Dan Welch joined fellow Combe Martin SAC member Ross Stanway in search of a specimen ray. Whilst not reaching specimen size this 7lb 4oz small eyed ray made it well worth getting the rods out on a wet and windy evening.
Winter Carp from Stafford Moor
(Above)Harry Collins aka ‘Haribo’ fished on Swim 2 on dam wall of Lodge lake and had 10 fish in a 24 hour session. All caught on Sticky Baits Manilla 16mm Boilies fabulous fishing for this time of year.
(Above)Bethany Mann landed a new personal carp on Christmas Eve scaling 18lb 2oz catch from the dam wall on Lodge lake on a pink pop up using a new rod & reel.
FESTIVE SEA SHORE ROUND UP
There have a been a good number of anglers out on North Devon’s rocky shoreline during breaks in the weather and I am pleased to say that there has been some success with a variety of species. I joined fellow CMSAC members Kevin Legge and Dave Brooke to fish a rock mark where Kevin hooked a fine conger of 23lb 4oz. The fish was tempted on the last cast of the session. Kevin revealed that the fish was secured using Varivas catfish hooks available from Veal’s Mail order. These extremely strong and sharp hooks should handle anything we are likely to hook in British Waters! Kevin is always on the lookout for tackle that will give him the edge and pays particular attention to terminal tackle.
Kody Chugg also fished the open coast and was rewarded with a personal best pollock of 5lb 1oz.
Ross Stanway fished with his son Charlie who enjoyed success with pouting and codling. (Below)
I have also heard of a few spurdog, huss and whiting amongst the dogfish and small conger. As I write this a heavy sea is pounding the coast and the resulting colour in the water should encourage a few bigger fish close to the shoreline.
Rob Scoines sent me this image of an octopus dwelling a rock pool. The sights of such creatures always enlivens a fishing session.
Devastating Tackle Theft
Combe Martin Sea Angling Club member Kody Chugg was devastated when thieves broke into his car and stole over £500 worth of sea angling equipment including 3 reels that included 1 penn 525 mag, 2 slh 30, lots and lots of tackle! Shakespeare’ seat box, small green and yellow tackle box. If any one has any information please pass it on to Kody or send a message to NDAN and I will contact Kody.
Pike at Simpson’s Valley
Pike are the traditional target of winter coarse anglers and Ian Grimes (Above) enjoyed success with the species landing a personal best of 25lb 8oz at Simpson Valley Fishery near Holsworthy. Colin Howis (Below) also enjoyed success at the fishery tempting a fine 26lb pike on float-fished mackerel.
Winter Carp From Stafford Moor
Bruce Julian banked 11 fish up to 23lb 10oz in a 48hours session from the dam wall on Lodge lake using Mainline milky toffee pop ups and almond goo this was in a 48 hour session.
Contemplating days
The shortest day has been and gone and we have that interlude before the New Year gets underway; though nature has already turned the corner ahead of mans timelines. The last few days have seen benign weather; mild and damp with misty days. This passing of the year can be a time for contemplation and I often cast my mind back to winters of the past and in particular days and nights spent beside the water.
My own fishing at this time of year has tended to be spent upon the shoreline-seeking specimens from the rocks as I have done for past forty years. I fished a deep water rock water mark a few days ago in Combe Martin SAC’s Christmas Competition and was lucky to land a spurdog of 12lb 3oz. Just a few years ago such a catch would have been a rarity and anglers would have been targeting the cod that were a worthwhile target from North Devon’s coast line. Decent sized cod are certainly a rare sight from North Devon’s shoreline these days but why? They after all are caught in reasonable numbers up Channel.
(Above)A shore caught cod from the last century!
Many species of fish have declined with whiting and pouting numbers certainly down on a few decades ago. It would appear that herrings are plentiful along with good numbers of sprats in recent seasons.
(Above) The humble pouting its numbers have declined.
In our short time on the shoreline it is impossible to get a true picture of the life within our waters. I read a fascinating and thought provoking article on line yesterday; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/20/selective-blindness-lethal-natural-world-open-eyes-environment-ecosystem
An extract follows:- So we forget that the default state of almost all ecosystems – on land and at sea – is domination by a megafauna. We are unaware that there is something deeply weird about British waters; they are not thronged with great whales, vast shoals of bluefin tuna, two-metre cod and halibut the size of doors, as they were until a few centuries ago. We are unaware that the absence of elephants, rhinos, lions, scimitar cats, hyenas and hippos, that lived in this country during the last interglacial period (when the climate was almost identical to today’s), is also an artefact of human activity.
And the erosion continues. Few people younger than me know that it was once normal to see fields white with mushrooms, or rivers black with eels at the autumn equinox, or that every patch of nettles was once reamed by caterpillars. I can picture a moment at which the birds stop singing, and people wake up and make breakfast and go to work without noticing that anything has changed.
I’m not getting any younger; none of us are and I guess that at this time of year we pause to think a little more. As I clambered to the cliff top during a recent session I slumped onto the grassy cliff top. Across Combe Martin Bay a Westerly wind blew and the waves tumbled against the rocks, the damp breeze on my face and salty tang of the sea. The lights of Combe Martin shone brightly and farmstead lights could be glimpsed high on the Northern slopes of Exmoor. It was all so familiar and great to be alive.
There is something fascinating and mystifying about the dark waters and the fish that may be lurking. It is this that draws us to this vast natural amphitheater to connect with nature via a relatively gossamer thread.
There is plenty of pessimism about regarding the state of our seas and their stocks of fish. The evidence I see as an angler is contradictory. I look back and remember the good days whilst the average days get lost in the haze of time. Whilst cod are scarce there is no shortage of dogfish, bull huss, spurdog or conger.
Far out to sea during the warmers months catches of shark are on the up with some spectacular catches of blue shark over recent seasons. Blue fin tuna are once again featuring in catches off the South West. If these mighty fish at the top of the food chain are making a recovery how can things be so bad?
My gut instinct and that of the majority is undoubtedly that the seas are less productive than they once were. I feel for certain that the present generation have inherited a less healthy marine environment than that in which we first cast our lines. Will these be the good old days? Perhaps there is a growing awareness that the seas are not that endless provider of life and that there is much to lose. Will increased awareness and protection of stocks bring a revival in the seas bountiful stocks?
Exe Valley Christmas double !
This fine double figure rainbow trout brought a smile to Nick Hart’s face as he travelled through the Londons Piccadilly on his way to his work at Farlow’s. Content in the knowledge that his wife Sue is keeping the home lake running smoothly. The cracking fish was tempted from Exe Valley Fishery by fishery regular Danny Ford. Exe Valley wish everyone a fantastic few days break, and a Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who have supported North Devon Angling News since its launch in 2016.
Don’t forget to keep those pictures and news stories coming and share your success with anglers across the angling community.
To visit the websites of North Devon Angling News Sponsors click on the advert to visit their website.
Winter Shark
Ian Tyldesley of Ammo Baits fished off his home port of St Ives aboard local Charter Boat ‘Bluefin’ Charters skippered by Sam Narbett and enjoyed success with porbeagle shark. During their latest trip they scored a double hook up of male porbeagles. These were two of four fish brought to the boat on a calm December day. The fish were drawn to the boat using chum created at the Ammo Factory using a blend of new oils. All shark are carefully released to ensure the survival of these enigmatic predators that haunt the clear waters off the North Cornish Coast.
I questioned the capture of porbeagle shark in mid winter as I had thought of these as a fish of the warmer months. Ian told me that the shark have always been present at this time of year but are not often targetted. This got me thinking about what else may be lurking in our waters that we do not target? The seasons are undoubtedly becoming less defined and if this is the case we perhaps need to think outside of the box a little more.
We now catch grey mullet all year off the North Devon coast when we used to consider the season from May until late October. We catch smoothound in December and occasional tope in January. I wonder what lurks in the deep waters off Lundy during the winter months?
During late autumn and winter large shoals of herring mass in the waters off North Devon. We often see large pods of porpoise in pursuit of these fish. Could there be porbeagle shark beneath the waves? In a previous article I published I used the picture of a porbeagle caught in herring nets off Heddon’s Mouth. If only we had more time and money to explore these possibilities.
