TIME MACHINE

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

A look back through our archives.

2009

■ John Wilson rattled the local record books when he beached a cod of 27lb 8oz while fishing an evening match on the River Tyne. It was thought to be the biggest cod from the Tyne, the previous best being around 16lb.

Really Wrecked SAC member Clive Hodges had a good reason to smile when he caught pollack of 17lb 8oz and 16lb. He was fishing on Dave Elliot’s Ocean Warrior, out of Newhaven,

East Sussex. ■ Lochryan SAC members reckoned they were in danger of losing an important match venue if plans by a ferry company went ahead to redevelop the area at Old House Point, Cairnryan. The beach was the club’s main venue for one of Scotland’s oldest pegged matches.

■ Allen Matthews, of Blyth, Northumberland, fished at Beadnell, Northumberland, where he caught an 18lb 8oz cod on a lug and mussel cocktail on a Pennell rig.

■ Our Penn Sea League reports included some well-known names in the top three of the Irish Winter Beach Championships. Winner was Alan Yates, followed by Ian Golds and Alan’s son Richard. Meanwhile, a 14-year-old Matthew Holdroyd, currently a frontrunner in Division One of the 2019 Penn Sea League, won the Amble SAC open to beat more than 400 anglers.

1999

■ David Hayley, from Monkseaton, Tyne & Wear, beat Tynemouth Pier’s 17-year-old record for a cod by landing a 21lb 14oz fish. He was fishing at the pier end and had cast his bunch of ragworms on a Pennell rig about 50 yards out.

■ The famous deepwater shore venue, Balcary Point, in Dumfries and Galloway, produced 28lb 4oz and 21lb cod in the same session. They were caught by Steven Bowes, of Workington, Cumbria, who fished a Pennell rig loaded with lugworms. The biggest fish was caught at a range of 60 yards.

■ Jersey’s boat-caught pollack record, which had stood at 20lb 5oz, was broken twice in as many days. First Mick Rothon boated a 21lb 8oz specimen while fishing on Dave Nuth’s Theseus, and the following day Tony Heart, skipper of Anna II, put his son Oliver on a mark that yielded a

21lb 14oz pollack.

Sea Angler contributor Henry Gilbey had started his own television series, ‘Fishing with Henry’. It was broadcast on the Discovery Home and Leisure channel.

1989

■ The biggest cod ever landed from a north-west shore mark was caught in a match on 8lb line. It weighed 32lb 12oz and beat the previous record, taken 10 years earlier, by 4oz. The big fish was caught by John Clements, of Blackpool, while fishing at Cleveleys, Lancs.

■ Fishing from his own boat over the Hands Deep Reef, nine miles off the coast of south Cornwall, produced cod of 34lb 8oz and 32lb for Tom Reed, of Plymouth, Devon. The fish fell to Eddystone eels.

■ Steve Bailey, of Penarth, South Wales, caught a 25lb 8oz cod on a bunch of ragworms offered on a size 4/0 hook. He was fishing his local beach and set a new record for Penarth SAC.

■ Two brothers from Kent achieved a personal best conger at the same time by hooking the same fish. Phil and Graham Tibbs were on their own boat seven miles out of Dymchurch, Kent, when they took the 72lb 8oz eel at the same time. ■ Plymouth

Seagalls

SAC member

Pat Maunder claimed an IGFA world record for a pollack on 12lb-class line by catching a 22lb

14oz fish. She was fishing aboard

Chris Southern’s Robert Lloyd.

1979

■ Brian Rowe, in Bridgend, was producing the new Ajusti Mould – a diecast aluminium mould for making any range of sea weights from 3oz to 9oz, with or without grip wires.

■ Peter Peck, of The Specimen Angling Group of Plymouth, set a world record for a pollack caught on 4lb line. He boated a 16lb 1oz fish while fishing out of the Devon port. Tony Vallack also caught a 17-pounder on 9lb line.

■ John Rawle and Bob Cox, two of Bradwell’s best known skippers, were investing in new charter boats. John’s boat would be called Vicky Emma after his daughter and was replacing his vessel Donnah, which was being taken over by Kevin Benham. Bob was selling Gemini Girl and was yet to name his new vessel.

Publishers Faber & Faber Ltd had just released ‘Shorefishing’ by John Holden. It included 74 photographs and 34 diagrams. John, a long-time contributor to Sea Angler, was described as a widely-travelled fisherman and tournament caster of international standing.