TIME MACHINE

A look back through our archives.

MARCH 2009

■ While fishing off South Wales on a private boat, Philip Cocker, of Monmouthshire, caught a 25lb 4oz cod. The angler, from Shirenewton, was fishing off Penarth when the fish took his squid and ragworm cocktail bait.

■ Dave Rice, from Sussex, got among the English Channel’s big cod when he caught a 22-pounder. Dave, who used a squid and worm bait, was fishing on Paul Dyer’s Brighton Diver. ■ Anglers who tried to fish illegally in Sunderland Port were being warned they could face hefty fines for trespassing on the South Docks estate. It followed a series of incidents where anglers had been caught flouting port rules and fishing out-of-bounds areas. The ban was for health and safety and security reasons.

■ Rob Hockley, of Freshwater, Isle of Wight, caught a 14lb 8oz bass on a cuttlefish and squid bait while boat fishing out of the local port of Yarmouth. ■ A 25lb 2oz 3dr pollack was caught out of Dartmouth, Devon, by Dave Parkes. The boat angler, from South Brent, Devon, caught it on a Sidewinder lure.

1999

■ An angler from Wales returned a potential British record small-eyed ray. Bill Willis, of Newport, landed the 25lb 8oz fish at Stout Point. It was 7lb 8dr over the official record and was witnessed by former world shore champion Joe Arch.

■ Seaford beach in East Sussex produced a 22lb cod

1989

for Tony Fitch, of Selmeston. He caught it on a lug on a size 1 hook.

■ Tim Sheath won Isle of Wight-based Bembridge SAC’s cod competition with three fish for 40lb 9oz. The angler, from Ryde, Isle of Wight, was fishing off The Nab aboard Phil Mason’s Wave Dancer.

■ Oxfordshire rod Bob Rose caught an 18lb 6oz undulate ray during a charter trip out of Weymouth, Dorset. The fish took a small live pouting on a size 6/0 hook at a reef just off Portland. ■ An amazing 46lb 3oz cod was boated off the Cumbrian coast by an angler fishing with a handline. John Macaulay, of Whitehaven, was fishing on his own boat just offshore when he hooked the fish on black lug. It took him 30 minutes to get it on the boat. His previous best cod had been 17lb.

■ There had been a run of big winter cod for shore and boat anglers, with the best on rod and line being a 41-pounder caught by Christopher Deaney, of Oxford, while fishing on Roger Bayzand’s Sundance II, out of Lymington, Hants.

■ A fantastic catch of shore-caught cod was taken by Sea Angler casting instructor Eric Cocksedge while fishing at Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The angler, from Stowmarket, caught 10 fish, including five over 13lb, two of which were 26lb 8oz and 24lb.

■ A 16-year-old angler took the best shore-caught cod of the season with a 33lb 5oz fish from Dungeness Point, Kent. Ross Morgan, of Watlington, Oxon, used a squid and lug bait to catch the fish, which was 44 inches long.

■ Ken Robinson from Whitley Bay, Northumberland, who had made headlines in 1978 with a 40lb cod from Balcray Point, Scotland, was on the big fish trail again. He caught a 29lb 8oz fish from nearby Colvend.

1979

■ The Irish Specimen Fish Committee’s annual report stated that in the previous 21 years a total of 276 bass weighing 10lb or more had been registered with the organisation. Six topped 14lb, nine more were better than 13lb and 33 bettered 12lb. In 1978 there had been 18 bass over 10lb recorded, with the best being 12lb 12oz 8dr from Churchtown, County Wexford. It concluded that these figures must be disappointing even though the bass fishing effort was probably a smaller percentage than before.

■ The Plymouth-based charter boat, Artilleryman, was up for sale. Owner Geordie Dickson intended to replace her with an extra-fast 38-footer in order to extend his fishing range to roam the area between Weymouth, Guernsey and the Isles of Scilly. ■ Fish of the month winner was Peter Wessain, of Basingstoke, Hants, who caught a 39lb 12oz cod. He was fishing in Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, aboard Mel Brydon’s Albatross IV, out of Yarmouth. Shore winner was Mike Challis, of Poole, Dorset, with a 29lb 13oz fish from Southbourne.

■ Remember this? Radio Basildon, in Essex, had an angling programme on Fridays and the presenter was Bradwell charter skipper Arthur Weitzel. The show was repeated on Saturdays and Sundays.