Izzy Moser of the Devon Wildlife Trust shared these images on Devon Wildlife Trust Twitter Feed today they show the extent of sediment in the Taw today following heavy rain. As game fishers we all look forward to a summer spate that brings fish in from the sea but we hope to see a river the colour of beer not a muddy torrent.
Izz Moser writes :- Sorry for circulation email but I was fairly shocked looking at the River Taw this morning to see how brown the water was after last nights rainfall. This is definitely the worst I have seen it. It was disgusting.
I thought I would use the photos to hopefully raise the profile of sediment issues.
Photos attached – although I have to say they really do not do it justice.
If anyone would like to share the photos further, please do… I have shared them via the Devon Wildlife Trust Twitter feed.
Izzy Moser (Left) at the Fly Monitoring earlier this spring.
PB COMMON FROM THE KRACKING CARP LAKE! Steve Elsbury, 34 from Holsworthy caught a New Personal Best 38lb Common from the Kracking Carp Lake! It’s the 1st time this year that one of the ‘Original Commons’ has come out so it’s a pretty special catch!! This was Steve’s 3rd attempt on the Kracking Carp and after seeing several of the lakes residents over the last couple of weeks, he was over the moon when he managed to bank one on his 3rd attempt! Steve used CR baits Cr1 wafter over a bed of CR1 bottom baits.
(Below)OFF THE TOP! Ellis Titheridge, 37 from Kent, had plenty of stunning Carp off the surface using good old bread crust, he caught a 23lb Mirror and 21lb 6oz Mirror from the Main Carp Lake and also a 22lb 8oz Mirror from the Specimen Carp Lake using his treasured 50 year old Richard Walker Split Cane Rod and won Fish Of the week with this Scaley stunner from the Specimen Carp Lake!
(Below)Phil Burke, 35 from Eastbourne, caught 21lb 4oz and 26lb 6oz Mirrors both from the Main Carp Lake using Scopex Squid Boilies.
(Below)ANDY JOINS THE 40 AND 30 CLUB! 5C’s Member Andy Pickard, aka ‘Johnny Vegas’, 37, from Yorkshire can now join the 30’s and 40’s club after catching a 42lb 1oz Mirror and a 31lb 4oz Mirror from the Kracking Carp Lake. Andy caught the fish on double bottom baits ‘lucky 13’ and cream haze, using a baiting spoon to put the rigs in place after casting to the far bank.
(Below)James Howland, 23 from Tonbridge caught a New Personal Best 32lb 8oz Mirror from the Main Carp Lake using a Poacher Baits T&M 14mm Wafter.
Jamie Rusling has been in the action at Melbury Reservoir, near Bideford, with some cracking fish. Jamie managed 4 fish on a surface fishing session with the largest being a cracking 26.08 common backed up by a scaley 17lb mirror. Jamie returned a couple days later to bank three more fish at 23lb, 19lb and a Ghost carp of 14lbs.
Scott Bowden had a fine mixed 48 hour session on Lower Tamar lake near Bude. Scott managed a 6.04 Tench, 9.04 Bream (largest of three bream), a 22.08 mirror and a 12lb common carp.
Kelly Duff and Jason had 39 fine carp up to 24lb 3oz from the spit on Stafford Moors Lodge Lake they tempted the fish using entice RB 1 carp bait company boilies.
Image Courtesy of Heather Lowther (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
Nick Phillips and I met with Dr Gill Ainsworth Social Scientist from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology CEH Edinburgh to represent Combe Martin Sea Angling Club in an hour long filmed interview that will form part of a film for the below project that gives Marine stakeholders an opportunity to voice their views on the Marine Environment and what matters to them and their communities.
Cultural values, experiences, identities and capabilities relating to marine ecosystem services
Project introduction: This Community Voice Method (CVM) project is being undertaken in collaboration between the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) as part of the Marine Ecosystems Research Programme (MERP). The project goal is to identify potential management measures for the North Devon Marine Pioneer area and views on the future of the marine environment in the Southwest. We aim to do this by gathering people’s views about the benefits, experiences and capabilities they gain from conducting different activities in the marine environment and how these might be affected by a range of possible future scenarios.
How the Community Voice Method works: This project aims to gather stakeholder views about potential marine management options and enable deliberation on those options. The method involves filming interviews in order to produce a documentary film to be shown during a stakeholder workshop later in the year. This will inform the design of marine management in the Southwest, and ensure different community voices are represented more effectively when policy options are being considered, alongside ecological and economic evidence.
The Marine Pioneer: The Marine Pioneer is an area of the Celtic Seas that joins the existing North Devon Biosphere along the coast and extends to approximately 20 nautical miles beyond Lundy. Defra chose the Marine Pioneer in 2016 as part of its 25 Year Environment Strategy to deliver growth in our natural environment and in the social and economic well-being of the North Devon area.
Who is being interviewed? We are approaching people for interview based on their knowledge or involvement in relevant marine industries or sea user groups as well as trying to ensure that we capture as full a range of views and values as possible. We are intentionally selecting people who we know are engaged in, care about, or are impacted by the marine management process, and who represent a range of views on and interests in marine resource use, management and conservation.
Image courtesy of Heather Lowther (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
The films will be used later as a focus point at workshops where stakeholders have the opportunity to work together to find a way forward to ensure a marine environment that balances the needs for all involved.
Well done to Paul who fished a very tidy match starting on banded pellet fished shallow on the long pole and later switching to maggot in the margins over groundbait, John fished meat and corn on the pole to finish 2nd ,Martin had 7 carp on meat over hemp for 3rd, Paul Elworthy took the silvers pool with 21lb 1oz of skimmers, conditions were warm and wet, this did not stop half the field landing nets of more than 30lb.
Cameron Atkinson won Appledore Shipbuilders monthly Rover with a specimen smoothound of 12lb 111/4oz. In runner up spot was David Langbridge with a fine gilthead bream of 4lb 2oz and in third was James Mayhew with a smoothound of 9lb 71/2oz.
Thin lipped grey mullet are providing exciting sport in both the Taw and Torridge estuaries where they are tempted with small spinners tipped with harbour ragworm. As in many methods used in angling I often wonder how the method was discovered. When I used to spin for salmon on the Lower Taw it was not unusual to get thin lipped grey mullet following the spinner to the bank veering away at the last moment. Perhaps anglers witnessed this behavior and added ragworm to the hooks in an attempt to provoke an attack from the mullet? Where did spinning for grey mullet originate? In the 1960 book “Sea Angling With the baited spoon” John P Garrad covers fishing with the baited spoon in great detail for flounder; he also mentions bass. If mullet were widely targetted with the baited spinner pre 1960 I suspect it would have seen a section dedicated to it within this tome. A quick glance through shows no mention of spinning for grey mullet. The latest book on fishing for grey mullet; “Fishing For Ghosts” covers the method spinning for grey mullet; other than this book literature on the method is scarce. I suspect that North Devon anglers were at the forefront of the development of this technique as I know Alan Paddon and Ray White successfully targetted the thin lips using these methods back in the 1970’s. If you know more feel free to share on NDAN facebook page.
Combe Martin SAC member Ian laird enjoyed recent success landing several thin lips to 3lb 3oz.
North Devon Tackle sell purpose made mullet spinners with small single hooks ready to use. Far simpler than modifying Mepps spinners.
