5 Oct 2016

NICK SMITH REPORTS FROM ILFRACOMBE

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Nick Smith for allowing me to use his excellent account of a day aboard Ilfracombe based Charter boat ‘Bluefin’ skippered by John Barbeary.

Well what a great day out with John Barbeary and his boat Blue Fin, arrived in Ilfracombe this morning just after 7, to find Craig Crafty Mcloughlin of The Braunton Bait shop delivering 200 live sand eels to the boat, thanks to Craig for a great service and the eels certainly did the job….
Steamed out of the harbour in glorious sunshine with the horseshoe are first mark, but this proved uneventful so after a couple of drifts we decided to head on down channel to baggy in hope of some bass.
the water wasn’t very clear and this obviously hindered our attempts with just a few pollock and a nice scad coming over the gunnels. With fishing slow John told us to pull the lines in he’d had enough and we were going to Lundy……
When we arrived the water was much clearer and it wasn’t long before we started pulling in the pollock, I even managed to snag a rare fish it seems nowadays with a nice fat mackerel and Paul Lorrimore had his first cuckoo wrasse.
We dropped the anchor to see if there was any tope about but to no avail, with big Al landing a nice huss and young Toby Bassett managing a few doggies…..🙂
John then got a call on the radio to say they were getting bass on the horseshoe, so we steamed back and finished off the day there drifting for the bass. It wasn’t long before the first silver bar was over the gunnels falling to Tom Collingridge, with Scott Shepherd, closely behind before we all started catching them…..
Scott managed the best fish of the day with a whopping scad of 1lb 12oz, which is not only a PB but a new bristol channel record also, so well done bud.

But as always all good things must come to an end so with a bucket full of bass and pollock to clean and a rather messy boat to wash down we headed back to Ilfracombe……

15 Sep 2016

SOUTH MOLTON ANGLERS BOAT TRIP

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

South Molton anglers enjoyed a session off Ilfracombe on Bluefin skippered by John Barbeary. They landed 20 bass to 8lb keeping one each for the table in accordance with present regulations and returning the rest in the hope conserving the species.Three tope to 30lb were boated, six pollock to 5lb over twenty huss to 10lb, conger to 15lb, horse mackerel, pouting and the inevitable dogfish.

3 Sep 2016

COMBE MARTIN SAC – FUN FISHING

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar, Young At Heart | 0

Combe Martin SAC hold their Annual Fun Fish tomorrow on Ilfracombe Pier fishing 1.00pm until 4.00pm.

We have special guests from IFCA and the Coastguard and an array of quality prizes from our sponsors High Street Tackle and from COMBE MARTIN SAC and North Devon Angling News.

The top prize is for most species by an angler 18 or under. There will also be a senior prize for most species, a prize for heaviest fish prize and runners up.

Anglers can register two fish of each species each fish scoring one point.

To reduce tangles one rod only please at a time.

ENTRY IS FREE – Just turn up and register.

Full REport and pictures on North Devon Angling News tomorrow night!

25 Aug 2016

FUN FISHING EVENT

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

FUN FISHING

COMBE MARTIN SAC

ILFRACOMBE PIER

Sunday September 4^th

^{1.00pm until 4.00pm}

^{Special Guests: –}

^{Libby Ross – IFCA}

^{Safe Fishing – With the coastguard}

^{Fun Fishing Competition}

^{Sponsored by}

11 Aug 2016

Its big bass time!!!

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Liam Stevens has landed one of the biggest bass so far this season a fine specimen of 15lb 8oz that was landed from a shore mark in the Ilfracombe area. The fish was tempted using mackerel presented on a 3/0 hook on a running ledger set up. Liam had persisted after suffering from a large amounts of weed fouling his line the previous night. The fish was weighed and witnessed by Peter Read and photos taken by Ben partridge. Liam is a member of Combe Martin Sea Angling Club.

The remaining months of the year are sure to turn up large specimen bass with many marks along the North Devon coast capable of producing fish to make anglers dreams come true.

31 Jul 2016

MASSIVE THRESHER SHARK ON REEL DEAL

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

A huge thresher shark has been boated by Nick Lane fishing aboard Dan Hawkins Ilfracombe based Charter boat Reel Deal. The shark calculated by formulae at 368lb was tempted using a whole mackerel hook bait and was landed after a powerful struggle lasting over an hour the fish leaping from the water twice before eventually being brought into the boat where it was measured and photographed before being released. The fish was taken from a mark off the North Cornwall coast around a two hour steam from Ilfracombe. Dan told me the fish swam away strongly, a wonderful sight for all on board.

The fish exceeds the present British Record of 323lb caught back in 1982.

9 Jul 2016

Ian enjoys a Reel Deal

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar, Uncategorised | 0

Tope continue to provide exciting sport off Ilfracombe as Ian Tyldesley director of Ammo Baits discovered when he traveled up from St Ives to fish aboard Ammo Baits sponsored boat Reel Deal. Dan Hawkins put the anglers on the fish despite breezy conditions that made fishing a little uncomfortable for some of the party. In addition to tope the anglers also landed several bass.

5 Jul 2016

Tope sport off Ilfracombe

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar, Uncategorised | 0

Anglers are enjoying some great tope sport off Ilfracombe with these hard fighting predators now abundant. Tope have been landed up to 37lb with every chance of bigger fish as the season progresses there is even the chance of one of these fish from shore marks if anglers are prepared to set their stall with a big bait and wire trace.