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"Wayne's World" Wayne Cramp, together with his wife Wendy, (we've collectively nicknamed them "W W dot") own what is undoubtedly the best restaurant in Dartmouth, R & B's Diner in Lower Street, only a few yards up the road from the Lower Ferry.
If you would like to sample Wayne's most enjoyable food and hospitality, you can book your table on 01803 832882. Patsy and I thoroughly recommend it to you. It won't cost you a fortune. The size of your meal and his hand selected wines will tempt you back time and time again.
BBC LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR YOUR AREA
Charter Dates - I constantly receive calls from anglers who would like to go "Fishing Dartmouth" so I've asked some of our most popular and successful Skippers to provide some dates when they are happy to take individual anglers. Thanks Dave, Ian, Owen and Chris. Your support is greatly appreciated. Just single left click your mouse on the photo of the charter boats below, to see a list of dates and trips when these very helpful Skippers are happy to take individual anglers or larger groups to fish for all sorts of varieties of fish and in various locations. I know you will thoroughly enjoy a day aboard any of these excellent local charter boats.
Thursday 2nd September - SPACES AVAILABLE AT SHORT NOTICE ABOARD "SAMUEL IRVIN 3" CHARTERING OUT OF DARTMOUTH - Ian Noble and Mike Concannon are at sea this Friday 3rd September on a mid-Channel wreck fishing trip for individuals. We have 5 spaces available to anglers at £50 per person. All welcome. Rods, reels plus end tackle can be made available if you need it. Plenty of help will be readily given if you would like that, particularly if you are new to our sport, or have not fished the offshore wrecks lately. No problem. We will do our best to ensure you enjoy your day.
Please 'phone Ian Noble direct via 07780 970 803 or 01803 834 598 or Email iannoble@tesco.net to be certain of your space aboard. SPACES AVAILABLE AT SHORT NOTICE ABOARD "GEMINI" CHARTERING OUT OF DARTMOUTH - Brian Coles from Paignton 'Phoned me to say that he has some spaces available at short notice on trips he has booked out of Dartmouth aboard Dave Harrison's local charter boat "Gemini". All welcome to join his party.
Wednesday 8th Sept, Thursday 9th Sept, and Fri 10th Sept, some limited spaces available for anglers during Torbay Sea Angling Festival week. Please 'phone Brian Coles without delay on 01803 666 577 to avoid disappointment and be certain of your space aboard. TORBAY FISHING FESTIVAL CHANGE OF VENUE FOR PRESENTATION EVENING - I learned just yesterday evening via a 3rd party, that due in no small part to the feelings made known to me by local anglers, incensed at the decision by Torbay Council to withdraw their co-sponsorship of this event at short notice, that the unforeseen circumstances have resulted in yet another change to a more suitable venue for the prize presentation evening for this event, which is now in its 44th year. The Presentation Evening will now take place at 7.30 pm on Saturday 2nd October 2010, at the Half Moon Inn, 188 - 190 Torquay Road, Paignton. It will NOT take place at the Hoburne, Paignton as previously advertised in this year's Festival brochure. I commend the Festival Committee for this late change of mind in difficult circumstances. I also thank the Committee and Members of Brixham SAC, for offering to host this prestigious event in their club house. That idea was abandoned after concerns were voiced as to its ability to comfortably accommodate the numbers of people, winners, family, friends and others, who would probably wish to attend this evening. Motor Yacht "Le Grand Bleu" - Several months ago I thoroughly enjoyed a day fishing for Plaice on the "Skerries" aboard Ian Noble's lDartmouth charter boat, "Samuel Irvin 3", in company with Andrew Smith from Paignton. It transpired that Andrew is the Master of a private yacht. I little appreciated how big and prestigious his vessel is. He is Captain of "MY Grand Bleu", formerly owned by Roman Abramovich, of Chelsea Football Club fame.
MY "Le Grand Bleu" We corresponded in some detail about angling in Norway during the late Summer. This morning I received a 'phone call inviting me to fly out at short notice to take the new owner and his family for a few days guided angling around the Norwegian coastline. Sadly, due to other prior commitments, I was not able to go. Perchance to dream ! Life can be a devil at times. Andrew, many thanks for asking me anyway. "Samuel Irvin 3" Cod, Pollack and Ling on the Mid-Channel Wrecks - I was back at sea yesterday after a week ashore, aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, "Samuel Irvin 3". We were with a group of regular anglers from Plymouth, whose company we particularly enjoy. Conditions were far from ideal with a brisk Easterly Force 4 breeze kicking up a short steep "Channel Chop" over a mid-sized tide which topped out around 3 pm. Nevertheless, we headed to several wreck marks around 30 miles from shore. The lads and two ladies managed to catch several good Cod with the best specimen around 18 lbs, caught by "Fish Magnet" Mark Hellings, who also caught another Cod and a fine Lin g too.
His Brother, Lee Hellings also caught another excellent Cod.
My good pal Wayne Hellings persevered hard all day until he caught his own Cod.
A couple of drifts later Wayne caught the best Pollack of the day too.
The stronger breeze held off until late afternoon, when we returned to Port at Dartmouth, arriving back just before 6.0 pm, tired but very happy. "Gemini" Plaice and a Dab on the "Skerries" - Dave Harrison, who charters his bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth Emailed late on Tuesday evening after a thoroughly enjoyable and successful day fishing on the "Skerries" shingle banks which lie out to sea around 4 miles from Dartmouth. Thanks Dave, your input is very much appreciated. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the "Skerries" today with regulars and a few new faces. Our first Plaice of the day was caught by Dawn Ryland on her first trip aboard "Gemini".
Gordon Head caught a good size plaice, he was also aboard yesterday.
Jim Ellis also caught some excellent Plaice, including this fine example.
Junior angler Jonny Norman caught an excellent Dab.
Gordon Ross from Chelston, Torquay, on his first trip aboard "Gemini", fished well, catching a few plaice with a personal best weighing 4 lbs 14 ozs, weighed on digital scales. This also took the £2 a man (and lady) sweepstake. As you can see from his photo he certainly enjoyed his day out on "Gemini".
All our fish were caught on rag, squid and prawn cocktail baits. Tuesday 31st August - "Gemini" Plaice on the "Skerries" - Dave Harrison, who charters his bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth Emailed early this morning. Thanks Dave, your input is very much appreciated. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the banks on Monday 30th August, with a group of 10 anglers. Most were regulars aboard "Gemini", except for Father and Son team James and Jonathan Saunders from South Wales. We had our regular sweepstake of £2 an angler for the biggest Plaice. This was caught by 9 yr old Johnathan Saunders on his first ever sea angling trip. All of our fish were caught on rag squid and prawn.
Monday 30th August - Shay Upham's Potential British Record Tompot Blenny from Shore - Email received late this evening from my good pal and fellow member of Brixham SAC, Jason Upham. Thanks Jason. That's something a little out of the ordinary. Well done and many thanks for your valued input. Here's what Jason wrote: I went fishing with my eldest lad Shay, on Sunday 29th August, down at Berry Head, Brixham. We were after Wrasse and had a few up to 3 lbs 8 ozs, using Prawns as bait. One of the casts Shay did with a Prawn on the bottom. It gave him a fierce little bite and he reeled in the biggest Tompot Blenny I've ever seen! We took it home in our Prawn bucket to weigh it and it went 0 lbs 5 ozs 12 dr, which it turns out beats the current British record of 0-5-8. This is why I love sea fishing, you never know what you're going to catch!
Jason Upham's Big Red Scorpion Fish Caught in Trawl - Jason, who works on a local commercial fishing boat also Emailed to say: Also another strange fish turned up in our trawl in the week, it was a Red Scorpion Fish of about 1 lb, 8 ozs, a really spiky customer. I brought it home for a few pics then returned it into Brixham Harbour alive and well. I don't think there is a British Rod Caught Record for this species, so hopefully someone will be lucky and catch it.
MC Commented: Well done Jason. You do have an interesting life. Thanks for returning a fish of little commercial value alive and well. Much appreciated, especially by the fish. Sunday 29th August - Salcombe Boat Fire - Email received from my good pal Nigel Foord this evening. Thanks Nigel, it certainly reinforces the constant need for marine safety. It's very fortunate that this fire did not happen far out to sea. Here's what Nigel wrote: On the way back in to Salcombe, (about 3.0 pm on Sunday 29th August), after our charter trip on "Anglo Dawn III", we came across this sight. Somebody's Rib was rapidly going up in smoke! Thankfully, no one appears to have been injured and the owner and family I guess are the group sat behind the boat in the last photo. The Fire Brigade were there quickly but had no chance in saving the Boat.
Nigel later added: Fishing was hampered by strong gusting winds and biggish tides all working together to push the Boat very quickly on the Drift. Never mind there's always next time! Some good fish caught by Nick Best and Sallie Date and some of the juniors in our Torbay & Babbacombe SAC Rover Comp. Black Bream from Rough Ground off Exmouth - My good pal Kevin Rouse Emailed today. Thanks Kevin, much appreciated. Here's what Kevin wrote: Had a very pleasant day Bream fishing yesterday, picture of my best one attached. (Kevin Rouse of Torbay & Babbacombe ASA with a club specimen Black Bream of 3lb 4oz 4drms).
I was fishing for Black Bream from my mate's private boat 'Emily Jane' at the weekend on 'what's left of' a patch of rough ground approx. 7 miles off Exmouth. Unfortunately this area of soft rock is constantly being breached and subsequently flattened by commercial fishing boats dredging the seabed for Scallops. A variety of species of sea life which seeks sanctuary here, which has made it a popular spot for local boat anglers and commercial crabbers for many years. In more recent times the fishing here has dramatically declined as more and more of the rocky pinnacles are flattened. In my opinion this area in particular would benefit from the protection of a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), so that future generations of anglers may get to enjoy the variety of species this unique area has to offer. I, like many others, have cooperated with "Finding Sanctuary", so now we'll just have to wait and see what comes of these 'zones'! "Gemini" Mid-Channel Cod & Pollack - Email received this evening from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran out of Dartmouth. Dave was on the mid-Channel wrecks, yesterday, Saturday 28th August 2010. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the mid-Channel wrecks yesterday. We fished 3 wrecks taking fish from all of them. T he main lure used today was Storm shads and yes they still work. No great size to our fish today but still a good size for eating.
No trip on Sunday as I have cancelled our mid-Channel wrecking trip due to a poor forecast. Out on the "Skerries" on Monday and Tuesday. Thursday 26th August - Latimer Corbett's 10 lb Plus Bass - Email received today from my good pal Latimer Corbett, who was fishing with rod and line from his Dad, Dean Corbett's, licensed local commercial fishing boat, DH3, "Deborah Jane". Thanks Latimer and well done. What a superb fish. Here's what Lats wrote: Was out Bassing last Sunday aboard our boat, DH3, "Deborah Jane". Had a nice Bass of just over 10 lbs, on a live Mackerel bait.
Tuesday 24th August - An Unintended Experiment in Fisheries Science - This interesting item was forwarded to me by my good pal Leon Roskilly. Thanks Leon, much appreciated. It is an abstract from a far wider reaching report: Abstract Marine protected
areas (MPAs) are attaining increasing importance in the management of
marine ecosystems. Monday 23rd August - "Samuel Irvin 3" No Angling Charters During the Coming Week - This week is Dartmouth Royal Regatta. It's a great event but it completely disrupts parking and access to the Town. Ian Noble and I have taken the week off for a short holiday as a consequence. "Samuel Irvin 3" the big white and blue Blyth 33 Catamaran will therefore not be available for charters over the Regatta period. Back to some thoroughly enjoyable sea angling next week. "Happy Days" Conger and Ling - Email received this morning from my good pal Aaron Lidstone, who charters his Starfish "Happy Days" out of Plymouth. Thanks Aaron. Your input is always very welcome. Here's what Aaron wrote: I was at sea the other day, together with Clive Way, owner of Clive's Tackle at Plymouth, aboard my charter boat "Happy Days". Clive caught a beautiful Ling a tad under 30 lbs.
I caught a hard fighting Conger which weighed 87 lbs.
Torquay Harbourmaster Gives Warning of Crackdown on Illegal Fishermen - Received via Email from my good pal Leon Roskilly. This article featured in the Herald Express Newspaper. Thank you Leon for bringing it to our attention:
Despite earlier warnings, officials say illegal fishing is continuing under the cover of darkness. Now a 180-metre long line has been floated into the harbour to make it difficult to land hooked fish. Mariners are warned to steer clear of the line in a notice issued by harbour officials. Torbay harbourmaster Kevin Mowat has warned anglers breaking bylaws by fishing within the harbour from Princess Pier faced a £1,000 fine and a criminal record. The ban has been in place for many years to protect harbour users' health and their boats. Now further action has been taken and harbour users are being alerted in a notice to mariners of the measures in the Princess Pier fairway. The notice states: "In an attempt to discourage angling from the inside of Princess Pier, a floating and buoyed line will now run from the end of Princes Pier commercial pontoons to the wall near the corner of the pier laying approximately two metres from the pier. Mariners are advised to navigate with care along this fairway." Torquay harbourmaster Adam Fitzpatrick said: "It is an ongoing problem. The theory is the floating line will make it more difficult to land any fish hooked illegally and that it will add to the deterrent." The illegal fishing, which is said to be for high-value fish like bass, is taking place when harbour officials are off-duty or in the dead of night. Mr Fitzpatrick said: "We get reports of it going on from the marina where staff are on duty 24 hours a day, and from members of the public." The suspicion is the same people are repeatedly offending. The notice to mariners runs until the end of the year and Mr Fitzpatrick said: "We will see how effective it is and decide what to do." Angling from the pier is permitted so long as anglers cast their lines out to sea and away from the harbour. Harbour Committee Chairman Robert Horne said: "This is all because of the damage caused to people's boats and their equipment. "No one would normally think a bit of fishing would cause a problem but it does." "A window cracked by a flying fishing weight is a major specialist repair costing several hundreds of pounds and it has to be done as it is integral to the seaworthiness of a boat." "We have had discussions with anglers and tried to be reasonable about it but some of them are very belligerent and claim it is their right to fish anywhere regardless of the danger they cause." "I would argue catch them and prosecute." "Why should others have to suffer because of a few?" He has refused to consider a fence to stop anglers casting into the harbour as that would stop public enjoyment of the site and prevent children using a hand-line for crabbing. "Gemini" Whiting, Cod & Ling on the Mid Channel Wrecks - Email received this morning from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran out of Dartmouth. Dave was on the mid-Channel wrecks, yesterday, Sunday 22nd August 2010. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the mid-Channel wrecks yesterday, with a charter organised by Brian Coles. We fished a total of 4 wrecks today. Our best fish was a personal best Lling for Trevor Richards of just over 25 lbs, caught on a "Sidewinder".
We also caught Pollack, Cod, Whiting and Red Gurnard. All our fish were caught on Sidewinders, Shads and the new Red Gill Evolution lure.
Angling Trust Wyvern Division Junior Competition Results - Teignmouth - Email received this morning from Mike Spiller, Hon. Sec. of Wyvern Division of the AT. Thanks Mike for your speedy update and the super photo which are much appreciated. Here's what Mike wrote: The Wyvern Division open junior competition was held on Sunday 22nd August at Teignmouth in South Devon. Twenty eight juniors fished the four hour event in fairly good condition but the rain did start to come down near the end of the event and presentation. The competitors fished mainly around the Back Beach area of the town with a few of them looking for the quieter areas around the river marks. In all three different species of fish were recorded, these were Garfish, Mackerel and Wrasse. Each angler was only allowed to weigh-in their best specimen fish and around fifteen of them brought back fish to weigh-in at the Teignmouth club hut. The Wyvern Chairman Alex Parker thanks all for turning up and fishing the competition. He also thanked the sponsors for helping out again this year. They were:- Beer and District SAA, Honiton SAC, Seaton Tackle Shop, Otter Country Sports, Roving Rods SAC, Swift Tackle, Torbay Angling, Jim Hutchins, Stu and Avril Wythyman, Mike Spiller, Si Boeree, Sheila and Gary Andrews, Jan and Alex Parker, D Lures, West Bay SAC, Keith Prowse, Teignmouth SAS, T and B ASA, Kevin Tapper and Seaview Tackle. The presentation followed with all awards being made by the Divisional President Barrie Nockolds. 1/ Callum Hardwick (Honiton SAC) Garfish 0.92lb (61.3%) He wins the McCormack Shield and a new rod and reel.
2/ Jonah Fletcher (no club) Garfish 0.755lb (50.3%) He wins a new rucksack. 3/ Sam Stewart (Teignmouth SAS) Garfish 0.72lb (48%) He wins a new rod holdall. Best 12 – 16/ Ollie Mears (West Bay SAC) Garfish 0.64lb (42.6%) Best 9 – 11/ Tony Taylor/Elliot Joy (joint) both with Garfish of 0.71lb (47.3%) Under 9/ Jack Parkman (West Bay SAC) Mackerel 0.675lb (38.5%) 1 Team Prize/ Ollie Mears / Elliott Joy 89.9% 2 Team Prize/ Sam Stewart / Joe Walton 60% After the competition all the juniors were given a large goodie bag and light refreshments. Sunday 22nd August - The Angling Trust Have Taken Action - Email received this morning from my good pal Leon Roskilly, and to the "Sun" Newspaper, to whom we are all very grateful for highlighting this event. Thanks Leon and well done AT: Aug 22nd 2010 Sunday Sun WELL shiver me timbers the Angling Trust have actually gone into action on behalf of RSA’s (Recreational Sea Anglers). Whether because of harsh criticism from anglers themselves, what has appeared in the angling Press about them, or because of the hard work being done by John Amery formerly of SAMF (Sea Anglers Match Federation) someone I have known for a long time and greatly respect. Amery is now chairman of the Angling Trust Marine Committee and actually got Natural England’s Marine Director, James Marsden, responsible for the MCZ, to go sea angling in the Blackwater along with Bob Cox. While they were busy catching, they used the time to impress upon Mr Marsden the RSA’s concern about the MCZ timeline, the restrictions that could be imposed on RSA’s, that RSA’s need representation at National Level, and RSA’s need representation on the IFCA’s Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Groups. Mr Marsden agreed with him wholeheartedly that instead of spending most of the time with commercial fishermen, that he should spend time listening to RSA’s Natural England has since agreed to make every effort to engage sea anglers at a regional and national level in the MCZ projects and in developing management measures, “now that point worries me” for marine protected areas as a whole. Also the AT don’t seem to have taken on board the reluctance of RSA’s to give information about where they dig bait and fish, I hope the bait collecting issue was raised with Mr Marsden? And again the AT has asked for this information to be put on the MCZ mapping site by RSA’s. Guy Barnett and the "Northern Star" - Little did I suspect as i stood on the pontoon at Darthaven Marina, Kingswear that the beautiful private motor yacht "Northern Star" which was moored in the centre of the River Dart, reflecting the early morning sunshine against a black cloudy sky had Guy Barnett aboard.
Many anglers will remember Guy's Father, Ray Barnett, who formerly owned and Skippered "The African Queen" out of Dartmouth on fishing charter trips. You may even recall when back in the 1960s Ray chartered his traditional sailing boat "Freebooter" out of Dartmouth. Ray was also a prominent extra in the Onedin Line, a popular TV series. I used to enjoy an occasional pint with Ray since my move back to live locally in 1994. We shared yarns and good company on infrequent occasions, until his passing several years ago. When I used to keep my own boat moored in Warfleet Creek, I often chatted to Ray's Widow, Anne Barnett, who lived nearby. We would talk of old times and angling adventures. Guy Barnett had left our shores several years ago to crew aboard a luxury yacht owned by a Canadian business man. He met the owner's Daughter and heiress to the business empire. They fell in love and married. The yacht was in Dartmouth to host a party for all Guys friends and relations who could not attend the wedding in Canada. Now that really is a true fisherman's fairy story. "Samuel Irvin 3" Whiting - On Wednesday 18th August, I was aboard Ian Noble's "Samuel Irvin 3" chartering out of Dartmouth. We chose to stay closer in-shore due to a not too good weather forecast. We went to a reef mark where we fished hard throughout our day. We struggled as the fish were just not feeding hard, with a strong breeze across a small tide with little run in the water. We caught some reasonable Pollack, but no monsters. Dawn Salter from Pershore, Worcestershire, caught a nice Whiting.
That's What Uncles Are For - Wednesday 18th August - Email received from my good pal and fanatical sea angler Kevin Rouse. Thanks Kevin, your input is very much appreciated. Here's what Kevin wrote: My Niece and Nephew were given a fishing rod and a mix of tackle last Christmas, but living in Yeovil I've not had the opportunity to take them out fishing. After several false starts earlier in the year due to bad weather, we made plans to head for Long Quarry, for a spot of Wrasse fishing, because it's what I used to fish for at their age, which gave them some great sport on very light tackle. Luke, age 7, had the best and the most Wrasse, biggest at 2 lbs 8 ozs.
His sister Chloe, being less competitive was happy to settle for smaller ones but enjoyed the day just as much. Chloe also managed a small Pollack and Luke had a Tompot Blenny.
"Samuel Irvin 3" Cod and Pollack from the Mid-Channel Wrecks - I was at sea on Monday 16th August aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", with a group of lads from Weston Super Mare. We were in pursuit of Cod and Pollack. What a difference a day makes when everything comes together correctly. In the last edition of Sea Angling News, I described how a "jump" tide, allied to the right wind strength, direction, water clarity, amongst other factors, such as food availability, can induce fish to suddenly turn on to feed. I described how after several days of small tides a change to bigger tides with a wider range of movement will often trigger the fish to feed voraciously. I have been closely monitoring this yet again and confirmed my thoughts that after huge tides when a massive amount of water is moving, that a jump down to a more reasonably sized tide of such a proportion that there is adequate but not excessive water movement will often have the identical effect. We recently fished on several of the biggest Spring tides of the year, with some good fish taken, but overall, not fishing as well as one might wish. On Monday 16th August, the tides fell back to a good size Spring, but not a wild water runner. We fished the mid-Channel wrecks for Cod and Pollack. We caught lots of excellent fish throughout the run of the tide. This was not only down to the skill or otherwise of the anglers on board as the conditions certainly played a part. There were eight chaps with hire rods and one with his own tackle, all fishing with Shad, Sidewinder, and RedGill Evo soft lures of various colours and sizes, which I supplied. Some of these anglers were reasonably experienced, while others were self admitted novices in their first pursuit of fish on the deep wrecks. All were keen to do well and certainly fished hard throughout our exciting day together. First Cod of the day was caught by Dave Thomas.
Without exception, they all caught Cod with the best fish a tad over 20 lbs 4 ozs by Jason Potter who caught 4 good sized Cod.
They all caught good quality Summer Pollack, with the better fish around the 16 lb mark hooked by Terry "Pop" Potter, who caught fish all day on almost every drift, on a pinky red 6 inch "Sidewinder" soft lure.
Wayne Dymock caught a good sized Cod and an excellent Pollack on the last two drifts of our day.
Very few of the fish we caught of either specie was less than 10 lbs. Another useful fact for the memory bank. You never stop learning in our wonderful sport.
"Anglo Dawn III" Blue Shark and Big Bass out of Salcombe - Monday 16th August - Email received from my good friend, Chris Roberts, who charters his golden yellow hulled Evolution 38, "Anglo Dawn III" out of Salcombe. Thanks Chris, your input is very much appreciated. Here's what Chris wrote: Here are some of the better Bass we had the other day and one of the Sharks. I am also waiting for a couple of e-mails with photos of a couple of other Sharks up to 100 lbs. This Blue Shark around 75 lbs was caught by Simon Putt, our local Veterinary Surgeon, who is also a member of Kingsbridge SAC. It was returned alive and well to the water after being measured, photographed and a quick check over.
The Bass weighed 5 lbs 6 ozs; 6 lbs 8 ozs and the biggest was 11 lbs 2 ozs, caught by Eddie Baldwin from Bath on a whole Mackerel bait.
"Samuel Irvin 3" Ling, Pollack and Black Bream from the Mid-Channel Wrecks - I was at sea on Sunday 15th August aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", with a group of lads from the Barnstaple based Rod 'n' Reelers SAC. On the day before, Tony Gussin had Emailed me asking, amongst other questions, "Is there anything you recommend we bring? I was just going with running ledger traces, perhaps a couple of pirks and a few Shads to try. Maybe a couple of smaller rigs in case any bream are about? Will these be AOK? I replied, "Your suggestions for end tackle are perfect. Sadly you are unlikely to find Bream on the wrecks where we catch Ling". I should perhaps add that the purpose of the trip was to catch Ling, which we did very successfully. I maybe should also have added that I have never fished for Bream myself on the particular wrecks, nor have I seen anyone try to catch them there. Never say never! On the day, Tony caught Pollack, Ling, Cod, Whiting, Pouting and yes, you've guessed right, he also boated a beautiful Black Bream in the peak of condition which I weighed on-board on my Salter electronic scales where it recorded around 4 lbs 4 ozs. Nice one Tony.
John Shapland caught the best Ling of the day, a prime fish in great condition.
Dave Shapland was over the moon to catch his personal best Ling. Apparently they don't see many on the north Devon and Somerset shoreline.
The lads caught many other excellent fish during our thoroughly enjoyable day together.
"Outlaw of Dartmouth" Recent Outings - Monday 16th August - Two Emails received from local Skipper, Owen Mallia, regarding recent trips aboard his local charter boat, "Outlaw of Dartmouth". Thanks Owen, your input is much appreciated. Here's what Owen wrote: I was out again mid-channel wrecking with Outlaw of Dartmouth last Friday and Saturday, the Friday event was a corporate affair with the guys from Savills Private Finance in Bristol. Everyone on board was in top form and spirits were high for our day at sea, we headed for our mid-channel wreck and enjoyed steady fishing throughout the flood tide and up to the slack water period, we were hoping for one or two Cod but we only managed to connect with a number of hard-fighting Pollack. As the ebb tide started we prepared to leave for home, in order to get the boys back up the motorway to Bristol at a decent hour. I have attached a picture of the group and a photo of Dan Haines from Savills, Bristol with his winning fish, a nice hard-fighting mid-Channel Pollack of 10 lbs.
I was out with a mix of regular faces and one or two new people for last Saturday’s excursion on the mid-channel wrecks. We headed for a few wrecks that are not as frequently visited by the local boats and were all looking forward to some hot fishing, the weather was not that nice first thing but the forecast had promised that conditions would calm as the day wore on, thankfully the forecast was accurate! Our first wreck started off promising with a few nice fish showing and then the fishing just switched off, so we moved on to another wreck where nothing really improved, this trend continued throughout the day, we were on our sixth and final wreck and just preparing to call it a day on our last drift when keen angler Mark Radcliffe from Southampton connected with a decent fish that took 10 minutes to subdue, at first he thought it was a large Cod but as it neared the surface it was obvious Mark had caught himself a large mid-channel Ling, this was his personal best Ling to date - a 25 lb monster, he was elated!
Wes Donoghue from Paignton caught several fine fish, including a lovely 16 lb summer Pollack and the other a nice 15l b Cod, which were both caught from the first wreck we visited on Rhubarb & Custard Sidewinders.
Saturday 21st August - Torbay Sea Angling Festival Presentation Evening - I have received numerous calls from anglers who read the item (see below on the 17th August ) ref the change of venue for the presentation night for the 44th Torbay Sea Angling Festival. Several concerned folk have contacted me to make it known that they are willing to collectively put up all the money, if no other funds are available, to pay for a venue of sufficient capacity to cater for those who would like to attend. All have posed the question as to why the Festival Committee appear unwilling to spend money from their contingency fund, to satisfactorily resolve the issue. They have all asked why Torbay Festival Committee have so far not booked an alternative venue which would accommodate the probable numbers in comfort? All are grateful to Brixham SAC for generously offering their clubhouse facilities at such short notice, but to a man, or woman, all are very concerned that it will not be capable of hosting the numbers who would otherwise wish to attend. No one wants to see the spectacle that is Torbay Sea Angling Festival damaged by recent developments. "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid- Channel Wreck Pollack - Saturday 14th August, I was at sea again aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with a group of chaps, from Telford. The forecast was for heavy rain showers and by golly the weather men certainly got that right. We fished an off shore deep water wreck, where we were joined by Dave Harrison with a different group of anglers, also from Telford, aboard his big bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran. We fished together for a couple of hours before Dave moved off to fish a different wreck. Although we couldn't find any Cod to take our lures, the lads caught plenty of good quality Pollack which greedily seized their soft lures on every drift. We elected to stay and fish the same wreck, hoping that Cod would come to the hook as slack water approached, but sadly they didn't though the Pollack continued to feed voraciously. Everyone on the boat enjoyed good sport. The best Pollack of the day was caught by Alan Sutton. Alan caught Pollack around 16 lbs and 15 lbs, amongst several other hard fighting fish.
"Gemini" Mid-Channel Wreck Pollack & Cod - Saturday 14th August, Email received from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: We sailed to the mid-Channel wrecks this morning where we joined "Samuel Irvine 3 "on our first wreck. We spent the first couple of hours on this wreck but had no great size coming to our fish so we opted to move to another wreck where we had Cod and better size Pollack. It was a funny day with the weather today. Torrential rain in the morning as you can see by Ziggy’s picture in the yellow oilskins.
And Ziggy's picture again in the afternoon with another Cod.
Arthur Pugh had his personal best Pollack, caught on a sidewinder but top rod today was Ziggy.
All the guys were from Telford and are down with me again in October. All our fish today came on Sidewinders and Shads. Tuesday 17th August - Red Bream Identification Confirmed - ref the Red Bream caught by Stu Beatty on the 14th August, from a mid-Channel mark, aboard "Samuel Irvin 3" (see below). I sent the photo of Stu Beattie with his Red Bream to my good friend, Dr Douglas Herdson, renowned Marine Biologist and former PRO at the National Marine Aquarium, who replied, "Yes, as you say, it is a true Red Sea Bream, rather than a Couch's. The head is more rounded and it has a terminal mouth (should have small sharp teeth) and black blotch of lateral line. A good one for the database. Apparently Couch's does not have the white tips to the tail in the West Atlantic and Carribean, (where it is known as Red Porgy)." Thanks Doug, your informed input is much appreciated. TORBAY COUNCIL WITHDRAWS ITS JOINT SPONSORSHIP OF TORBAY SEA ANGLING FESTIVAL On 4th August, I reported this recent development on this web page. Here's what I wrote: "I enjoyed a pint on a recent evening with a member of the organising Committee of the annual Torbay Sea Angling Festival, now in its 44th year. I was told that an Email had been received from the Council, stating that they have withdrawn their sponsorship forthwith. There was allegedly no prior consultation with the organisers. The Council did not apparently have the common courtesy to call the organisers, or send a letter; just a curt Email. Is this a sign of the times, stringency measures in a time of financial hardship? Is there a more sinister underlying reason? Could it be related to a distaste for anglers? I think not, because I was told that the Email asked whether the Festival Committee would still wish the Leader of Torbay Council to attend the presentation. More to the point, have Torbay Council withdrawn their support and funding for yachting and other events in the Bay, or have anglers been singled out as an easy target This is a sad disappointment following many years of happy association with Torbay Council as joint sponsors of this long running event. The Council used to support the booking of the venue for the presentation and give a glass of wine, or a soft drink, on arrival, to everyone who attended the evening prize giving." Sadly, due to those unforeseen circumstances, it's gone further down hill since I wrote those first words. This has all happened very quickly, due in no small part to the last minute decision announced by the Council, so close to this year's event. The presentation was scheduled to be held at the Hoburn Torbay, Paignton, at 7.30 pm on the evening of Saturday 2nd October 2010. This venue was cancelled by the Festival's organising committee, when they allegedly learned that the Hoburn now proposed to charge the Festival around £500 for the hire of the venue for that evening. I was told that the hire charge was to be introduced because the Council used to give every person who attended the civic reception a glass of wine or a soft drink. That revenue was no longer available to the owners of the venue, hence the hire charge for the room. When I finished my own 4 year stint as Hon. Sec. to the Torbay Festival Committee myself some 3 years ago, the Organisers had around £10,000 in the bank, surplus profit from successful years, which was intended to be used to cover unseen eventualities, such as the one they face this year, or perhaps other possible losses of revenue such as reduced entries in dreadful weather conditions. Why have the organisers chosen not to use some of that money to properly and successfully address the current problem? The Festival Committee's preferred solution has been to move the venue for the presentation evening to my home club, Brixham SAC on the same time and date. My home club is an excellent and most hospitable club and we would always be very happy to assist the Festival in any way that we can. However, I attended a member's wedding reception on the club premises only last Saturday, 14th August. It was a grand party, with around 85 people invited. Patsy and I arrived around 8 pm. There was seating around tables for perhaps 50 guests, and that was without the huge display of cups and prizes which are always in place at the Torbay Festival Civic Reception evening. There was insufficient room available to walk between the tables. The rest of us stood elbow to elbow at the bar. It was not comfortable. It was claustrophobic, noisy and hot. Although we wanted to be there with our friends, Patsy and I went home at 9.30 pm, because we simply felt so crowded and uncomfortable. I understand that last year around 100 people, (another source quoted total numbers as around 200 people), attended the Torbay Festival Presentation at the Hoburn. I know from my former personal involvement, that just 3 or 4 years ago, the figure totalled more than 200. How can those potential numbers ever be successfully accommodated within my home club premises? Although Patsy and I have been invited to attend the presentation evening at Brixham, we shall not be there for the reasons I have outlined, though we wish the Festival every success. I will not even broach the subject of car parking availability. I fear that the Festival organisers may have made an unsound decision, an understandable "knee jerk" reaction to unforeseen circumstances. This view was echoed by several of my more sensible home club members who voiced their opinions to me and others just last Saturday evening. Two members told me they would have been prepared if asked, to contribute £100 each towards the cost of hiring bigger premises such as the Hoburn. I would have been happy to make a similar contribution myself to cover the outgoings if this is essential. I know of others who would follow suit. But why should this be necessary? Where is the contingency fund? Is it still in the Bank or has it been spent? Exactly how often and with whom was close liaison maintained between the Festival Organisers and Torbay Council? Paul Vaggers, the current Hon. Sec. of the Festival Committee told me that he maintains a regular liaison with Anne Mulholland, who is an officer of Torbay Council. I always found Anne a very helpful lady in the distant days when I was Hon. Sec. Paul also told me that he had not spoken to Anne recently, as she is apparently away on holiday. He also told me that to date, Torbay Council have not replied to any of his Emails pursuant to their bad news. My other main concern is that the other major sponsor, Abu Garcia (UK) Ltd, a division of the corporate Pure Fishing (UK) Ltd, when faced with the realities of this no longer being a Civic reception, hosted by the Leader of Torbay Council, or some other significant celebrity, may consider that what is one of the major recreational sea angling events anywhere in the UK, with around £14,00 in total of cash and tackle prizes, has been reduced to, what some have described to me as, "the level of a Village Fete". Will they wish to remain as sponsors over the coming years? I sincerely hope that they will. Paul Vaggers, the Hon. Sec. of the Festival Committee assured me that Abu are aware and still want to be involved. It has been a mutually beneficial association to date and I genuinely hope it will continue. I also genuinely hope that this year's stop gap measures to hold a prize giving evening in premises which clearly can not contain the realistic numbers of those who may wish to be there does not result in the event sliding downhill in future years. I fear that my good pal, Jim Laing, who was until the time of his passing several months ago, President of the Festival Committee, would roll over in his grave if he knew what is happening to the Festival to which he gave so many dedicated happy years of his long life. ANGLING RESTRICTIONS REVIEW ALDERNEY I anticipate that my good pal Mark Harding, your favourite Alderney based tackle dealer and writer, will cover the relevant matters arising, in his pages within the edition of issue of Sea Angling News to be published towards the end of August. It's good to see a Government making sensible proposals to protect its own marine resources. If only it was that easy. Here are a few of my own thoughts as little time now remains to address this pressing issue. The Island Government on Alderney in the Channel Islands are presently considering how commercial fishing and recreational angling from shore and boat can best be monitored and controlled within their local waters. You can view their consultation document which outlines the various proposals under consideration on line via www.alderney.gov.gg/Fisheries-Consultation N.B. The deadline for your responses is by the end of August 2010 at the very latest. Your properly thought out responses should be addressed to: The Consultation Co-ordinator, States of Alderney, PO Box 1, Alderney, Channel Islands GY9 3AA, or Emailed to states@alderney.gov.gg, please include the word ‘consultation’ in the subject line. I urge you to consider. Should all charter boats and or other recreational anglers be required to maintain accurate log books of every fish caught in Alderney Waters or beyond? This is already required on licensed commercial fishing vessels. Should recreational sea anglers be subject to bag limits when fishing from shore or boat in Alderney waters? Should bag limits apply only where it can be justifiably demonstrated that a specie is under pressure to the point where it may be endangered? Would you accept bag limits as a recreational angler only if similar restrictions are placed on commercial fishing? Should there be a limit on the size of recreational sea angling charter vessels, or their horsepower, restricting who may fish and where, in Alderney waters? What limitations should in your view be placed on commercial trawling, inshore netting, rod and line, long lining, or other commercial fishing methods around Alderney? It occurs to me that the Government of Alderney might only be lawfully permitted to apply bag limits and other restrictions within their own waters which extend 3 miles from their shoreline. The wording of an appropriate piece of legislation could therefore be far from simple. How would the authorities cater for anglers catching fish in mid-Channel during their out-bound journey from the UK to Alderney? How would these proposals affect anglers or small licensed commercial fishing boats who visit the the Channel Islands and who catch fish on the Shole Bank, the Godene Bank, or the Casquets Banks, all of which are more than 3 miles from the Alderney shoreline? When did you last fish the waters surrounding Alderney? Are you a commercial, or recreational angler, or a charter Skipper? How was it for you? Specifically, how did your visit contribute to the Island's economy? Would this drive visiting charter boats and others to visit Guernsey or elsewhere as an alternative base? Would restrictions deter you from visiting Alderney for an angling holiday if they are introduced and why? Would this potentially damage the Island's tourist revenue? What alternatives would you consider? Friday 13th August - "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid-Channel Cod and Pollack - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with an eclectic group of chaps, from Torbay, Kingskerswell, Liverton, Dartmouth, Stafford, and Wales, most of whom I knew well from previous excursions enjoyed together. We were faced with a Force 4 breeze which varied between NW and W throughout the day. This was allied to a 5.2 metre big Spring tide, which had bottomed out a 0.00 metres, with high water around 1.30 pm. Not the greatest combination, but it did allow Ian to make several successful drifts on the first wreck mark we visited. The breeze held us off the structure of our chosen wreck which saw several reasonable Pollack and a solitary Cod, which was caught by Mike Cogswell from Torquay on a soft lure.
Eventually the wind swung a couple of degrees as the flow of the flooding tide varied in strength and several of the anglers caught the wreck with their lines, losing tackle in the process. We moved to another wreck, where Phil Wheeler, from Liverton, was soon into a fine Cod, which made him a happy chap.
John Jones from Wales, caught the best fish of the day, a prime Cod which came from the third wreck which we visited.
Not satisfied with his success, John went on to catch a beautiful Pollack on the final drift of the day.
At one stage, I resorted to fishing a copper coloured 250gm Williamson "Speed Jig". I quickly caught a decent Whiting, which I foul hooked in its left flank. Almost immediately afterwards, during the same drift, I hooked a Pollack, around 6 lbs, fairly in the mouth on the Jig's matching pair of "assist" hooks. On the next drift I foul hooked a Mackerel in its tail. I also snagged and lost another 3 fish on the same Jig. I really do not like this method, which I believe is unsporting, due to the frequency of foul hooked fish. I soon discontinued my efforts with this method. Fortunately the guys on the boat caught Whiting, Pollack and Pouting, which they took home for their family tables. The Cod and John's decent Pollack were undoubtedly the sparkling jewels on an otherwise lacklustre canvas. It was not an easy day angling. It required patience and constant application, plus a fair slice of luck, (though some might claim outstanding skill). Several of the chaps hooked into decent fish during the day, but were defeated when the fish took their lines into the structure of the wreck. No one said it would be easy, but the sun shone, the company was convivial and I believe that everyone enjoyed their day afloat. Thursday 12th August - Doug Mosedale's Big Grey Mullet - Back on Friday 30th July, Doug Mosedale, Fishing Chairman of Brixham SAC was out and about, angling with his pal Paul Cottell, when he caught a memorable Grey Mullet, which was later weighed-in on calibrated scales at Brixham SAC clubhouse, where it turned the read-out to 5 lbs 0 ozs 6 dr. Dougie was a very happy angler. So was the Mullet, which Doug managed to keep alive throughout the weighing and photographing process and which he later returned alive and well to the water to grow, breed and fight again another day. Well done Doug.
Wednesday 11th August - "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid-Channel Cod, Black Bream and Red Bream - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with a group of chaps from Plymouth. We set off from Darthaven Marina, Kingswear around 7 am and made a long voyage to a distant mid-Channel wreck mark. It was around 10.30 am before we wet a line in a 4.7 metre flood Spring tide, which built up from 0.2 metres, driven by a fair breeze over the lumpy sea conditions left over from the night's higher winds. We were immediately into Pollack, swimming high in the water column, which greedily devoured our "Sidewinder" and "RedGill Evo" soft lures, but alas these fighting fish were of no great size. I anticipated that the lads might catch some Cod as the tide topped out, died and then turned and so it was. I said we would catch Cod between 11 am and 2 pm. Our first Cod was a fish around 20 lbs in weight which fell at precisely 11.05 am, to a white "Shad" lure on Luke Lethbridge's line.
Stu Beattie was the next to hook into another excellent Cod, just a short while later. It put up a strong fight in 240 feet of water, before being brought to the boat. I was the first of 4 Cod to fall to Stu's rod during our day together.
Jay Hellings told me that his previous best fish weighed 5 lbs. He certainly sorted that out, when he hooked into another excellent Cod, around 14 lbs, which put up a sturdy fight.
Ian Noble, our happy, congenial Skipper had a go and soon boated another fine Cod, which greedily seized his rhubarb and custard coloured 6 inch "Sidewinder" soft lure.
Lee Hellings decided not to be outdone by his Brother and soon caught another excellent Cod.
Stu Beattie had brought several boxes of frozen Calamari Squid along with him. As the tide died around mid-day, so the fishing slowed down. Ian suggested to Stu, that now was the best time to fish a bait close to the sea bed. Stu asked me how best to do it and I told him that a Pennell rig with two hooks on the same trace would present the Calamari bait at its best. It certainly did, within a very few minutes, Stu, fishing in the port bow of the big cat hooked into a Black Bream which greedily seized his Calamari bait. I weighed it on my Salter electronic digital scales and it recorded 3 lbs 8 ozs. Nice fish and something a little different.
Stu was far from done, within just a few more minutes he boated an even bigger Black Bream, which I weighed at 4 lbs 8 ozs. Wow ! The angling Trust specimen weight for Black Bream is just 3 lbs 8 ozs.
But there was more to come, within just a short while, still on the Calamari bait, Stu boated a genuine Red Bream. It was not a Cooches Bream, it was the real McCoy. I weighed it later in the day in calm water within Dartmouth Harbour, on our return and it tipped the scales to 3 lbs 10 ozs. I haven't seen a true Red Bream for around 6 years, so it was a most welcome and exhilarating sight. It did not have the blue fins so apparent on a Cooches Bream, neither did it have the prominent bump on its forehead, which is common as an identifying feature of a Cooches Bream. Well done Stu. I later checked and the Angling Trust specimen weight for this specie is 3 lbs 12 ozs.
Stu caught the last couple of his personal tally of Cod on the Calamari baits presented close to the sea bed on his Pennel rig, after the tide had turned, although the breeze pegged us back against the tide as it dropped away, towards the bottom of its range again, making our drifts difficult over a building swell and causing the lines to stream out, presenting a different challenge in effectively presenting our baits and lures. We returned to Dartmouth, tired but very happy around 6.45 pm. Thanks lads for your good company and friendliness. Thanks Ian for another excellent day, "Fishing Dartmouth" aboard "Samuel Irvin 3". Tuesday 10th August - "Gemini" Mid-Channel Cod & Pollack - Email received late yesterday, from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the mid-Channel wrecks today with a new bunch of anglers from the Torbay area. The boys caught some nice fish using sidewinders and shads.
I phoned Mick Hallam to help out today it was good to have him aboard again, no one makes tea and coffee as good as Mick. He also caught some nice Cod.
RNLI Dartmouth Angling Day aboard "Outlaw" - Sunday 8th August, Owen Mallia, hosted a fund raising day aboard his local charter boat, "Outlaw of Dartmouth". Owen kindly Emailed the results to me late yesterday. Thanks Owen, your input is much appreciated. Here's what Owen wrote: We experienced a lovely day’s mid-Channel angling out on Outlaw last Sunday. As previously mentioned on your site; the day was organised in aid of the Dartmouth RNLI week celebrations, the event proved to be popular with no shortage of bookings (an annual event is being considered with a perpetual award and prizes being offered). The weather was gorgeous and we fished three wrecks in total, main species was Cod, although Richard Gage from Torbay ‘targeted’ a Ling with bait on the slack water and got what he was after – a nice mid-Channel Ling!
Darren Andrews from Kingsbridge started the ball rolling initially with a lovely condition Cod, this was followed by another fish landed by Mark Radcliffe from Southampton.
We moved to our second wreck and had bites but nothing apart from a small Pollack or two, we then moved to our third wreck where Gary Blundell from Frogmore hooked in to a nice fish (later in the day he also lost a larger monster that unfortunately snapped his line mid-way up).
Darren Evans from Dartmouth followed suit and landed a nice Cod.
It was followed by another fish for Mark Radcliffe (who took the lead with his 15lb fish), finally just when it looked like Mark had the event sewn up Andy (Squiffy) Howitt, who is one of the helmsman on the Dartmouth Lifeboat, got to grips with a lovely 17lb Cod, caught using a Rhubarb & Custard Sidewinder.
Although the other members tried to improve on Squiff’s fish, it was no to be, he was the worthy winner of the initial RNLI Angling day fund-raising event!
At the end of the day everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the event and have urged me to do it again next year, maybe one or two of the other local skippers would consider taking part in next year’s planned event – as I had more enquiries than I could fulfil for this one. Proceeds from the day will be donated to the Dartmouth RNLI (a worthy cause) at their next meeting. Monday 9th August - "Anglo Dawn III" Alderney Black Bream, Cod, Turbot and Brill - My good pal, Chris Roberts, who charters his golden yellow hulled Evolution 38, "Anglo Dawn III" out of Salcombe, Emailed this morning, with some piccies from his recent trip to fish the Channel Islands waters off Alderney. Thanks Chris, your input is much appreciated. I'm pleased your trip was a great success. Here's what Chris wrote: Here are some pictures from my recent Alderney trip, aboard my Salcombe charter boat, "Anglo Dawn III". We had a great 4 days, with some lovely flats and a lot of black bream, plus some nice Pollack and a few Cod on the way over and back. The Black Bream, was caught by Brian Spalding on prawn and squid.
This excellent Cod weighed a tad over 15 lbs and made another angler very happy.
Dave Small and Steve Hunt caught a fine pair of Turbot.
Steve Hunt went on to catch himself another beautiful Turbot.
Julian caught this excellent Brill, which weighed 4 lbs 9 ozs.
The people were all so friendly. I loved the place and can't wait to go across to the Islands again. Saturday 7th August - Nick Goodwright's Teignmouth SAS Club Record Conger from Shore - Email received today from my friend Nick Goodwright, a member of Teignmouth SAS who has set a new shore record for that club for a Conger Eel. Well done Nick. As always, your input is very welcome. Here's what Nick wrote: I'm a member of Teignmouth Sea Angling Society and thought you may be interested in putting this up on you site. I caught this Conger last Thursday night from shore at Long Quarry. It weighed-in at 30 lbs 4 ozs and is a personal best and new club record. I was fishing on my own but managed to gaff it and get it on to the shore.
"Gemini" Skerries Plaice - Email received from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Thursday 5th August - Today was the last day of our 4 day charter. I picked up 2 lbs of ragworm from Brixham Bait and Tackle, as the lads wanted to have a look at the weather to see what it was like for Conger fishing mid channel. Due to the swell that was left from the previous day, the boys decided to fish on the "Skerries". The top bait was rag squid and prawn.
We returned to port by 4.30 as the boys had a 6 hour journey home. Thank you lads, a very enjoyable 4 day trip - I look forward to seeing you on the winter Pollack trips. Update News to www.wrecksite.eu - Email received from the administration of the World's best wreck database. More than 80% of the wrecks off our coastline are shown in detail, but you need to subscribe (cost around £25 per year) to gain access to UK Hydrographic Office and other related marine charts. When you do, the GPS references are accurate to 3 seconds. It's designed and updated by anglers and divers and priovides an excellent source of knowledge to locate wreck sites. We have updated the wrecksite with new charts: 24 charts from Portugal, 18 charts from Croatia (Adriatic Sea), 27 charts from South-Africa and 8 from Iceland. Some 4.000 new wrecks on these charts are now visible for hydrographic service subscribed members.
Included are also
charts from Madeira, Azores, Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde and Namibia. "Gemini" Skerries Plaice - Email received Wednesday 4th August, from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Wednesday 4th August - Third day of our four day charter. This was supposed to be a mid-Channel wrecking trip but because of a poor forecast, we decided to fish the "Skerries" banks for Plaice. The three anglers produced 14 Plaice, all caught on rag squid and prawn.
"Gemini" Conger from Mid-Channel Wreck - Email received Tuesday 3rd August, from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Tuesday 3rd August - Day 2 of our 4 day charter. Out on the wrecks today looking for a big Conger. 13yr old Jake Rogan certainly wasn’t disappointed as he qualified for the British Conger Club, with a Conger of 80 lbs, our biggest of the day, a cracking fish for a junior.
Mike Woods best Eel was 50 lbs. Both eels were caught at the same time, as you can see by the photo.
All our fish were caught on Mackerel baits and all returned alive. "Outlaw" Channel Islands Brill, Turbot & Gurnard - Email received Tuesday 3rd August, from my good pal Richard Stanley, who lives near Stafford. He and several other mutual pals enjoyed a recent trip to fish the Channel Islands waters surrounding Guernsey, aboard Owen Mallia's Dartmouth charter boat, "Outlaw of Dartmouth". Thanks Richard, your input is most welcome. Here's what Richard sent:
"Gemini" Skerries Plaice & Blonde Ray - Email received Monday 2nd August, from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the banks today which is the start of a four day charter organised by Mike Woods from Southport. These lads have been fishing with me for over 10years. I picked the bait up from Brixham Bait and Tackle at 7.45am and we were ready to sail by 8.30am. All our fish were caught on rag, squid and prawn. Thirteen year old Jake Rogan caught a 12lb Blonde Ray, which he wanted to return after a photo.
Jack Stanley, also 13 years old, caught his first Plaice.
Mark Rogan caught a double header of 2 Plaice on the same rig.
Mike Woods also caught several nice Plaice.
Out on the wrecks tomorrow looking for Conger and Ling at anchor. Brixham SAC "His & Hers" Competition Results - Sunday 1st August - Email received on 2nd August from my good pal Russell Farley. Y Thanks Russell, much appreciated. Here's what Russell wrote: Brixham SAC "His & Hers" Competition was held on Sunday 1st August. The winning pair were Rachel Farley and Ciaran Farley with a brace of Thin Lipped Mullet respectively 2 lbs 6 ozs 4 dr and 2 lbs 6 ozs 9 dr.
Rosalyn Farley also caught a Thin Lipped Mullet of 2 lbs 7 ozs 8 dr, which was the best fish on the day, but sadly she was partnered by her "Bad Dad", who also caught the smallest fish on the day. Their combined total was only good enough to take the "Runners Up" spot.
"Anglo Dawn III" Ling and Cod out of Salcombe - Email received dated Monday 2nd August, from my good pal Nigel Foord, who had enjoyed a day afloat the previous day aboard Chris Roberts' Salcombe charter boat, "Anglo Dawn III", fishing the mid-Channel wrecks. Thanks Nigel for your input which is greatly appreciated. Here's what Nigel wrote: On Sunday 1st August, I joined a regular group from Wells, Somerset, who book up with Chris Roberts' Salcombe charter boat "Anglo Dawn III". They were a few short and I was able to join them at short notice. We had a great day with quality Pollack Ling and Cod from a handful of Wrecks. Marcus Holmes and Rob Holmes were awarded joint honours with matching Ling of 24 lbs 8 ozs caught on whole fresh Mackerel baits.
I was lucky to get the largest of the Cod caught, with a chunky personal best of 16 lbs 8 ozs. A good way to christen my new Maxximus 20-40 lb rod, which is a great piece of gear.
Several anglers were smashed up by what must have been very nice Cod. A cracking day out with enough sport for all and as ever Chris worked hard to find the fish. Wednesday 4th August - Torbay Council Withdraw Their Sponsorship for Torbay Sea Angling Festival - I enjoyed a pint on Sunday evening with a member of the organising Committee of the annual Torbay Sea Angling Festival, now in its 44th year. I was told that an Email had been received from the Council, stating that they have withdrawn their sponsorship forthwith. There was no prior consultation with the organisers. The Council did not have the decency to call the organisers or send a letter; just a curt Email. Is this a sign of the times, stringency measures in a time of financial hardship? Is there a more sinister underlying reason? Could it be related to a distaste for anglers? I think not, because I was told that the Email asked whether the Festival Committee would still want the Leader of Torbay Council to attend the presentation. More to the point, have Torbay Council withdrawn their support and funding for yachting and other events in the Bay, or have anglers been singled out as an easy target This is a sad disappointment following many years of happy association with Torbay Council as joint sponsors of this event. The Council used to support the booking of the venue for the presentation and give a glass of wine, or a soft drink, on arrival, to everyone who attended the evening prize giving. Tuesday 3rd August - "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid-Channel Wreck Congers and Ling - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with Julian Jones and two of his pals, plus a film crew of five and our sponsors, Russell Weston, MD of Snowbee (UK) Ltd, and Nigel Bracey, UK Sales Manager for Snowbee. Russ Symons was also with us writing a fishy tale and shooting still photos for "Sea Angler" magazine. You will have to wait to read the in depth story in SA in the fullness of time. I understand that you will also be able eventually, to watch the day's events in an episode on Channel 4 TV and on the Discovery Channel too. Ian and I knew from the weather forecast ,that we had relatively calm conditions up until lunch time. We knew we had until around 1.0 pm to get the filming completed with some good fish caught. It was a limited window of opportunity. We achieved that "in spades". We steamed 2 hours from Dartmouth, arriving at our mark at at about 9.30 am. Julian and his two co-presenters fished hard for Conger Eels, as soon as we had anchored our chosen wreck, until around noon. Using top quality "Snowbee Deep Blue" rods and "Accurate" reels from our sponsors, Snowbee (UK) Ltd, they caught around 15 good sized hard fighting Eels, up to 50 lbs in weight, on various baits, including Cuttlefish, or fresh Mackerel. All the Congers were returned alive and well to the water after being photographed and filmed. They will be living on the same wreck to be caught again when they have grown larger. Job done. As the tidal flow speeded up and the wreck ceased to produce Eels, we upped anchor and moved to another wreck, where, over the next couple of hours the lads caught 5 good sized Ling on my "Mike Concannon Fishing Dartmouth" Conger traces, plus several more good sized Eels, which all put up a good fight. Again we released the Congers alive and well. Congers have a different physical make up than Cod and Ling. They seem to be able to deal with decompression perfectly well, if handled with a little care and thought.
You generally can't do that successfully with a Ling, or any other member of the Cod family, which has been pumped up from 240 feet of water. They get a variation of the famous illness, "the bends", which human divers are prone to, in similar circumstances. The gases in their internal organs expand, the gases in their blood bubble out like the gas in a bottle of lemonade which has been shaken. This gets more severe as they near the surface, where atmospheric pressure is far less than down at 240 feet. This prevents the, large white fish being successfully returned alive and well. Ling taste like Cod. They are of the same family. Their flesh is perhaps a tad firmer, but just as delicious. Those "free range" Ling will grace our tables with some very fine eating. Monday 2nd August - "Samuel Irvin 3" Cod and Whiting on the Mid-Channel Wrecks - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with Vas Siangolis from Weston Super Mare and his group of good pals, most of whom I have come to know pretty well over recent trips in their good company. We went wreck hopping in search of Cod and we found some, though again they were scarce and reluctant to feed. We would find a few fish on a wreck and then they would stop feeding as though they had been "spooked". Another wreck would produce a few small Pollack, a decent Whiting, a hard fighting Ling, or an occasional Cod ;and so our day went on, carefully but successfully.
"Gemini" Cod on the Mid-Channel Wrecks - Email received late yesterday evening from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Sunday - Out on the mid-Channel wrecks today, with a charter from Cardiff. I called on local angler Brian Coles to help out today as most of the anglers were beginners. Brian got all the anglers rigged up as "Gemini" steamed to the wrecks looking for Cod. Considering they hadn’t done this type of fishing before, they did really well, catching some good sized Cod on sidewinders and Shads. Well done lads and a big thank you to Brian.
Sunday 1st August - This weekend and Next Week - I've been ashore this weekend doing some reel repairs, rod building, heavy trace making and generally playing "catch-up" again on my "Fishing Dartmouth" web site, while Ian Noble has been checking out the mid-Channel wrecks with a group of deep divers aboard "Samuel Irvin 3". On Monday we have a group of regular anglers fishing the mid-Channel wrecks. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we are with a film crew and Welsh actor, Julian Jones, shooting some video for a new TV program on sea angling. On Friday we are on the Mid-Channel wrecks again, with a group of eclectic anglers, in pursuit of Cod, Pollack, Ling and Conger Eels, hopefully at anchor. "Gemini" Cod on the Mid-Channel Wrecks - Email received late yesterday evening from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Out on the mid-Channel wrecks today with some regular anglers on "Gemini", after Cod ,with some good fish coming aboard in the morning. We struggled in the last hour with wind against tide. Only a few more fish came to our mixture of different lures. Back on the wrecks again on Sunday.
Torbay & Babbacombe ASA Common Smoothhound from Shore Club Record Broken - Email received late yesterday evening from my pal, Kevin Rouse, who is a member of Torbay & Babbacombe ASA. Well done Kevin. You and Nigel certainly put the time and effort in to catch these spectacular fish. Thank you for your input to "Fishing Dartmouth", which is very much appreciated. Here's what Kevin wrote: Nigel Foord and I had a number of quality Smoothounds from a Dorset beach last night, Friday 30th July, one of which, a Common of 12 lbs 12 ozs 4 dr, beats the former Torbay & Babbacombe ASA shore club record by almost 3 lbs. The previous record holder, A. Nockolds, landed one of 10 lbs 1 oz 4 dr from a North Somerset shore mark back in 1993.
Interestingly, Nigel is currently the Club's record holder for both Smoothounds (Starry and Common) from boat, his son Archie took both junior boat records earlier this year and now I've broken both Smoothound shore records.
Friday 30th July - "Gemini" Plaice on the "Skerries" - Email received from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Had a very enjoyable day on the banks today, with all our fish caught on Rag, Lug, Squid and Prawn .
George Hanley Junior Angler Red Gurnard - My good pal Nigel Foord, Emailed late yesterday. Thanks Nigel, your input is very much appreciated. Here's what Nigel wrote: Torbay & Babbacombe ASA Junior member George Hanley, with a nice little Red Gurnard from the "Skerries" about 1.¼ lb. Caught from his Uncles private boat, on baited feathers.
More Fishy Photos from Brixham SAC Mini-Festival - Dave Fortune kindly sent four more excellent photos from the Brixham SAC Mini-Festival, which was held from the 23rd to the 25th July. Thanks Dave, your input is always very welcome. Here's what Dave wrote: Charlie Dwyer is a Junior, whose membership of Brixham SQAC had lapsed. The Gar weighed 1 lb 15 ozs and was caught from Brixham Breakwater on Saturday 24th July. It would have been the biggest in the Club this year. It would have also won Charlie a prize in the Mini Festival. Alas, maybe next year! By the way, Charlie has now renewed his membership.
Thursday 29th July - "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid-Channel Wreck Cod and Pollack - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth with an eclectic group of regular pals whom I know well, from Torquay, Kingskerswell, Sutton Coldfield, Clevedon, Weston-Super-Mare, Tamworth, Bridgend, and beyond. Our aspiration had been to fish the mid-Channel reef, which is around 46 nautical miles from Dartmouth, but alas we were stymied by an unfavourable weather forecast, which would have made it too uncomfortable to be pleasurable. All the weather forecasts concurred that we were to expect a Force 4 from the North West, swinging due West by late afternoon. That meant that while we would have a reasonable outward voyage, that we would be punching strong wind against tide for a most uncomfortable return journey. We made a collective decision, under the guidance of our Skipper, to fish the mid-Channel wrecks nearer to home. It was the right decision. It turned out to be a kinder forecast than we actually got on the day. In the morning it was relatively calm, but the wind built during the day to around a Force 5 from the West by late afternoon, which gave us a lumpy ride home. The strong breeze made angling quite trying. When the wind was with the flooding tide, early in the day, we were drifting over the wrecks at speeds in excess of 2 Knots. Later in the day, after the tide turned, the wind was initially stronger than the tidal flow, then as the tide built, the boat went in the proper direction on the drift, while the tide streamed out the lines, requiring additional lead for the anglers to get down to the fish. We started the day with a little wreck hopping ending up around 38 nautical miles from shore and caught some reasonable Pollack, which were still feeding as our lures whizzed past their noses. Nothing great, but it kept everyone involved. Mike Cogswell from Torquay caught one of the better Pollack on a Green coloured Eddystone Jelly Shad Lure.
His pal, Peter Gage from Kingskerswell caught another fine example of a Pollack, which brought a smile to his face.
As the tide turned and the sea started to build, Ian made the sensible decision to head closer to home. We moved in around 11 miles to a wreck where we had caught Cod last Monday. It turned out to be the right move. We found some Cod which were willing to feed, although catching them was not a simple proposition as the angler's lines streamed out. Tony Sheard from Sutton Coldfield caught one of the first of the Cod, which pleased him more than it did the fish. Would it be good enough to sweep the "pool" on the day?
My good pal Rodger Leviston, from Clevedon, "Oooh! Arrgh!", soon caught another fine Cod which looked as though it might sweep the pool on our £2 per person pot, for the heaviest fish of the day.
It was not to be, within a few more minutes, Richard Gage caught an even better Cod and looked good to take the money.
The Welsh lads, who can be relied on for some fine banter and plenty of fish, unusually for them, didn't quite figure on the day in the biggest fish pot stakes, though Dennis Grady, who featured amongst the other stars in my YouTube video, back on the 11th July, did ask me to publicly state that he caught more fish than Mike "The Pigeon" Parker today. The "Oooh! Arrgh!" lads from Somerset all agreed that Mike "The Pigeon's" preferred specie, as he hails from Wales, is undoubtedly the "Baaaaaaas." Today, the banter was at times almost more entertaining than the angling ! Midlander, John Webb, persevered hard throughout the day, though he sacrificed more end tackle than he would have preferred to King Neptune. In the end, it all came right for John. On the last but one drift of the day, he hooked into a good fish which put a real bend in his rod. He worked hard to pump a bigger Cod to the surface, which weighed around 17 lbs and was the best fish of the day. John Webb took the pot and we were all pleased that he did. He deserved it, I heard the anglers mutter through their wide smiles, (which were in truth clenched teeth!).
Our trip across a lumpy sea back to Dartmouth took more than another 2 hours at a steady 12 to 14 knots in Ian's big cat. Everyone had caught fish. Several had feathered up some Mackerel for their home table too. They are one of the most delicious fish in the sea. Another thoroughly enjoyable, if quite testing day, "Fishing Dartmouth". Thanks lads for your excellent company and entertaining humour. Thanks Ian for another excellent day aboard "Samuel Irvin 3". Tuesday 27th July - Discolouration of Sea Water in Mid-Channel may be due to dredging on French coast - I mentioned in my report on Saturday of our trip after Congers the previous day, that there was severe discolouration of the water in mid-Channel. Divers over the weekend reported poor visibility on the mid-Channel wrecks. They told Ian Noble that it was thick brown water for the top 30 metres, below which it became far clearer. Strange. Yesterday, there was still brownish water, though not so bad. It does not look like the plankton and algae explosion which is usually present during the early Summer, which is due to sunlight reacting with Nitrates in the water to produce Phytoplankton, known as "May Bloom". There were not the slimy strings of brown goo in the water which is so apparent on your fishing line and end tackle at such times. It seemed to clear significantly with the flooding tide. I received an Email yesterday from a good pal. He quoted a 3rd impeccable source, a mutual friend, who had told him a possible explanation. I quote: "Hope you are OK and the colour has gone out of the water in the middle of the Channel. C****** reckoned the evil Frenchies are up to no good, dumping estuary waste from the River Rance." To date, I have been unable to confirm or refute this information, but it is a possible explanation for the unusual recent discolouration of the water. It may indeed arise from the quite legal and proper dumping of spoil from dredging operations on the other side of the Channel. It is not a terrible problem, but it has been evident over the past 3 or 4 days. "Samuel Irvin 3" Plaice & Whiting on the "Skerries" - Today I was at sea for a most enjoyable day with three generations of the Morgan family, aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling on the "Skerries" shingle banks, which lie around 4 miles out to sea from Dartmouth. They are famous for Plaice. There was a brisk breeze from the North West, which pushed our boat across the preferred line of the drift along the banks and made it quite difficult to fish as well as one would have wished. We persevered and Lewis Morgan, from Scotland, caught the first fish of the day, a Whiting.
Fortunately the Whiting kept on coming and the lads caught perhaps 20 or more, which threw themselves with abandon at our Plaice baits. The Whiting were interspersed by several beautiful Tub and Red Gurnard, which brightened up our day and kept everyone busy, catching fish. After the tide turned to the ebb we were faced with a brisk breeze against and across the run of the tide which made it even more difficult to effectively present a bait on the sea bed, without becoming involved in tangles. We persevered and our efforts were rewarded. "Grandpa", Frank Morgan from Dartmouth, caught the first of several Plaice on a cocktail bait of Garlic Prawn, Ragworm and Calamari tippet.
Ian Noble, our happy "Skipper" went one better to catch the best Plaice of the day on a similar bait.
Lewis Morgan followed up his earlier success amongst the Whiting with another excellent Plaice.
Father and Son, Guy and Peter Morgan, caught a fine pair of "Skerries" Plaice on the same drift.
We returned to Port around 5 pm, tired and happy after another enjoyable day, "Fishing Dartmouth". Thank you chaps for your good company and thank you Ian for another excellent day aboard "Samuel Irvin 3". Monday 26th July - "Samuel Irvin 3" Mid-Channel Wreck Cod and Pollack - I was at sea again today aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", angling out of Dartmouth. We had with us a group of really good guys, from Stourbridge, Telford, Rugby and Withall. For many f the guys, it was their first experience of recreational sea angling. Ian and I did our very best to ensure their success and make them feel at home. I think we succeeded. I know that they did. They caught several fine Cod and Pollack during our day together. They are already talking of a return visit. I look forward to seeing them again. Today was a pleasure.
Brixham SAC Mini Festival Results - Email received this evening from my good pal, Doug Mosedale, Fishing Chairman of Brixham SAC. He kindly forwarded detailed results of Brixham SAC's Mini Festival which was staged over last weekend. Here's what Doug wrote: Best Fish over the 2 days was Roy Repton with a shore caught Bull Huss of 14-5-12 , 143.594% ; Roy took the £100 first prize. Best Junior was Shay Upham with a shore caught LSD of 2-8-0 , 100% Best Fish Boat Saturday was Chris Martin with a Whiting of 2-4-5 , 90.781% Best Fish Shore Saturday was Roy Repton with a Grey Mullet of 5-2-13 , 121.783% Best Fish Boat Sunday was Owen Thomas with a Conger of 46-12-3 , 133.605% Best Fish Shore Sunday , Steve Pickin with a Garfish of 1-7-10 , 107.386% Shay Upham Wins Junior Prize in Brixham SAC Mini Festival - Email received from my good pal and fellow member of Brixham SAC, Jason Upham. Thanks Jason. As Always your input is most welcome. Here's what Jason wrote: I went out with my lads on Friday night and Shay caught his first ever specimen Dogfish from a local mark. It was 2-8-0, this is a Brixham SAC and Angling Trust specimen fish from shore. It won Shay the best Junior prize in our Brixham club's Mini Festival this weekend!
Sunday 25th July - "Gemini" Mid-Channel Pollack, Cod and a Red Gurnard - Email received from my good pal Dave Harrison, who charters his big orange Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini" out of Dartmouth. Thanks Dave. Here's what Dave wrote: Sunday 25th July - Out on the mid-Channel wrecks today. We had 5 of the Brixham Sea Anglers aboard and 5 of Brian Coles’s group, that made the charter up. Fishing was a lot better than yesterday. We had a lot better size fish coming aboard. We had some good size Cod and Pollack and just the one good sized Red Gurnard for Brian Coles.
Our top lure today was not sidewinder for the first time. It was beaten by the new RedGill ‘Evo’. I was very impressed with the new design of RedGill with the moulded in hook and weight and we will certainly be using it again. Sunday 11th July - "Samuel Irvin 3" John Dory, Pollack & Cod on the Mid-Channel Wrecks - I was at sea again today, aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat, the big white and blue Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3", together with a diverse group of friends, some old and others new, from across the UK. Over recent days we had struggled to catch fish consistently, probably due in no small part to tides which had little drop or rise between high and low water. Fish rarely feed consistently when there is little or no water movement. They would use more energy chasing their prey than they would derive from it, so they "switch off" and wait for the right opportunity. Some recent days, we had struggled to catch a single Cod in a whole day, on others we had visited 6 or 7 wrecks to catch 2 or 3 Pollack. Don't take this the wrong way. We have caught fish , but often in difficult circumstances. Today, there was a consistent run on the tide, which caused the fish to feed in a frenzy after several days of comparative fasting. Today we were in the right spot to take advantage of this. We fished throughout the day on the flood and ebb tides. Apart from a lull over the slack water period when the tide turned, the fish greedily seized the anglers lures throughout the day. We stayed on the same mid-Channel wreck mark and thoroughly enjoyed catching Pollack and Cod for the anglers' home tables. Today was an exceptionally productive session. The very first fish of the day, caught on a "Rhubarb and Custard" coloured Sidewinder soft lure was a John Dory, caught by Rodger Leviston. A welcome variation to our more usual catches.
The best Pollack of the day weighed 18 lbs 12 ozs and was caught by Rodger Leviston from Clevedon, Somerset. That was a huge fish by any standards for this time of year, particularly when measured against a 100% specimen weight of 16 lbs.
The heaviest fish of the day was a Cod which weighed 24 lbs exactly, caught by Steve Harwood from Bath. The 100% specimen weight for Cod in our area is 23 lbs. It was a personal best for Steve.
Enough of my chatter. I shot a few video clips which I have edited together for your enjoyment. Why not join me and my friends on YouTube and watch some of the action for yourself to see how our day fared. It is around 4 minutes long. It proves that today's fishy tale is more than angler's exaggeration. Enjoy.
Thanks chaps for your excellent company once again. Thanks Ian for another exceptional day "Fishing Dartmouth".
Monday 28th June - "Samuel Irvin 3" Channel Islands Sea Angling Adventure - Guernsey - Tuesday 22nd 'til Fri 25th June - Here's some video footage I recorded of our 4 day sea angling adventure aboard "Samuel Irvin 3", chartering out of Dartmouth. We spent 4 days angling in the Channel Island waters surrounding Alderney, together with a group of lads from the Barnstaple Rod 'n' Reelers SAC. You can easily watch this 5½ minute video on an Internet Broadband connection. Enjoy.
Monday 21st June - "Gemini" Plaice, Garfish and Gurnards on the "Skerries" - Today I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day "Fishing Dartmouth" aboard Dave Harrison's big bright orange hulled Blyth 33 catamaran, "Gemini", together with several pals, old and new. Thanks lads for your company and thanks Dave for another perfect day in splendid weather conditions. I shot a video of our day which is hosted on You Tube. You can view it easily on an Internet Broadband connection. Enjoy.
 Filleting Fish - Paul Whiting, (what an appropriate name), of the Milnrow Sea Angling Club was telling me about a really useful web site, with concise instructions and videos about how to fillet the fish you catch for your family table.
I took a look at www.filleting-fish.com and I'm quite impressed. It's another useful web site well worth adding to your "Favourites". Some parts of the sound track is in Dutch - I think - but the step by step videos make it look very easy and are simple to follow. I was amazed at just how much flesh the guy doing the filleting saved from the cheeks and head of a Cod. A Dutch guy makes short work of filleting and skinning a big Ling, complete with a step by step commentary in English. There's a video with a Canadian narrative which shows several ways to fillet a Pout. The flesh is clean, white and appetizing, with few pin bones remaining. It makes excellent fish cakes and fish pie, but can also be deep fried in batter. Much of this is what you allegedly buy as fried fish. This is too tasty and valuable to allow to go to waste. Bream, Plaice, Turbot, Dab, Sole, Bass, Whiting, Pollack. Ray, Mullet, Monkfish, Lemon Sole, Gurnard, Dory; they are all on here, with step-by step "how to" video instructions. There are videos and step-by-step instructions on this site for every variety of fish you are likely to catch and some that you are not. My own filleting looks presently as though the fish has been dismembered by a rabid dog. Fortunately Patsy, my long suffering Wife, owned restaurants for 23 years and that's why you see me sometimes take a couple of fish home, gutted but not filleted. I could learn a thing or two from this web site myself. MC Commented: Please catch and release any fish which you do not require for your own family table. Many species can successfully be returned alive to breed, grow and fight again another day. Use these videos to make the very best of those fish that you do retain to enjoy.
Wednesday 17th February - New Accurate 2-Speed BX2-400 Reel - Yesterday, I popped down to Snowbee (UK) Ltd, at Plympton, on the outskirts of Plymouth. Snowbee are the UK importers of Accurate reels. I bought myself the very latest model Accurate 2-speed reel. Those of you who know me well, will be aware that I generally only use the USA manufactured Accurate brand of reels, in various sizes, for all of my angling. They are by far the best that I have ever encountered. I have been a consistent user of their products for the past 14 years. The model I chose is the Accurate BX2-400 which is approximately equivalent in size to an Abu 7000.
The two-speed version has its own internal gearbox. With the press of a single button, you can change for 6:1 to 3:1 retrieve ratio. It has no level wind, which suits me just fine. It's something else which cannot go wrong. I can easily lay the line flat on the spool as I retrieve, using my left thumb. The body and spool are both machined from solid blocks of aircraft grade aluminium. It's weight is 20 ounces, which balances any rod perfectly. Accurate's main manufacturing business, which is based in Corona, California, USA, centres around the production of jet turbine blades, so you can be certain that these reels are manufactured to the finest tolerances. All major components are machined in-house, so spares are readily available, though rarely needed. The spool holds 275 metres of 20 lb BS Monofilament line, or 411 metres of my preferred braid line. I will fill it with with 300 metres of 30 lb BS braid line over around 150 metres of mono backing. It features the Accurate world patented twin drag system. There are titanium disc and fibre washer clutches on both ends of the spool, which make the drag very smooth, with absolutely no jerkiness whatsoever. The drag is pre-set by the user and operated by a very solid lever on the end plate of the reel, as is the case with all Accurate multiplier reel models. It has 7 class 5 ABEC stainless steel bearings. The gears are machined from stainless steel. The entire gear train has been beefed up from previous models to easily deal with the most aggressive and hard fighting fish species you are ever likely to encounter anywhere in the world. The blue anodised crank handle is very comfortable and solid. It feels very secure and "chunky". This model is available in a choice of left or right hand handle, which suits all comers perfectly. This beautiful fishing reel retails in the UK for £489 inclusive of VAT. If you are really serious about your angling, whether that is for Tuna, or other hard fighting tropical species, or big fish in our home UK waters, I know you will consider it excellent value once you have handled and used it. My current favourite reel is the predecessor to this model, the B2-270 which has been superseded by this more recent model. Yes, I'm a tackle tart, I already own 8 other Accurate reels across their range of sizes for different angling applications. At one stage I owned well in excess of 100 reels. To date, I have not used any reels which come close to matching the quality of the "Accurate" range. I intend to fill the spool with some 30 lb class mono backing, topped off with 300 yards of 30 lb B.S. Tuf-Line XP braid line which is also distributed by Snowbee (UK) Ltd, and is available in yellow or dark red. I use the dark red version, which disappears to become almost invisible within 10 feet of the surface of the water. The 30 lb B.S. has a line diameter of just .28 mm, which really is very fine.
You can be certain that I will give you an honest review of both these products, when I have used them for several serious angling adventures. Another good friend, Graham Dryer, Chairman of Brixham SAC and Proprietor of Brixham Bait & Tackle has also bought himself an Accurate BX2-400 reel in the left hand wind version. I shall be sure to seek his view, before I finally tell you our verdict.
Wednesday 5th August - Snowbee "Offshore" Sea Angling Clothing Update - Back in mid-April 2008, more than a year ago, I reviewed the range of breathable Snowbee "Offshore" Sea Angling Clothing. I purposely used it for several weeks and wore it hard, interspersed with frequent washing, to keep it looking fresh and new; that was before I reviewed it. You can read my original in-depth review on my web site at www.fishingdartmouth.co.uk/tackle_tips_22.htm
I have worn it every time I have been to sea since then, that's more than another 15 months of hard use in some appalling conditions. This Summer has been one of the wettest on record, with more than three times the average rainfall for this time of year. I have worn the Salopettes every time I have been to sea, which has been often, as I have spent this Summer crewing aboard Ian Noble's Dartmouth charter boat "Samuel Irvin 3", plus numerous "Fishing Dartmouth with Mike Concannon" days aboard Dave Harrison's Dartmouth charter boat "Gemini", and other days aboard numerous different local boats. I didn't realise how much I would love the side holster built into the Salopettes with a "D Ring" where I can attach and access my "Accurate" pliers and cutters, ready for instant use. Snowbee really have thought of everything. I have worn the 5/8th length jacket far more than the blouson jacket. This has been entirely the fault of circumstances. I love the "Bomber Jacket" style blouson top. I anticipated it would be ideal during the Summer months. Indeed, had we enjoyed a normal Summer, that would have undoubtedly been true. Consequently, I have made more use of the 5/8th length jacket, which has an integral hood and storm cuffs. It has afforded the best protection from this Summer's frequent driving rain and high winds. The outside of my suit is a little marked by stains from hard use, but is otherwise completely in-tact and thoroughly waterproof. The seams do not leak. There are no loose threads. It is comfortable in use and does not trap perspiration, quite unlike so many other suits I have owned over the years. It is not a cheap item of clothing, but in my view it has been worth every penny. It's the best weatherproof clothing I have ever owned. I thoroughly commend it to you. You can contact Snowbee (UK) Ltd at Drakes Court, Langage Business Park, Plymouth, PL7 5JY, telephone +44 (0) 1752 334933 or Email flyfish@snowbee.co.uk for details of your nearest retailer.
Wednesday 29th July - "Channel Cut Pro" High Tech Dyneema Braid Line - Those of you who fish with me will know that I have for many years been a strong advocate of braid fishing line. It's far thinner than its monofilament equivalent, which reduces the profile against the pressure of the water, particularly at greater depths, where more line is let out. It has virtually no stretch, which means that you can feel every touch and can set a hook at distance with no problem. My only caveat is that you need to use a softer tipped rod to introduce a spring cushioning effect and please set the clutch on your reel properly at between 33% and 70% of the stated breaking strain of your chosen braid line. I was looking for a thinner braid for my preferred 30 lb b.s., for use for general wreck fishing. I chanced upon a new High Tech Dyneema Braid Line, "Channel Cut Pro", which is plain grey in colour, and has a stated diameter for 30 lb bs at just 0.23 mm, (comparable to around 8 lb bs mono in diameter). I compared this with Berkley Fireline Crystal Braid line, which has a stated diameter for the same bs of 0.38 mm, (and is directly comparable in diameter to 12 lb b.s. mono line). Channel Cut Pro Braided Line is advertised as being 4 x thinner than its monofilament equivalent. The supplier is on the Internet at www.rodringsandthings.co.uk Mine arrived within 24 hours via Royal Mail. It is available in b.s. of 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 at a cost of just £19.99 for 300 metres (328 yds). It arrived in a very neat package, on a wide plastic spool.
I loaded it onto my "Accurate" B2-270 2-speed reel, over a couple of layers of 30 lb b.s. monofilament backing and attached 5 metres of monofilament leader to the end. It filled the spool perfectly, without cutting into itself. I looked closely at its construction. As I said, it's colour is a pale grey. It is noticeably very supple and it was easy to attach the leader and backing with my usual "double grinner" knot. I looked closely at its unusual construction. It does not appear to be twisted as is the common practice, but appears to have a woven construction, which is good, as it was noticeable that it does not unravel itself where it is cut. I took a very close look with a magnifying glass to confirm this. My overall first impressions are most favourable. Over the coming weeks I will get my pals to try it out on my rod and reel and seek their opinions. I'll let you know how it goes when we have used it more in all conditions and have given it a very thorough work-out. www.rodringsandthings.co.uk offer a wide range of lines, hooks, guides, whipping threads, reel seats and other assorted goodies. I shall be shopping there myself again.
Monday 22nd June - "Samuel Irvin 3" Divers in Re-Breather Equipment on Mid-Channel Deep Water Wrecks - As a young man I was a keen diver. In those days back in the early 1960s we just used compressed air in aqualungs. Our protective clothing was of a different age too. The modern sport diver has much in common with anglers. I enjoy helping Ian Noble, who was also a keen diver, aboard "Samuel Irvin 3". Ian also takes parties of divers, who use very modern and sophisticated equipment costing several thousand pounds per person, involving gas mixtures such as compressed air with helium or nitrogen and re-breathers which remove the Co2 by scrubbing the air they breathe underwater and allowing them to re-use it. For the past 2 days we have been out with group of visiting divers, who dived some of the larger mid-Channel wrecks at depths of up to 240 feet. I know it isn't fishing, we're back angling again today. Here's some video footage I shot yesterday. Sorry I haven't got an underwater camera, but I can show you just a snippet of what diving involves above the water on a modern charter boat. We do also get to learn a lot in the process about the condition and marine life on many of our local marks in significant detail. Enjoy.
Sunday 17th May - How to Successfully Tie a Braid Line to a Monofilament or Fluorocarbon Line - I am often asked to show fellow anglers a successful way of tying a braid fishing line to a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader line. I recommend and use the "Double Grinner" knot, which works and has never let me down. The "Double Grinner" knot is what is known as a 100% knot, which means that because it does not cut into itself, it is 100% as strong as the breaking strain of your line. Many other knots will weaken the integrity of the lines by as much as 50% of their breaking strain and I do not use them for that reason. Watch this video clip which I have recorded for your information and learn to tie this useful knot in the comfort of your own home, until you can tie it without any problem, particularly when you have to do so on a rocking boat in a rough sea. It lasts around 7¾ minutes and is easy to view on a Broadband connection.
How NOT To Do It - I have also shown you in my next video clip, a superficially similar knot which is NOT a 100% knot, and which I actively discourage you from using. Watch, learn, and understand why. This clip lasts around 4¾ minutes and is easy to watch on a Broadband connection.
I want to see you all catch very big fish, without any tears and troubles. Preparation goes a very long way towards eventual success.
Wreck Website Updated - The particularly informative diving and angling wrecksite database www.wrecksite.eu was again updated towards the end of October 2009 with all 25,600 UKHO wreck reports, with the latest versions from UKHO. Some 75,000 records on positions, history, and wreck today have been updated and a significant number of new wrecks have been added. To avail yourself of lat long GPS references down to the three figure seconds, together with access to the UK Hydrographic Office full colour marine Charts, you will need to pay a fee of 25 Euros per year to access those essential features. I reckon it's worth every penny if you fish or dive from your own boat, or you operate charter boats.
Tuesday 11th March - New Address for PENN & SHAKESPEARE Servicing - Please note the new address and contact details if you have any Penn or Shakespeare reels for servicing, or require spare parts through the official supplier. They have moved, following their amalgamation:
Friday 5th October - Bill Harkness LIght Line Record Attempt aboard "Gemini" out of Dartmouth - Yesterday, my faith was very much restored in sea angling when I thoroughly enjoyed a day afloat aboard Dave Harrison's Dartmouth charter boat "Gemini". Bill Harkness, who is already the holder of the 20 lb line class record for a Conger Eel which weighed-in at 86 lbs on 20 line attempted to better his own World, European and British records. Unfortunately Bill did not succeed in doing so on this occasion, but we did enjoy an interesting and enlightening day together in great company. I shot some video of our efforts which I have published via YouTube. You can view it here via your Broadband Internet connection, to see what transpired. Just double left click your mouse on the > play button in the bottom left hand corner of the video screen.
Saturday 28th April - DEFRA "Fishing Focus" Journal - Here's a link where you can read all issues of DEFRA's regular magazine "Fishing Focus" on-line. You can see the current issue, published today, in addition to all the back copies too. We have a good working relationship with Dr. Marilyn Rawson of DEFRA, and if you want to be fully in the picture as to progress and current affairs as reflected by the relevant Government Department, this is your best source. It is well worth keeping up to speed on such matters. Just left click your mouse on the hyperlink:
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