TIME MACHINE

A look back through the archives of Britain’s biggest and best sea angling magazine…

MAY 2011

■ Dave Morris, from

Rainham in Kent, copied another angler’s tactics and bagged himself a 24lb blonde ray. Fishing from Royal Charlotte, skippered by Mick Coker, out of Folkestone, he caught it after switching to a bluey bait.

■ Portsmouth angler Scott Martin landed a 27lb blonde ray on a squid bait while fishing on Mick Gill’s Buccaneer, out of Portsmouth, Hants.

■ A strip of fresh mackerel produced a 15lb turbot for Dave Harding when the angler from Wells, Somerset, was fishing on Jeff Clarke’s Duchess, out of Weymouth, Dorset.

■ A 10lb 4oz cod was the best of seven for 34lb taken from Howick in Northumberland by Paul Arkle. It was a 19th double-figure cod from this coastline for the angler from Bedlington.

■ A mackerel bait on a Pennell rig produced a 23lb 1oz spurdog for Caerphilly rod Dave Leeder. He was fishing from the Barry boat Unity, skippered by Pete Griffiths. The fish was one of 30 spurs, with the others weighing from 12-18lb.

2001

■ The National Federation of Sea Anglers was putting forward an individual membership proposal. Its membership would vote at its annual meeting.

■ Sea anglers were for the first time being given a real chance to have a say on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy which would be revised in 2003. The European Commission wanted to improve conservation, increase stakeholder involvement, secure an economically viable fisheries sector and promote sustainable fishing. Heard that before?

■ Welsh angler Paul Bowen walked for more than three hours and walked over a mile to land a huge record-shaking bronze whaler shark of 374lb while on holiday in West Africa.

■ John Hoyes, of Honiton, Devon, caught one of the biggest pollack of the year from any mainland port. His 24lb 5oz fish took an artificial eel during John’s charter trip on Dave Harrison’s Gemini, out of Brixham, Devon.

■ Alastair Devlin had never fished before, but on a stag event trip he caught a 6lb 2oz plaice. The angler from Newcastle upon Tyne was with 11 friends aboard Girl Gray, skippered by Mike Snelling, out of Brighton, East Sussex.

1991

■ Newhaven skipper Chris

Martin took a charter party 30 miles out into the

English Channel where they found a wreck infested with big fish.

Highlight was when Mick Finn caught one of

33lb 8oz cod on a pirk, and there was an 18lb 8oz pollack for Peter King.

■ Londoner Chris Neville caught one of the best plaice for many years from the shore. Fishing the ebb on the elbow section of Folkestone pier in Kent, he used yellowtail lugworms to catch a six-pounder.

■ Bob Mason, from Canvey Island, Essex, caught a 22lb cod in 35 feet of water while fishing on John Rawle’s new boat Donna Mary, out of Bradwell.

■ Some big cod were showing up north. Glasgow angler Robert Wilson caught a 28lb fish from the rocks at Balcary, Dumfries and Galloway, while Stephen Atkinson, from Whitley Bay, Northumberland, caught one of 20lb 5oz at Collywell Bay.

1981

■ The minimum size limit for bass was being raised to

32cm on May 1 and was due to rise by a further 6cm, on

May 1, 1983. The two-stage increase took account of considerable opposition by a large number of inshore commercial fishermen at an inquiry. In effect the minimum size would rise from 26cm to 38cm in two years.

■ It was certainly the big time in the North East with Seaham’s Newcastle Brown Ale World Sea Angling Festival boasting a cash prize worth a total of £40,000. Organiser Ken Fox expected the entries to total 10,000 on each day. The match was the culmination of Seaham’s nine-day carnival.

■ Mary Bottomley, from Newton Abbot, Devon, won the shore section in the Fish of the Month contest thanks to a 5lb 7oz 8dr plaice caught at Dawlish Warren. Runner-up was Tom Whitehead, of Maryport, Cumbria, with a 34lb cod taken at Balcary, Dumfries and Galloway. The boat section winner was Patrick Craven with a 28lb 8oz thornback ray caught in Cork Harbour.

■ The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) had agreed to include conger eel, tope and bass on its world record lists, but they turned down mullet. Sea Angler editor Peter Collins was campaigning for all British record fish to be accepted as the world’s all-tackle record of its species – where it was big enough to justify that claim.

■ Liverpool light-tackle angler Alan Sharpe was fishing for dabs with 3lb line when he hooked and landed a 10lb 8oz thornback ray.

■ Canvey Island SAC members had been given sole fishing rights for a new pontoon being built by Essex firm Halcons. The arrangement was in return for the members regularly patrolling the three-quarter of a mile structure.