Lee Holden caught this 14lb bull huss whilst fishing off Ilfracombe on John Barbeary’s Bluefin. Sport with huss and spurdog is likely to continue right through until spring whenever the weather permits.
IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT
Many thanks to Paul Lorrimore for permission to use his account of recent foray to the dark waters off Ilfracombe aboard ‘Bluefin’
Paul Lorrimore reports on a recent the 6 hour night trip on Board. John Barbeary’s ‘Blue-Fin’ off Ilfracombe with Troy, Pete and Rob.
We steamed a mile down towards Lee bay intending to pass 45 minutes until we could push out to mid channel as the tide slackened off.
From the first drop it was clear the fish were moving in close under the cover of darkness as a smooth hound of around 6-7lb nailed my baited cod feathers.
Pete soon hooked into a good huss sadly lost at the side but would have been a good double.
More huss and smooth hounds came to the rail in short order along with a double figure eel to Pete.
A small pack of spurdog hit the baits next with Troy and Rob picking up a couple along with a further smooth hound to Pete.
John gave us the decision to stay or move out, but as hard as it was to leave the grounds which by any normal standards would have been all you could ask for (John said its rare the fishing would be that frantic in daylight hours so close in) , we bit the bullet and pulled anchor with fingers crossed it was the right thing to do.
After 30 minutes steam we were deep in the channel and setting out our baits again with anticipation.
After 10 minutes with no action apart from a dogfish or two (happy to say we there were very few tonight) the spurs came on and several were boated along with huss and eels.
The next hour and a half had flurries of fish and i managed to pick up a nice but very angry eel of around 33lb which John was ecstatic(not) about me wanting on deck for a photo
The tide pushed in and the wind picked up making us drag anchor a bit to much to stay, so our sleepy crew headed home for a well earned rest
One things for sure, it wont be the last night trip on the Fin if this was anything to go by.
Winter Boat sport off Ilfracombe
Many thanks to Toby Bassett who sent me this report and pictures of a very enjoyable day on John Barbeary’s Bluefin off Ilfracombe .
I am sure the bigger spurdog will start to show soon and there is every chance as the winter progresses that someone will hook that elusive big cod or fifty pound plus conger.
Fishing aboard the bluefin..with john Barbeary, Dave Clements. Pete Gregory, Troy Laing .loads of huss..and small female spurs…cracking weather with the sun shining all day long….also caught were. Eels. Dogfish, a thornback ray…Good fun had by all with plenty of banter and early Christmas cheer.
The most handsome fish of all? Upper Tamar Perch
![adam-moxey-4-00](https://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Adam-Moxey-4.00.jpg)
Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey enjoyed a memorable session at perch mecca Upper Tamar last week. Fishing from the perch boat they caught four fish over 3lbs, two fish over 2lbs lots of small perch and a cracking 4lb fish all on 3 inch soft plastics. Congratulations lads! Anyone who wants to book the perch boat needs to call 01566771930.
![chris-lambert-3-04](https://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Chris-Lambert-3.04.jpg)
Holsworthy Anglers – Off Ilfracombe
Holsworthy Sea Anglers had a Club trip out of Ilfracombe with John Barbeary on the Bluefin.
Morning started off well with quite a few bass to 4lb and pollock whilst in drifting inshore. Anchored up later produced the inevitable doggies followed by some quality bull huss, tope to 26lb and smoothound.
(Above) Steve McDonald
(Above) Andrew Braunton
(Above) Graham Verrall
Appledore Boat Competition
Kevin Pike won Appledore Shipbuilders boat competition with a fine tope of 39lb 8oz. Andrew Atkinson took second and third place with bull huss scaling 11lb and 10lb 4oz. Conditions during the day were fresh as a the wind swung around to the south west building a moderate swell.
A couple of days before this trip Andrew took a trip to Chesil beach in Dorset where he landed a plaice of 2lb 10oz.
COMBE MARTIN SAC LYN FISH 2016
The annual Lyn Fish open competition attracted twenty local anglers competing for cash prizes and an impressive prize table from sponsors Sakuma Tackle and Braunton Baits. The event is a catch and release specimen match with fishing from boat and shore.
Anglers fished a wide variety of marks between the boundaries Minehead Harbour wall and Clovelly Harbour. Most of the winning fish coming from marks in the Lynmouth to Ilfracombe area.
Day one was blighted by a strong westerly wind that made boat fishing impossible and shore fishing a bit of a trial. Grey mullet were a popular target species with several competitors and it was these hard fighting fish that were being targeted by Daniel Welch on Saturday night when he hooked a hard fighting fish that took off on several long runs before eventually being netted. The fish turned out to be fine conditioned bass of 7lb 13oz tempted on bread-flake and size 8 hook!
On the Saturday evening tide James Fradgely- Gubb and Rob Scoines fished a rock mark buffeted by the strong wind. A couple of good fish were lost but James eventually managed to land a specimen bull huss of 10lb 1oz.
In the early hours of Sunday morning Kevin Legge and Dave Brooke fished a rough ground mark where Kevin landed a couple of huss the best scaling 9lb 6oz. Kevin also landed a blonde ray of around 7lb that was a surprise on the rough ground they were fishing.
John Avery and myself targeted grey mullet and at 6.00am on the Sunday morning I cast out a two hook rig baited with bread flake. Seconds later I noticed the rod tip rattle and grabbed the rod as the butt lifted from the ground. A powerful fish surged away and battle commenced. A few minutes later John expertly wielded the net and a very pleasing mullet was secured. At 5lb 2oz it was a great start to the day!
After a couple of quiet hours fishing we moved to another mark and found the mullet in a feeding frenzy landing half a dozen with John and Callum Gove landing the majority with Johns best scaling 2lb 9oz.
Louis Rooke and John Shapland paid a visit to the estuary in search of grey mullet and flounder. Louis managed the only weigh-able fish of note a plump flounder of 1lb 6oz.
The calm weather on Sunday enabled the boats to get afloat and Rob Scoines boated the best boat caught specimen of the day a small eyed ray of 9lb 13oz. Ross Stanway boated the biggest fish of the weekend; a tope of 30lb.
The weigh in and prize giving was held at the Rising Sun Lynmouth where platefuls of scrumptious sandwiches and hot chips were provided for the hungry anglers who had fished hard over the two days. Raffle tickets were sold for an array of impressive prizes donated by local businesses with the proceeds going to West Exmoor Federation.
The raffle and fishing competition helped to raise £400 for the West Exmoor Federation of schools.
Full Results:-
1st – Wayne Thomas – Grey Mullet – Shore – 5lb 2oz – 128%
2nd – James Gugg-Fradgely – bull huss – Shore – 10lb 1oz – 101%
3rd – Rob Scoines – Boat – small eyed ray – 9lb 13oz – 98%
4th– Daniel Welch – Shore – bass – 7lb 13oz – 97%
5th – Kevin Legge –Shore – bull huss – 9lb 6oz– 93%
6th – Ross Stanway – Boat- tope – 30lb -75%
7th – Louise Rooke –Shore – Flounder – 1lb 6oz – 68%
8th – John Avery – Shore – Grey Mullet – 2lb 9oz – 64%
Combe Martin SAC give special thanks to all who participated and supported the event, to Sakuma and Braunton Baits for donating some excellent prizes. Thanks also to Tony Vickery and all at the Rising Sun for providing delicious food and making all welcome.
ROB YOUNG MAKES LONG TREK WORTH WHILE
Despite some lumpy sea conditions, Rob Young didn’t waste any time finding the fish on a recent trip to North Devon after making the lengthy trip from South Wales for a 7.00am start with Stefan Jones. The day afloat with Stefan resulted in this remarkable bull huss that was weighed afloat registering somewhere between 14 and 16lb! The following day Rob fished from the coast with local angler Kevin Legge and landed a good bass of around 6lb as well as several other fish.
(Below) Stefan release a hard fighting conger at the side of the boat.
FIRST TIME SUCCESS FOR SAM
Stefan Jones, Matthew Druce and Sam Longhurst enjoyed a successful boat trip off the North Devon coast with Sam a newcomer to angling landing his first ever bull huss.
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The trio enjoyed a great day afloat landing around twenty tope to 25lb, numerous huss and a few conger. All the fish were tempted using frozen Ammo mackerel. The day was made extra special in the presence of dolphins, porpoises and gannets.
![Stefan Jones](https://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/14141559_1753878108194399_8546898850856176551_n.jpg)
![Matt Druce](https://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/14088593_1753878218194388_1044182936916744301_n.jpg)
SMALL BOAT SPORT
When the weather permits private boat anglers are enjoying some fine sport off the North Devon Coast with tope the main target species. Recent rough weather has clouded the water encouraging some species to feed hard with lower light levels. Stefan Jones headed to a mark off Woolacombe in his Private boat and enjoyed a great days sport landing nine small eyed ray between 5lb and 7lb plus smoothound and bull huss. The successful bait was Ammo sandeel wrapped in squid.