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Sea Angling News Ltd. - www.seaanglingnews.com - editor@seaanglingnews.com - Issue 292 February 2020
RARE BLUE SKATE CAUGHT FROM CHESIL BEACH
www.coxandrawle.com
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2
BASS BAG LIMIT
BASS BAG LIMIT AND SEASON INCREASED
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6
DANGLER APP
ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR ANGLERS
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25
BACK TO BASICS
THE PULLEY RIG
WINNER
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27
7lb 7oz blue skate caught by Till Hall fishing on Chesil Beach
LRF REPORT
THE LATEST FROM THE LRF WORLD
2 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
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NEWS
Bass bag limit and season increased for bass anglers in 2020 anglers was achieved in 2020. Lobbying has occurred over the course of 2019 to provide the evidence in support of increasing the bag limit for anglers. The Angling Trust had called for an increase in the bag limit to three fish per day for seven months, based on scientific evidence.
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
David Mitchell, Head of Marine at the Angling Trust, said: Hard work by Save Our Sea Bass and the Angling Trust has resulted in a better deal for recreational bass fishermen next year. Anglers will be allowed to keep up to two bass per day from March 1st to November 30th after the EU Council of Ministers agreed catch limits for 2020. This positive move repairs some of the damage done since 2015 when the public’s ability to take a bass for the table was first reduced then completely extinguished by the EU for most of 2018, and only increased to one fish for a seven month period in 2019. The Angling Trust has been working with the European Anglers Alliance and Save Our Sea Bass in pressing DEFRA ministers and officials to ensure a fairer deal for
“This is great news for bass, as the science shows that the stocks are recovering as a result of the restrictions on commercial netting. It's also great news for the fishing public whose right to take a few fish for the table has been severely curtailed in recent years. We still have some way to go before the public’s access to our bass stock is back to where is should be but this welcome news shows that anglers are being listened to and that our views have been taken into account." North Cornwall MP and Angling Trust bass champion Scott Mann added his support: "I am delighted to see this morning that the restrictions on bass anglers have been relaxed. Recreational anglers didn't cause
the problem with bass stocks and they have been unfairly penalised. We must follow the science and make good decisions based on the evidence. "The Angling Trust have shown once again their influence on policy and I am delighted to be working with them on behalf of thousands of sea anglers in the UK." David Curtis, from Save Our Sea Bass, was in Brussels following the EU negotiations which went on late into the early hours of this morning. He said: “It’s taken a lot of time and a great deal of hard work but it’s finally paid off. Both the science and our own catches told us that bass stocks were in trouble and that action was required. Whilst we would have preferred a three fish bag limit most anglers will be pleased with two and an extended season.” The EU countries also agreed to respect the scientists' lower sustainable catch recommendation meaning that the stock should continue to rebuild over 2020 in a win-win for anglers and the long-term health of the stock.
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 3
REPORT FOR THE PORTS OF BRIGHTLINGSEA BRADWELL AND WEST MERSEA By Lee Bollingbroke, skipper of Sophie Lea Well I can report that our cod season was a failure again in our part of the thames estu‐ ary, reports of one here one there is all we are getting and this is as far down the coast east to Southwold and west to Kent and it has had a impact on our industry with many charter boats suffering. Its a shame that so many anglers are so fo‐ cused on cod because there is still so much to offer with lots of rays whiting dabs flounders dogs etc etc and in mid February a fantastic spur dog run for those anglers willing to fish through our winter months. All this cod talk is very detrimental to our industry and many charter boats are being laid up from December until March with many skippers considering the worth of thousands of pounds invested in the charter industry in our part of the woods
right now. We also have the weather to contend with scuppering trips with anglers that are happy to fish with the lack of cod, however when we are able to get out anglers are having some great sport. Many of the commercial boats are saying that the wind farms are having a negative affect on cod migrations with cod unwilling to cross the electric cabling from wind farms to the shore, there may be some truth in this but I am certain nothing will be done scientifically to proof or disproof this buy the powers that be so we are stuck with it. But its not all doom and gloom plenty of good fishing to be had and support is needed by charter boats and angling shops if you want them around for the spring on‐ wards.
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
NEWS / BRIXHAM
OBSESSION - BRIXHAM
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 5
NEWS
BROTHERS BEHIND SUFFOLK START-UP SECURE £500K SEED FUNDING
RECENT CATCHES ON SIZE MATTERS
Thornback - Size matters
Plaice - Size matters
Thornback - Size matters
Dangler Brothers
THREE Suffolk brothers are celebrating securing a £500,000 seed investment in their online marketplace for anglers.
developed by anglers, for anglers, and our market research suggests it’s very much needed.
Dangler was launched this autumn 2019 by brothers Daniel, Kane and Harry Hughes, who are all former pupils of Stowmarket Middle and High School.
“With the user experience work currently taking place and content being prepared, we will be aiming to have the platform live by the Spring of 2020.”
The trio are keen hobby anglers, and had first begun developing the idea of a selling platform uniquely for the angling community, back in 2017. Earlier this year they approached the start-up support lab, Shout About Suffolk, and secured a £30,000 initial injection from founders Paddy Bishopp, Toby Durrant and Richard Croft.
Paddy Bishopp, co-founder of Shout About Suffolk, applauded the brothers on achieving the investment.
Shout About Suffolk then led a determined push for investment throughout the summer, enabling the brothers to secure funds of between £5,000 and £100,000 from a number of investors. A total seed investment of £500,000 has now been raised, allowing Dangler to push forward with the build and development of its prototype app. Harry Hughes, co-founder of Dangler, said: “We are delighted to have secured this important investment and are already under way with the development of our unique platform. “We’re really proud to be working with a Suffolk based development house for this crucial piece of work, and are now looking to begin recruitment of talented individuals from across the region who feel they would be a great asset in the Dangler journey.” The Dangler platform will allow anglers to effortlessly buy and sell fishing tackle and related items, as well as building a ‘community’ of those with a shared interest. Harry added: “Ours is very much a social marketplace, unique to anglers. It’s being
He said: “From the moment the brothers presented their idea to Shout About Suffolk, it was clear that they had researched the opportunity, understood their audience, and were 100% committed to putting in the effort necessary to achieve their goal.
Cod - Size matters
Cod - Size matters
SIZE MATTERS
“We were very keen to lead the push for investment on their behalf, and are now in the process of helping a further two Suffolk companies raise funds in a similar way.” He added: “We’re delighted to be continuing to support the brothers through our mentoring relationship, and to be watching them progress their business with the input of Suffolk-based suppliers, advisors and future employees. “This is a great story for three passionate Suffolk entrepreneurs, and we very much hope that in the year ahead we’ll see more Suffolk based investors keen to step forward and help young ambitious businesses created in this county.” For more information about Dangler, potential recruitment opportunities, and the forthcoming platform, email info@dangler.co.uk. You can sign up to register your interest in the new platform in advance, by going to www.dangler.co.uk.
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
CHESIL BEACH / NEWS
CHESIL BEACH REPORT By Gareth Mayers The last couple of weeks chesil beach has experienced storm after storm coming in from the south west making fishing ex‐ tremely difficult or pretty much impossible. With winds at times in excess of 60mph and very large seas it has been enough to put off the most hardest of anglers. There has been a few opportunities to get out when there has been a lull in the weather and to be honest the whole beach has provided some good fishing. Abbotsbury to ferrybridge has produced a lot more double figure cod this month which goes to show the bigger fish are cer‐ tainly there it’s just finding a gap in the weather to be able to get out and target them that has been the problem. A lot of anglers are also picking up some really nice sized pouting on there cod baits with loads of fish reported over 1.8lb mark. This would also explain why good numbers of conger eel are making an appearance over high water at night with the average fish weighing between 15-20lb all out hunt‐ ing there favourite dinner the pouting. The ray fishing has still been producing the goods with several blonde and small eyed ray coming out. The biggest shock and sur‐ prise was Till Hall and his blue skate he caught. Till really deserves this fish as he has put in a lot of hours targeting ray from the beach. Well done mate! To the other end of the spectrum the bass fishing is still pretty good. Most fish are not really of any size (in the region of 2-3lb bracket) but there is still the odd PB fish about but as you know any size bass can give you great sport with the initial bite coming out of nowhere and getting the heart really racing with the typical jagged fight as they zip around in front of you. The best time to target the species is the last 3hours on a rising tide at night using good sized fish baits lobbed no more than 30 yards out. Do this and you will stand a good chance of getting into them. They will start to think out soon when the cooler weather and frosts start to set in and the temperat‐ ures drop. If like many other anglers who turn up on Chesil and the beach is a lot crazier than you expected then step your end gear down a tad and try Preston beach (Wey‐ mouth). This venue is a great backup and is sheltered from WSW - NW winds.
The venue can be a little gem at times with a chance of catching absolutely anything from giltheads in the summer to codling in the winter. I recently had a club match that was sup‐ posed to be at ferrybridge but due to aver‐ age wind speed of 20mph from the WSW the venue was changed to Preston. During the match 11 species where caught, dog‐ fish, pout, whiting, cod, weaver fish, sole, thornback ray, small eyed ray, hounds, bass and pollock. Any angler would agree that’s pretty good for the time of year. Usual tactics for the venue is one rod with a distance rig on size 2 hooks with fairly big rag baits. the second rod with a 2-3 hook flapper with no more than 10lb snoods with size 6 hooks with smaller baits lobbed just behind the ledge. Remember small hooks don’t necessarily mean small fish. Give it a go. Hopefully the weather will calm down soon so we can get back on the mighty Chesil to seek the shingles rewards. Until next month......... tight lines!
Jamie young with an undulate weighing 12.8lb Jamie also managed a codling in the same session.
Darren Stocke managed a few fish whilst getting a surprise visit from his grandson.
David Mordecai’s bass.
Sam Masters with his Chesil codling.
Jack Minhinnick’s nephew with a cracking pouting! Well done young man!
Peter King with a cod weighing just under 8LB.
Brent Neil with a fine pollock. Brent Neil with a fine pollock.
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Wreck fishing for bass in Lyme bay, from the river Axe in east Devon.
Licensed for 6 persons. MCA Safety Code Of Practice Category 2 and can operate up to 40 miles offshore. Gary Turnstill was rewarded with a Chesil thornback.
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PJ Wheeler with a on cod at 9lb 12oz well done mate.
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
EAST SUSSEX
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 7
EAST SUSSEX DIARY By Kevin Morgan NOMADS CHRISTMAS OPEN 15-12-19 Fifty two anglers fished the Nomads Christmas Open in rough wet and choppy conditions. The match was fished along Langney Point and Eas‐ bourne in 2 sections. The winner over-all was then taken out and the rest of the prizes awarded in 2 sections. The match was fished as a catch and release with points awarded to the fish and then converted to weight. Plenty of fish were caught in the rough sea making it a good match. Tony Kirrage was the over-all winner with an ex‐ cellent score of 952 points, which also included the heaviest fish, a lovely bass worth 545 points. Tony’s total weight converted to 19lb 13oz 5dr, with the bass at 11lb 2oz 5dr. Fishing in A sec‐ tion, Well done Tony!! A section 1st Colin crosby 382 pts 7lb 15oz 5dr. 2nd Ian Hopper 375 pts 7lb 13oz. 3rd Eddie Ry‐ der 348 pts 7lb 4oz. 4th Paul Christopher 320 pts 6lb 10oz 10dr and 5th Mick Hinson 312 pts 6lb 6oz. B section 1st Colin Carey 512 pts 10lb 10oz 10dr. 2nd Paul King 318 pts 6lb 10oz. 3rd Ralph Crosby 314 pts 6lb 8oz 10dr. 4th Gary Banfield 302 pts 6lb 4oz 10dr and 5th Tony Royal 292 pts 6lb 1oz 5dr. The pairs winners were Tony Kirrage and Gerald Sargeant with 1135 pts, 2nd Mick Webb and Colin Carey with 727 pts and 3rd Colin Crosby and Ralph Crosby with 696 pts. Heaviest flatfish as a sole of 13 oz 5dr for Simon Knight and the heaviest round was Tony Kirrage with his 11lb 2oz 5dr bass. EASTBOURNE NOMADS Due to adverse weather conditions the first Nomads cup scheduled for October 14th was abandoned. The second Nomads cup was fished on Wednesday 30th October with 10 anglers fishing at Langney Point. 1st Tony Kirrage with a codling and whiting for 52 points. 2nd Phil Chapman with pout and whiting for 32 points and 3rd Matt Gifford whiting for 26 points. The heaviest fish was a codling of 1lb 5 ½ oz for Tony Kirrage. The 3rd Nomads cup was fished on Wednesday 13th November with 8 anglers fishing at Langney Point. The winner was Steve Frost with a codling, pout and whiting for 84 points. 2nd Matt Cox with whiting and an eel for 66 points and 3rd Tony Kirrage with whiting and pout for 64 points. The biggest fish was a codling of 1lb 7oz for SteveFrost. On Monday 19th November the first cod and species cup was fished with 6 anglers fishing. The winner was Jack Wiltshire with dogfish whit‐ ing and pout for 43 points. And weight of 7lb 14oz. 2nd with same species was David Elstone with 43 points and weight of 5lb 14oz. 3rd Matt Cox also with the same species and 43 points and a weight of 5lb 13oz. Heaviest round was a dogfish of 1lb 10oz for David Elstone and the heaviest flat was a dab of 8oz for Phil Chapman. The final Nomads competition was held on Sunday 22nd December, it was a cod and spe‐ cies comp so points were awarded for different species. 1st was Jack Wiltshire with 4 species (whiting, dab, pout, dogfish) for 50pts. 2nd Ger‐ ald Sargeant with 2 species for 35 pts and 3rd tony Kirrage also with 2 species for 35 pts. Heav‐ iest round was a dogfish of 1lb 7oz 5dr for Gerald Sargeant and the heaviest flatfish was shared with a dab of 6oz for Scott Brown and Jack Wilt‐ shire. Congratulations to Matt Cox for becoming the 2019 beach champion with 423 pts. 2nd Tony Kirrage 407 pts. 3rd David Elstone 342 pts 4th Phil Chapman 339 pts. 5th Michael Moule 238 pts. SAXONS SEA FISHING CLUB Congratulations the 2019 beach champion Peter Fountain 338 pts. Second Steven Merner 305 pts. 3rd Ken Filtness 299 pts. The Boxing day competition was held really windy wet conditions, so only 8 managed to brave the day. The winner was Joe Plumstead with Paul Parsons second, Ken Filtness third and Kevin Merner fourth. The first competition of the new year was held on Sunday 12th January with 13 anglers taking part in windy conditions !! 1 st Jason Anderson 5lb 4 ½ oz. 2nd A.J. Puttick 4lb 7oz and 3rd Kevin Merner 4lb 5 ½ oz. ANDERIDA FISHING CLUB Congratulations to Colin Isaacs on winning the 2019 beach championship with 481 pts. 2nd Gary Banfield 423 pts, 3rd Colin Findley 411 pts, 4th Les Glazzard 370 ptsand 5th Jim Whippy 358 pts.
The final match of the 2019 season was fished on December 23rd with the winner Damion Chant landing 16lb 6oz including 11 dogfish. Second was Jim Whippy with 15lb 9 ¼ oz and third Glyn Morgan with 13lb 3oz. Lots of dogfish were caught by all the competitors and the biggest fish was a dogfish of 2lb for Junior Ollie Franks ! heaviest flat was a dab of 5 ½ oz for Gary Banfield.
top 3 juniors in PBAC
Gary Willis with a nice thornback
The first match of 2020 was fished on Thursday 9th January with 18 anglers fishing in what turned out to be nice conditions. First was Colin Isaacs with 8lb 4 ½ oz. 2nd Kevin Morgan 5lb 2 ½ oz. 3rd Glyn Morgan 4lb 15oz and 4th Steve Merner 4lb 14oz. The biggest fish was a dogfish of 1lb 11oz for Kevin Morgan with no flatfish re‐ corded. NEWHAVEN AND SEAFORD SHORE ANGLING CLUB Fishing on December 9th on Seaford beach the winner was Brian Henderson with 3lb 4oz. 2nd Bob Goodwin 1lb 10 ¼ oz and 3rd Tim Roser 1lb 9oz. The first comp of the new year was fished on Seaford beach and 1st was Shane Merrick with 6lb 2oz. 2nd Chris Allen 5lb 13 ¼ oz and 3rd Brian Henderson 4lb 3 ¼ oz. OVER FIFTIES The final over fifties match of 2019 was held on Monday December 30th in Pevensey Bay with 33 anglers fishing!! Split into two sections the winner of A zone was Mick Webb with 2lb 5 ½ oz. 2nd Ian Hopper 1lb 9oz as well as Trevor Rooney with the same weight. 4th Tony Royal with 1lb 4oz. B zone winner was Dave Rudland with 2lb. 2nd Ralph Crosby with 1lb 14 ½ oz. 3rd Dave Rose 1lb 10 ½ oz. 4th Kerry Saint 1lb 6oz. The heaviest round was a whiting of 11oz for Mick Webb and the heaviest flat a flounder of 10oz for Dave Rose. Well done to Ian Hopper for winning the over 50s championship with an excellent 159 points. 2nd Keith Erridge 121 pts. 3rd John Ryder 104 pts. 4th Sam Samson 103 pts and 5th Colin Sargeant 100 pts. The first match of the new season was held on Monday 13th January with 20 anglers fishing at White Horses. 1st Julian French 4lb 6oz. 2nd Paul Christopher 3lb 13oz. 3rd Keith Erridge 3lb 5oz and 4th Trevor Rooney 3lb 3 ½ oz. Heaviest round was a dogfish of 1lb 5 ½ oz for Paul Chris‐ topher and heaviest flat a dab of 5 ¾ oz for Tony Bush. PEVENSEY BAY ANGLING CLUB Well done to Vernon Vivian for winning the 2019 PBAC beach championship ! On Sunday 29th December the final match was held with 24 anglers fishing in Pevensey Bay. The winner of A section was Keith Erridge with 2lb 4 ¼ oz. 2nd Dan Wood 1lb 10oz. Joint 3rd were Mark Underhill and Les Glazzard with 1lb 4 ½ oz. B section winner was Kerry Saint with 1lb 4 ½ oz. 2nd Scott Brown 15 ¾ oz. 3rd Vernon Vivian 11 ¼ oz and 4th Geoff Honeysett 9oz. Keith Erridge had the heaviest round with a whiting of 9oz and Kerry Saint the heaviest flat with a plaice of 13 ½ oz. 3 juniors fished and all weighed in with 1st Harvey Plumstead, 2nd Oliver Brown and 3rd Teddy Cox. The first match was held on Sunday 12th Janu‐ ary and the winner was Tony Kirrage with 6lb 12 ¾ oz. 2nd Kim McGreevy 6lb 6oz. 3rd Paul Christopher 5lb 7 ½ oz and 4th Colin Isaacs 5lb 6 ½ oz. Heaviest round was a dogfish of 1lb 5 ½ oz for Sam Samsom and heaviest flat a dab of 4 ¼ oz for Paul King. GENERAL With very few small codling about the main spe‐ cies being caught are whiting and pout, with some nice Thornback ray for those that target them !! Ricky Diamond caught a lovely Thorn‐ back of 8lb 13oz on December 23rd using mack‐ erel fillet. The odd plaice are still about and junior angler Keeley amaoule caught a 1lb 13oz fish at Langney point recently. A few nice dabs and oc‐ casional flounders are starting to show from most beaches in the area. Boats have had a tough time with the weather with the odd nice cod being caught and occasional unusual spe‐ cies such as the double figure spurdog caught recently by Charlie Clark. Kayaking from East‐ bourne produce some nice dabs and thornback rays for Gary Willis and Andy Lewis between christmas and new year with rays up to around 6lb.
Charlie Clark with a double figure spurdog caught in the winter
Ricky Diamond with an 8lb 13oz Thornback
Keeley Moule with a lovely 1l 13oz plaice
Tony Kirrage with his lovely 11lb+ bass caught in the Nomads Christmas Open
Vernon Vivian and Keith Erridge Club Champion and final match winner
Tony Kirrage with winning Nomads christmas open trophy
Steve Merner, Peter Fountain, Ken Filtness Saxons beach winners
8 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
POOLE / DORSET
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Available for wreck, reef, banks, evening trips, 4-day Alderney and 3-day Cherbourg trips. **Bass, turbot, cod, plaice, shark specials** Both boats available for charters and individuals. Owner/skippers Sam & Andy Cumming Phone 07787 375 386 www.silverspraycharters.com Email: info@silverspraycharters.com
NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR 2020 INCLUDING ALDERNEY, GUERNSEY AND SHARK TRIPS
Sea Angling News, February 2020
POOLE REPORT by Philip Higgins The RNLI Flounder comp organized by Sarah Birchcough and Poole Dolphins pro‐ duced some nice fish and was won by Nigel Back with a cracking 2lb 4ozs Flounder. The weather has been relentless and put paid to most fishing trips similar to the last few months and the fishing pattern has been the same when you can venture out the inshore marks have consistently produced Whiting, Rays, Congers and plenty of dogs and on if you can get to the outer marks you will enjoy plenty of sport with Spurdogs, Tope and some cracking Blonde Rays testing your tackle. Local angler Ian GT Napier is certainly making the most with some cracking Spurs up to 20lb and plenty of congers to 40lb. As spring approaches our thoughts will turn to Plaice and the summers favourite sporting fish the
Black Bream. Many anglers are now think‐ ing due to warmer waters maybe they will be the lucky angler who accidently and I do mean accidently hooks and brings to the boat a Blue Fin Tuna on a day trip out of Poole they have been spotted off the Channel Islands and mid channel so the possibility is there. Poole based Seawolf skippered by Fred Smith has been involved in a Tuna tagging programme and has boated fish to 550lb. Poole Charter Skip‐ pers Association Species Comp is on Fri‐ day 5th June 2020 for more details please contact Sarah Medley at ‘pinkdol‐ phin75@hotmail.co.uk’. Poole SAC Bream Comp is scheduled for Sunday 3rd May 2020 if you would like more details please contact Andy Robbins on 01202 676597.
Ian with another Spurdog
RNLI Comp winner
Mistress Linda Fishing from Poole, Dorset Skipper Philip Higgins Fast Twin Engined DS Bullet 38 Fully Licensed & Insured for 12 Persons All the Latest Electronics Full On-board Facilities, Hot Drinks Provided
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Email gill.higgs1@btinternet.com Spurdog King
Sea Angling News, February 2020
POOLE / DORSET
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 9
SILVER SPRAY REPORT By Sam Cumming
It’s always nice to get the New Year rolling with a really decent rod bending day out, the first trip of 2020 did not disappoint. We headed to the offshore banks south of Poole about 20 miles and fished comfort‐ ably all day with up to 24oz of lead. There was about 15 knots of wind so we would have had a good excuse if the fish hadn’t been playing ball. Luckily that wasn’t the case at all and other than re anchoring at slack water we pretty much had fish on for the entire day. We had a good mix of blonde rays, spurdogs, bull huss, whiting, congers and even tope and smoothound. Top fish of the day went to Darryl Morrell for his 29lb 8oz blonde ray which was one of 5
rays he had. This bodes well for the next couple of months as the height of the sea‐ son is usually mid March. Elsewhere we were pleased to get out every day between Boxing day and New Years Eve, with the tides being a bit on the big side we stuck to the fishing inshore. We had plenty of whit‐ ing in Poole Bay along with small eyed and undulate rays. Pushing slightly further out for the slack produced some better fish and even one small cod but we couldn’t get away from the congers which smashed a lot of the baits that went down. We are looking forward to our first wreck trip of the season in early February and hopefully some better weather at some point.
big huss for Ian Napier silver spray II
blonde and a spur silver spray II
brace of blondes silver spray II
www.coxandrawle.com SAN COMPETITION WINNERS IF YOU SEE A COX & RAWLE, RED GILL OR DEVON BAITS WINNERS BADGE IN YOUR PICTURE PLEASE CONTACT JAMES WIGGLESWORTH ON 07825 181 694 OR EMAIL Mark Turner big whiting silver spray II
Darryl Morrell 29lb 8oz blonde ray silver spray II
editor@seaanglingnews.com
10
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
NEWS
IES FISHIN T T O G C TACKLE S
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 11
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NORTH DEVON
Sea Angling News, February 2020
NORTH DEVON REPORT By Wayne Thomas The Festive break gave many anglers the opportunity to visit the shoreline resulting in a good number of fish being reported. Clean ground marks around Ilfracombe produced several ray including blonde, small eyed and spotted. Codling brought a tasty reward with several landed from marks around Ilfracombe and in the lower Taw and Torridge estuary. The rough ground marks produced a few quality huss and conger. Spurdog have generally proved elusive for shore anglers. A few tope have been tempted for those in the right place at the right time. The flounder season never really seemed to get going with only a handful of specimen sized flounder caught. The generally mild conditions that prevailed towards the end of the year resulted in
smoothound hanging around right up until Christmas. Combe Martin SAC member Mark Jones proved that bass can be caught on lures even in the depth of winter. Looking at the array of good fish pictured with this report it is easy to think that the fishing has been good. My own experience has been that this is far from the case with many hours fishing resulting in lots of dog� fish and small conger. Whiting, pouting and other bait fish are scarce at many venues that were once prolific producers of such fish.
Double figure bull huss On Bluefin Off Ilfracombe
Dick Talbot - codling
Boat anglers have enjoyed plenty of action with spurdog and huss off Ilfracombe with John Barbeary taking parties of anglers to the deep water where these voracious predators roam. If the weather permits spurdog can be expected right through into early spring.
Steve Dawe - 35lb tope caught on Bluefin off Ilfracombe.
Mark Jones - small eyed
Dan Spearman blonde ray 12lb 11oz
Matt Jeffery tope 34lb 2oz
Mark Jones - Small eyed ray 11lb 1oz
Mark Jones Lure Caught bass
Ross Stanway small eyed ray
Jonathon Stanway Conger 19lb 6oz
Rob Scoines- spotted ray jpeg
Ross Stanway with 16lb conger
Kevin Legge - bull huss 11lb 7oz
Nathan Clements Conger 26lb 9oz
Ross Stanway small eyed ray
Ross Stanway Codling
Dan Miles Redmore - spurdog 8lb 8oz
Dale Kiff blonde ray 10lb 7oz
Jonathon Stanway codling
Stefan Jones - bull huss 12lb 10oz
Jon Stevens -ling 3lb 2oz
NORTH DEVON
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 13
SAILING FROM ILFRACOMBE
LUNDY, WRECK POLLACK, TOPE, BASS AND CONGER FISHING
Matt Jeffery -tope 39lb. Inset: Ross Stanway spotted ray
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Spurdog on Bluefin
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MINEHEAD £1000 COD CHALLENGE 2020 Last weekend saw the conclusion of this year’s event. It was a hard-fought competi‐ tion with some anglers catching multiple fish while others struggled to get on the board. We registered 90 cod over the two days and while not all of them were mon‐ sters we did have some very respectable fish returned to the weigh in along with some cracking double figure specimens. The full results are as follows… 1st Paul Hollyoake 333.6cm £1000 2nd Dave Torrice 187.1cm £500 3rd John Little 155.9cm £250 Paul Hollyoake also caught the heaviest fish which was a cracker weighing it at 11lb 2oz and with two boat wins under his belt too he really cleaned up this weekend. Huge congratulations to him and a big well done to all the winners. We would like to say a massive thankyou to Julian and all the staff at the Old Ship Aground for hosting the event and provid‐ ing such a fantastic venue. Special thanks must go to Steve and Helen at Westcoast Tackle for providing the boat winner prizes along with Steve Batchelor and Tubertini.
Sea Angling News, February 2020
NEWS
We had a fantastic raffle table this year and that wouldn’t have been possible without our other amazing sponsors Cox & Rawle, Harry Brake at Veals Mail Order and Alex at Ricoll Leisure so thankyou to them too. This event wouldn’t be what it is without these fantastic people. I better mention my little team of helpers too as they’ve been great this weekend helping to keep everything running smoothly…… you know who you are. Lastly, I would like to thank all the skippers and crew as they worked tire‐ lessly to put our guys on the fish and of‐ course all the competitors as its you guys who keep coming back every year to sup‐ port us. Its great to see all the familiar faces every year plus a few fresh ones too as this event continues to grow. Next year will be bigger and better.
LDSFC Recreational Fishing Trip. On Sunday 5th January Lymington & Dis‐ trict Sea Fishing Club held a recreational fishing trip out of Lymington aboard charter boat “Voyager” skippered by Kevin Duell and crew member Nev. With light winds and a neap tide we headed out to a six-mile mark past the Needles lighthouse where Kevin dropped anchor. The plan for the ten club members was big baits, hoping for spurdogs, rays and that elusive fish the COD but in reality, all
we had was conger, conger and more con‐ ger of all sizes with Malcolm Gerrish hav‐ ing one of the biggest weighing 27lbs 8ozs. After a few hours it was suggested we move to the “Spoils” where hopefully we could get whiting. Sadly, conger still dom‐ inated with whiting, pouting and dogfish also coming aboard. Robin Lane caught a thornback ray weighing 7lb 11ozs. Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated and with a very big swell Kevin called time and headed home. Thank you to Kevin and Nev for all their help and a good day’s fishing.
As soon as we have a date for next year you will all be notified, and entry will be open from July onwards. We will get the full results up in the net few days so keep your eyes peeled for those. Thanks again everyone for a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next year.
Pete Drodge
Malcolm Gerrish
Robin Lane
Winner Paul Hollyoake
Red Gill Tel – 01305 789297 E Mail – sales@redgill.co.uk www.redgill.co.uk PLEASE MENTION THE SEA ANGLING NEWS WHEN REPLYING TO ADVERTS
LANGSTONE
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 15
LANGSTONE HARBOUR AREA BOAT FISHING REPORT
By Neville Merritt, Southsea Marina Angling Club Many of us have a few extra days off work around the “Holiday Season”, as Christmas now appears to be called, so you would expect December to provide more fishing opportunities. However, the competition for our time from family and social commitments conspires to make those opportunities fewer not more. Nevertheless, many of us did find a few windows where weather, tides and families allowed us to go out. Alas, the much sought-after cod were not so obliging. In fact, they have now been renamed unicorns because they are so rare in the eastern Solent. We have had some poor cod seasons in the past but this year is among the worst on record, partly due to the low stocks but also probably also because of the higher sea temperatures which would discourage them from moving inshore during winter. Southsea Marina Angling Club held its annual Mandela Cup on the 28th December – it is “winner takes all” for the largest cod. Wisely, the rules allow for the largest whiting if no cod are caught. In the event, no cod were caught and some respectable whiting were weighed in. Competition winner was Peter Churchill with a whiting of 1lb 10oz. Aedy Merritt weighed in a whiting just an ounce less but unfortunately, in this competition there are no second prizes! Peter must know the good spots because a few days later 10 year-old James Smith caught a 2lb whiting from Peter’s boat. One or two cod have come along, although on the small side compared to previous
seasons. John Wearn of the Southsea Marina Disabled Angling Club shows a Solent codling of 2lb 2oz, large enough to be placed third in the SMAC Cod Cup which runs all season. This really indicates what a struggle the cod fishing has become in this area. On the other hand, bass fishing has been prolific. Dave Ford and Heber Crawford show off some double figure fish while Luke Scott shows what can be caught on inshore marks. We are seeing large shoals of sprats on our fishfinders, providing plenty of food for the bass which we are seeing in healthy numbers now. Hunting packs of bass can be indicated by flocks of gulls overhead but unlike in summer, the action is much deeper in the water. Slow jigging at depth will find the fish, although it is strictly catch and release for bass at the moment. We are pleased the bass rules for 2020 allow two fish per day to be retained between 1st March and 30th November which is more than in previous seasons. Further out, boats have been targeting the winter run of spurdog and also picking up some nice rays. Conger continue to roam open ground and range in size from small strap conger to 40lb and above. If you like catching conger, they provide some rodbending action but I can’t pretend they are welcome in my boat.
Heber Crawford Spurdog James Smith Whiting
Peter Churchill winner Mandela Cup
We have just experienced a very violent storm so that will have stirred things up – perhaps there is still a chance of a cod before next report? We shall see.
John Wearn Codling Aedy Merritt whiting
Dave Ford bass
Dave Ford Undulate
Heber Crawford Bass
Luke Scott 7lb Bass
16 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
NEWS / WALES / BURNHAM ON SEA
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BURNHAM ON SEA REPORT By Richard Saxby As I write this report it looks like we may have a settled ,dry cold spell coming up which hopefully will hold well into February and give us all a chance to get out there fishing. It feels like this winter has been warmer, wetter and windier than any I can remember. Here in Oxfordshire we have only had about 3 frosts and all the rivers and fields have been flooded for what feels like months. On a brighter note the bass restrictions have been relaxed a little compared to last year. On December 27th we managed to hold our Top Boat Trophy on the 4th time of trying. Six boats with 15 anglers launched and the weather was ok for a change. Half the boats steamed down towards Watchet after the elusive cod with the rest staying more local. The fishing down channel was very slow but the boats that stayed local were kept busy although most of the action was from small thornbacks with only 3 fish coming back to the scales. Winner on the day was John Dumbleton with a lsd of 2lb 7oz and 82%., Craig Dumbleton was second with a nice cod of 10lb 14oz and 60%. I managed to find a whiting of 1lb and 50% for third.
Fish of the month for December sponsored by Thyers Tackle of Highbridge was won by John Dumbleton with a lsd of 2lb 7oz and 82%. The next club comp is The Fred Peters Trophy on 23rd February. The next club meeting is on Thursday 20th 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.
January 3rd and father and son John and Craig Dumbleton were out again this time from Portishead. It was a pretty windy day and a lively sea but they were rewarded with around 30 codling to 3lb and a double each of 15lb 14 to John and 10lb 4 to Craig. Three days later Andy and Anthony Georgiou along with Nigel Devey tried their luck at the same mark but fishing was very tough with just 7 codling and only 1 keeper to Andy. On the same day Fours Buoys launched from Burnham with me, Stephen and Fred Saxby onboard. Again the cod were elusive but we had a fair few conger, the biggest 22lb to Stephen, small thornbacks, whiting and a couple of dogfish. John Dumbleton cod
Andy Georgiou codling
Craig Dumbleton cod
Stephen Saxby conger
Richard Saxby whiting
Andy Georgiou codling
Nigel Devey codling
Sea Angling News, February 2020
BRISTOL CHANNEL SHORE REPORT By Craig Butler Happy new year to you all . It’s been a pretty decent start to 2020 on the beaches of the Bristol channel. The codling fishery has been very positive throughout the channel from the above the Severn bridges down to the north Devon boarder. With plenty of nice bags of 2-3lb fish repor‐ ted with a modest number of 4-6 mixed in . This has kept the interest of anglers going and this should continue for the foresee‐ able future as the spring cod fishing prom‐ ises to be exceptional this year. Strangely a lot of anglers over look the spring codling fishing and many anglers are unaware or know it exists. Fresh worm baits have been the key to consistent codling catches , but crab and squid has taken its fair share. It hasn’t all been about the codling thoughThe Thornback ray fishing as always is a good reliable species that’s happy to oblige. The small eyed rays, spotted rays and a few blondes have also made their presence
felt over the sandy low water marks around Minehead. With the mild winter being experienced so far the conger eels have hung about and have been in huge numbers . They have been a bit of a nuisance while trying to tar‐ get the codling or anything else for that matter , but if they are what you are looking for you can fill your boots with them. With a few hard frost over the coming month they should drop back into the deep waters off the north Devon coast. Bull huss have been another species on anglers minds and a realistic target fish west of Minehead. February has always been a hard month around the uk as fish numbers and species drop away out away from the shore line. But in the Bristol Chan‐ nel the last few Februarys have seen some superb fishing prospects and this February is primed up for another great month. With continued codling sport along with the huss and rays to name a few it’s all look good and positive ahead. That’s all for now so tightlines and happy hunting
Sea Angling News, February 2020
BRISTOL CHANNEL / WATCHET
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 17
RECENT CATCHES ABOARD LORNA DOONE
RECENT CATCHES ABOARD SEAFIRE II
Cod - Lorna Doone
Thornback rays - Lorna Doone
Cod - Lorna Doone
Bonio with a cod
Arran with a cod
Spotted ray - Lorna Doone
Andy with a cod
Jerry with a cod Conger - Lorna Doone
Cod - Lorna Doone
WEST SOMERSET HOTEL Watchet’s best angler friendly family run Hotel Bed & breakfast , Drying room Freezer facilities , Packed lunches in request And a great harbour town pub for a drink after a hard days fishing West Somerset Hotel Swain Street Watchet TA23 0AB
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Jerone with a Blonderay
Bonio with a double figure cod
18 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
BRISTOL CHANNEL / MINEHEAD
Sea Angling News, February 2020
BRISTOL CHANNEL BOAT REPORT By Tom Wright nice Blonde Rays, some larger Eels and the largest of the cod to be taken during the month. Porlock bay, as with anytime of the year has the tendency to produce more species than most other areas. A mix of Rays, Spurdogs, Eels, Huss, codling and more have all been taken from “the bay” during the month.
Dave the Builder nice cod Alykat
PJ Smith nice blonde ray AlyKat
Steve Chilcott small eyed ray AlyKat
George Stavralopgous (BIG village people fan) small eyed ray AlyKat
Tim Garrett fine blonde ray AlyKat
Alan with another great blonde ray aboard AlyKat
Conger - Mary Ellen
Couple of nice cod caught aboard Mary Ellen
One fish that hasn’t been mentioned yet but is worth noting as it has been present in good numbers throughout the whole region is the whiting. Gener‐ ally the whiting taken are around the 12oz mark but there has been a few ‘keepers’ of a couple of pound landed. Looking ahead, many anglers will still hold hope of hooking into one of the last large Cod remaining but as we ap‐ proach February we will begin to see more boats seeking out a days mixed fishing as more species present them‐ selves. Spurdogs will creep further into our region on some offshore marks and some of the largest Bull Huss of the year may well begin to be seen as big females begin to move in to drop their purses. Tradition Local Fishing Boats
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BRISTOL CHANNEL / MINEHEAD
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Cod - Osprey
Bass - Mary Ellen
Cod - Osprey
Spurdog - Osprey
Cod - Osprey
Cod - Osprey
Cod - Osprey
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 19
Cod - Osprey
Cod - Osprey
Smoothy - Osprey
Cod - Osprey
Bass - Osprey
Historic Harbour-side Venue Cod - Teddie Boy
Cod - Teddie Boy
Cod - Teddie Boy
●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
Huss - Teddie Boy
GUEST HOUSE
Proprietor: Ian Daniels 10 Tregonwell Road, Minehead TA24 5DT www.bandbminehead.com Email: idaniels@btconnect.com Huss - Teddie Boy
Blonde ray - Teddie Boy
ANGLER FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATION TEL: 01643 703193
20 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
I
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
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
www.lastlaughcharterfishing.co.uk 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
Another difficult month dogged with bad weather leading to many cancellations. The few times we got to sea, results were still very good. Plenty of decent Whiting were taken on Hokeyes baited with mackerel or squid strips. Congers were still there in good numbers along with a couple
of decent Bass and two early season Smoothound. Already looking forward to the new season, with some great adventures planned, starting with our first Wrecking trip in a few weeks’ time. My diary is open for 2020. Tight Lines...
Bass - Last Laugh
Whiting - Last Laugh
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
WEST WIGHT
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 21
VALK YRIE CHARTERS PRIVATE VENTURE Skipper Glen Cair ns O f f ice: 02392 461717 Boat : 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
RECENT CATCHES ON VALKYRIE
By Art savage
Its that time of year to wish all of our read� ers a happy new year, plus all of my anglers who have been very patient with the recent poor weather. The new season has lots to offer us with the hunt for Spur dog big Rays and early Plaice on the list for the coming months At the moment we still have a large concentration of Conger over our area, these will hang around until we get our first really cold spell which will push them back offshore. There are also some good size Channels over the deeper banks, with some fish up to four pounds plus, we have also seen the occasional Spurs arriving, so when this weather starts to ease (if ever) there will be some sport to be had.
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Spurdogs - Valkyrie
undulate ray Private Venture
Thornback Ray Private Venture
Blonde ray - Valkyrie
Blonde ray - Valkyrie
Bass Private Venture
22 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
WEYMOUTH
Shambles will produce the first of the year’s turbot especially during anchoring ses‐ sions. It is also possible for a plaice or two to show up. During the Shambles plaice bonanza in the days when Ken Leicester’s Bon Wey led the fleet, the recently spawned and skinny plaice would arrive in the third week of February to fatten up on the tiny sandeels. The local skippers are al‐ ways hoping for a return of this particular species as it provided a much needed pop‐ ular start to the season. There were definite signs of the mussel beds returning last year….but who knows what the current blitz of storms will have done this time. There may still be a few whiting around but it’s more likely to catch rays and wandering conger which certainly seem to be on the increase all along the south coast. These little eels are rapidly become an important high point target species in the many boat angling competitions which take place out of Weymouth and Portland.
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Conger - Atlanta
Double shot of whiting - Atlanta
Whiting - Atlanta
Huss - Atlanta
Whiting - Atlanta
Whiting - Atlanta
There have been some excellent blonde rays caught over the past couple of months. February (and March) are months when some of the biggest rays are recor‐ ded. The main ray mark can also produce bonus quality species such as a stray cod or bass with a decent sized turbot a real possibility. Thank You to those who have maintained their support to the charter fleets through‐ out some testing weather and adverse sea conditions during this current winter. We’re all hoping for a good year’s fishing for you…let’s hope the weather lets it be so!
Undulate ray - Atlanta
WEYMOUTH
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 23
APRIL 5TH 2020
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RECENT CATCHES ABOARD FINS-UP
24 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
NEWS
COX & RAWLE BLOG
CASTING FOR RECOVERY ANNOUNCES SIX RETREATS FOR 2020 AND APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN NOW
By Craig Butler
With the start of 2020 there was no way better to kick off the new decade than with a guided ses‐ sion in the Bristol Channel on New Year’s Day for brothers Paul and Sean Measor. Paul and Sean first joined me back in spring 2019 for a guided session to target the rays . After 2 days of guiding it was fair to say they knocked up a very good tally of the target spe‐ cies topped by a fine double figure small eyed ray. Fast forward to present and the lads were keen to target the Bristol Channel codling and also a Thornback Ray. Well Paul wanted a codling and Sean wanted to beat his personal best Thorn‐ back. After the success of the spring expectations were high and I had my work cut out to choose a venue to match the New Year’s Day tide and conditions. In the early hours of the day the brothers made the long journey from Brighton with the plan to fish a high water mark in the morning before our planned low water stint. We planned a midday Rendezvous out side a local pub to the chosen mark where we would drive the short journey down the winding Somer‐ set lanes to the beach car park. Once the new year greetings were over, it was a short but tricky walk across some nasty rock and weed to the rock ledges where the lads were to get set up. With the baits soon soaking in the ebbing tide it wasn’t long before Sean was had a bite that pro‐ duced a small strap eel, followed by another one and a few missed bites on the ebb tide. Paul on the other hand, fishing the sams rigs,and same bait, only a matter of meters away was bite less. As the tide turned it was Sean’s rod again that had an enquiry, and with a noticeable weight on
Sea Angling News, February 2020
the end, it was hopefully of something better than the strap congers of the ebb tide. Frustrat‐ ingly it got snagged on the way in ,but with a bit of patience and giving a bit of slack line, it freed itself and resulted in a fine personal best Thorn‐ back for Sean. Time to pose for a triumphant photo. With just an hour to go before being pushed off the reef,Paul was still bite less. With 5 hours at the first mark they fished, and 5 hours into this session Paul was had been 9 hours without a bite while Sean was almost a bite a Chuck. This fishing game is weird and cruel at times. Paul wasn’t fazed as he stayed as focused as possible. Eventually his perseverance was paid off with perfection when the bite did come, and as he steered the hooked fish over the weed and rock ledges it was cheers all around as a fine plump codling was beached. Phew, talk about cutting it fine to get the result the brothers wanted. A few more of each species would of been nice, but you can’t have it all. For all the guiding sessions I provide, I prefer to supply the rigs for my clients, so I know I can be confident they won’t be let down by a knot, a cheap swivel or poor quality hook. For all my rigs I used Cox and Rawle swivels, beads and rig links and all rigs are armed with, you guessed it a pattern of a Cox and Rawle hook. For this ses‐ sion a rotten bottom rig armed with a pair of 4/0 surf and up tide hooks was required. There are reasons for choosing this hook on the mixed to rough ground. Firstly they are seriously sharp and secondly they have just the correct amount of carbon to give them strength as not to snap, but will bend out of a rock snag saving the rig from being lost creating a snag in front of the mark.
Applications are open now for Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland’s six residential retreats in 2020. The unique fly-fishing charitable programme will offer fly fishing retreats across England Ireland, Scotland and Wales as therapy for ladies with breast cancer. Registrations will stay open for each retreat, until two months before the date, after which attendees will be chosen by draw.
manufacturer Orvis UK thanks to a £9,595 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The project, which celebrated its 50th retreat in 2019, is run by The Countryside Alliance Foundation, a charity dedicated to using the countryside as a place of therapy, enjoyment and education.
• 12-14 June - Coniston Hotel, Skipton
Our two-day retreats are free of charge to any lady who has, or has had, breast cancer (attendance is subject to medical clearance). The itinerary incorporates medical advice, counselling, relaxation techniques and the beautiful sport of fly fishing and our focus is on moving forward after treatment. Retreats are delivered by trained professionals including counsellors, oncology nurses and qualified fly fishing instructors and guides whose expertise will, with luck, help each participant catch a trout. Fishing kit is provided from leading
We shall be returning to some of our favourite venues in 2020: • 24-26 April - Mount Falcon Hotel, Co Mayo •15-17 May - Garnffrwd Fishery and Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli
• 24-26 July - Kimbridge on the Test, Hants • 28-30 August – The Arundell Arms, Devon • 25-27 Sept - Forbes of Kingennie, Dundee Casting for Recovery retreat coordinator Sue Shaw said: “We are so very excited to have six retreats on offer during 2020 across the UK and Ireland enabling many more deserving ladies to experience the magic of CfR. Our wonderful volunteers will ensure that those brave ladies attending have an unforgettable weekend and help them move forward with their lives.”
SEA FISHING RIGS
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Sea Angling News, February 2020
BACK TO BASICS
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 25
BACK TO BASICS By Martin Wood
THE PULLEY RIG
So it’s a new year and a new decade and so with a few new friends that are now al‐ ways wanting to hit the beach as they have just got into sea angling have also now got the bug. I figured a few have lost a few bits of gear and instead of keep buy‐ ing rigs they can make their own. It won’t be for some and that’s ok as they are cheap enough to buy, but for myself it’s the satisfaction of making the rigs and then catching fish on them that gives ad‐ ded value to my personal fishing, plus you can tailor the rigs to the venues you fish like shorten your hook lengths etc if the tidal flow has changed. So today I thought I would concentrate on one of the favoured rigs and most widely used rigs across the U.K especially in snaggy areas although not one of my fa‐ vourite rigs. The pulley rig is a good rig in the sense that when the fish takes the bait it won’t feel the resistance straight away and nor‐ mally hooks itself when the hook sets be‐ cause of the sinkers resistance once the line goes taught. The other benefit is it’s a lot less complic‐ ated for snaggy areas so wont snag up as much and the best bit Is when you hook a fish in a snaggy area the lead comes up in front of the fish at all times whilst you’re reeling them in.
This rig can also be cast a long distance due to it being streamlined. So how do we tie the pulley rig? 1. Begin by tying a lead link with a tail at the end of a 4ft length of 80lb mono. 2. Then slide on a bead and a large 100lb swivel or a Pulley swivel and add another bead. 3. Then tie another 100lb swivel on the other end of the mono. 4. Tie a 3ft hook length of 60lb+ mono to the swivel that is at the end of the last piece we tied. 5. Add a hook of your choice most choose between a size 1 – 8/0 hook depending on the species you are trying for. 6. When casting, clip the baited hook to the lead link tail or Imp/Gemini bait clip for a streamlined rig. I use 80lb rig body and 100lb swivels for safety when casting so you can take the shock of lead weigh on the cast remember for your leader line its recommended you use 10lb for every ounce of lead. So if you’re using a 6-7oz lead you have a good safety margin even if the line was to be damaged. Happy Angling & tight lines until next month
ANGLING TRUST WELCOMES HAYLEY CLAPPERTON AS ITS NEWEST AMBASSADOR Hayley Clapperton, Man‐ aging Director of Bait-Tech Ltd and all-round angling supporter has been an‐ nounced as the Angling Trust's latest Ambassador.
nised for that. I’ve liaised and worked with many of the staff and they are all passionate about what they do, without them, angling would be a in very different environment.”
Hayley - an advocate for encouraging children and families to try fishing - has made it her mission to learn everything she can about angling and the people who take part. She often volun‐ teers her time and support at events for newcomers and has joined the Trust’s Fisheries Enforcement Sup‐ port Service as one of its ever-growing team of Vo‐ lunteer Bailiffs.
Hayley helps people learn to fish at Get Fishing events across the country. She ex‐ plained: “For me it’s all about giving something back to the industry I’ve come to love, so being asked to become an Ambassador for the Angling Trust is very humbling - it didn’t take me long to think about it!”
Hayley explained her de‐ cision to accept the role of Ambassador: “I’ve always supported and assisted the work of the Angling Trust. They are the sport’s govern‐ ing body and I doubt there’s an organisation that could do a better job. Their work is hugely varied, more so than most anglers realise, and they need to be recog‐
Clive Copeland, Head of Par‐ ticipation said: “Hayley is a true ambassador for angling. Without doubt, her commit‐ ment to encouraging people to try angling and to get more people fishing more often will be a great asset. The Particip‐ ation Team welcome Hayley’s ability to raise the sport’s pro‐ file so that everyone can dis‐ cover the wonders of angling, its proven contribution for fit‐ ness, mental health and well‐ being.”
26 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
NEWS
WEST SUSSEX
HOOKED ON LURE FISHING
By Alan Brown
Well as with most of the country the weather has played a major part in all our fishing. When there has been a break in the weather there has been a fair few undulates and odd thornie showing mainly Selsey area to fish baits. Next month or so the undulates should thin out and be replaced by more thornies. Still a few bass and conger showing from most beaches. The whiting and dogfish should start to thin out giving the better fish a chance. Both the arun and adur rivers starting to show a few flounders now in numbers. If we get a good settled spell we could see a few early plaice showing the eastern end of west Sussex.
13lb13oz undie from selsey
Tidy flounder for Dave Collins from the river adur
6lb thornie selsey
The groundbreaking new hardback from Merlin Unwin Books (RRP ÂŁ24.99)
Carl Golding from Essex travelled down to Selsey and was rewarded with a 11lb6oz undulate
Ide kieth with a new pb undulate of 14lb3ozs from selsey
Ray bretton with one of many flounders from the river adur
12lb14oz undie Selsey
Sea Angling News, February 2020
6lb conger from selsey
Alex Baldwin 5lb bass selsey caught on sandeel
Packed with brilliant tips and ideas from Dom and saltwater lure fantatic Andy Mytton, this new book reveals a huge range of species to target and exciting tactics to try. Over three years in the making, it also features the amazing underwater photography of BBC Wildlife star Jack Perks. It is available now from various book and tackle shops, or signed from www.dgfishing.co.uk
LRF / NEWS
Sea Angling News, February 2020
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 27
LRF REPORT By Richard Salter The broken record theme continues, more wind and rain, more murky water, but also a few fish to speak of, so its not all bad! The main challenge has been trying to co‐ ordinate days off with reasonable fishing conditions, which has been tricky to say the least! We did recently manage to pick a day where the rain had at least stopped but the wind was still keen enough to create conditions to keep us on our toes. Our ini‐ tial plan to target Wrasse on the heavier lure gear was thwarted due to a big swell and poor water clarity at our chosen rock mark so it was a case of changing our plans to suit the situation. Even the rockpools were pretty stirred up and milky, but we picked our way through them, fishing brightly coloured scented lures on light jigheads, back on the light gear of course. Just gently bouncing a lure under the ledges and between gaps in rocks nearly always tempts some kind of mini monster and we were soon rewarded with a few Giant Gobies, Blennies and even Wrasse. I had a lovely Ballan of about a pound from the most unlikely looking spot at the end of a fairly shallow pool, from between a tiny gap in some rocks. They really take you by surprise when you’re only expecting mini species and put a fair old bend in a 5g rated rod! We spent the afternoon back in Plymouth, initially pottering around Sutton Harbour, where anything is possible but for me, usu‐ ally ends up with the odd Goby and a lot of frustration! And so it was this time, just a Sand Goby and Rock Goby between us as we searched through the traffic cones and shopping trolleys that line the bottom of the harbour. My fishing buddy Ben Bassett has had some great success sight fishing for Flounder at night in the harbour recently though and some of the other locals have been finding a few Mackerel and other spe‐ cies, so it can be well worth a go, especially under the cover of darkness. We finished off the days fishing under the lights, targeting the areas where artificial lighting hits the water, this tends to attract smaller fish which in turn attracts larger ones in search of an easy meal! Searching through the water column soon found a few
Herring, hooking them is easy, but keeping them on is a different challenge altogether! They are great fun on light tackle though, taking light metal jigs or slim profile soft plastic lures readily. There is always the chance of finding other predators such as Mackerel, Bass and of course, Pollock in these situations too, sometimes through luck or by changing approach, a paddle tail and slightly faster retrieve perhaps being more appealing to a Bass. I also attempted to fish an estuary mark that has given us some great winter fishing in previous years, this time though, with water clarity ranging from poor to zero, it was a case of trying to land a scented lure on the nose of a fish and hoping it was in‐ terested! I did have some joy over slack water at high tide, when the colour dropped out a bit, with a couple of Tompots and Wrasse on some bright yellow isome which were followed by a slightly better Ballan that was attacking a metal jig without hook‐ ing up. Adding a bit of red Gulp Isome to the bottom hook eventually did the trick. As the ebbing tide picked up pace and the water turned increasingly murky it was time for a change of tactic and find the slacker water. The first spot produced a small Pol‐ lock followed by a tiny Long Spined Sea Scorpion, its always a pleasure to catch one! The dropping tide reveals plenty of sea defence boulders and fishing between these can be very productive and is a bit of a go-to tactic of mine, especially when the fishing is slow. Any gap that holds a bit of water is worth a look and just bumping around a jighead with a soft plastic lure can turn up all manner of surprises. The Common Blenny dominates here and that was the first species I found. Next up was a good sized Corkwing Wrasse, again taken in probably only 6 inches of water from between a small gap in the rocks. 2 more slightly smaller Corkwing follower from similar surroundings before I finished up with another Long Spined Sea Scor‐ pion, this one was a fine specimen though, a quite fitting fish to end a session on! So that about sums up the LRF fishing in Devon at the moment, challenging but the rewards are there if you can get out!
Ballan Wrasse
Rock Goby
Giant Goby
Ballan Wrasse
Herring
Long Spined Scorpion
Long Spined Scorpion
Tompot Blenny. Inset: Corkwing Wrasse
28 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
COSTA RICA / ROVING RODS
Sea Angling News, February 2020
ROVING RODS - CHESIL BEACH By Martin Wood
With Christmas done, feeling fat and itching to get back on the beaches and with my father Keith over for a week due to living abroad we always hit the beaches together for the week to differing venues but as the fishing had been so bad locally at a lot of marks we decided to go to another venue to see if the fishing was any better so we both agreed after some debate on Abbotsbury then the party grew to three as a good friend wanted to fish Chesil for the first time. New Year ’s Day and an early tide it made for an early start, so we were up at 4 am and off by 5 am. The journey started well but soon hit the fog which was pretty horrendous slowing us down a lot, but when we eventually got there. With Darren being well keen he was already there and waiting in the car park it's worth noting that you pay for the car park here in the cafe and there are toilets available and bins for your rubbish in the car park also.
RECENT CATCHES FROM JACKPOT SPORT FISHING
It's still pitch black but the first rays of light are breaking by the time we have unpacked and changed into our gear, I was hoping that with it being new year’s day a lot of anglers would be too hung over to turn up to fish today so we should be good for getting a spot relatively easily, We went up and over the wooden ramp and there was two anglers on the beach about 100 yards to the left.. Great result! As we didn't know the beach so well other than what we could see from an online app and Google Earth we figured we would set up right in front, so we spaced out and set up our gear, by now colours were coming through in the sky and it was overcast and grey with a light breeze from behind and a couple of hours away from high tide. Fishing as I always do at most venues, I had a large bait out on one rod which was a bluey squid wrap and a smaller bait on the other rod which today was frozen blacks with a squid tipped bait. The fishing for myself started slow with no bites whilst Darren and my father were bringing in some smaller Whiting and pouting. Eventually on the smaller Bait at distance at 100+ meters I got my first bite a single pull on the end of the rod which pinged back up and started to go slack so lifted up the rod and wound down into it until I could feel tension on the end, I couldn’t make out what it was but it was making a bigger bend than normal in the rod due to wanting to stay in the undertow current, It came up to the surface and it was a conger strap eel of about 3lb a quick unhook and picture and the conger slithered back eagerly by himself no help required and disappeared into the surf, good start it's not going to be a blank! A bit of chatting and a couple of coffees later again there was nothing going for myself even with changing baits regularly
and trying different ranges but nothing at all to show for it whilst the old boy had pulled in a dog fish which was so small it should have counted as half a fish and the odd pouting with Darren doing the same. We all had a flat spot for a while so decided I would brew a coffee up, as soon as it was poured and I sat down the rod tip started rattling away so back up like a runner out the blocks and lifting into the rod I started to reel in, as I saw it come out of the surf it was a small pouting but that’s all good another species and the fish are starting to bite, unhooked and another quick picture and then released back to fight another day, just trudging back up the steep shingle and Keith was pulling out another half a dogfish I look over to Darren and we have a little smirk and snigger. Reloading the bait with a spare baited rig a fixed paternoster I fired it out to around 50 yards. No sooner was that done then the rod with a large bait starts tapping on the end, so I lift into it and sure enough something was on the end I could tell it wasn't a big fish right away but still to get that bait in its mouth with the 8/0 hooks on the side then it must be a good size whiting or something with an equally large mouth on it. Sure enough as it comes through the surf it's a decent whiting laying there on the shingle to collect, after just coming back with it and taking a photo after dispatching it the fish weighed in at 1lb 2oz when out the corner of my eye the other rod tip was shaking good and proper so doing the hot step I put the rod down and started to lift into my other rod and reeled it in, It killed the excitement to see it was just a dogfish so a quick unhook and back he went to bother others somewhere else. Back to it and change of rig and new baits on each they got cast back out again the big bait around 40-50 yards and the other at 100+ again. Just as the day is going well and just happy to be catching the beach has filled up quite a bit now when someone decided to camp right on the lap of Darren ( I did wonder if he was going to camp in his shelter with him) amid protests from himself and the angler to the left of him he instead of walking 40 yards further on decides to be rude and abusive instead and sets up regardless... Unbelievable! If he was any closer he would have needed some Durex! Whilst we had a few more bites I missed a slack liner then saw Darren having round two with our new visitor as he had crossed Darrens lines and tangled rigs with him on first cast. Whilst that's all going on and them having a "discussion" the big bait rod starts to go again so I jumped up and on to the rod, I lifted into it and started to reel it in, when it went flat with no resistance I thought it had come off but then on the surface
Sea Angling News, February 2020 emerged another good sized whiting, once I had unhooked it and again dispatching the fish quickly to come home with me I weighed it and this time it was 1lb 7oz. With everything cooling down next door Darren jumped to his rod as it was again rattling away, an easy land but it was a better sized pouting for him.
cafe bought by Keith we all had a little chat about the day and all in all everyone was in good spirits, Darren had enjoyed his day at a new venue and caught a new species which was great, my father and myself were just happy to see some fish after our dreadful week in the Bristol channel local marks!
Chesil had gone flat again and nothing was biting after another hour it was approaching the end of the time we had so we packed down and made our way back to the cars, when we got there we arrived to some coffee and cake from the
Not a bad day Darren & Keith had 7 fish a piece and 8 for myself of which two were whiting to fillet and cook up, no monsters unfortunately today but that’s fishing! If it was that easy every time everyone would be doing it!
A Brace of channel whiting from Chesil Beach
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 29
ROVING RODS
Pouting
Whiting
Darren - Chesil Beach
Keith - Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach
Chesil Beach
Conger
30 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com LDSFC
LDSFC
1st Shore Competition 15th December. On Sunday 15th December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held its first shore competition which was a Christmas rover. The weather was not at its best with a strong south-westerly wind, rain and sun‐ shine – a real mix up of a day. But eleven club members signed on and nine weighed in fish consisting of bass, whiting and pout‐ ing. A total of 78 fish were measured and released immediately for a total weight of 45lbs 14 3/8ozs. The best fish of the competition was a nice bass of 63cm 5lb 8ozs caught by Terry Kempton. Best flat fish and specimen fish pools are rollovers to the next competition. Results: 1st Terry Kempton 10lbs 3.11ozs, 2nd Ben Daniel 8lb 10 7/8ozs, 3rd Paul Watson 6lb 3ozs, 4th Andy Hopkins 6lb 0½ozs, 5th Danny Panks 4lb 12 1/8ozs, 6th Keith Panks 3lb 6ozs, 7th Billy Kings 2lb 14 1/8ozs, 8th Pete Tomkins 2lb 8 3/8ozs, 9th Ed Taylor 1lb 6 3/8ozs. Only edible fish are retained.
Flounder Open. Club chairman starts the year off with a win {only just}. On Sunday 29th December Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club held its annual Flounder Open competition on Lymington and Pennington sea walls. For the first time for some years the weather was very kind to us, no wind, rain or the threat of gales or snow. It was just a pleasant day to be out on the sea walls fishing. Although the flounder are still in decline the numbers were up slightly on last year’s weigh-in. A total of 46 anglers signed on including 1 junior with 9 anglers weighing in. Results: {All one fish each}. 1st Alec Harmer 1lb 5.2ozs, 2nd Wayne Ed‐ dington 1lb 5ozs, 3rd Paul Hewlett 1lb 3.8ozs, 4th Toby White 1lb 1oz, 5th Simon Stockley 1lb 0.3ozs, 6th R.Sands 0lb 14.4ozs, 7th Terry Kempton 0lb 12.6ozs, 8th Jason Darby 0lb 11.6ozs, 9th Andy Hopkins 0lb 8.6ozs.
Shirley SAC
Here is the result of our last Shore match of the year which was the Club's Xmas Fayre held at Weston & Netley Shores on Sunday 15th December. Due to the strong westerly winds along with squally showers only 19 members turned for our Xmas fayre, the rest probably stayed indoors. Of the 19 fishing only 5 weighed in 7 Flounders for 2k 740gms with the best Flounder being a fish of 620gms caught by Adrian Groves. Alec Harmer. LDSFC
RESULT. SENIORS. 1. Adrian Groves 2. David Beale Paul Dorey 4. R. Cowdrey 5. Barry Instrell
3 fish 1 fish 1 fish 1 fish 1 fish
1k 520gms 340gms 340gms 300gms 240gms
No Juniors fished.
Shirley SAC
Here is the result of our final match of 2019 which was a Shallow Boats comp on Sunday 29th December. 11 members went afloat with all 11 weigh‐ ing in 106 fish for 30k 566gms. Species were Pout, Dogfish, Bass, Whiting & Thorn‐ back Ray with the best fish being a Thorn‐ back Ray of 5k 613gms caught by David Neil. Both the Ray & Bass were measured and returned alive with weights coming from the Club's Weight to Length Charts for Rays & Bass. RESULT. SENIORS. 1. David Neil 16 fish 2. Darren Botting 5 fish 3. Bob Patterson 20 fish 4. Paul Bryson 16 fish 5. Adrian Groves 7 fish
9k 073gms 6k 444gms 4k 500gms 4k 360gms 4k 129gms
JUNIORS 1. Jack Bryson
1k 420gms
5 fish
Sea Angling News, February 2020
RESULTS
LDSFC
Shallow Boat Competition. On Sunday 5th January Lymington & Dis‐ trict Sea Fishing Club held its 1st Shallow Boat competition for 2020. Due to acci‐ dents and illness only four club members fished this competition. The weather was not at its best either, with low cloud and drizzle all day and a large swell rolling in which made it very uncom‐ fortable. We now don’t bring any fish back at all and the ones we catch are awarded points and then released straight away. Fish caught included conger eel, dogfish, pouting and whiting. Results: 1st Denis Mapes 91pts 2nd Barry Littlefair 62pts 3rd Derek Smith 24pts 4th Brian Ansell 23pts.
announced within half an hour of the close of scales at 6.45 pm at the Festival Headquarters at the Stokeley Farm Shop. 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 hospital‐ ity & providing an excellent venue. The worthy winner was Russell Preston (Bristol) who recorded a specimen Whiting
of 1.84lb & a L.S.D. of 2.225lb (211.67%),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 Chair‐ man of the Wyvern Region Alex Parker, and presented by Julian Shambrook our main sponsor. The Region promotes the Angling Trust “Take Five” anti litter campaign and en‐ courages all anglers to leave the beaches cleaner than they found them.
The first Twelve Places are as follows:First :£200 Brixham Bowl Russell Preston BristolWhiting1.84 lb L.S.D.2.225 lb
Total: 211.67%
SecondPick of the Prize table & Bideford Cup Cup Mike Hingston D.O.E.S.A.C.L.S.D.2.965 lb Whiting0.685 lb``
Total: 164.27%
Third Pick of the Prize table & Appledore Cup Dave ChidzoyWest Bay L.S.D. 2.255 lb Whiting 1.085 lb
Total: 162.53%
FourthPick of the Prize table & Sidmouth Cup Tony HavillT & B. A.S.A. Whiting 1.45 lb L.S.D. 1.305lb
Total: 148.87 %
Fifth Pick of the Prize table Julian Shambrook TorquayWhiting0.675 lb L.S.D.2.48lb
Total: 144.2%
Sixth Pick of the Prize table Dave Lane WeymouthWhiting0.835 lb L.S.D.2.2lb
Total: 143.67%
Seventh Pick of the Prize table Rich Dorgan Bristol Whiting0.94 lb L.S.D.2.02lb
Total: 143.47%
Eighth Pick of the Prize table Alan HobbsRoving Rods S.A.C.Whiting 0.765 lb T.B.Ray9.16lb Total: 142.6% Ninth Pick of the Prize table Dan Butt Axe Valley.
Whiting0.885 lb L.S.D.2.045 lb
Total: 140.8%
Tenth Pick of the Prize table Stuart Holden Three CountiesWhiting 0.89 lb L.S.D.1.925lb
Total: 136.33%
Eleventh Pick of the Prize table Dai LoderNewportMackerel 0.865 lb L.S.D.1.88lb
Total: 132.87%
Twelfth Pick of the Prize table Lee Knight Roving Rods S.A.C.Whiting0.715 lb L.S.D.2.055lb
Total: 129.87%
Best Team Team Shield: (Team of four anglers, Best fish by each angler) Team: Bristol Travellers Richard Dorgan, Russell Preston, Kevin Daly & Darren Stevens Total 357.67%. Best Junior: Alfie SteerHalllsandsL.S.D.1.66lb Whiting 0.577lb Total104.4% Junior Runner Up: Alfie LavisPlymouth Whiting 0.98lb Total65.33%
Pool (best individual species) 1/ 50% Russell Preston Bristol 2/ 30%Mike Hingston D.O.E. Plymouth 3/ 20%Julian Shambrook Torquay
Angling Trust - Wyvern Division
Angling Trust – Marine - Wyvern Region Open Shore Slapton, South Devon, On the 5th Jan 2020. The South West’s first major event in 2020 attracted 148 anglers to the South Hams to fish the annual Angling Trust Wyvern Open Festival. The weather conditions for the second year running were perfect with a light southwest wind and a flat calm sea for the five hour event. Whiting, Dogfish, Mackerel, Garfish & a Thornback Ray were caught during the event. The results were
Please find attached the results and picture of the winner and team winners at our Wyvern Open
Sea Angling News, February 2020
RESULTS / FIXTURES
NWASAC
our
Match Report: NWASAC Top 30 Final, Sun 5th January 2020, Otterspool Promenade, Liverpool (28 rods) The top 30 competitors from the 2019 Summer League were invited to fish this annual event which is the first NWASAC event of the new year while sealing the pre‐ vious year’s match fishing season. Despite near perfect weather, conditions, a very small tide did little to stimulate the fish to feed for the daylight period of the match although League Champion, Steve Bon‐ ner’s 52 cms. codling, landed five minutes in from the start, promised much. Zone B was expected to produce more fish and this was indeed eventually the case with codling and whiting making up the bulk of the catches. However, Steve Crowder landed a 56 cms thornback over high water, giving him victory over the pre‐ vious front-runner, seasoned all-rounder, Gordon Thornes. Steve Bonner maintained his lead in Zone A despite a superb late run of whiting from Lancaster’s Andy Young over high water. Steve, having won both the 2019 Summer League and Personal Members champion‐ ship, so nearly made it a hat trick of titles. Results (scored in continental style from two zones): 1. Steve Crowder (Wallasey), 310 cms. (Zone B) 2. Steve Bonner (Wallasey), 276 (Zone A) 3. Gordon Thornes (Connah’s Quay), 289. 4. Andy Young (Lancaster), 249. 5. Jim Morris (Wervin), 286. 6. Alan Price (Rhyl), 230. 7. Mike Flanagan (Wallasey), 258. 8. Nigel Conlon (Port Sunlight), 221. 9. Kevin Morgans (Birkenhead), 253. 10. Heather Lindfield (Greasby), 177. Longest roundfish: S. Crowder, thornback ray, 56 cms. Longest flatfish: Mike Parker (Wallasey), flounder, 36 cms.
Steve Bonner - NWASAC
much more visit www.westbaysac.uk.
website
1st January 2020, Daytime Match at Abbotsbury 13:00 18:00. West Bay Sea Angling club members got the new fishing year underway with their annual new year's day match at Abbotsbury conditions made it an easy fish with a light on shore breeze, Gerry Read caught the best fish of the day a conger eel of 92cms 1st most fish points Steve Fowles 12pts 2nd best fish Gerry Read ( conger eel) 3rd most species Adam Cullingford Species caught in the match were, conger, dogfish, pouting and whiting.
Mike Hansel - West Bay SAC
LDSFC
Recreational Fishing Trip. On Tuesday 31st December six club mem‐ bers from Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club boarded charter boat “Strongbow” out of Poole skippered by Dick Peckham. With a strong south easterly wind blowing it was the skipper’s suggestion that we look outside the harbour and see what the con‐ ditions were like before making a decision where to fish. It was a bit choppy but was possible to fish outside so we went out to an eight-mile mark hoping to find our target fish whiting. When we dropped anchor, Malcolm Stote was the first to catch whiting of about the 1½lb mark. His best of the day was one of 3lb 1oz. The rest of us were slowly catch‐ ing up with Malcolm with the odd conger eel as well. Robin Lane managed a small eyed ray weighing 4lb 11ozs. After a number of hours, the weather worsened so we headed back to harbour for calmer conditions hoping to fish for flounder but with no success. These recreational trips are for the anglers who wish to fish without the pressure of competitions rules etc. They are also for anglers to learn from the more experienced anglers on these trips. If anyone is interested in joining these trips contact Robin Lane on 07876 471901. A big thank you to Dick for a good day’s fishing.
L to R Gordon Thornes, Steve Crowder, Steve Bonner
West Bay SAC
The winner for the Fish of the Quarter for October to end December 2019 is Mike Hansell (picture attached) with a wonderful boat caught bass of 6kg 954g which gave him a percentage of 161.38% which was only 3% more than second place Ian Draper who caught a Golden Grey Mullet for 158.38%. So well done to Mike who wins a £30 tackle voucher. For more information about this competition and
M.Stote LDSFC
Robin Lane LDSFC
Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com 31
MATCH PLANNER BOGNOR REGIS AMATEUR ANGLING SOCIETY OPEN BEACH COMPETITION SUNDAY 22 MARCH 2020 0830 TO 1330 CATCH AND RELEASE TO BE FISHED AT WEST END BEACH BOGNOR REGIS BOOKING IN AND DRAW FOR PEGS FROM 0730 AT WEST END BEACH OPPOSITE WAVERLEY PUB MARINE DRIVE WEST PO21 2QA ENTRY COST SENIOR £8.00 OPTIONAL POOLS FLAT £1.00 ROUND £1.00 PENN POINTS CASH PRIZE SUBJECT TO ENTRY TEL JOHN SMALL 07799 762377 AFTER 5 PM
32 Email: editor@seaanglingnews.com
TACKLE SHOPS DIRECTORY
Sea Angling News, February 2020
TACKLE SHOPS DIRECTORY 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
READERS GALLERY Notable fish caught around the coast
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 26 Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3PT. Phone:01903 821594 www.primeangling.co.uk/ 4lb 10oz bass caught by 8 year old Olivia Weston on new years day.
WALES TELBOY’S TACKLE Amlwch, Anglesey Tel. 01407 832965 www.telboystackle.co.uk
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