Sea Angling News February 2019 by SeaAnglingNews

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Sea Angling News Ltd. - www.seaanglingnews.com - editor@seaanglingnews.com - Issue 280 February 2019

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FISH OF A LIFETIME FOR ISLE OF WIGHT ANGLER

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SNOWBEE SALE

MASSIVE SE ANGLING WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE SALE

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UK TUNA STUDY

BLUEFIN TUNA ARE BACK AROUND THE UK AND A NEW STUDY EXPLAINS WHY

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COD COMP RESULTS

FULL RESULTS FROMTHE £1000 MINEHEAD COD CHALLENGE 2019

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David Cheal was fishing from his own boat to the south of the Isle of Wight when this lump of a bass took a liking to his lure. The fish weighed in at 17lb 4oz which sets a new pb for David, one which will take some beating. What made this capture even more special is that the lure he used was one that had been recently designed by a friend of his. After a few photos the fish was released to fight another day.

SEA ANGLING TEAMS 2019

Angling Trust announce the International Sea Angling Teams for 2019

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NEWS

THAMES ESTUAURY by Lee Bolingbroke We were out for several days before and after Christmas with some fantastic ﬁshing for us, catching big rays whiting dabs dogs and one or two codlings the rods were busy all the time, however we now have the Christmas festivities behind us every one has spent out with big christmas over drafts to pay for and we are very quite, time for all the maintenance jobs that have been piling up on our lists to do as I expect other charter skippers have around the coast.

We should see some good spur dog runs in March with many big double fish to catch, rays will start moving around again as will many other species and we may see a cod/codling spring run who knows, but I must say that yet again our cod fishing has all but failed again this year with just a few fish caught here and there its four years now since our last good season but we keep hoping..

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Plenty of rays keeping the rods bending

RULES FOR ALL SEA ANGLING NEWS COMPETITIONS All entries must be accompanied by a clear photograph. All entries must be weighed on accurate scales and witnessed. All entries will be judged on the size of the fish, tackle used and the quality of the photograph. Weights must be submitted in pounds and ounces, metric weights may be submitted in addition to imperial weights. The Editors decision will be final in all cases.

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We have been out on a couple of trips since in January with veering results but it really is not the best month of our calendar year and if its not the weather playing up its the ﬁshing thats a struggle. Next month last year we were battling snow storms and I would not be surprised if its not the same this year but I will not care as I am oﬀ on holiday in February and back to start again in March when the day light and warming of the waters makes a big change for us.

James Wigglesworth 07825 181694

Aurthur Savage, Dave Roberts Wayne Hand, Rob Miller, Lee Bolingbroke, Wayne Thomas Kevin Morgan Paul Whittall, Adam James Andy & Sam Cumming James Wigglesworth Craig Butler, John Skeggs Phil Higgins Scott Smy, Richard Saxby.

Sea Angling News, February 2019

Plenty of rays aboard Sophe Lea

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

BRIXHAM / READERS GALLERY

BLUEFIN TUNA ARE BACK AROUND THE UK AND A NEW STUDY EXPLAINS WHY

OBSESSION - BRIXHAM

'The home of Biguns & Whoppers'

Dr Richard Kirby Bluefin tuna are back in the sea around the UK after decades of absence and a new study says that warming seas can explain why. Bluefin tuna are one of the biggest, most valuable, most sought after, and most endangered fish in the oceans. Sportfishermen excited at the prospect of catching a fish that can grow to over 900kg have already launched a UK campaign to allow recreational fishing for one of game fishing’s top targets. But should we catch and exploit this endangered species or should we make UK waters a safe space for this incredible fish? Important questions to answer are why has this endangered fish suddenly returned to the UK after an absence of nearly 40 years and are bluefin tuna now more abundant or have they just changed in their distribution? New research by Dr Robin Faillettaz from the University of Lille (France), his French coworkers Drs Gregory Beaugrand and Eric Goberville, and Dr Richard Kirby from the UK as part of the scientific programme CLIMIBIO (http://climibio.univ-lille.fr/) - has revealed that warmer seas can explain the reappearance of tuna around the UK. Their research shows that the disappearance and reappearance of bluefin tuna in European waters can be explained by hydroclimatic variability due to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), a northern hemisphere climatic oscillation that increases the sea temperature when in its positive phase like it is now. To come to their conclusion, the scientists examined the changing abundance and distribution of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean over the last 200 years. They combined two modelling approaches, focusing on the intensity of the catches over time and on the distribution of the fish’s occurrence, i.e. when it was observed or caught. Their results are unequivocal: the AMO is the major driver influencing both the abundance and the distribution of the bluefin tuna. Dr Faillettaz says that “The ecological effects of the AMO have long been overlooked and our results represent a breakthrough in understanding the history of bluefin tuna in the North Atlantic.” The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation affects complex atmospheric and oceanographic processes in the northern hemisphere including the strength and direction of ocean currents, drought on land, and even the frequency and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Approximately every 60 to 120 years the AMO switches between positive and negative phases to create a basin-scale shift in the distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna. During a warm AMO phase, such as since the mid-1990s, bluefin tuna forage as far north as Greenland, Iceland and Norway and almost disappear from the central and south Atlantic. During its previous warm phase - at the middle of the 20th century - the North Sea had a bluefin tuna fishery that rivalled the Mediterranean and the Bluefin Tunny sportfishing club - known worldwide - was founded in Scarborough. However, during a cold AMO phase, such as that between 19631995, bluefin tuna move south and are more frequently found in the western, central, and even southern Atlantic, with few fish caught above 45°N. In fact, the most striking example of the effect of the AMO on bluefin tuna is the sudden collapse of the large Nordic bluefin tuna fishery in 1963. The collapse coincides perfectly with the most rapid known switch in the AMO from its highest to its lowest recorded value in only two years. After that switch tuna also vacated the North Sea and the conditions remained unfavourable for bluefin tuna in the northern Atlantic until the late 1990s when it started to reappear around UK.

The scientists expect that bluefin tuna will continue to migrate to the UK and North Sea waters every year until the AMO reverses to a cold phase. However, they also highlight that the additional effect of global warming on sea temperatures will make the future response of bluefin tuna to changes in the AMO uncertain. Further to the effect of the AMO on where and when bluefin tuna occur in the Atlantic, the study also found that this climatic oscillation influences their recruitment, i.e., how many juvenile bluefin tuna grow to become adults. Dr Faillettaz said that “When water temperature increases during a positive AMO, bluefin tuna move further north. However, the most positive phases of the AMO also have a detrimental effect upon recruitment in the Mediterranean Sea, which is currently the most important spawning ground, and that will affect adult abundance a few years later. If the AMO stays in a highly positive phase for several years, we may encounter more bluefin tuna in our waters but the overall population could actually be decreasing.” Consequently, Dr Beaugrand warns that "Global warming superimposed upon the AMO is likely to alter the now familiar patterns we have seen in bluefin tuna over the last four centuries. Increasing global temperatures may cause Atlantic bluefin tuna to persist in the Nordic region and shrink the species distribution in the Atlantic Ocean, and it may even cause the fish to disappear from the Mediterranean Sea, which is currently, the most important fishery.” Dr Goberville also raises another important observation saying that “because bluefin tuna are so noticeable they are also an indicator of current temperature driven changes in our seas that are occurring throughout the marine food chain from the plankton to fish and seabirds”. The Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery indeed encompasses most of the problems seen in fisheries around the world, including fleet overcapacity and political mismanagement; the species’ distribution crosses exclusive economic zones and spans international, open-access waters (i.e., entire North Atlantic, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Mexico). Added to that, the long-term fluctuation in Atlantic bluefin tuna abundance was hitherto understood poorly, which represents a fundamental gap in this fish’s sustainable management. Dr Kirby says that “We have shown why bluefin tuna occur when and where in the North Atlantic and what may influence their recruitment and abundance, and this is fundamental to understanding the management of a fish that is endangered due to overfishing. Bluefin tuna have been extensively overfished during the 20th century and the stock was close to its lowest in 1990, a fact that further indicates the recent changes in distribution are most likely environmentally driven rather than due to fisheries management and stock recovery.” Before we further exploit bluefin tuna either commercially or recreationally for sportfishing, we should consider whether it would be better to protect them by making the UK’s seas a safe space for one of the ocean’s most endangered top fish.” The lead author Dr Faillettaz concludes “Our results demonstrate that local changes in Atlantic bluefin tuna abundance can reflect large-scale shifts in a species’ distribution that are unrelated to improvements or worsening of a stock’s abundance. In this context we hope that our study will highlight the need to consider the environment when planning the sustainable management of all migratory fish species.”

Kevin

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BRIXHAM REPORT By Kevin Wyatt

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

PLYMOUTH CLUB SCENE By Scott Smy The fact that the weather has been relatively settled over the past 3-4 weeks has definitely had a downward impact upon the fishing around the Plymouth and South Devon area and I think everyone agrees we now need a good low pressure system to stir things up to see an improvement in the fishing. The River Tamar is continuing to produce good numbers of conger eels which are becoming a bit of a pain for those casting out their precious peeler crab baits seeking the cod (which I have to say have been very few and far between). Although the average size of the eels hasn’t been great with a number of very small eels around this year, Martin Larkin did manage to find a better fish of 27-14 from Devils Point at the mouth of the Tamar. Having lost a good fish on his last trip out, Mark Bryce made a return trip back up to North Devon for a tope with fellow club member Scott Clark and this time was rewarded with a cracking tope of 27-8 caught on this first cast. With the weather remaining mild the rock marks should continue to fish well for the next few weeks, with spurs and huss being a possibility from the rock marks around both South and North Devon. One of the better huss caught during the last month was that man again Martin Larkin with a fish of 11-10

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 5

PLYMOUTH

which was returned after weighing. The flounder season has been relatively slow this year with majority of the fish being quite small. Personally I have been lucky in finding good numbers of fish in the Kingsbridge Estuary with 20 fish caught in 5 trips. However only 3 of those fish have been over 2lb in weight although the best one was a good fish of 2-12 which, I understand, has been one of the largest recorded from Kingsbridge this year. I have heard that numbers of flounder are now starting to drop-off but there should still be a chance of finding a fish or two over the next few weeks before they go out to spawn. Turning to the boats, that one-man fishing machine Fred Doey continues to rack-up some impressive catches from the boat which includes numerous blonde rays to over 19lb and bullhuss to 16lb, the latter being a new boat record for Castaways SAC. Nice going Fred. I also received a text from Malc Jones this weekend confirming that Sea Angler 2 is now back in the water and a short trip with members from Castaways SAC produced blonde ray to 19-8 and spurdog to 17-8 for Mike Page. Nice going Malc, good to see you back. That’s it from me for this month – happy dipping.

Mark Bryce Tope 27-8

Martin Larkin Conger 27-14

Martin Larkin Bullhuss 11-10

Sean Bacon double figure Spurdog

SIZE MATTERS

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Mike Page Blonde Ray 19-8

Scott Smy Flounder 2-12

Mike Page Spurdog 17-8

Sean Bacon double figure Blonde Ray

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CHESIL BEACH / NEWS

CHESIL BEACH REPORT By Gareth Mayers The beach has still been producing some quality ﬁsh of recent with some lovely cod and some stunning blonde ray. Till Hall managed a new Pb blonde ray of 20lb whilst Kenny Stovell landed a cod of 15lb. Well done to both of you. Other anglers have been trying for ray and cod and surprisingly ended up with some

black bream and plaice, In January ..... Jamie Young ﬁshed ferrybridge area looking for a blonde ray and landed a bream weighing 2.9lb.

Sea Angling News, February 2019

ANGLING TRUST'S RECOGNITION FOR SEA ANGLING CAMPAIGN RECEIVES COMMONS COMMITTEE BOOST

The ﬁshing may prove to be hard going over the next few weeks but I’m sure there will be some decent ﬁsh out there to be had. Until next time tight lines!

A powerful House of Commons committee has backed calls by the Angling Trust to write recreational sea angling into legislation as a recognised stakeholder in the UK’s marine fishery for the first time in history. Up to now sea angling has had no formal status and no access to funding but this could all be about to change. Following evidence presented in December by Angling Trust Policy Chief and former MP Martin Salter, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee has just published its report on the government’s new Fisheries Bill stating: "We regard the Bill as an opportunity to acknowledge the recreational fishing sector as a stakeholder in UK sea fisheries and recognise the advantages of more joined up thinking between the recreational and commercial sectors. We recommend that Clause 2(2)(h) be expanded to make explicit reference to recreational fishing. (Paragraph 94)"

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Wreck fishing for bass in Lyme bay, from the river Axe in east Devon. www.devonbassprocharters.co.uk

Neil Parish MP, the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said: “What the Fisheries Bill represents is a real, once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul an outdated, overlyrigid policy. The Government needs to cast its net far and wide in order to capture and truly harness the benefits this Bill offers… We must also recognise the importance of the recreational fishing sector as a valid, valued stakeholder in UK sea fisheries and recognise the advantages of more joined up thinking between commercial and recreational industries.” Giving evidence on the formal recognition of recreational sea angling, Martin Salter told MPs: “Your constituents who fish recreationally will tell you that for many years they have been sick and tired of seeing their recreational sea angling experience fall off a cliff edge as stocks are overfished,

and in some cases get driven into parlous conditions. They feel that the recreational sector, despite its economic significance for jobs and for coastal communities, is basically being left to feed on the crumbs that are left over after commercial exploitation has had its whack. "If you look at quality fishery management - at the American and New Zealand fishery conservation legislation - shares are allocated to both recreational and commercial sectors. There is proper resource sharing. There is consideration in a sensible, grown-up, policy development way - recognising the social and economic impacts of the exploitation of different stocks for different purposes.” The government too appears to be responding positively to the Angling Trust campaign, which gained strong support from Shadow Fisheries Minister Luke Pollard MP, with Fisheries Minister George Eustice promising to come back with further amendments to add sea angling onto the face of the Bill. Martin Salter and David Mitchell, Head of Marine at the Angling Trust, are set to meet with DEFRA officials to discuss the proposed amendments prior to the Report Stage of Fisheries Bill in the Commons. Martin Salter said: “Recreational fishing is reliant on access to abundant and sustainably-managed fish stocks and it is vital that we have a seat at the table when decisions are made on how these stocks are to be distributed. The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy has consistently failed to manage stocks sustainably and this new Fisheries Bill is a once in a generation opportunity to put this right and to usher in a new deal for sea anglers. That’s why we have been working so hard to have our voices heard in Parliament and it looks like our efforts are paying off.”

Sea Angling News, February 2019

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EAST SUSSEX

EAST SUSSEX DIARY By Kevin Morgan OVER FIFTIES The first over fifties match was held on Wednesday 9th January, fished at Whitehorses with 20 anglers taking part. The winner with 2lb 15oz was Vernon Vivian, 2nd Colin Sargeant 2lb 12 1⁄4 oz, 3rd Dave Rudland 2lb 9oz and 4th Kerry Saint with 2lb. The heaviest round was a dogfish of 1lb 6 1⁄2 oz for Dave Rudland and the heaviest flatfish a flounder of 14oz for Keith Erridge. ANDERIDA The final match of 2018 fished on Thursday 20th December, with 15 anglers fishing in Pevensey Bay and Whitehorses. The winner with 8lb 1oz of whiting was Scott Hesling, just beating his father Keith into nd place with 7lb 6 1⁄2 oz. Third was Colin Isaacs with 6lb 11oz. The heaviest round was a dogfish of 1lb 14oz for Phil Taylor and the heaviest flat was a dab of 6oz for Paul King. Congratulations to Paul King on winning the 2018 Anderida Championships!!! The first match of 2019 was fished on Monday 7th December with 18 anglers fishing. 1st Colin Isaacs with 7lb 7 1⁄2 oz. 2nd Kim McGreevy 7lb 4 1⁄4 oz and 3rd Mick Lowe with 5lb 6oz. The heaviest round was shared between 3 anglers with a whiting of 8 1⁄2 oz. David Tame, Mick Lowe and Paul King. The heaviest flat was a dab of 4oz for Colin Findley. THE NEWHAVEN AND SEAFORD SHORE FISHING CLUB The first match of the New Year was fished at Seaford on Thursday 3rd January. The winner was Brian Henderson with 3lb 10oz. 2nd Bob Goodwin with 3lb 2oz and 3rd Paul Wetherly with 1lb 12 1⁄2 oz. Club Knockout winner was Paul Wetherly and the team winners were Bob Goodwin, Keith Morley and Brian Henderson. EASTBOURNE NOMADS The first round of the Slater Cup was fished on Sunday 13th January. 29 anglers fished at Langney Point. First was Wesley Sargeant with dabs and whiting for 2lb 3 1⁄2 oz. 2nd Paul King 1lb 1oz. 3rd Mike Moule

1lb 12oz and 4th Scott Brown with 1lb 10 1⁄2 oz. Heaviest flat was a flounder of 1lb 4oz for Mike Moule and the heaviest round a whiting of 8 1⁄2 oz for Gerald Sargeant. PEVENSEY BAY ANGLING CLUB The final of the PBAC club match series was held on Thursday December 20th. The winner was Colin Sargeant with 1lb 13oz. 2nd Wesley Sargeant with 1lb 12oz. 3rd Keith Erridge with 1lb 11 1⁄2 oz and 4th Ian Hopper with 1lb 8oz. The Club Champion was Colin Isaacs and the Casablanca species cup winner was Paul King. The first match of the 2019 season was fished on Sunday 20th January with an excellent turnout o 33 anglers fishing in Pevensey bay, in calm conditions. The winner with 2lb 13oz was Paul King. 2nd Joe Plumstead with 2lb 10 3⁄4 oz. 3rd Vernon Vivian with 2lb 8oz. 4th Wesley Sargeant 2lb 3oz and fifth Kerry Saint with 1lb 13oz. The heaviest flatfish was a flounder of 1lb 4 1⁄2 oz for Tony Bush and the heaviest round was a whiting of 10oz for Hugh Willmer. SAXONS SEA FISHING CLUB The newly formed Saxons Club fished their first match on Sunday 6th January. 13 Anglers fished in Pevensey bay, landing whiting, flounder and dabs, with the winner Geoff Honeysett landing 2lb 13 1⁄2 oz. 2nd Phil Metcalf with 2lb and 3rd Kevin Merner with 1lb 7 1⁄2 oz. The second match was fished on Sunday 20th January with 12 anglers fishing!! 1st Joe Plumstead with 2lb 11oz,2nd Kevin Merner with 2lb 10 1⁄2 oz and 3rd Matt Brown with 1lb 3oz. GENERAL As the whiting are begining to tail off flatfish are starting to be caught with some nice dabs as well as a few good flounders and early plaice!! February is normally a good month for plaice and some specimen fish should begin to show. Fred Wassell has already caught a nice fish of 38cm as well as several other sizable fish.

Michael Moule with a lovely 1lb 4oz flounder

Colin Isaacs, Colin Sargeant and Paul King

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

POOLE REPORT by Philip Higgins Welcome to the New Year, I hope you all managed to find some time over the festive season to get some quality fishing time. The Whiting fishing has dominated the boats and overall has been superb with catches of over 200 per trip and in amongst them some real quality fish to over 4lb, local club Albion SAC landed over 225 along with small Congers Dogfish Rays and a bonus Turbot. Poole Sea Angling Centres Cod comp was cancelled due to gales but thanks to owner Andy he quickly rearranged another and this was won by a private boat angler with a solitary small Cod. This winter has seen an abundance of very small Congers Eels including some not much bigger than a Launce but they have serious attitude and as one experienced angler found out still have enough strength to bite your hand which everyone onboard

found hilarious - on a more serious side we were concerned about the fishes health after taking a chunk of skin. If you venture further afield the early run of Spurdogs have arrived with a few weighing up to 17lb along with some nice Blonde Rays to 24lb and as we head into Feb during the weaker tides these catches will improve offshore and hopefully the Pollack will return to the wrecks. At the quarterly SIFCA anglers meeting it was noted about the lack of certain species around Poole throughout the last couple of years these include Cod, Pollack, Mackeral and Flounders which were once so plentiful in Poole Harbour that anglers form far afield came to fish competitions here, several theories to the reduced numbers have been put forward but to date nothing has been positively identified as the cause.

Whiting - Mistress Linda

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Whiting - Mistress Linda

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

POOLE

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SILVER SPRAY REPORT By Sam Cumming First report of 2019 and I’m pleased to say we have already carved out a dozen trips since Christmas. Fishing has been steady with the highlight being some really cracking whiting coming aboard, some ﬁsh well over the 4lb mark. As the weather improved after the festive period we managed to double our catch of cod for the winter that brings us up to 2. Although we haven’t had the best winter cod season, like most boats in our patch of water, we have seen some cracking Pollock, usually taking the top hook of a whiting rig. Ben Cannings was happily surprised one such day when he managed a 18lb 8oz Pollock on just size 3 hooks, by far our biggest ever inshore Pollock. Further oﬀ on the banks

we have had the first of the spur dogs mixed in with some good sized bull huss. We got a shock on New Years Eve when fishing 10 miles out we managed to hook a shark of some description on the spur dog gear, a first for that time of year. Having buoyed the anchor off we chased it around for 15 minutes but the 100lb trace could only hold out for so long and eventually the fish won the battle. In the coming weeks we shall be looking for our first days out on the wrecks for the Pollock and more spur dogs and blonde rays on the banks. We still have space on our 3 and 4 Day trips to Alderney Guernsey and Cherbourg next year from July onwards, only a couple spaces left in June.

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Alex Woods big whiting silver spray

Keith Slater 20lb blonde Silver Spray

Andy Gregory spur dog Silver Spray

Ben Cannings 18lb 8oz pollock silver spray

Con Bratcher with big whiting silver spray

Huss - Silver Spray

Cod - Silver Spray

Spurdog silver spray

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

MINEHEAD COD CHALLENGE 2019 There are two things that the organisers of competitions cannot guarantee, the weather and that the fish will be there. Last years annual Minehead Cod Challenge was marred by the weather, which was atrocious, and it was therefore with some relief to both the organisers and entrants that the morning of the 2019 £1,000 Challenge dawned with flat seas and little or no wind. It was now down to the fish! The Challenge would be decided by the angler who accumulated the greatest length of cod (any size permitted), so with rigs prepared and bait ready the 51 entrants set forth on 6 boats from a placid Minehead harbour to do battle. The skippers headed straight for their favourite marks and in no time at all the fish started to be brought in, measured and, in the main, released. It was Medwyn Jones on Dan Hawkins boat Reel Deal who set the pace and ended day one leading, with an impressive 17 fish for 3.65m. Two other anglers, also on Reel Deal, came in second and third overall. Clive Baddick with 2.86m (13) and Gareth Mayers on 2.80m (16). Throughout the fleet 10 ‘keepers’ were caught with the heaviest at 4lb 9oz falling to local angler Sam Tarr fishing on Teddie Boy II. Day one finished with 290 fish having been caught Day 2 loomed with everything to fish for. Having seen the scores for the previous day, some anglers decided that their only chance to win was to fish big and hope to tempt a big fish. Again the fish started to come in, but this time it was Steve Webbers Osprey that seemed to have found the hot

spot registering a very creditable 13.81m of fish. Dave Roberts Alykat crew were quietly working away and gained them second place for the second day running as the skippers vied for the top skipper accolade (and prize) Meanwhile, day 1 leader Medwyn Jones, now on Osprey continued to catch regularly but it was Malcolm Bayldon on the same boat who hit the sweet spot with 12 fish for 3.25m. Fishing big for the last hour in an attempt to catch up with Medwyn, Malcolm produced the heaviest fish of the Challenge with a 7lb 8oz beauty. At the end of the Challenge anglers, skippers and crew met up in the Old Ship Aground, the competitions sponsor, for a meal of chilli con carnie and the final results. The presentation of the £1000 and other prizes was made by our host Julian. 1st - Medwyn Jones 25 fish for 5.62m 2nd - Malcolm Bayldon 20 fish for 5.13m 3rd - Mike Patten, 19 fish for 4.52m 4th – Andrew Floyd 20 fish for 4.49m Heaviest fish pool was taken by Malcolm Bayldon - 7lb 8oz In total 554 fish were caught for a length of 129.5 metres, 18 keepers (over the BCFSA 46cm rule) were caught. Boats (top 3) 1. Reel Deal 28.36m (136 fish, 28.36m) 2. Alykat 24.52m (108 fish for 24.52m) 3. Osprey 22.44m (92 fish for 22.44m)

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

TRONIX PRO

BACK TO BASICS By Martin Wood The Palomar knot is a great quick and strong knot that is good for all ﬁshing line whether mono, ﬂouro or braided line and good for tying terminal tackle or tying lures it's probably one of the most used knots due to its knot strength and ease of tying quickly, the Palomar knot is when tied correctly one of the strongest and most reliable knots out there today.

through hook eye once, then double back and pass end of line through hook eye again from opposite direction, leaving about 6-8 inches of doubled line outside the hook eye.

HOW TO TIE: Double 6 to 8 inches of line and then pass the end of the loop through the eye of the hook. Alternately, for small hook eyes, pass end of line

1. Tie a loose overhand knot with the hook hanging from the bottom. 2. Holding the overhand knot between thumb & foreﬁnger pass the loop of the line over the hook then slide the loop above the eye of the hook. 3. Moisten the line and then pull on both the main line and tag end to tighten knot down onto the eye then just clip tag end close.

With the tech we have available to us these days I’ve noticed that people can be very lazy and just ask online and "chase" large catches instead of putting in some homework and finding it themselves, so your skills then are limited to the skill of others for finding fish and this way won't always work out and takes the art and satisfaction and for me the excitement too out of your accomplishments when you get these catches and your work has come together and pays off. So today I figured we would go over reading a beach or beach craft as I call it, so that you don't have to rely on other people’s information and chances are you may get better catches by

knowing what to look for as no beach really stays the same all year around and information is king with angling. On beaches the first things you want to be sure to do is look at it in low tide and take notes, distances, photographs etc. Take notes of the beach at High tide too are you going to be cut off by the rising waters? Safety is paramount first and foremost! Be looking for features a small gulley, ridge or depressions along a beach will produce fish as food will be trapped with the tide on the ebb and will be churned by the tide on the flood. Does your beach have groins? Or concrete / rock

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 11

structures? River outlets? Rise or falls? Any features that might give shelter or a potential food stuff ? These nearly always harbour some fish especially predatory fish if it's structures these are perfect for Congers or Bass as they present perfect ambush points for them whilst saving energy out of the current that will carry them your bait or a fish to prey on. Look for these rock features or places that gather seaweed as plenty of species hang around the safety of rocks and weed and others hunt them bringing the best of both. What marine life is around on your beach?

Match your baits to the venues it certainly helps, although hungry fish may take bait regardless there are those that may be wary so a naturally presented bait like a rag worm over a rag bed may be taken over a foreign bait. Some fish come to grounds expecting to get a certain food stuff. Get out there get rooting around it will enrich your skills and knowledge and your fishing results, especially when fishing new beaches... not all good anglers give away their spots and will say they have caught something elsewhere. Tight lines all

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ILFRACOMBE / NORTH DEVON REPORT

Sea Angling News, February 2019

NORTH DEVON REPORT By Wayne Thomas The New Year has seen calm weather dominate and whilst this has enabled anglers to venture out onto the shoreline it has not encouraged good numbers of fish close inshore to feed. Anglers fishing from rock marks on the open coast have been plagued by large numbers of dogfish and small conger. Those prepared to persist have been rewarded with a few good bull huss, spurdog, conger and a handful of tope.

conger in the deeper water.

Good news has been the large shoals of herring present off the coast with plenty of sightings of porpoise hunting these shoals. It is possible that some predatory fish are hunting these silver fish of winter high in the water. There are also reports of mackerel mixed within these shoals.

Late winter and early spring are often diﬃcult but if we get a few late winter storms spurdog shoals could bring good sport. If it stays calm dab will be a tasty reward for anglers prepared to ﬁsh smaller hooks with worm baits.

Boat anglers have enjoyed better sport with good numbers of spurdog, bull huss and

The estuary flounder season ended well with several fish of over 2lb reported from the Taw estuary. Ragworm were also plentiful this season which is encouraging following several poor seasons. Grey mullet seem to be present all year along the North Devon coast with fish landed to over 4lb. Kevin Goodman spurdog caught on Wild Frontier off Ilfracombe

Jon Patten - spurdog

John Shapland 4lb 4oz thick lipped grey mullet

Dave Jenkins - ﬂounder 2lb 2oz

Kvin Legge - bull huss 11lb 6oz

Rob Scoines with a pleasing brace of Taw ﬂounder

Kody Chugg spurdog 10lb 12oz

Mark Jones codling 4lb from up channel at Minehead

Louis Rook 3lb 12oz grey mullet

Wayne Thomas -8lb 10oz bull huss

Ian Laird bull huss 9lb 8oz

Young Charlie Stanway with a codling caught at Ilfracombe

Ross Stanway blonde ray 14lb 1oz

Richard Chapell 2lb 1.5oz ﬂounder

Ian Laird - spurdog

Sean Quartly bull huss 11lb 6oz

James Grigg spurdog 11lb 1oz

Ross Stanway rockling 1lb 3oz

Kyle Blackmore spurdog 9lb 3oz

Ray are also worth targeting from beach’s and clear ground marks such as Ilfracombe pier.

Nathan Clements - conger 23lb 13oz

Cameron Atkinson boat caught spurdog

Kyle Blackmore spurdog 13lb 8oz

Ross Stanway -conger caught oﬀ Ilfracombe on Wild Frontier

Tarrant Wotton 38lb tope

Specimen spurdog oﬀ Ilfracombe

Ross Stanway spurdog 12lb 8oz

River Taw ﬂounder brace for James Griggy

Sea Angling News, February 2019

NORTH DEVON / NEWS

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 13

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

ANGLING GROUPS CHALLENGE EUROPE TO ‘GET REAL’ OVER MILLION DOLLAR BLUEFIN TUNA OR FACE ‘CRIMINALITY AND CHAOS’ THAT WILL DESTROY RECOVERY

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“Until the 1950s the UK had a thriving and highly valuable recreational bluefin tuna fishery but overfishing of both herring and tuna saw stocks collapse and British big game anglers resorted to spending thousands of pounds pursuing these magnificent fish overseas. We now now have an opportunity to make a unique response to the return of these iconic fish. By adopting our radical, live-release fishery proposal, with an accompanying scientific research program, we can assist conservation and change the way other nations view and manage their Atlantic bluefin tuna.

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“The alternative to having anglers out on the water as stakeholders in the fishery will be an inevitable rise in criminality and chaos driven by profit and greed. These magnificent fish are worth far more alive than dead. They are a major natural capital asset to the UK with a recent study in Canada showing that the recreational bluefin tuna fishery was worth in the order of six times per tonne that of the commercial fishery.” Angling groups and recreational tuna specialists Bluefin Tuna UK are challenging politicians across Europe to embrace the development of a live release recreational tuna fishery or face an increase in illegal commercial fishing as bluefin tuna hits record prices in the Japanese fish market with the sale of a $3.1 million fish at the annual New Year’s Day auction. Even at the more realistic prices of £2k to £3k a carcass away from Tokyo’s media event, the value of these iconic fish still provides a great attraction for illegal activity. The Angling Trust has warned that the increasing numbers of giant bluefin tuna arriving in Northern European waters in the last three years are bound to attract the attention of the types of criminal gangs that were recently discovered by Europol operating in Spain, France, Italy and Malta. Late last year, Spanish police made 79 arrests breaking a network responsible for causing food poisoning from badly processed and illegally caught Mediterranean tuna. The gangs were estimated to be handling as much as 2,800 tonnes of tuna a year netting themselves around Eur 12.5 million of illegal profits annually. Over the last three years, huge Atlantic bluefin tuna have appeared late each summer in UK waters. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) began a global stock recovery program in 2007 which has seen numbers recover sharply from the danger levels of 10 years ago.

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From Cornwall and Wales to the Outer Hebrides, tuna are now present in significant numbers and many have been inadvertently caught and safely released by anglers out fishing for sharks. Despite this, Britain has no share in the EU quota, a small proportion of which is reserved for recreational fishing by France, Spain and Italy. Once Britain leaves the EU anglers are calling on the UK government to apply to ICCAT for part of the ‘reserve’ quota held for new ‘artisanal’ fishery opportunities. The Angling Trust and Bluefin Tuna UK are meeting with UK Fisheries Minister George Eustice later this month to present the case for a British tuna quota to be allocated to a specially licensed catch and release, recreational fishery operating alongside accredited scientific tagging programmes of the sort already run in Scandinavia by WWF.

Martin Salter, Chief Policy Advisor of the Angling Trust, said:

Anglers have also hit back hard at a recently published report that seeks to undermine their campaign to establish a properly regulated, science-based, live-release UK tuna fishery. The report, co-authored by plankton specialist Dr Richard Kirby, ‘Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations drive the basin-scale distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna’ argues that the phenomenon of sea temperature variations is largely responsible for the shift in the range of bluefin tuna, and that it will potentially also create negative conditions for the spawning in the Mediterranean influencing their abundance in future years. He then concludes that there is no case for a UK catch and release recreational fishery whilst ignoring the impacts of commercial exploitation. Steve Murphy, Director of Bluefin Tuna UK, said: “Whilst we welcome any contribution to our understanding of Atlantic bluefin, we have reservations about some of the conclusions leapt to in the report. The analysis completely ignores the role played by commercial overfishing in the stock collapse in the latter half of the 20th century and the stock recovery since 2011 in response to drastic cuts in the level of overfishing. “Dr Kirby suggests that the emergence of bluefin in these areas may be solely down to a shift of stocks from the South West Atlantic to the North East. However, he offers no analysis of the South Western stock and ignores comprehensive studies showing a recovery in the Eastern Atlantic stock in its own right, a recovery that has been acknowledged by serious conservation bodies such as the WWF. The fact is that the tuna are here and we need more data to increase our knowledge about these incredible predators.” David Mitchell, Head of Marine at the Angling Trust added: “Our proposal for a ‘world-leading’ catch and release recreational fishery working alongside marine scientists would aid the conservation of bluefin tuna through angling’s unique ability to catch fish for scientific purposes and return them unharmed. Because the mortality rates for properly managed recreational fisheries have been shown to be as low as 3.6% - far from the ’17-40%’ claimed by Dr Kirby only a tiny fraction (20 tonnes) of the already agreed global quota of 38,000 tonnes would be needed to deliver a sustainable and highly valuable recreational fishery for the UK.”

Sea Angling News, February 2019

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 15

LANGSTONE

LANGSTONE HARBOUR AREA BOAT FISHING REPORT By Neville Merritt, Southsea Marina Angling Club Finally…the Southsea Marina Angling Club (SMAC) Open Cod Competition was held on 30th December after seven postponements due to the weather. We even had a few settled days beforehand to get into the swing of things after two months of being stuck ashore. Although overcast, visibility was good, it wasn’t too cold and a slight westerly breeze gave us plenty of options. A total of 102 anglers signed in, with 45 boats mostly heading out from Southsea Marina, the Eastney ramp or Eastney Cruising Association (ECA). More fish were being caught inshore of the Nab than further out. Although the winning cod wasn’t as big as last year we were pleased that five cod weighed in (only two in the 2017 competition) and we had the main prizes awarded to cod with a number of good whiting as runners-up. The winner was Tim Andrews, SMAC Commodore with a cod of 9lb 2oz. Other winners were 2nd: Ken Barton cod 8lb 14oz; 3rd: Tom Baker cod 4lb 9oz; 4th: Bradley Tomkinson cod 4lb 7oz; 5th: Dean Kilford cod 3lb 10oz. Runners up with good whiting included Pete Bowden, Darren Price, Kim Bowden, Germit Ladaher, Bernie Kwil, Steve Manning, Dick Stubbs and Tim Ward. There were also prizes for Ladies, won by Hayley Ellis and a Junior prize won by Michael Houghton. The entire event would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication from Steve Kelly, SMAC Chairman who made sure all the anglers had a great day. Although the cod season this year has been disappointing there have been some

notable fish caught, topped by Lee Frampton with an amazing 31lb fish caught out of Bembridge. Mark Argyle from the ECA also caught a cod of 16lb 9oz on squid bait. Further out the banks and wrecks have been producing some good pollack and bass. Mark Banks and Tim Andrews demonstrate a typical catch. Heber Crawford had an amazing day on the bass which was topped by this monster of over 14lb. There are some very big bass around – Robert Foster’s 13lb 9oz fish reported last issue was awarded SMAC Fish of the Month. Rays feature in many boat trips but Ash Dowdswell’s 18lb Undulate Ray is a very good fish. We had a run of congers on many marks, not only taking cod baits but also attacking fish that were being reeled in as Phil Stride shows.

George Dominy SMDAC

Hayley Ellis Ladies Prize

Heber Crawford bass

John Wearn conger

M. Houghton Junior Prize

Tom baker 3rd cod 4-9

Southsea Marina Disabled Angling Club prove that age is no barrier to fishing. George Dominy shows how it’s done at 85 and John Wearn has no trouble wrestling this conger. At the other end of the age spectrum we always encourage young anglers and Mikey Primmett is delighted with this fine dab. After Christmas we usually find the remaining cod and larger whiting are hunting sprats further up in the water making them less interested in conventional bait fishing. As a result inshore fishing tends to quieten down in January and February before the plaice arrive. However we are already hearing reports of plaice being caught along the shore so the unseasonably warm water might be encouraging them in early. We will let you know next month!

Mark argyle 16lb 9oz cod

Mark Banks bass and pollack

Ash Dowdswell Undulate 18lb

WINNER

Robert Foster Fish Of The Month

Tim Andrews Pollack

Dean Kilford 5th cod 3-10

Lee Frampton 31lb cod

Ken Barton 2nd cod 8-14

Phil Stride bass and cod

Tim adams winning cod

Conger attack (Phil Stride)

Mikey Primmett

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NEWS / WALES / BURNHAM ON SEA

Sea Angling News, February 2019

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BURNHAM ON SEA REPORT By Richard Saxby It's been 2 months since my last report mainly due to a lack of activity from Burnham. The last couple of months of 2018 were certainly testing weather wise but 2019 has started off a bit more promising. The first cod of this season have been landed and there are a few decent whiting around as well. The cod seem to be late arriving in the bay this year so hopefully they may stay on a little longer to make up for it. December 16th and 2 boats with 6 members fished the Tony holly trophy at the fourth attempt. This was the first time anyone had launched from Burnham for nearly 2 months and as it was only a short trip over high both boats stayed local. Both the fishing and weather were below par with only 2 fish brought back to the scales. Nigel Devey took first with a lsd of 2lb 2 and 71%, second went to Stephen Saxby with a whiting of 1lb 7 and 68%. The first weekend of 2019 gave us light winds and on Sunday 6th we held our Presidents cup. 2 boats with 8 anglers launched into a glassy flat sea in the hope of finding the first cod of the year. The

Stephen Saxby whiting

fishing didn't quite match the weather but there were enough fish around to keep interest levels up and indeed the first cod were snared. Winner on the day with a lsd of 2lb 7 and 81% was Chris Lindsay, 2nd was Dave Tether with a cod of 11lb 14 and 66% with Andy Georgiou taking 3rd spot with a codling of 3lb 4 and 18%. Sunday 20th 4 boats with 10 anglers launched on a frosty morning with all steaming down to the Lilstock area. Fishing was very poor, lots of little codlets, a few thornies, dogs, whiting and straps and 5 keeper cod between us all. Andy Georgiou had a brace of cod with the best going 11lb 3. Fish of the month for December sponsored by Thyers Tackle of Highbridge was won by Nigel Devey with a lsd of 2lb 2 and 71%. The next club competition is the Fred Peters Trophy on the 3rd February. Our next club meeting is on Thursday 21st February at Burnham Motor Boat and Sailing Club on the sea front, pop along if you are interested in joining a friendly club. You can keep up-to date with latest news and catches and all things fishy on our facebook page and website Burnham Boat Owners Sea Angling Association.

Andy Geougiou cod

WIN!

Dave Tether 11-14 cod

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Stephen Saxby thornback

Fred Saxby cod

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Andy Georgiou 11-3 cod

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

WATCHET / MINEHEAD

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 17

MINEHEAD BOAT REPORT By Dave Roberts

RECENT CATCHES ABOARD SEAFIRE II

Again, Minehead boats returning good catches with the offshore grounds dominated by spurdogs. To the west of the Channel off Ilfracombe, catches of over a hundred fish are not uncommon with many individuals reaching high double figures. Huss are also still very plentiful showing how successful these fish have become over the past few years. Inshore grounds close to Minehead have been invaded by hundreds of cod, but as good as this

Alan Jaynes brace of cod Alykat

Bonio with a blonderay - Seafire II

Richard with a cod - Seafire II

sounds, most of them are tiny ﬁsh. Saying that, one or two good doubles are being taken so it’s worth a try to stick it out with a good bunch of worm. Whiting have also not shown in the numbers and sizes that we enjoyed last year. Rays are still good with some super blondes to around 20lb showing very close to Minehead. Though it is now late in the season, there is still a real chance of a lurker cod in this area so if you fancy a crack, give us a call!

Andy Bickle 14lb spurdog Alykat

Hayden with a double figure Blonderay - Seafire II

Tom with a cod - Seafire II

Andy Bickle 16lb blonde ray Alykat

Another nice cod Alykat

Frank Gibbs 12lb spurdog Alykat

Steve Chilcott 4lb 12oz spotted ray

Steve Ridout 15lb blonde Alykat

Steve Chilcott 4lb 12oz spotted ray

Jon Mattick 12lb Huss Alykat

Mick Franks 14lb 8oz cod AlyKat

18 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com

BRISTOL CHANNEL / MINEHEAD

Sea Angling News, February 2019

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Sea Angling News, February 2019

BRISTOL CHANNEL

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 19

BRISTOL CHANNEL SHORE REPORT By Craig Butler This past month has seen some of the best codling fishing we’ve had in a few years along the Somerset and Devon coastline of the channel. Compared to the last two years when the 2 to 5 pound fish have been a bit thin on the ground, it seems this year things have improved significantly with this stamp of fish. Good bags of these Codling are few and far between but catches of 1 to 3 keepers are common place for those who know their way about the marks and tides and get lucky with the conditions right. Codling are easy to catch if they are there, the only issue is if they are there or not. It’s been poor for double figure cod over the traditional winter period, there’s never going to be lots of doubles about, but hey we can’t have it all. One thing is for sure we are spoilt here in the Southwest especially in the Bristol channel where we have all year round quality fishing for a variety of species. Yes the channel

has it’s off days but doesn’t everywhere? Thankfully it’s off days not off weeks. The negative side of social media cooks my head !!! claims that fishing is slow and dead everywhere doesn’t help and stops many anglers trying there luck because he said she said it’s dead out there. Those responsible for these negative comments don’t have a clue and need to take a long deep hard look at things and pull their head out the sand !! Everyone blanks now and again throughout the year, it’s Just unfortunate. It’s called fishing not catching !!! Rant over !! The rant is not aimed at anyone in particular incase anyone gets a little bit paranoid, it’s a general observation that’s damaging to the Uk shore fishing scene and the trade in particular. And not just here in the Bristol Channel. Anyway I’m keeping it short this month to squeeze as many photos in as possible. Tight lines and happy hunting to you all.

Historic Harbour-side Venue ●Newly refurbished iconic pub and hotel with its fantastic Minehead harbour-side setting. ●Fine ales & river cottage style food & traditional hospitality at its best. ●Fishing parties welcome.

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ER L E Y V A W GUEST HOUSE

Proprietor: Ian Daniels 10 Tregonwell Road, Minehead TA24 5DT www.bandbminehead.com Email: idaniels@btconnect.com

ANGLER FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATION TEL: 01643 703193

20 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com

S LEY ’ HE R O L E NORTHNEY MARINA II K HAYLING ISLAND

Tel. Ian or Bex on 07795 538933 Email: iandale@kelleys-hero.com

Sea Angling News, February 2019

NEWS

11m South Catamaran with twin 330hp Iveco Turbo Charged Diesel engines. She has a top speed of 26 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots. The boat is fully coded to MCA CAT 2, and is licensed to carry 12 passengers.

RECENT CATCHES ABOARD KELLEY’S HERO

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Individuals / Small and Large Groups Catered for Email: johntomkat1@hotmail.com Mob: 07796023881 Owner: John Skeggs. Port: Lymington FREE PARKING! Now taking bookings for winter Cod fishing! A full day targeting Cod / Whiting, or you can split the day for Cod / Bass. Plenty of options!

LAST LAUGH CHARTERS By John Skeggs A good start to the New Year ! Anglers fishing South of the Needles have been pulling up some real quality Whiting, averaging 3 to 5lb. 6/0 hockeyes baited with a strip of mackerel seems to be one of the better methods. Along with the Whiting we are still getting the odd Cod, Thornebacks ,Undulate rays,

Smoothound and plenty and Conger eel. The most surprising fish last month was a 17lb 11oz Pollack caught at anchor. The beginning of 2019 we saw some quality Bass caught and Released with Gary Bennett landing his P.B, a fish of 11lb 2oz. Tight Lines and a Happy New Year to All. John Skeggs / Last Laugh / Lymington

RECENT CATCHES ABOARD LAST LAUGH

Brooke with a whiting

Blaine with a whiting

Blaine with a dogfish

WINNER

21lb pollock

Sea Angling News, February 2019

WEST WIGHT

Angling Trust National Teams and Competitions Group announce the International Sea Angling Teams for 2019 Following the England Selection Committee meeting held in Lymington on Saturday 12th January 2019 the Marine National Teams and Competition Group of the Angling Trust are delighted to announce the International teams for 2019. This group of dedicated volunteers travel all over the country to give up their time for this important annual meeting to select the England teams. The Men’s, Ladies, Masters, Pairs Shore Teams and the Big Game Team were formally selected late last year and are representing the Angling Trust and England in the World Angling Games in South Africa in February 2019. The squads selected are; Mens Shore squad - Saul Page, Richard Yates, Darren Newland, Ian Dancey, Bill Lindfield, Gareth Griffiths, Toby Oldfield, Tom Bagnall, Dene Conway, Russell Taylor, Stuart Withyman, James Madsen, David John Andrews, Bernard Westgarth, Jurgen Schedler, Keith Mills, Roger Cunnington, George Smith, Henry Randell, Andrew Dugdale, Ian Bowell, Ben Arnold, Kenny McCoy and David Lane. Ladies’ Shore squad - Heather Lindfield, Adele Smith, Kimberley Lawn, Becky Woods, Laura McConnel, Becky Lee Birtwhistle Hodges and Loraine Perry. Youth Shore squad - Adam Howard, Owen Strange, Joe Cook, Dillon Thompson, Rory Eastlake, Daniel Parker, Riley Price, Tom Ryder, Adam Molloy, James Slater, Curtis Driver, Ben Cloke, Owen Dunn, Ben Eggleton, Dylan Ballantyne and Samuel James.

Madsen and Tom Bagnall (manager). FIPS-M 36th World Men’s Shore Angling Championships to be held in Langebaan, South Africa from 8th – 15th February (World Angling Games) as below; Team – Saul Page, Richard Yates, Darren Newland, Ian Dancey, Bill Lindfield, Gareth Griffiths (reserve) and Malcolm Stote (manager). FIPS-M 27th World Ladies Shore Angling Championships to be held in Langebaan, South Africa from 8th – 15th February (World Angling Games) as below; Team – Heather Lindfield, Adele Smith, Kimberley Lawn, Becky Woods, Laura McConnell, Graham Woods (team captain) and Mark Hurcombe (manager). FIPS-M 3rd World Masters Shore Angling Championships (over 55’s) to be held in Langebaan, South Africa from 8th – 15th February 2019 (World Angling Games) as below; Team – David John Andrews, Bernard Westgarth, Jurgen Schedler, Keith Mills, Roger Cunnington and Richard Hipperson (manager/reserve).

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 21

VA LK Y R IE CH A R TE RS Skipper Gl Ski Glen C Cair i ns O f f ice: i 02392 4 461717 61717 B Boatt : 07831 878669 Valkyrie 6 & 7 are based at Northney Marina with easy access just across Langstone bridge plus FREE secure parking. Specialising in Wreck, Reef, Pollack, Cod, Bass fishing. All the facilities you would expect onboard a modern catamaran heated cabin, seating, cooking facilities. Licensed for 12 + 2 crew 60 miles fully insured. www.valkyriecharters.co.uk | Email valkyriecharters@hotmail.co.uk

PRIVATE VENTURE By Art savage With a spell of settled weather (at last) we have managed to push offshore for the first time in a few weeks, the reward was as expected with a good show of Rays and Bulhuss. The Conger seem to get bigger the further you go South, however the bonus was some good size Spurdog Inshore over the banks the Channel Whiting are still in good numbers with the average size around 2lb and our biggest weighed in at 4lb. The disappointment is the lack of Cod, apart from the occasional fish (which could turn up on any mark) The Solent is still the most productive.

PRIVATE VENTURE Fast Cat out of Lymington fishing the Needles area. Channel wrecking, reef fishing, 3 to 7 day Channel Island trips. Needles cod - bass fishing. evenings individuals - parties

Tel: Arthur Savage 02380-897111 Boat 07702 607216

FIPS-M 28th World Big Game Fishing Championships to be held in Sodwana Bay, South Africa from 9th – 16th February (World Angling Games) as below; A Team – Andy Atkins, Peter Bailey, Jonathan Patten and Steve Walder (manager). B Team – Jack Challis, Nik Teal, Bob McKee and Steve Walder (manager). Bull Huss - Private Venture

Boat squad – Matt Osborne, Colin Searles, Rolf Marschalek, Mark Smith, Gary Galbraith, Steve Batchelor, Martin Bobbett, Brett Lomas, Richard Day, Cliﬀ Newbold, John Bellamy, Peter Bailey, Gary Geoghegan, Andy Atkins, Peter Bailey, Jonathan Patten, Jack Challis, Nik Teal, Bob McKee, Paul Hollyoake, Cliﬀord Williams, John Wright, Paul Hart and David Cogger.

FIPS-M 55th World Boat Championships to be held in Gallipoli, Italy from 21st – 28th September as below;

SALC Home International Championship Shore Teams are;

FIPS-M 19th World Youth (U21s) Shore Angling Championships to be held in Italy from 12th – 19th October 2019 as below;

SALC Home Men’s Shore Championships in Kerry, Ireland from 5th – 6th July as below; Team – George Smith, Henry Randell, Andrew Dugdale, Ian Bowell, Ben Arnold, Kenny McCoy (reserve) and Richard Yates (manager). SALC Home Youth Shore Championships in Kerry, Ireland from 5th – 6th July as below; Team – Owen Dunn, Adam Howard, Daniel Parker, Joe Cook, Ben Eggleton, Dillon Thompson (non-travelling reserve) and manager (TBC). SALC Home Junior Shore Championships in Kerry, Ireland from 5th – 6th July as below; Team – Ben Cloke, Tom Ryder, Riley Price, James Slater, Samuel James, Dylan Ballantyne, Shane Inman (manager) and Colin Olver (assistant manager). SALC Home Boat Championships to be held in Weymouth, England from 10th – 15th June as below; Team – Martin Bobbett, Brett Lomas, Richard Day, Cliff Newbold, John Bellamy, Peter Bailey (reserve), Clifford Williams (2nd reserve) and Gary Geoghegan (manager/squad member). FIPS-M World Championship teams are; FIPS-M 2nd World Pairs Shore Angling Championships to be held in Langebaan, South Africa from 8th – 15th February 2019 (World Angling Games) as below; Team – Toby Oldfield/Tom Bagnall, Dene Conway/Russell Taylor, Stuart Withyman/James

Whiting - Private Venture

Team - Matt Osborne, Colin Searles, Rolf Marschalek, Mark Smith, Gary Galbraith, Steve Batchelor (reserve), Rolf Marschalek (assistant manager) and Neil Bryant (manager).

Team – Adam Howard, Owen Strange, Joe Cook, Dillon Thompson, Rory Eastlake, Daniel Parker (non-travelling reserve) and Malcolm Stote (manager). FIPS-M 28th World Junior (U16s) Shore Angling Championships to be held in Italy from 12th – 19th October 2019 as below; Team – Riley Price, Tom Ryder, Adam Molloy, James Slater, Curtis Driver, Ben Cloke (nontravelling reserve), David Graham (manager) and Callum Graham (assistant manager). FIPS-M 27th World Shore Clubs Angling Championships to be held in Dunkirk, France from 28th October to 4th November 2019 as below; Teams - Hythe Sea Angling Club and Sea Anglers Match Federation (SAMF). This year there will be no England Casting International team selected due to lack of England applications submitted for the World Angling Games in South Africa in February. The Angling Trust are seeking further England applications from any ladies who would like to apply to take part in the SALC Home Ladies Shore Championships to be held in Kerry, Ireland from 5th – 6th July. Please contact Sandra Johnson at Sandra.johnson@anglingtrust.net for further details. The Angling Trust would like to wish all the England Teams the very best of luck when competing in the FIPS-M World Championships and SALC Home Internationals this year.

Conger - Private Venture

22 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com

WEYMOUTH

Sea Angling News, February 2019

Port Report January’s charter boat fishing started well with Luke Pettis, skipper of Weymouth based ‘Snapper’ writing on Jan 2nd: ‘If today’s fishing is anything to go by 2019 will be a great year. A nice steady day inshore with plenty of species including spurdodog to 15lb, plenty of bull huss to 12lb, pollack to 6lb and whiting up to a stonking 4lb. Conger, blonde ray, dogfish and smoothhound added to the variety. Yesterday (17th January) Luke’s inshore report showed another good day with 11 different species caught between the charter group including ‘tope, turbot, brill, blonde rays, bull-huss and plenty more’. January’s offshore wrecking was all about the pollack as expected at this time of the year. February’s fishing is likely to continue in the same manner with pollack catches improving and a vague chance of an early season cod with link quite likely on drift fished baits towards the end of the month. The inshore fishing will feature blonde rays from the various banks along with conger which are often widespread over different types of terrain during this month. There will be a few whiting still about and other species such as red and tub gurnard, pout, dogs, hounds and possibly a bonus cod. February can be the month when some good sized turbot feature plus the very first showing of plaice. Reports from inshore commercial netsmen reveal that there has been a steady run of plaice from marks on the west side of Portland throughout the past three months…so

the fish are there in numbers although often difficult to pinpoint by angling. Anchoring on the Shambles Bank can be very productive in February for various rays plus late whiting and turbot. Angling has changed a lot in the last two years with our young and enthusiastic skippers willing to adapt and to offer different kinds of fishing targeting the bigger fish. The swing is definitely more towards sport fishing, which many skippers have tried to push towards for years, with less concern about bringing fish home for the table. There are also many more competitions taking place with an increasing amount of pleasure anglers learning from these competitive anglers whose catch rate is very impressive. The ever increasing use of top quality fixed spool reels paired with long and powerful rods allows much more of the surrounding seabed to be explored. Whilst this sound very much like uptiding, it is a variation on the theme with tackle deliberately being allowed to travel and search the ground. Rigs to handle this approach need to be carefully and thoughtfully constructed with special emphasis on streamlining and bait presentation. There is always much to be learnt and many different ways to improve one’s own fishing. Thank you to those who have persevered with the usual challenge of the winter weather and supported the Weymouth Charter Fleet. This is always a very difficult time of year for the boat skippers and your custom is very much appreciated. Good Luck for February and may the weather gods be generous.

A selection of recent catches aboard Duchess II

TEL: JOSH SIMMONDS 07554434338 OR FACEBOOK.COM/FISHONWEYMOUTH A selection of recent catches aboard Atlanta

NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR 2019

WEYMOUTH / NEWS

Sea Angling News, February 2019

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Skipper - Keith Brown

DUCHESS II

ATLANTA

Wreck, Reef, Shambles & Bank Fishing Individuals, Groups & Novices Welcome 60 Mile COP Licenced & Insured, Operating All Year 4, 6 & 8hr trips Skipper/Owner, Jeff Clarke Tel-01308425494 / 07778315778 fishonduchess2@btinternet.com

Reef, Wreck, Shambles & Kidney Bank fishing. Individuals, Parties, Beginners welcome. 60 mile COP, Licensed & Insured. Tel: DAVE PITMAN 01305 781644 Boat 07721 320352 www.deepsea.co.uk/boats/atlanta

y An n J o l l a S

Skipper Colin Baker Wreck, Reef, Shambles & Bank Fishing 60 Mile COP, Licenced & Insured Tel: 07814301708 www.sallyanncharters.co.uk Offshore Wrecking, Reef, Bank and Alderney Fishing Trips Free Parking

FISHING CHARTERS FROM PORTLAND WEYMOUTH MARINA

NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR 2018

Refreshments Tackle and Rod Hire available Beginners, Experienced and Families All Welcome

SKIPPER - DAN CLARKE (01308) 488515 / 07734383440 WWW.FINSUP-CHARTERS.COM @finsupfishingcharters

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 23

RECENT CATCHES ABOARD FINS-UP

24 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com

BRIGHTON / COSTA RICA

Sea Angling News, February 2019

www.oceanwarrior3.com

2 - 4 - 8 HOUR TRIPS

Specialising in offshore wreck and ground fishing. Fish in a spacious twin engined 500hp 38ft Aquastar. Full time owner and skipper Dave Elliott. 60 mile D.T.I, fully licensed and insured. Hot drinks and rod hires available. Ring Dave on boat direct 07966 377145 or evening 01444 230882 Email dave@oceanwarrior3.com

www.coxandrawle.com

COMPETITION BEST LURE CAUGHT FISH PRIZE The Red Gill is for the heaviest lure caught fish. The editors decision is final. The claim will have to be backed by photographic evidence and weighed on accurate scales. Full name and address will be needed plus details of where the capture was made. If you wish to have your photo returned please enclose an S.A.E. Entries to Red Gill competition, Sea Angling News 102 Periton Lane Minehead, Somerset TA24 9BP or email: editor@seaanglingnews.com. Usual competition rules apply

Sea Angling News, February 2019

NEWS

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 25

HAT TRICK OF VICTORIES FOR ARMY INTER SERVICE SHORE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 In their 100th anniversary year the Royal Air Force Angling Association were granted the honour of hosting this years Inter Service Shore Championship, the most prestigious annual competition fished between our armed services. The RAF chose the North Wales venues of Holyhead Breakwater on the Isle of Anglesey and Llandudno North Shore for the 31st annual 2-day competition held on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th November 2018. RAF Valley provided accommodation for all competitors throughout the event. Conservation is at the forefront of service angling who adopt the SAMF catch and release length to points system, with every fish over 18 centimetres gaining points for its captor. 12 anglers represent each armed service, the Royal Navy, Army and RAF and 4 from each team were drawn into 3 different zones daily. The angler with the most amount of fish points in each zone gains the least amount of zone points on a sliding scale from 1 to 12, and the team with the least amount of total zone points after two days is declared the overall Champion. Awards are also granted for the longest fish, longest round fish, and the most prestigious title of Individual Inter Service Shore Champion. Competitors were provided with quality bait packs of 3 frozen mackerel, 2 packs of frozen sandeel, a small packet of frozen squid, and a packet of black lugworm daily by Malcom Gilroy the proprietor of Anglesey Bait Centre. DAY 1 The bustling resort of Llandudno has never lost it’s elegance and today’s pavement cafes give it an almost continental air. It’s north beach is a 2 mile crescent of sand topped with cobbles and stretches eastwards from the Pier to Little Ormes Head. The RAF laid 36 pegs at a generous 25 paces from the outdoor paddling pool on Colwyn Road peg 36, back to the Llandudno Bay Hotel on the corner of Clarence Road peg 1. Match times were set from 1pm (1300) on Thursday 29th November until 6pm (1800), with a high tide of 6.9 metres arriving at 3.14pm (1514), and sunset at 4.02pm (1602). A Yellow Weather Warning had been issued by the Met Office overnight and Storm Diana provided SSE winds gusting to 56kph turning SSW by the end of the match but she didn’t affect the competitors as the venue is nicely sheltered by numerous luxury hotels and guest houses along the legendary north facing seafront. A steady flow of fish showed from the start with codling, dab and whiting coming from the channels 60-70 metres out. Bait combinations

varied between teams but mackerel and sandeel caught most species, whilst small codling gobbled up squid and lugworm cocktails. Loop rigs and 3 hook paternosters clipped and flapping, beaded and plain were the most popular rigs on show. At dusk the fishing slowed a little but full darkness saw an upturn with dogfish and whiting showing at distance. Some anglers were still exploiting the patches of clear ground between the shallow sand bars that retained a few fish closer in at this time. Come the end of Day 1, a total of 613 fish were recorded on match cards represented by 56 codling, 15 dab, 16 dogfish, 1 flounder, 1 pollack, 12 rockling and 512 whiting. Impressively, every angler had caught fish and all fish were returned alive to the water after capture. The 40 minute drive back to the airbase gave time for the Championship organiser Sergeant Malcolm Hore of the RAF to sort out match cards and with the help of Team Captains and Managers they were double checked and the Day 1 results were quickly announced. The RAF team had fished superbly and recorded a winning Day 1 zone points score of 60, which included three individual zone victories, and the best fish point’s total of 3064 from 215 fish landed. The Army had secured second place with 75 zone points having caught the most fish, 227 for 2643 fish points. The Royal Navy were in 3rd place overall on 99 zone points with 171 fish and 2006 fish points. Corporal Steve Rathbone of the RAF was top angler on Day 1 having landed 29 fish for 474 points to win zone B from peg 16 placed opposite Queens Road. Steve landed 5 codling, 1 dab, 3 dogfish, 1 rockling and 19 whiting on his Anyfish Anywhere original Mark 1 tournament GBFS pro rod and multiplier reel. The 25 year old Chinook helicopter ground engineer serving at RAF Odiham is a very experienced match angler having represented England at full and home international levels winning Individual Gold and Silver Medals. He said afterwards “It was a great result for the home team especially with Squadron Leader Stuart Bowyer and Corporal James Anastasi also securing zone victories for the RAF. To take the top three spots and open a 15 point gap over the Army was as good as it could be on the day. The Army have a top team and great history in this event. They are the team to beat and hopefully we can do it, especially this year.” DAY 2 Holyhead Breakwater is situated at the northwestern end of the Island of Anglesey in North Wales. The Victorian structure is 1.7 miles long, (2.7km), and is the longest Breakwater in the UK.

The Breakwater is accessible in good weather and has a promenade on top which leads out to the Breakwater Lighthouse. Fishing into the harbour side, the RAF placed 36 pegs in three zones on the lower deck coming back from the Lighthouse to the first bend, peg 1. The ground here is clean, and the target species included bull huss, dogfish, rays and whiting. The match commenced at 11am (1100) on Friday 30th November and finished at 4pm (1600) with a high tide of 5.1 metres set at 4.06pm (1606) and sunset at 4.02pm (1602). Holyhead Breakwater is owned by the Stena Shipping Company who kindly granted the armed services vehicular access in recognition of the competitor’s valuable contribution to the defence of our country, and the historic 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force. Unfortunately a few lobster pots had turned up overnight close in, so pegs were slightly adjusted to accommodate the unexpected obstacles. Weather conditions had greatly improved with sunshine greeting anglers from the start although the wind remained breezy throughout the afternoon. The odd breaker on the outside of the wall added a cooling shower to the unfortunate spectator who braved the long walk during daylight. Bites started from the off with dogfish and whiting snapping up sandeel, mackerel, squid and worm baits offered on the standard loop and 3 hook paternoster rigs so successfully used the day before. A first cast thornback ray of 30 centimetres for Sergeant Robert Burns of the Army from peg 30, saw him take the credit of landing 4 different species in the match, the most for any entrant adding dab, dogfish and whiting to his catch. A total of 378 fish were landed from the Breakwater represented by 2 bull huss, 2 dab, 132 dogfish, 1 thornback ray, and 241 whiting, attaining 10199 fish points, all returned to the water alive after capture. The Army are very experienced at Inter Service sport so it was no surprise to see them overturn a 15 point deficit. Two of their anglers won zones, Warrant Officer Benny Burnett taking zone C with 11 dogfish and 7 whiting for the teams best points score of 740. That was equalled by Sergeant Mike Mawson gaining another single point in zone B from peg 24 after landing 1 dab, 4 dogfish and 7 whiting for 373 points. The final zone victory and Day 2 match win went to the rod of Chief Petty Officer Leslie Willcock of the Royal Navy who from peg 1 in zone A landed 1 bull huss, 4 dogfish and 21 whiting for a total fish points score of 882, the best individual score of the two day event. When everyone got back to RAF Valley the match cards were double checked and the Army team had won Day 2 after registering 57 zone points from 156 fish for

Winning ARMY Team at the Inter Service Shore Championships 2018

3926 fish points. The RAF were second with 87 zone points having amassed 3130 fish points from 124 fish caught. The Royal Navy were third again having landed 98 fish for 3143 fish points, more than the second placed team, and secured 90 zone points. OVERALL The ARMY were crowned 2018 Inter Service Shore Team Champions having pulled back a 15 point deficit after Day 1 to win overall on 132 points beating the hosts, the RAF on 147 points, and ROYAL NAVY in 3rd place on 189 points. Army Team Manager Colour Sergeant Ian (Badger) Hillary said afterwards, “It was an excellent tournament fished in the true traditions of service sport, great sportsmanship, great venues and great friends. To win it three years in a row is testament to our sea anglers who never give up, and to everybody behind the scenes that helps to promote recreational sea angling for soldiers at grass route levels. Were absolutely delighted and amazed with this fantastic result. Everybody caught fish both days and I was fishing against the lad who won the individual title. He deserved it; he fished superbly to land that last fish of the day, hats off to him.” The Individual Championship was awarded to Chief Petty Officer Leslie (Toyah) Willcock who recorded the lowest two-day total of 3 zone points. The 49 year old Electrical Technician (Weapons Engineer) from Torpoint in Cornwall is currently serving onboard the Type 23 Frigate HMS Northumberland. Les said after being awarded the Gold Medal, “I was having a fantastic battle with the lads in peg 2 and 3 and we were matching catches right up to the final whistle. I lost a dogfish on retrieve with 5 minute to go and decided to just lob the remaining bait out hoping for a bull huss close in, then I got the usual huss knock, I knew I had the fish on and slowly brought it to the side of the Breakwater and saw it was a big fish. Sportingly Warrant Officer Nigel Gurney of the RAF who fished next to me (peg A02) expertly caught it in his drop net and landed it for me. It was the match winning fish at 95 centimetres and 467 points. I had the end peg as well so I couldn’t have been better placed in the match to secure the individual title after getting a zone second at Llandudno. This title means everything to me and is a great reward for the whole Royal Navy team who have battled hard over the past 4 years to catch up with the other services. Next year we are hosting the tournament from Gosport and hopefully this will spur the lads on to team success, it has been a while.”

Leslie Willcock and bull huss

RESULTS / NEWS

26 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com LDSFC 1st Club Shore Competition 9th December 2018. On Sunday the 9th December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held its 1st shore competition for its 2018/19 club year. The competition was the club’s Christmas rover in which 15 club members signed on and 9 weighed in 46 fish for a total weight of 20lbs 5.4oz, which included dogfish, whiting and pouting. The weather was dry and sunny but sadly with a strong northwesterly wind. The best round fish pool went to Paul Dibden with a dogfish of 1lb 4.8oz. The best flat fish pool and the best specimen fish pool were both rollovers to the next competition. Results: 1st Andy Hopkins 8 fish 3lb 8oz, 2nd Paul Watson 6 fish 3lb 7.4oz, 3rd Paul Dibden 3 fish 3lb 3.2oz, 4th Malcolm Stote 9 fish 3lb 2.4oz, 5th Keith Panks 8 fish 2lb 12.4oz, 6th Danny Panks 8 fish 2lb 4.8oz, 7th Leo Chamberlain {jnr} 2 fish 0lb 14oz, 8th Roland Blomfield 3 fish 0lb 11oz, 9th Pete Chamberlain 1 fish 0lb 8.2oz.

Andy and Leo.

Paul Dibden.

Other species of ﬁsh caught were whiting, pouting, conger and dogﬁsh. Our thanks to skipper Kevin Duell for making it an enjoyable evening.

LDSFC Recreational Boat trip out of Poole. On Saturday 22nd December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held a day recreational boat trip out of Poole aboard charter boat “Strongbow”. Due to a strong westerly wind the six club members decided to stay inside Poole Harbour and fish for sizeable bass and flounders. Sadly the strong wind restricted us as to where we could fish. Brownsea Island, Evening Hill and a few other places were tried with very little luck only producing small bass which all went back. Robin Brooks finally caught a flounder of 1lb 3oz which was the only one of the day.

Here is the result of our final match of 2018 which was a Shallow Boats match held on Sunday 23rd December. 8 members went afloat expecting a wet day but were surprised it stayed dry all day. All 8 weighed in 137 fish for 43k 686gms with the species being Pout, Dogfish, Whiting & Thornback Ray with the best fish being a Thornback Ray of 4k 876gms caught by Gary Thomas. The weight coming from the Club's Ray chart after the fish was measured across the wings and returned to the water. SENIORS. 1. Adrian Groves 35 fish 9k 640gms 2. Gary Thomas 6 fish 6k 616gms 3. Bob Patterson 23 fish 5k 860gms 4. Barry Instrell 19 fish 5k 760gms 5. Jim Merritt 21 fish 5k 120gms

The last match of 2018 was a Andy Neal rover, all anglers chose to ﬁsh Burton Bradstock to stay away from the hoards of angler's on the Chesil chasing the cod!, this proved to be a good move for Tony Colls who caught a specimen Dover sole of 965 grams, dogﬁsh, pouting and strap congers were also caught. 1st Gerry Read 14pts 2nd Steve Fowles 12pts 3rd Jim Leighton 12pts

With a strong south easterly wind Derek Smith managed to catch ﬁrst, a nice bull huss followed by Chris Ellis with another bull huss. Chris also had the best catch of the evening a big rock weighing about 7lb.

Open Shore Slapton, South Devon, on 6th Jan 2019. The South West’s first major event in 2019 attracted 158 anglers to the South Hams to fish the annual Angling Trust Wyvern Open Festival. The weather conditions for a change was perfect with a light west/north west wind and a flat calm sea for the five hour event. Whiting, Dogfish, Mackerel, Garfish & GreyGurnard were caught during the event. The results were announced within half an hour of the close of scales at 6.45 pm at the Festival Headquarters at the Stokeley Farm Shop.

caught. Pete Drodge caught a small eyed ray of 5lb 10oz. Roland Blomfield caught a pouting weighing 2lb 2oz. With the calm waters fish were plentiful. Nigel Shoat caught a smooth hound of 7lb 1oz, and Roland a whiting of 2lb 15oz. As the time crept on we came in near the shore where Brian Dawkins had a small eyed ray of 9lb 7oz and Roland one of 5lb 9oz. All in all a very good day’s fishing.

The main sponsor was Julian Shambrook of Anyﬁsh Anywhere Ltd, a major ﬁshing tackle manufacturer, based in Torquay. All our sponsors for the day were thanked for their continuing support each year, also a big thank you to Stokeley for their hospitality & providing an excellent venue.

R.Brooks 2nd comp

West Bay SAC

Evening recreational Solent boat trip. On Wednesday evening the 12th December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held a recreational evening boat trip ﬁshing the Solent only. Eight club members boarded charter boat “Voyager” to ﬁsh a mark west of Lymington.

Angling Trust – Marine - Wyvern Region

The worthy winner was Ben Bradstock (Honiton SAC) who recorded a specimen Whiting of 1.98lb & a L.S.D. of 1.87lb (206.8%), it was Ben’s second year in a row wining last year’s event, He was presented with the top prize of £200 cash and the Brixham Bowl. The other tackle prizes were valued at over £800 and were awarded down to 12th place, these were announced by the Chairman of the Wyvern Region Alex Parker, and Pete Huthins Wyvern’s longest serving committee member presented the prizes. All ﬁsh brought to the scales were returned, used for the table, with the remainder being collected and used by the Otter Sanctuary at Buckfastleigh. The Region promotes the Angling Trust “Take Five” anti litter campaign and encourages all anglers to leave the beaches cleaner than they found them.

Shirley SAC

LDSFC

Sea Angling News, February 2019

Shirley SAC Here is the result of our 1st match of the New Year which was a Shallow Boats comp held on Sunday 6th January. On a nice calm day 14 members went afloat with 11 weighing in 178 fish for 44k 180gms. species were Flounder, Pout, Dogfish &.Whiting with the best fish being a Whiting of 700gms caught by Adrian Groves. SENIORS. 1. Bob Patterson 37 fish 8k 030gms 2. David Neil 25 fish 6k 790gms 3. Barry Instrell 30 fish 6k 620gms 4. Adrian Groves 17 fish 6k 120gms 5. Paul Bryson 12 fish 3k 130gms JUNIORS. 1. Jack Bryson

15 ﬁsh

2k 900gms

Kings Arms SAC The Kings Arms Juniors fished the Town Quay,Southampton and caught 3 different species of fish and a total of 33 fish. 1st Jack Thompson 56 pts 2nd Louie Thompson 52 pts.

LDSFC

Best ﬁsh pool Tony Colls (Dover sole 965 grams) Photographs by Mike Spiller of the winner Ben Bradstock being presented with his prize by Pete Hutchins of the Wyvern Region and the Team Shield winners.

LDSFC Recreational Boat trip out of Poole. On Thursday 27th December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held a recreational fishing trip out of Poole with eight club members aboard charter boat “Strongbow”. With light winds we headed for a mark six miles straight out of Poole Bay. Once the anchor was dropped fish started being caught and coming aboard thick and fast. Paul Ibbersongrove caught a nice whiting and Dick Peckham caught a whiting of 2lb 10oz. This continued for most of the morning with small congers and dogfish being

Shallow Boats Presentation Evening. On Friday evening 18th January the Shallow Boats competitors held their prize giving at the club house. On a cold night there was a warm friendly atmosphere inside with wives and partners also attending. Our grateful thanks go to Sue and Georgie for providing a very appertizing buffet which helped to make the evening such a success. End of year results: 1st Phil Morgan with 142pts, 2nd Adrian Moody with 141pts, 3rd Alan Martin 126pts. The heaviest fish of the year which is brought back to scales was a bull huss weighing 9lb 4oz caught by Adrian Moody which was also the best specimen at 77.08%. This fish was weighed and released on the pontoon next to the slipway. The highest number of different species brought back to the scales by any angler was 5 and this was shared by 2 anglers. Phil Morgan had plaice, wrasse, bream, scad and pouting. Adrian Moody had pouting, bream, wrasse, mackerel and bull huss.

Sea Angling News, February 2019

FIXTURES / NEWS

Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 27

MATCH PLANNER BLACKDOWN SEA ANGLING CLUB OPEN COMPETITIONS Sunday

7 Oct 2018

Fishing 1600-2000hrs Signing on from 1400hrs

Saturday

8 Dec 2018 Fishing 1700-2100hrs Signing on from 1500hrs

Saturday

19 Jan 2019 Fishing 1500-1900hrs Signing on from 1300hrs

All matches are measure and release and the signing on venue is The Hobby Horse Inn, The Esplanade, Minehead

BOGNOR REGIS AMATEUR ANGLING SOCIETY Open beach competition Sunday 10 march 2019 0930 to 1430 catch and release to be fished at Pagham Beach booking in and draw for pegs from 0830 at pagham yacht club 1 West Front Road PO21 4SY entry cost £ 8 juniors £4 pool flat £1 round £1 Penn points cash prize subject to entry Tel: John Small 07799 762377 after 5 pm

WYVERN REGION 6th January is our open shore at slapton. Sign on from 11am at strete gate car park. Fishing 1pm till 6pm. Wyvern presentation evening will be on 26th jan at the RBL, Exeter. 8pm start. Everyone welcome to see all our presentation of awards for 2018. More detail Mike Spiller 01404 43397.

www.coxandrawle.com SOME RECENT PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE FISH FINDER CHARTER GROUP

TO ADVERTISE CALL JAMES ON 07825 181694

28 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com

Sea Angling News, February 2019

TACKLE SHOPS DIRECTORY

FLY AND LURE FISHING ON THE JURASSIC COAST

TACKLE SHOPS DIRECTORY

By Richard Lyon-Wilson So will this season ever end? With the water still pretty warm for this time of year and the weather still mild the bass are still being caught on the Jurassic Coast. Basically, if you put the effort in and have the right conditions you will be rewarded. Reports of good sized bass, wrasse, Pollock and even mackerel are coming out at Portland and around to Lyme Regis-it seems like the fishing will last through to the spring! This brings me onto what rod, reel and braid to use. Rods I would use here around Dorset would be 9ft 10-30g casting weight. Major Craft Skyroad, HTO Nebula are very popular rods; light and crisp and perfect for casting hard lures and soft plastics. But recently I have started to use the Diawa Prorex AGS. This is a phenomenal rod. Very light, crisp and with the added spec of carbon guides means that the saltwater cannot really get in anywhere. I’ve been really putting it through its paces and it will cast a mile but still has the sensitivity for working smaller lures and soft plastics. Being able to feel their movement makes it a real pleasure to fish with. In fact, Diawa seem to be putting out some amazing kit over the past few years-rods, reels and braid with updated versions being released on a regular basis. With regard to reels, I don’t think you can

do wrong with any of the Shimano, Diawa or Penn series. I use a Shimano Sustain which seems to be mid price range with sealed components. I have had mine for some years and after a few dunkings is still doing me proud. I would take time to look at the 3000-4000 reels by different manufacturers as they do differ in size, for example the Diawa 3000 is more like a Shimano 4000. There are many types of braids on the market. I tend to go for Diawa J-braid around the 20lb mark or Sufix 832. Both these come in the thinner 8 strand like the the J-braid and Sufix Pro 8. They both have their advantages but it really depends on what ground you are fishing. So here on the Jurassic Coast I find the first slightly more robust J-braid a great line, being more resistant fishing over rocky areas. Then there comes the question of leader or no leader. I quite often just go straight through with braid to clip and have rarely had any problems but if you are going to use a short 2 ft leader, I would use a quality flurocarbon or amnesia at around 15lb and tie them using an FG knot which after a few attempts and studying the knot tying process on You Tube it will become very easy to do making this probably the strongest slimmest braid to mono knot out there.

DEVON SEAVIEW ANGLING 14/15 Faraday hill, Plymouth PL4 0ST. Tel: 01752269698 SEATON ANGLING CENTRE The Harbour, Axmouth, Seaton Devon EX12 4AA Tel: 01297 625511 www.seatonanglingcentre.co.uk HIGH STREET TACKLE, 153 High Street, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 9EZ info@highstreettackle.co.uk Tel: 07516 730749

DORSET SWANAGE ANGLING CENTRE 6 High St., Swanage BH19 2NT Tel. 01929 424989 email martin@swanageanglingcentre.co.uk THE ANGLING CENTRE, 10a West Bay, Bridport tel. 01308 421800 www.fishto.net WEYMOUTH ANGLING CENTRE 2-3 St Edmunds Street, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8QU Tel 01305-777771 Email: wac@weymouthangling.com ABBOTSBURY FISHING TACKLE Rodden Row, Abbotsbury Weymouth DT3 4JL Tel 01305 871199. Delivery service to beach available.

JERSEY MORNING WATCH TACKLE St Catherines Breakwater, St Martins Jersey JE3 6DD 01534854359

HAMPSHIRE ALLAN’S MARINE 143 Twyford Ave., Portsmouth Tel 02392 671833 www.allansmarine.co.uk ROVERS FISHING TACKLE 178a West St., Fareham, Hants PO16 0EQ Tel. 01329 220354 Fax 01329 829040 roverstackle@yahoo.co.uk POINGDESTRES Unit 11, Southampton Trade Park, Third Avenue, Southampton, Millbrook SO15 0LE 023 8077 2958 www.poingdestres.co.uk

SOMERSET VEALS FISHING TACKLE, Brunel Rooms, Unity St. Bristol, BS2 0JP. 01179 260790 THYERS FISHING TACKLE, 1A Church Street, Highbridge 01278 786934 Fax 792397 WEST COAST TACKLE The Quay, Minehead Tel. Craig 01643 705745 WEST COAST ANGLING CENTRE 53 Swain St, Watchet Tel. Steve 01984 634807

SUSSEX THE ANGLERS DEN 6 North Road, Pevensey Bay, East Sussex BN24 6AY Tel: 01323-460441 LAGOON BAIT& TACKLE, 327 Kingsway, BN3 4LD Brighton - 01273 415879 SCOTTIES 25 Southwick Square, Southwick, Brighton BN42 4FP Phone:01273 592903 PRIME ANGLING 74 Brighton Rd, Worthing BN11 2EN Phone:01903 821594 www.primeangling. co.uk/

WALES TELBOY’S TACKLE Amlwch, Anglesey Tel. 01407 832965 www.telboystackle.co.uk

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