Combe Martin SAC have launched a new fishing community project with the help of keen species enthusiast Toby Bassett. The new fun fishing event was launched on February 1st on Ilfracombe Pier with local anglers starting an 11 month long species hunt that encourages anglers to catch as many species as possible from Ilfracombe Harbour area.
The essence of the fun fishing league is to encourage local anglers to socialise and share knowledge. Local business are supporting the event with prizes already pledged from Ilfracombe Aquarium, High Street Tackle, Turton’s Butchers and Quay Sports.
A pop up fishing event to get the event started was attended by a mixture of old and new club members. The weather was kind with a clear sky and a calm sea. Nine species of fish were caught during the three hours including; common shanny, rock goby, pouting, whiting, conger, dogfish, ballan wrasse, plaice, pollock and shore rockling. Prizes donated by High Street Tackle were awarded to Ross Stanway who caught the most species on the day. To Zephyr Laramy the most fish caught by a Junior and the smallest fish prize was awarded to Toby Bassett who caught a tiny common shanny using a size 16 hook!
Ross Stanway caught 7 species during the launch day event
The smallest fish of the night to Toby BassettTop junior Zephyr Laramy
The intention is to hold a pop up event once a month that will be picked to coincide with a suitable tide and hopefully good weather. Notice will be sent to club members seven days prior to the event. The competition runs until December 31st 2024 with major prizes to be presented early in 2025. Sponsors will be donating prizes with High Street Tackle providing a small prize each month for a category to be decided each month. February prize will be for the most species registered. March will be for the best photograph.
Rock Goby
Nickki Laramy with a whitingRoss StanwayJames Thomas with a whitingA whiting was my first fish of the event.Plaice for Ross Stanway
Even this tackle twisting conger brought a smile as every species counts!
Whats coming up next?
This is not a pure LRF competition as all accepted angling methods are encouraged with bait as well as lures. The use of LRF tactics is a branch of angling that undoubtedly opens an entirely new dimension to sea angling with some becoming totally addicted to the pursuit of the range of species available. It is going to be fascinating to explore the vast range of species that dwell within Ilfracombe waters. We will be sharing our results with the local Aquarium and hope to provide a few exhibits for their extensive display tanks.
We packed away as the flooding tide pushed us off the lower landings. James and I headed to the Bay-side Burger Bar to round off an enjoyable session savouring our spicy chicken and fries in the shadow of Verity.
Kyle Bishop recieves his well deserved Merit award from club secretary Nick Phillips.
Combe Martin SAC held their AGM and presentation night at the White Lion Inn Braunton on Friday January 26th. The club had enjoyed a successful year in 2023 with members registering a good number of specimen fish. The club are introducing a predator award next season for the member registering the best tope, conger, bull huss and spurdog specimen rating total. The winner will receive a megladon sharks tooth for 12 months from club member Daniel Welch.
Combe Martin SAC member Kyle Bishop set a new club record when he caught a rare blue skate from the North Devon shoreline. The fish weighing 13lb 8oz beats the existing club record of 8lb 3oz caught in 2020 by Jamie Steward. Skate are a very rare catch from North Devon waters. These fish can grow to well over 200lb and were once common in the Bristol Channel with fish recorded from numerous North Devon ports in the Victorian era.
Kyle has also added specimen tope of 36lb 15oz and a spurdog of 10lb 5oz to his New Year tally following on from last season when he knotched up a very impressive list of specimen captures.
Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club held their Christmas Competition at Bulldog Trout Fishery with the club’s entire membership of eight competing.
The grey overcast mild conditions seemed ideal for a good day’s winter sport as members spread out around the lake to cast out into the cool clear water.
I put out a line on the water near the inlet to the lake were I have enjoyed success on previous visits. On the first two casts good sized rainbow could be seen following my fly to turn away at the last minute. I watched other anglers around the lake and noticed a couple of bent rods as is often the case at the start of the day.
After half an hour with no contact I decided upon a move to a fresh spot. I was using an olive damsel on the point and a small drab diawl bach on a dropper with an intermediate line. The move proved to be a wise one as the line soon tightened as a hard fighting rainbow seized the dropper. This was followed a few minutes later by another rainbow of close to 3lb. It seemed that I had either located the fish or they had come on the feed for within five minutes I added a 3lb 12oz rainbow to complete my three fish bag.
I spent the next half an hour chatting to fellow club members and capturing a few action shots as they too connected with the lakes hard fighting rainbows.
Andre Muxworthy with a fine Bulldog Rainbow
Fishery owner Nigel Early and his son Tom arrived at the water’s edge with delicious burgers and warming toddy, hot coffee and a tray of mince pies. Convivial chatter and Christmas cheer filled the grey winters day as we chatted of the club’s future and plans for 2024.
The enlarged trout lake has the capacity for a dozen or more anglers to fish in comfort. The clear waters offer exciting sport with rainbows presently stocked up to 8lb plus with some large browns to be introduced in the New Year.
I left the lake at lunch time with Christmas preparations pending at home. Most members had caught their three fish but a few had yet to finish.
Colin Combe with a good rainbow
Nigel Bird with a 3lb plus rainbow
David Richards with the biggest rainbow of the day at around 4lb
David Richards won with three trout for 10lb 5oz. Andre Muxworthy and Dave Mock were runners up with three fish for 9lb and myself fourth with three fish for 8lb 2oz. Colin Combe banked three for 7lb 14oz.
..in memory of Teddy New Stephen Williams and Kevin Stanley Bridson.
Congratulation to Nick Braunton who helped to organise this brilliant competition that attracted a a large number of local anglers.
1st Nobby Jefferys 1lb 9ozswinning £250
2nd Dick Talbot 1lb 8ozs
3rd Paul Burslem 1lb 7.1/2ozs
4th Tony Gooch1lb 7.1/4oz
5th Johnny Weeks 1lb 6ozs
6th Matt Horsham 1lb 4.1/2oz
7th Mark Jordan 1lb 4.1/4oz
8th Graham Parsons 1lb 4ozs
9th Paul Simmons 1lb 3.1/2
10th James Mayhew and Matt cleverly 1lb 3 1/4oz
59 seniors fished
The result of the juniors was
1st place Barnaby Raymont 1lb 5ozs
2nd Bailey Phipps 1lb 4ozs
16 juniors fished in total 75 fished the event..Tony Gooch and Dick Talbot won the blind pairs with a total of 3lb 5ozs..Great day but with minus 5 degrees it took some fishing..
Every junior won a prize donated by Summerlands Tackle, Angler’s Heaven, Quay sports and Sakuma Fishing & Bullet Bait.
Over £800 of cash prizes paid out and £706 raised for the Pollyfield Bar Refurbishment.
3rd joint Andrew Clements & Stephen Found Flounder 1lb 13 1/2 92.187%
Appledore Shipbuilders Monthly Sea Rover Results
15 members fished the November Rover today.
Some challenging conditions both at sea and In the rivers but most anglers managed to find a few fish. Reports of a lot of tiny bass pinching the baits for the people targetting Flounders and several flounders caught around the 1lb mark.
Best Flounder weighed in was 1lb 10 1/2ozs which wasn’t quite big enough to place.
Winner today was Josh Atkinson with a Bull Huss of 9lb 8ozs. Josh also managed to take 2nd place with another Huss of 9lb 3 3/4ozs.
Andrew Atkinson picked up the final place also with a Bull Huss of 8lb 9 1/4ozs.
Barnstaple Triple Hook Club Open Flounder – Result
Combe Martin Sea Angling Clubs Open competition generously sponsored by Quay Sports was won by Daniel Welch who landed three blonde ray scaling 8lb 11oz, 8lb 6oz and 7lb 9oz to take first, second and fourth place. Third was taken by myself with a grey mullet of 2lb 14oz. Competitors also caught conger, dogfish and rockling.
Notice is hereby given that the 2023 AGM will be held at the Bideford Conservative Club on Friday 17th November 19:30 – 20:00 sharp.
Please note that all proposals for changes to our rule’s or applications to join the committee need to be received by our secretary before midnight on Friday 27/10/2023.
Rule changes need a seconder.
Proposals for committee membership must have the agreement of the person, with a proposer and a seconder in writing.
All proposals must be with the secretary via email at [email protected]
I will be hosting the film Riverwoods with the National Trust at Loxhore Village Hall on Friday. October 6th at 7.00pm. Tbe film will be followed by presentations and discussion on rivers salmon and wildlfe. A very relevant evening in light of the latest news highlighting the dramatic declines in nature. I look forward to catching up with a few of you on the night. Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be provided.
We had been looking forward to our trip on Reel Deal targeting Porbeagle shark for months and with the weather set fair I climbed out of bed eagerly at 5.00am. It was still dark when I set off to pick up fellow sharker Peter Robinson. I had offered to pick up Peter so that we could share the extortionate cost of parking on Ilfracombe Pier for the day. A £15.00 charge to park for a day during the summer season is likely to deter visitors and adds a significant cost to a day’s boat fishing.
We arrived at the harbourside and greeted Bruce who had booked the trip over twelve months ago following on from a successful excursion after the shark last Autumn when Bruce and James had brought shark boat-side between 100lb and 175lb.
In addition, Dan Hawkins skipper of Reel Deal had just recorded the first two blue fin tuna to be caught from the Bristol Channel. They had also caught a fine porbeagle estimated at over 200lb. In addition, earlier in the season several thresher shark had been caught and it was likely that these could still be present in the rich feeding grounds at the mouth of the Bristol Channel.
The weather forecast gave light winds of less than 10mph. I was slightly concerned as I felt a chill breeze as I stepped out of the car. There was also white water visible opposite the pier as a large swell pounded the rocks.
We greeted Dan quayside who seemed confident that all would be well with the wind forecast to drop later in the day. We were joined by three other anglers and we set off out of the harbour heading West towards the sharking grounds that are situated an hour or so steam beyond Hartland Point.
It was immediately obvious that the wind was brisker than forecast and it was more than a little lumpy as we bounced across the tide race off Morte Point. A good number of gannets could be seen diving into the turbulent waters a clear indication that mackerel and bass were present.
Dan eased off the power and gave us a bad prognosis. The wind was far stronger than forecast and images of Bude via surf cams showed a wall of white water. Sharking would be unpleasant and very likely unproductive. It was up to us but Dan thought we would be wasting our money and suggested we abort. He left us to ponder for a few moments and after a short debate we decided that the skipper generally knows best.
And so rather deflated in spirit we bounced back on the waves to Ilfracombe. Bruce and I started to think of plan B. Lure fishing off the shore could be worth a go with plenty of bass in the estuary?
On arrival back in Ilfracombe we clambered off the boat and within minutes Dan told us there were a couple of places on the Charter-boat Carrick Lee fishing locally. There were a few trigger fish being caught. Bruce had never caught a trigger fish so within minutes we were buying fresh king ragworm from the harbour Kiosk and handing over cash for a day on Carrick Lee. We said our goodbyes to Peter who was going to catch the bus home to Barnstaple. Pete had endured a very slow days boat-fishing a few days previous and wasn’t keen for a repeat.
We jumped on board ‘Carrick Lee’ to be greeted by the owner and skipper of the boat Paul Simon. There were six of us on board three who were visitors to the area and Paul Lorrimore who I know through Combe Martin SAC and his excellent Bay-side Burger Bar in Ilfracombe. Between us Bruce and I had enough tackle to combine efforts and put suitable rigs down to the sea bed. First stop was to the bay of my home village Combe Martin where we used small hooks and small baits to try and target a range of species with trigger fish high on our wish list.
The calm waters of Combe Martin Bay were certainly more tranquil than the wild waters off Hartland Point. It wasn’t long before Paul was into the first fish of the day a ballan wrasse of perhaps 2lb. There were plenty of gentle raps on the rod tips but fish were hard to find. Paul followed up with a lovely little red mullet a species I have yet to catch. I really need to do a bit more light species fishing this Autumn.
As the tide eased away sport was slow with just a couple of strap eels seizing baits. Skipper Paul pulled up the anchor and we set off for pastures new. After a short stop in the bay beneath Little Hangman we headed out to fish beneath the spectacular towering cliffs beneath Great Hangman. Paul put us on a bit of rough ground off Sherricombe Waterfall a mark I knew to have been productive over the years. Sherricombe Waterfall has a fascinating history. It is said that during the Second World War submariners from German U-Boats visited the craggy shore to collect freshwater during the cover of darkness. Many years ago, there was a path down to the sea near this point where locals would access the foreshore to gather laver. There were also rumours of smuggling activities. This path has long since crumbled along with the memories of those who walked the treacherous path. Mining was carried out deep within the cliff’s and it is still possible to see the remains of shafts on the sheer cliff face.
Towering Little Hangman
Whilst the scenery was spectacular the fishing wasn’t and after a few hours trying various rocky marks at anchor. We also tried drifting the well -known reefs at Copperas Rock. It was apparent that if the fish were present they were not feeding. The boat was buffeted by a strong offshore breeze, reinforcing the knowledge that our shark fishing trip cancellation had been a wise move.
Paul our skipper had tried very hard to find fish but is was undoubtedly a hard task. A return to Combe Martin Bay was welcome and again we hoped for trigger fish. After a couple of moves we eventually found success. Bruce’s rod arched over as he made contact with a hard fighting fish that was safely netted. A fine trigger fish of perhaps 3lb was held up and admired. A fish that always looks so unreal in British waters a visitor from warmer climes that is often linked to climate change. Their numbers fluctuate year on year and any link to climate change is tenuous.
Five minutes later I too added a trigger fish to the days tally.
We hoped for more trigger fish over the remaining couple of hours but they proved elusive. Paul had tried hard throughout the day. We had caught nine species between us, small tope, wrasse, pouting, pollock, strap eels, poor cod, red mullet, scad and trigger fish.
It has been a very mixed season for Ilfracombe Charter boats. Early summer had seen huge numbers of mackerel with calm weather. Occasional calm periods during July had allowed Reel Deal to venture to the shark grounds where several thresher shark were caught along with large porbeagle. During August poor weather and disappearance of the mackerel ruined the opportunity to take tourists on the short fishing trips that can boost the bank balance for charter boat owners in these increasingly difficult times of rising costs. The life of a charter boat skipper may seem like living the dream but it’s a far from easy way of making living.