(Above) A fifty pound plus tope for first timer Colin.
Bluefin will be running fishing trips out of Ilfracombe throughout the winter months at present there are still a few tope being caught and bass from the reefs. With the new that anglers can now retain one bass per day trips to reefs will be popular with option to keep the occasional fish for the table.
Jon Patten was targetting bass with half mackerel baits when a pack of tope swam past! As Jon placed his rod in the rest after casting, his second rod bounced in the rest and the reel screamed its warning. Hastily grabbing the second rod he failed to give full attention to slackening the clutch on the recently cast out rod. As battle commenced with the fish on rod two; Jon watched in despair as his recently cast rod was catapulted from the rest to disappear into the dark night sea. After a spirited tussle a fine tope of 38lb 6oz was brought ashore for a quick photo. Jon was using size 8/0 hooks to 40lb b.s Seagar Fluorocarbon hook lengths.
This is not first rod to be lost as big fish seize the bait and head out to sea its important to always fish with a loose clutch but its easy to get distracted and the cost can be high!
Tarrant Wotton was fishing with Jon on the same session and also enjoyed success landing this splendid huss.
Kevin Pike has set a new Appledore Shipbuilders Club record boating a huge tope of 58lb whilst fishing from a Private boat off the North Devon Coast. Kevin also boated a tope of 41lb 8oz. Jack Pike fishing on the same trip boated a personal best of 47lb and Cameron Atkinson a tope of 45lb. The trip saw four tope boated for a total weight of over 186lb! It is also good to hear that mackerel were plentiful.
Cameron Atkinson enjoyed tope success with his first ever tope from the shore weighing 15lb 7oz and secondly a tope from the boat weighing 37lb 8oz.
The Veals Mail order Team enjoyed a fantastic day Tope fishing out of Ilfracombe with Daniel Hawkins of Reel Deal Charters
Simon Lynch relays that the day started off well with numbers of small Tope around the 20lb mark, along with a few Bullhuss. After a couple of hours Dan decided to up the anchor and move off. He suggested big mackerel baits at the second mark and we were soon rewarded with some lovely Tope around 30lb, it was non stop action all afternoon with double shots on-board. Simon Lynch landed a new personal best of 41lb.
Bait was supplied by Ammo Baits.
James Gubb Fradgley boated three good fish to take second place in the festival. Still more fish to come results tonight presentation at Lynmouth 9.00pm.
1st –
1st – Dan Welch – tope (boat) 38lb 2oz , spotted ray(boat) 4lb 8ozThick Lipped mullet 4lb 7oz Total percentage – 296. 251%
2nd – James Gubb Fradgley – tope ( Boat) 37lb 2oz , bull huss (Boat) 9lb 10oz Small eyed ray (Boat) 9lb 10oz – 260. 458%
3rd – Ross Stanway – dogfish (boat) -2lb 5oz, bull huss (boat) 8lb 10oz tope 35lb 7oz 35lb 7oz Total Percentage – 259.097%
Keith Armishaw of River Reads sent me this story abut a recent boat trip. When the tope are about hang onto your tackle!!!!!
Has anyone seen this rod which was heading to Lundy? Monday was a day spent sea fishing. After a slow couple of marks, we finally anchored off Welcome and must have been in a middle of a shoal of tope. In a couple of hours, I had 7 and lost about 5, Jonathan had 4 and lost as many, Mike was feathering and never managed to get a fish to the top although he had tope on several times his tackle just wasn’t strong enough. Lee had 5 but… as I was unhooking one of mine in the sea, Lee got nudged and loosened his grip on his rod and a tope ran off with Greys Spinflex and Shimano baitrunner in tow. It was last seen heading for Lundy. Should you be tope fishing and hook it up, he would be delighted to have it back! Keith Armishaw
Leader Board Update
1st – Ross Stanway – dogfish (boat) -2lb 5oz, bull huss (boat) 8lb 10oz tope 35lb 7oz 35lb 7oz Total Percentage – 259.097%
2nd – Dan Welch – pollock (boat) 8lb , spotted ray(boat) 4lb 8oz smoothound (boat) 12lb 4oz Total percentage – 238.334 %
The only two competitors on three species so far!
Chay Boggis returned to the shoreline after a few months otherwise occupied. He managed a 12lb 10oz hound a 10lb 8oz huss and his first shore caught tope! Fresh bait from Braunton Bait box did the damage”.
Its proving to be a great season for tope fishing off Ilfracombe aboard Dan Hawkin’s Reel Deal with fish to over forty pounds putting healthy curves in anglers rods!
