The Cornish town of Looe has a rich history as a fishing port and during the 1940’s and 1950’s the sport of shark fishing in the UK became popular primarily among the wealthy members of British Society or the upper classes. The book, “Shark Angling In Great Britain” by Brigadier J.A.L Caunter documents this early period and is a fascinating read.
My own connection with Looe stems from annual holidays with my parents during the late sixties and seventies. To a large extent this was where my lifelong passion for angling was formulated with many happy hours spent float-fishing for mackerel, garfish and grey mullet.
Each evening the shark fishing boats would return to port with their catches. Back then in less enlightened times virtually all shark were slaughtered and brought back to the weighing station of the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain where their bloated carcasses were hauled aloft in front of masses of tourists. As a young boy I gazed in awe and dreamt of days when I could set sail to do battle with these beasts of the deep.
Looking back the wanton slaughter was misguided and undoubtedly contributed to a steep decline in numbers. Fortunately, all shark caught today are carefully released and their numbers are increasing once again. Shark fishing is an important part of Looe’s history and the recreational fishery is vitally important in supporting Looe as a fishing port as commercial fishing declines due to competition from larger ports and other factors.
The Old Sardine Factory on West Looe harbour front recently opened as a heritage centre and Restaurant. The centre hosts regular events and recently held an evening to bring together members of the shark fishing community and share memories in a memory café style event.
Seeing the advert on their Facebook page I could not resist attending and took the opportunity to have a one night break in my childhood haunt with my wife Pauline. I am so glad we made the effort for we were privileged to meet anglers and skippers from an earlier era. I am sure many memories and friendships were rekindled on that summer night. The vast array of black and white photos on display told of a bygone age that was full of larger than life characters.
The shark fishing of that era was seen as adventure on the high seas. It would be wrong to condemn the practice of those days for many believed that the seas fish stocks were inexhaustible. Today we know this is not true and methods and practice have changed to ensure that these splendid fish can be released after being brought to the boat. Anglers share many of the conservationists concerns regarding the oceans and should work in harmony to ensure both the survival of the shark and the shark angler.
One of the nights highlights was to meet Pat Smith aged 95 who travelled to the event from Leicester and still radiated enthusiasm as she recalled those golden days when she caught a huge porbeagle of 369lb.
Much of the credit for the evening goes to Rachel Bond, Dave Clarke and John McMaster.
Below is the short introduction to the event as delivered by Rachel on the night.Many thanks to Rachel for allowing me to reproduce the manuscript on these pages.
Below are a few photos I captured on the night with the kind permission of those displaying the images.
We took a short evening walk beside the River East Lyn. The water tumbled over boulders as it raced to the sea. The valley was in sombre mood with mist hanging in the warm summer air. The vivid vibrant green of summer was subdued in the early evening gloom.
I fished this beautiful river frequently for close to thirty years and caught my first salmon in 1981 a silver bar with sea-liced flanks. When I say the River valley is in sombre mood what I really mean is that I am perhaps in a sombre and reflective mood myself. The river holds a wealth of memories of fish and fishers. Whilst salmon and sea trout still forge up through the vibrant tumbling water’s they are far scarcer than they once were.
Today all salmon must be returned to the water and whilst I am happy to fish with a fly on the Taw and Torridge, I have reservations about spinning and worming with the dangers of deep hooking. The Lyn is not a river for the salmon fly fisher.
It is not the salmon anglers that have decimated the salmon of the Lyn but it is mankind I feel sure that has contributed to a sad demise. So when I walk the banks of this river the memories come thick and fast. To think of the river with no salmon or sea trout is like a book with no words or a candle with no flame. As an angler I have taken gleaming salmon from the river and extinguished their life. I remember that momentary sadness as that vibrant hue faded from silver flanks. I will never forget the power of the salmon as it battles on the line, the rod bending frightfully in my hands. Strangely this direct contact and interaction with the salmon brings the angler close to the fish and its environment.
I guess what I am saying in a clumsy sort of way is that as angler on the river I feel that I have been in the film instead of watching from afar. I fear that day when no salmon swim the river and that glimpse of silver is no more.
Lewis Grimwade landed this 12lb 5oz blonde ray from a shore mark near Ilfracombe. This year has been a great one for blonde ray with several caught from North Devon Rock marks and beaches.
Tara, Mark & Nigel fished on Lodge Lake on swims 1 and 2, they had 45 carp out between them ! Including Tara’s 28lb beauty all caught on Sticky baits Manilla and banoffee boilies and Manilla Over particles.
(Below) Karl Hutchinson had nine fish up to 24lb from the inlet swim on Beatties lake caught on raspberry flavour boilies
(Below)Nicholas Billett Nicholas Billett fished on swim 7 on lodge lake then moved to swim 2 on the dam wall, Nick had 5 fish out all caught on Sticky Bits 20mm Krill boilies.
Tony Welch fished on swim 14 (beach 1) up on lodge lake at the weekend Tony had 5 fish out in 24 hours all caught on Essential baits b5 flouro pop,ups
Simon McCarthy was delighted to land this 12lb 10oz blonde ray from a North Devon Surf Beach. It has been an excellent season for ray on North Devons beaches with several blonde ray among the small eyed ray.
The recent rainfall has boosted rivers levels and brought a welcome run off salmon and sea trout to both the Taw and Torridge. Around a dozen salmon have been tempted from the River Torridge and I suspect a similar number from the River Taw. One angler was certainly in the right place at the right time catching three salmon in a short session on a middle Torridge beat. If we get more rain to top up the rivers more sport can be expected.
A fantastic fresh run 18lb salmon was caught, landed and returned safely by Jamie Walden who was fishing alone in a challenging location mid river, on the Little Warham Fishery testament to his skills being able to land it on his own. Jamie also lost two sea trout in the same session.
Dan Carder was hoping for bass when he freelined mackerel from a North Devon Rock Mark. He had a tussle on his hands when this 15lb 4oz conger took the bait!
Bideford & District Angling Club Opened their club Lake Tarka Swims back in 2006 and it has been a resounding success for the club attracting a good number of Junior anglers and providing a valuable facility for local disabled anglers. In addition to this it has been the venue for the club’s regular matches that are held monthly throughout the year with popular mid-week evening matches during the summer months.
On Saturday June 22ndthe club opened a new lake named ‘Karen’s Lake’. Construction of this lake commenced in March 2013 and the six years leading up to its opening have not been without difficulty with a few leaks along the way. The club’s membership have done a sterling job in completing the project with regular working parties and much behind the scenes work to obtain funding and expertise. The venture has been a partnership between Bideford Club and the Environment Agency with funding from rod licence revenue and local businesses. The lake has excellent access for disabled anglers along with toilet facilities.
Karen’s Lake has been stocked with around seventy carp over 10lb with the biggest close to twenty pounds. The lakes opening saw a large number of local anglers descend upon the lake with their families. It was a perfect summers day with warm sunshine and a vivid blue sky decorated with white cotton wool clouds drifting on a warm summer breeze.
Gazebo’s, barbecue and cupcakes gave the event a village fete atmosphere. The carp were active swirling in the weeds as some began to spawn amorously as the water warmed. Other carp could be seen cruising in the clear water occasionally slurping down a piece of floating crust.
The first carp officially caught from the lake within fifteen minutes was caught by Matt Cross and pulled the scales close to 17lb. A few minutes later Nathan England hooked a beautiful dark coloured common of 17lb 5oz; in a perfect script his son Jake England hooked a golden mirror carp to allow a father and son portrait. Several other carp were caught including a mirror carp to the rod of Junior angler Tyler Scott and another mirror to Dean Siford.
The carp will undoubtedly wise up quickly and become more of a challenge in the coming years but I am sure the lake will bring many hours of pleasure to local anglers. Both lakes are testament to the hard work of Bideford Angling Club and its supporters. The venues are a wildlife haven with dragonflies, amphibians, grass snakes, bird life and aquatic life abundant.
Karen’s lake is members only and a very good reason to join this club that charges just £25.00 per year with a one off £20 joining fee. OAP Season is £18.00 . Juniors £3.00 per year.
Day Tickets for Tarka Swims Lake can be obtained from Summerlands Tackle.
Anglers are enjoying mixed fishing off Ilfracombe with ray, tope, pollock and mackerel among the catches on Bluefin.
