A look back through our archives.

Looking back through 40 years of Britain’s biggest and best sea angling magazine…

2009

■ The Government had committed to introducing a full UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill to bring about sustainable management of the seas and protect marine species and habitats.

■ In a move linked to the

Marine and Coastal Access

Bill, it was claimed more than 30 per cent of the seas around Britain must become no-take marine reserves by 2020 if the marine environment was to recover from decades of overfishing and habitat destruction. That was the claim of retailers, The Co-operative, which had joined forces with the Marine Conservation Society to launch a Marine Reserves Now campaign.

■ A mark at The Wherry, Marsden, Tyne and Wear, produced a 17lb 1oz cod for Lance Mcvey, of nearby South Shields. He fished a three-bearded rockling on a pulley rig.

■ Kevin Dean, of Reading, Berks, used a squid on a 3ft trace to catch a 33lb 10oz cod near the Nab Tower, east of the Isle of Wight. He was fishing on Reel Affair, skippered by Mark Saunders, out of Portsmouth, Hants. In the same area, a 30lb 8oz cod fell to a squid bait presented by Robert Flicos, of Lymington, Hants, while fishing out of his local port.

■ The issue’s Shimano Mission boat prize winner was Zygmunt Szwajkowski, of Telford, Shrops, with a 21lb blonde ray. He was fishing on Ivan Wellington’s Top Cat, out of Weymouth, Dorset.

1999

■ Two sea fisheries committees – Devon and Southern – were seeking to impose bag limits on all boat anglers in a proposal to stop any boats without commercial licences retaining more than three fish. It was seen as a move to curtail the activities of those anglers and skippers who sold fish illegally.

1989

■ Peter Rogers, of Kingsbridge, Devon, caught a magnificent brace, consisting of a 20lb 10oz coalfish and 20lb 1oz pollack. He was fishing a mid-Channel wreck aboard Ted Cooke’s Anglo Dawn II, out of Salcombe, Devon.

■ A 36lb cod was boated by Pete Green, of Coleford, Gloucestershire, while uptiding in 90ft of water a mile south of the Needles, Isle of Wight. He was on a private boat when he caught the fish on a squid bait.

■ Fifteen-year-old Mark Barrett caught a 15lb 1oz cod during a session at Princes Parade, Hythe, Kent. The lad, from nearby Lympne, fished a lug and squid cocktail, which had only attracted pouting before the cod grabbed his bait. ■ Abu Garcia, the makers of Ambassadeur reels, appointed three approved customising agents for their reels in an attempt to control the quality of workmanship to customers who wanted their reels converted. The company suggested a quality conversion brought the reel up to almost tournament specification, but a poor conversion led to side-plate wobble butchered parts and fouled spools.

■ After five consecutive wins in the Home International shore event, England finally lost their crown to Scotland. The match was fished at Atwick, East Yorks, where Mick Nelson, Stewart Cresswell, Ross Kirkwood, Dave Neil and Hughie Smith doubled the England score. Wales finished third and Ireland fourth. Top individual was Dave Neal.

■ A huge 9lb 10oz plaice was caught by boat angler Robert Hollier, of Christchurch, Dorset, while fishing in Poole Harbour. He used a carp rod baited with ragworms. ■ Bob Harris, of

Portland, Dorset, caught a superb

15lb 4oz pollack on a mackerel and squid cocktail.

He was fishing at

Portland Bill. The British record was, and still is, 18lb 4oz.

■ Uptide fishing less than a mile offshore, Ken Logan used squid and lug to catch a 37lb 8oz cod. He was fishing aboard Shaun Anning’s boat Sea Fire, out of Watchet, Someset.

1979

■ When Tony Thomas gutted a 5lb codling caught from his local Blyth beach in Northumberland, he was surprised to find a hand in the fish’s stomach contents. The hand was from some sort of plastic toy.

■ Jim McLanaghan, of Ayr, caught two Scottish record fish in one day, but couldn’t claim a record. In fact, he caught the same fish twice and put it back twice, not realising it was a record.

He was dinghy fishing off Galloway when he boated a 13lb-plus undulate ray.

■ Blackpool angler

Kevin Dickinson was featured fishing a

12-hour stint on the town’s North Pier.

He had the venue to himself and caught

100lb of dabs and whiting on mackerel and black lug from the north-west corner of the jetty. He caught 82 whiting and 69 dabs.

■ Sea Angler had teamed up with a holiday company to organise a 14-day angling holiday in Barbados for £446 per person. Those were the days!