fishing program. This exciting development could see anglers catching these huge game fish out of Ilfracombe bringing an exciting boost to angling. For more information on the CHART program follow the following link. https://www.cefas.co.uk/impact/programmes/chart/?fbclid=IwAR0lW-eHrORcK-ktqGRg3FwwM87oW4RzNPlzdI828viEERJUhGd0wdVvUbY
Fishing via the CHART program is strictly catch and release with fish tagged for scientific data collection that is vital in learning more about these iconic fish to ensure conservation of the species. It is hoped that long term game fishery can be sustained in UK waters.
Ollie Passmore was thrilled to tempted a personal best thin lipped grey mullet of 5lb 1oz whilst fishing a local estuary. The fish is his third specimen mullet of the week.
Mullet anglers are enjoyed some great sport in the estuaries with both thick and thin lipped mullet. These fish are at time present in large numbers seeing them is easy tempting them not always so!
The summer Boat fishing season is in full swing out of Ilfracombe with a wide range of species putting a bend in anglers rods. It has been encouraging to hear of some good catches of mackerel so far this season.
Toby Bassett is regular on trips aboard John Barbeary’s Bluefin. Below are just a few recent catches.
Combe Martin Sea Angling Clubs Putsborough Open was once again a resounding success despite a forecast of less than favourable conditions and slightly disappointing numbers of quality fish. It was great to hold the event again after two years of interruption due to the COVID pandemic.
A massive swell had been pushing into the North Devon Coast over the previous couple of days casting doubt on the wisdom of proceeding with the event. Putsborough is however sheltered to some extent from a westerly wind and does not have such a severe swell as some neighbouring beaches. With high pressure starting to build and the wind set to ease the club decided to take a chance and proceed with the event. As luck would have it the forecast was correct and the wind eased though the swell was still a little challenging.
Thirty-two anglers signed in and it was great to see familiar faces once again from the North Devon angling fraternity. The competitors spread out across the vast expanse of sand some pitching up closer to Woolacombe than Putsborough. The beach was littered with brightly coloured jellyfish.
A stunning sunset was enjoyed by all as tackle was prepared and hooks laden with bait.
http://www.highstreettackle.co.uk
The fishing proved slow with dogfish dominating catches. Two good sized smoothound took the top two places with Ryan Hardman winning and taking the top prize of £100 plus specimen pool and a choice from the prize table. Kevin Legge was runner up with a smoothound of 7lb 4oz. A couple of small bass were tempted the best a bass of 2lb 8oz for Gareth Pike.
Thank you to Scott Wallace for providing a few additional images of the night.
The club would like to give a big thank you to the sponsors; Sakuma Tackle, Quay Sports, HIgh Street Tackle and Braunton Baits. I am sure those who took part appreciated the superb range of prizes for the winners listed below.
1st Ryan Hardman smoothound 7lb 10oz
2nd Kevin Legge smoothound 7lb 4oz
3rd Shaun Kersey dogfish 2lb 6oz
4th Arron Brooker dogfish 1lb 15oz
5th Antony Smith dogfish 1lb 14oz
6th David Brooke dogfish 1lb 12oz
7th Gareth Pike dogfish 1lb 12oz
8th Antony Smith dogfish 1lb 11oz
9th Wayne Thomas dogfish 1lb 10oz
10th Gareth Pike dogfish 1lb 9oz
11th Nick Phillips dogfish 1lb 8oz
12th Nathan Clements dogfish 1lb 7.5oz
13th Arron Brooker dogfish 1lb 7oz
14th James Corner dogfish 1lb 6oz
15th John Johnson dogfish 1lb 6oz
Best bass – Gareth Pike 2lb 8oz
Combe Martin SAC give thanks to all those who made the effort to take part and to the landowners at Putsborough who gave permission for use of the car park free of charge out of hours,
Combe Martin SAC hope you enjoy this open competition with kind permission of the landowner.
The club is very greatfull to local tackle shops and Sakuma for supporting the event.
SAKUMA, High Street Tackle, Quay Sports and Braunton Baits.
The weather as is often the case has proved a concern with a big swell pushing into the North Devon Coast. The conditions should be fishable but challenging. It will be the same for all competitors and big fish often show when there is a bit of movement. Whilst it is breezy this is due to drop off and it is from the West so Putsborough will be sheltered. Whilst two rods are allowed it might prove more effective to fish one rod well than to fish two rods and get tangles as a result of the possible undertow.
Competitors should take great care when wading as there can be a strong undertow and rip tides. Far better to keep shallow and cast from a firm base the fish will come in surprisingly close.
Fishing is for single best specimen, with £100 for first place and £50 second plus pick of the prize table and so on. There is an optional £1 pool foir the best specimen. There will be prizes for the top fifteen fish.
Small-eyed ray are the principal target and can show up anywhere — so pick your spot.
Sandeel is generally best but fish can be tempted at times with a whole squid or mackerel bait. Bass will show if there is some surf, the obliging dogfish is usually around — along with the odd small turbot, conger, smoothound and occasional blonde ray.
Low water is 10:15pm and the best period to fish is usually two hours either side, with the last hour-and-a-half of the ebb and first hour of the flood often proving the most productive. There are some small pits and sandbanks along this beach, so if you can spy one out it might be worth heading for…
For the purpose of this competition two rods and four hooks may be used, with a pennell rig counting as two hooks. Combe Martin Competition size limits apply.
Please leave a space of approximately 20 yards between yourself and the next angler — it’s a large beach!
When you catch a fish, please check it against the sizes overleaf and complete the capture form, before showing it to another competitor and asking them to witness it.
[Witnesses: Please also print name so you can be identified if need be!]
Steward’s decision is final. All complaints must be issued in writing to organisers before the scales close.
Please do not bring fish to the scales in water, unless the intention is to release them alive. Each angler is limited to two fish per species, but we would ask you to minimise killing of fish and endeavour to keep only your single best specimen.
Please respect the beach and do not leave litter, discarded line or old tackle behind and do not start fires.
If possible, please ensure your vehicle is parked at the bottom of the car park to the far right.
https://www.putsborough.com/surf-cams/
A few images from previous Putsborough Competitions.
I enjoyed a short evening session over low water recently that prompted me to ask myself a question? I started the session fishing a shallow boulder strewn shoreline bumping a megabass soft plastic lure through the shallow water. After half an hour searching familair ground as the tide pushed in I had nothing to show for my efforts. As is often the case I followed my instinct and moved to some deeper water thinking that the bass were too wary to come in close as it was very calm and clear.
After scrambling a hundred yards over boulders I cast out the same lure and on the first retrieve had a fish hit the lure close in without hooking up. A couple more casts resulted in nothing. I changed over to a an IMA hard plastic lure and cast this out working it back briskly. After two or three casts I was jolted into focus as a fish hit the lure hard. After a short spirited tussle I released a bass of a couple of pounds.
A few more casts brought no response so again I changed lures. A black Fillish minnow was sent out and after two casts another bass of simular size. These were the only two fish caught but I ponder as to what difference the change of lure made. On some sessions I frequently change lures for various reasons. Depth of water, water clarity, suspended weed and matching what I think the bass are feeding on.
The question I asked myself is did changing the lure result in me catching the second bass or would I have caught it anyway? There are so many variations that can make the difference in a each fishing trip and much of what I do is driven by instinct. The size, colour and design of lures undoubtedly makes a diffrence but how much and how many lures does an angler need? With limited time to experiment I only carry a small selection of lures that I have confidence in introducing the occasional new pattern when I am tempted at the tackle shop. I suspect that lures catch more anglers than fish. If you asked ten anglers their top ten lures you would undoubtedly get ten different lists?
