Alastair Blundell fished the Lower Torridge and tempted the first salmon of the season using a large orange and yellow copper tube fished on an intermediate line. With the river still running very high it is likely that salmon are distributed throughout the river and increased angling effort should see a few more caught.
Wimbleball Reservoir Opens for Fly Fishing after a significant stocking under the management of new Fishery Manager Mark Underhill.
The first stocking at Wimbleball 2018 saw the introduction of 300 fully finned Rainbows up to 4lb with another 4000 to follow before opening day on March the 23rd. Day Tickets for a five fish limit cost £25 which is excellent value from the look of the fish being stocked.
For details and to book contact Mark Underhill on 07758561412 or email :- [email protected]
A delivery of boats for use at Wimbleball in the coming season.
I joined Combe Martin Sea Angling Club in 1973 at the age of 12 and have been an active member over the past 45 years and when I reflect on this time with the club it is the dimension of people that dominates. Those far off days in the mid seventies cemented my love of sea angling and the sea and those of us who fished in those times owe a great deal to the generation of the day. NIck Phillips and I are amongst an ever dwindling number of relics from that era and as a result were delighted to be invited to the 90th birthday of longstanding club member Brian Huntley.
I remember Brian and the senior club members of the day. I guess they would have been in their forties back then and they would pick us juniors up every Friday night and transport us to the rocky shoreline at Watermouth or to Ilfracombe Pier if it was too rough to fish the rocks. Looking back they were crazy days that I am so glad we enjoyed and survived. In today’s safety conscious world it would be considered irresponsible to drop a handful of teenagers on the the rocks and leave them to their own devices.
I took a look back through the clubs history on our website and found a mention of Brian who was MC at the clubs dinner at the Staghunters Inn at Brendon three years before I joined the club. If my maths serve me correct Brian would have been 42; so I would have met him first when he was 45.
Brian’s birthday celebrations were held at the Merry Harriers tea rooms http://www.merryharriers.org.uk/
Nick and I found ourselves surrounded by a diverse number of party goers who had come together to celebrate a surprise party to celebrate Brian’s 90 years, it was apparent speaking with his daughter Jayne that his time with Combe Martin SAC had been a period that held great memories. Recent years have seen Brian face a few challenges with his health and in spite of this his character shone through. It must have been truly daunting to have been wheeled out to a chorus of Happy Birthday in front of a room full of many faces.
As we chatted at the table memories of those formative years with the Combe Martin SAC flooded back. Brian Huntley a sprightly and humorous chap who drove a Robin Reliant – Three Wheeler and wore a distinctive Breton Cap. ( A hat with French origins worn by mariners and Fishermen). Brian Huntley, Barry HIll, Owen Knill, Ian Lawson, Tom Clark were regulars on our weekly excursions to the shoreline. A generation that gave us a lot and Brian is I guess one of the last of that generation. In 1982 a very proud Brian Huntley donated the Sarah Rachel Trophy to the Combe Martin Sea Angling Club in celebration of the birth of his daughter. When Nick and I met with Sarah it was slightly disconcerting to realise that this women with two young children is Brian’s daughter. It is alarming how life flies past and how we have become the old guys. I also realise looking back how rich our angling lives have been and that people are a very big part of the journey.
Extract from Combe Martin SAC Club history below :-
1970 The MC at this years Dinner at the Staghunters was Brian Huntley, ” who gave a very lively and worthwhile performance”.
We fall out with the CM boat owners over £6, so all boat trips are booked from Lynmouth.
Part of the path down to Sandy Cove is swept away, members bring along tools to clear the path and make it safe again to get down to the mark.
Juniors are allowed to fish Friday night competitions as long as they pay the senior subscriptions, but cannot enter fish for the Burgess Trophy.
Membership stands at 35 members.
Poor attendance is reported in the Friday night competitions. Four fish are registered for the Shore Shield and the winner with a Wrasse of 5lb, reported “a good entry of specimen fish”.
The Clubs balance stands at £33-2-6.
No nomination is made for Secretary as Barry Hill stands down due to lack of support received. Laurie Wilson carries on the role of Chairman and Secretary.
A Tankard is presented to Barry Hill for his work over the last eight years.
An auction is held at the Club’s Dinner to raise monies for Club funds.
Aaron Rundle (Below) who fished swim 4 on Lodge Lake this weekend and banked 6 carp on pink pop ups.
Jacob Bracken (Above) fished Beatties lake for the first time and used Sticky Baits Manilla and cell boilies to tempt three carp up to 23lb from end of the dam wall.
Here is John Atkins(Above) and son Adam Atkins who fished on Lodge Lake for 48 hours had 13 fish between them John had the biggest out which scaled 24lb 2oz. They used Sticky Baits Manilla 16mm boilies and also sticky baits Buchenberry pop ups on a Ronnie rig.
Monthly Coarse Section Match Results Lakeview Morchard Rd.
1st Martin Turner 42lb 8oz
2nd Steve Bailey 28lb 8oz
3rd John Lisle 27lb 12oz
4th David Bailey 13lb 7oz
5th Keith Copland 12lb 5oz
Sunday’s competitors were faced with a strong, and very cold North Westerly wind and flurry’s of sleet and snow .Martin Turner took the top weight on peg 5 ,using double red maggots on a 9 metre pole, his first bite came nearly 2 hours into the comp. Steve adopted similar tactics and a feeder on peg 4 to catch 17 small carp for second spot. John caught 11 carp on peg 11,late into the match for 3rd spot. Next Comp March 11th at Highampton Fishery.
Matt Dart enjoying a session on a North Devon rock and landed a brace of codling whilst fishing for Huss and Spurdog.The best of the two codling weighed 3lb 4oz.both fish were tempted with a whole Bluey Mackerel on 6/0 pulley pennel rig.
Steve Dawe tells us about his Fishty two Challenge a very worthwhile cause and one I am sure many reading this will be able to relate to.
It was a huge shock when I found out that a good angling friend of mine had suffered a massive stroke only a week after our last fishing trip together, this particular stroke has left friend Andy, wheel chair bound and in need of a full time carer. My father had also suffered a mini stroke around the same time and the two instances really highlighted just how indiscriminate and instant a stroke can be. With friend Andy determined to get fishing again and suffering the pain and frustration required to rebuild his life, I felt inspired to try and do something. This is when the concept of the Fishty Two challenge was formulated and as an added bonus this year is to be my 52nd birthday. The challenge is set across the 52 weeks of 2018 commencing on January the 1st and concluding on December the 31st. During the year I need to catch 52 different species of fish from Sea, Freshwater and Game fisheries and all on a catch and release basis.
The charity I am raising money and just as importantly awareness for is the Stroke Association, a national charity that supports victims of strokes and their families. When I approached the charity with my idea they were really excited at the uniqueness of the idea and offered as much support as I needed. The next issue I had was setting up a web page, twitter account and just giving page all massive hurdles for a technophobe, time to enlist the help of my daughter who quickly sorted it all with a few dozen clicks. The definitive list of species is still a close guarded secret and I have even gone to the trouble of colour coding them green, amber and red with the red species being the most difficult. Much of my angling is on the north Devon coastline either boat angling or shore fishing but during this challenge I will be travelling the length and breadth of the country after species not indigenous to the west country.
The great thing with anglers is that when a fellow angler needs some help we step up and offer a hand, this is indeed the case with my challenge with many angling friends offering assistance so I can be in with the best chance possible to catch a particular species. So far I have raised nearly £400 and my target is £552 so it’s a fantastic first month, species wise I am on 17 and these are split between sea and coarse species. The easier species can be knocked off fairly quickly but the harder ones may take many trips so the more I have in the bag the better. Fishing from North Devon in January I landed, Spurdog, Dab, Dogfish, Conger, Whiting, Rockling and Bullhuss highlighting just how great our coastline really is. The challenge has been very enlightening from an angling perspective and even the smallest of a target species is met with much rejoicing. Sadly since starting the challenge at least three of my angling friends or their families have had their lives affected by strokes, it does appear that the average age of a stroke victim has come down, a worrying trend.
I have a website showing the gallery of fish, info on the stroke association and where to donate if you so desire, I also do a weekly blog which is also accessible from a tab on the web page. The webpage link is https://stevedawe189.wixsite.com/fishtytwochallenge
Hopefully the rest of the year will be successful and I’m banking on North Devon to throw up a few more of those needed species, thanks to everyone who has supported me thus far and to all those who will be soon.
Combe Martin SAC member Ali Laird got his New Year off to a fine start landing his first shore caught spurdog weighing 11lb 1oz.
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.