TIME MACHINE

Looking back through the archives.

2008

■ Mike Johnson, of Paignton, Devon, caught a British shore-caught record thornback ray of 22lb 11oz, beating the previous best of 21lb 12oz taken in 1985. He was fishing at Portlemouth, on the eastern flank of the inner Salcombe Estuary. It is still the shore record.

■ Fisheries Minster Jonathan Shaw announced he would not proceed with plans for a sea angling rod licence, which many considered a wave of common sense. Anglers felt the seas were not properly managed through the Common Fisheries Policy.

■ Former Sea Angler technical editor and casting record holder, Neil Mackellow joined Hardy Greys as its new sea consultant.

■ Dick Smith, from Alderney, Channel Islands, landed a 9lb 9oz mullet while fishing the local breakwater. He caught it on float-fished bread.

1998

■ A 27lb 8oz coalfish was boated by Dave Bennett, of Weymouth, Devon, while fishing aboard the local charter boat Tiger Lily, skippered by Chris Caines. The fish took a live launce.

■ Super-accurate satellite position would be available freely from the autumn, giving boat anglers and skippers even more accuracy when locating hotspots. It was called DGPS – digital satellite positioning system.

■ David Potts claimed a new Welsh record with a 17lb 12oz thornback ray caught from Jackson’s Bay, near Barry. The angler, from Newport, caught it on a rag and squid cocktail bait while fishing at low water.

■ Sea angling took a giant leap forward when 11 youngsters from all over England met at Bridlington, East Yorks, for the first national junior squad coaching weekend. It was organised by the National Federation of Sea Anglers, and resulted in some being picked to fish for England. They were Adam Nicholls, Sam Roth, Carl Wisdom, Mark Sloper, Nick Foster and reserve Adam McKeen.

■ The North East had just finished its best cod season for 20 years. Featured were a 19lb 7oz 6dr fish for Chris Hopkins at Cambois beach, Northumberland, a 20lb 4oz cod for Paul Westmoreland at Ravenscar, North Yorks, and a 12lb 12oz fish from Hendon, Sunderland, for Kevin Pattison. At nearby Marsden cliffs, David Scott caught an 11-pounder, while Derek Pringle added a 13lb 4oz fish at Cambois.

1988

■ The Government announced sweeping new proposals to protect bass, which would see an increased minimum landing size from 32cm to 36cm, the creation of 24 nursery areas, and to restrict the sizes of gill net meshes. The measures were due to be introduced in January 1989.

■ Top skipper Lloyd Saunders, of Saltwind of Dart, out of Dartmouth, Devon, caught a 33lb 5oz coalfish, only 2oz behind his former record. On the same day, his customers caught fish of 27lb 8oz and 25lb, with a best pollack of 29lb 8oz.

■ Another skipper, Chris Martin, of Nikaria, out of Newhaven, East Sussex, told the story of how his customer, Ted Hoyle, caught a cod of 47lb 3oz. Six drifts later, Ted caught a 30lb ling. Other crew members chipped in with plenty of cod, including eight from 30lb 4oz to 38lb.

■ Sea Angler writer Mike Ladle had teamed up with Alan Vaughan to write a new, exciting book on bass fishing. Called ‘Hooked on Bass’, it would become a classic.

1978

■ Shark anglers in Devon and Cornwall were gearing up for the start of their season, with May 4, in 1977, having seen the first porbeagle shark caught out of Padstow. In the previous two years, the average weight of sharks caught by the Padstow boats was 225lb, with a best of 458lb.

■ Selsey Tope Fishers Specimen Group were running a tagging scheme and were learning more about the winter migration of tope. For instance, two of the tope returned to Selsey to be caught a second time in the same area a year and two years later. Another moved into the North Sea off Trimingham and was caught again 87 days later.

■ The potential of Scottish waters was highlighted when 12 members of Balgownie AC boated 2,939lb of cod on a boat trip out of Stonehaven. The fish, taken on pirks, artificial eels and feathers, weighed in the 8-15lb range.

■ Shakespeare had launched its new line range. Called Sea International, it was billed as an extremely strong line relative to its diameter, supple, yet with a minimum of stretch, affording direct contact between fish and angler. The range also included braided terylene line.