TIME MACHINE

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

2010

■ A superb 23lb cod was caught two miles off Poole, Dorset, during what had been planned as a bass trip.

Nick Colbert, who was fishing aboard Silver

Spray, skippered by

Andy Cummings, out of Poole, had caught two bass to 7lb further offshore before catching the cod nearer to the port.

■ Fishing from a private boat off The Needles, Isle of Wight, Pete Hodson bagged a chunky 5lb 14oz whiting. The Bournemouth angler caught it on black lug and mackerel strip.

■ Lugworms on a Pennell rig with size 2/0 hooks produced an 11lb 9oz cod for Mark Owen, of Lowestoft, Suffolk. He caught it an hour before high water at Aldeburgh’s town beach.

■ An angler accused of fly-tipping was cleared by a court when he proved he was using old tyres to catch peeler crabs. Gavin Hill, of South Shields, was spotted placing tyres in the River Don at Jarrow.

■ England’s shore angling teams secured a new sponsorship package with Tronix, the West Sussex tackle company.

■ The Sea Anglers Match Federation launched a website to allow present and new members to join online as well as view match dates and newsletters.

2000

■ Grimsby charter skipper Ray White, of the MV Impulsive, was about to launch a new boat, the 85ft Invincible in time for the North Sea wrecking season.

■ Three cod weighing more than 30lb were reported from the Bristol Channel. Biggest was a 35-pounder for Jason Irish, of Bridgwater, who fished from

his own boat. There was a 33lb 8oz fish for Roger Balnard, of Hereford, who fished in a private boat in Sully Bay. Completing the trio was a 31lb cod for Carl Norris, of Mountain Ash, who fished on Enterprise, skippered by Paul Davies, out of Swansea.

■ Big cod were showing off the Isle of Wight too. A 33lb fish fell to Nick Walton, of Christchurch, who fished the Nab Tower, while aboard Bessie Vee, skippered by Spike Spears. Roger Lamb, of Camberley, caught a 30-pounder east of the Nab, while on Dawn Venture, skippered by Ross Burnett, out of Langstone, while Poole skipper Steve Hughes, on his boat Lady Jayne, reported a 39lb 4oz fish.

■ Shore angler Jade Nicholson landed a 20lb cod from the Coffin Rocks, at his home town of Newbiggin, Northumberland, while Balcary Point, in Dumfries and Galloway, produced a 21lb 3oz cod for John Blackwood, of Dalbeattie.

■ Wales secured a one-point victory in a tough Home International shore event held in County Wexford, Ireland. England won Day 1, but blanked on the second, while Ireland topped Day 2. Wales were second on both days and took the overall victory.

1990

■ Douglas AC, on the Isle of Man, was celebrating its centenary with a big-money three-day beach festival. The event would have £5,000 in cash prizes.

■ The biggest cod ever landed from the Devon shoreline fell to Plymouth angler Peter Fulton. While fishing at Crow Point, he caught a stunning 35lb 8oz fish in a 15ft swell.

■ Fishing at Cold Knap beach at Barry, South Wales, Steven Hughes caught a 28lb cod. The angler, from Porth, had planned to fish Penarth pier, but changed his mind when he arrived too late to get the best from the tide.

■ Weymouth AS member

Mick Gibbs caught a 6lb 15oz 8dr ballan wrasse and then hooked something heavier, a 19lb 5oz pollack. He was fishing on the west side of Portland.

■ Peter Savage, of Ufford, Suffolk, boated a 24lb cod on lugworms while fishing the flood tide half-a-mile off Orford Island.

■ The Sea Anglers Match Federation had a new sponsor for its national championships. Taking over from Richot Napoleon Brandy was Herald Marine. The event format had also been changed to include regional semi-finals.

1980

■ Skipper Trevor Hayward was making a name for himself, on his boat Telstar, out of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. His cod season had produced nearly 200 fish, with all but a few weighing in double figures. The best being a 41lb 6oz fish for Charlie Scutt, of Newport.

■ Geoff Birch, formerly skipper of Woolin, out of Bradwell, had a new 37ft boat operating out of the Essex port.

■ Chesil Beach in Dorset produced a 38lb 11oz cod for young shore angler Nigel Lynn, of Dorchester. A few days later Gary Frampton, also from Dorchester, caught one of 27lb 9oz.

■ But it was not all great fishing at Chesil. When 43 members of the Brixham club travelled to the big beach to fish for large cod, they only caught three fish – two pout and a dab.

■ Torbay ASA gave up its clubroom on

Beacon Quay when faced with a 150 per cent rent increase and a 40 per cent rise in rates.

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