Dan Hawkins has brought New Charter Boat Reel Deal into its summer moorings ready for the Summer Season at Ilfracombe. Below is a brief update from Dan on the start of an exciting new venture for this season.
Well we’re home in Ilfracombe and nearly ready to start the season. Well it’s been a roller coaster of a month Adam Bruce,Tom aka marry berry and of course the man himself Mr Swifty Chris Dawson have made me a proud man with a beast of a boat that’s just made the journey back round the bottom half of the country in what I can say was testing conditions and she just ate seas for fun what a vessel. There’s lots of thank you’s todo firstly chris and the guys at swift cats for the boat and making me so welcome. Mr Mark Watts for coming to Essex and sticking in the hours with me on the fit out he’s been a god send ,my wing man Sonia Maslen who also came to Essex and helped with the boat and kept us fuelled up with grub. Peter Watts of Breaksea boats for supplying all the electronics and windlass top man. Kevin Jones of LGS marine for all our safety gear anchor ropes and chain. Rich lines of motor lines for all the unseen bit and pieces. Pete leathbridge and Adam for the stainless steel awesome job and really adds to the look of the boat. Mr steve causey for the engines and coming out of his way to do the rigging and commissioning of them and he extra call out needed. Paul Hutching and Benjamin Hopkins for taking time away and helping me get the boat home in the worst conditions I have ever been in. Wendy Hawkins for the lovely cabin cushion. Shane at design a sign for the graphics . Shannon Marie Sprague shay for the emergency lift home when in need. Thank you all so much for helping us get this boat to where she is today if you fancy booking a day on her drop me a message or call 07850984933 or book online at www.reeldealcharters.uk
I attended this event last year and it was a really great day out with plenty of learning for both newcomer and seasoned angler. See link to last years review:-
(Above) Many thanks to Josh Atkinson for this stunning picture.
Sea anglers are certainly having a lean time with just three fish weighed into Bideford Angling Clubs Monthly Rover. Dick Talbot dominated the results with a brace of wrasse for first and second weighing 3lb 13oz and 3lb 6oz. Andrew Clements took third spot with a spotted ray of 3lb 1/4oz. In Appledore Shipbuilders Rover the eighteen competing anglers failed to find a fish big enough to bother the scales. Several members of the club ventured to south coast venues in search of plaice where they enjoyed some success but none above the qualifying weight for the scales.
As temperatures start to creep up fishing should improve and the first bass should soon be caught from the lower estuary. The local surf beaches will produce ray that move inshore to feed on sandeel in the surf. Grey mullet are already present along the coast and the first thin-lipps should be in the estuary’s as soon as the flood water subsides. Rough ground marks on the coast will yield bull huss and the occasional conger.
Anglers fishing Ilfracombe Pier with small worm baits can expect plaice and dabs.
Dogfish will provide plenty of rattles on the rod tips.
Top 4
1st Simon Poynter 27lb 10oz
2nd Kevin Wilton 22lb 15oz
3rd Andy Gratton 22lb 6oz
4th Steve Maynard 6lb 1oz
Nice to see the top 4 weights spread across the lake yesterday, also on varying methods…..
Simon caught on the long pole targeting larger fish, Kev was 2nd fishing for roach shallow on the pole, a close 3rd was Andy who fished the whip, with two bream and a perch included in his total, 4th place went to Steve who fished long pole for roach & skimmers.
The pictures below sum up the Spring so far. Many thanks to Martin Turner for his new report from the enduring North Devon Match Group!
1st Kevin Shears 57lb 12oz
2nd Christopher Morris 52lb 13oz
3rd Martin Turner 42lb 13oz
4th Tom Downing 41lb 11oz
5th Paul Morris 41lb 6oz
6th Nathan Underwood 31lb 2oz .
Silvers James Grogan 7lb 1oz .
Despite our efforts that man Shears has secured yet another victory! Kevin drew on the road side on lake 4 and landed 20 carp on corn on the pole in the margins. Christopher drew on one of the reed beds on lake 3 for second also on corn on the pole. Martin was next peg to him , and caught on bread and maggots. The spring day started well for the 17 competitors but deteriorated in to sleet by the time we weighed in .Thanks to Start Sharp for allowing us to use both lakes and providing breakfast rolls.
North Devon Fly Fishing enthusiasts have new a venue to fish that offers catch and release fishing for big brown trout along with catch and keep rainbow trout. The lake is approximately 1.5 acres and is close to River Yeo where day tickets are also available for wild brown trout and the occasional sea trout. A catch and release ticket is £20 per day and a four fish rainbow ticket £30. Owner Nigel Early is applying for Trout Master status at the venue. Nigel Early – [email protected]
Chay Boggis with a fine Bulldog Brown
Mervyn Symons of Bideford with fine bag of rainbows
Philip Smith enjoyed a successful trip to Wimbleball Fishery where he found the fish cooperating despite the challenging conditions.
“Tidy bag of fish to 3lb 11oz today, caught in driving snow, a cold northerly wind and 0 degrees! Lots of fish in Ruggs, taking small black nymphs and buzzers on a floater. Things are looking good for Wimbleball, wishing Mark and the team every success. Will be back soon..”
Peter Duckett also braved the weather conditions; caught and kept his 2 on a catch and release ticket and then went on to catch another 16 Rainbows between 2lb 8oz – 4lb 12oz and also lost 10.
He also banked 2 fine browns of which the largest was estimated at 4lb 12oz.
Darren Rundle banked four fabulous carp during a day session on Stafford Moors Lodge Lake. The biggest was a stunning mirror of 24lb 10oz all caught on Sticky Baits 16mm Krill boilies.
The bad weather endured throughout March has not been good news for fishery owners as Nick Hart Reports in his latest news brief from Exe Valley Fishery. It is to be hoped that springs warmth soon descends to encourage anglers out to the waters edge.
(Below )John Slaven with an Exe Valley Trout – one of just 44 anglers who fished at Exe Valley during March!
The weather during the last few weeks has resulted in our quietest March on record with just 44 anglers visiting (yes, that’s correct …just 44!) … 11 of them for the Troutmasters match which had to be rescheduled due to snow. Despite the lack of customers, we continue to maintain and stock the fishery as always, shown in the catch figures of 153 fish caught by the 44 anglers up to 29th March resulting in a rod average of 3.5.With the continued changeable conditions and lack of footfall we have regrettably taken the decision to delay the reopening of Lobbs Lake until such time that we feel the venue will have the support required to operate the lake on a day to day basis.
The River Taw Fisheries Association held their Annual General Meeting at High Bullen Hotel on Friday March 23rd. Chairman Alex Gibson reported on the 2017 season when approximately 286 salmon were landed and 214 sea trout. The statistic that immediately raised concern was the dramatic drop in sea trout numbers. It is to be hoped that this is one of nature’s cyclical fluctuations and not something more sinister. The good news was a healthy number of brown trout reported by anglers from the Taw catchment.
RTFA – Chairman Alex Gibson
High Impact Enforcement Officer Paul Carter gave an update on the latest news regarding netting bye laws and proposed regulations to safeguard future salmon stocks. He emphasized the importance of anglers reporting any potential pollution’s or illegal fishing via the Environment Agency’s hotline: – 0800 807060.
Anglers are encouraged to respond to the latest consultation regarding the proposals. Via the following link:-
There was some encouraging news in that redd counts on the Upper Taw had been encouraging compared to recent seasons. South Molton & District Angling Club gave valuable help to carry out observation on the River Bray under guidance from Paul Carter and plan to carry out an annual redd count from now on.
Bill Beaumont, Senior Fisheries Scientist, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, gave an enlightening talk entitled; “Salmon and Silt-A Recipe for Disaster”. Whilst much of the data presented was from the River Frome in Dorset it had a great deal of relevance to our own local rivers. There is an acknowledgement that marine survival is a major factor that we have little control over. For this reason the focus needs to be on ensuring the salmon and sea trout have a healthy habitat in which to breed. Farming practices are a key concern with silt run off, insecticides, herbicides and fertilizers all ingredients that can cause significant damage to the river environment. Education is a major factor in this area with retaining what is put on the land beneficial economically. What is the point in spending thousands of pounds on treatments to see it all wash off into the river?
There are numerous ways that farming practice can be modified to protect the waterways. Including catch crops to bind the soil and keep it in place, ploughing across slopes and fencing to reduce cattle access to the river.
The basic message is that we need to clean up our act. Find the problems, identify the causes and discover the solutions. To do this we need political will power to provide finance. Education combined with financial reward for good practice. This has to be backed up by enforcement ensuring that there is a significant cost to breaking the rules.
Bill Beaumont’s in depth presentation highlighted many issues that can impact upon salmon and sea trout. Mapping the migration of adult salmon and sea trout and parr and smolts is vital in understanding where losses are highest. With this knowledge targeted effort can bring success stemming the decline in these iconic migratory fish.
A few issues highlighted included; Marine – By catches of smolts, Over-fishing of food fish, Competition for food from herrings etc, Marine temperature change. Freshwater – Variable spawning success, Predation from birds, fish, mink and otters, Water abstraction, less flushing of gravels, Land-use (as previously mentioned),
http://www.gwct.org.uk /fishing/research/
Chairman Alex Gibson highlighted widespread concern amongst members regarding the potential breaches of compliance at many of the areas sewage treatment works. With increasing housing development within the region there is undoubtedly a need for significant investment to ensure that wastewater is adequately treated. Once again if any potential pollution’s are observed then the E-A hotline 0800 807060 should be used.
Anglers are at the forefront of conservation on rivers and are in a position to spot indications of issues unlikely to be detected by general members of the public. Guests at the meeting included members of the River Torridge Fishery Association who work hand in hand with the Taw fishers on many issues common to both rivers that share the same estuary mouth. An area of grave concern is the Northam Landfill site where coastal erosion is threatening to release many tons of potentially toxic material into the lower estuary
The AGM was closely followed by the associations annual auction that is a significant fund raising event in the calendar. All monies received help fund vital work on the river system including surveys and improvement work by the West Country Rivers Trust.
The evenings events and coming season are always debated in great depth during the delicious meal that follows.
