Darn Dogfish Dampen December

Jan the 1st 2018 the first day of the challenge

Its the 1st of Jan I am writing the final blog summing up what has been the hardest month of the challenge, I fully intended to do this yesterday afternoon and post for new years eve but I could hardly talk let alone type. This wasn't due to the obligatory alcohol consumption expected on the eve of the new year but due to exhaustion and lack of sleep, the final push for a glorious ending had been extreme and fruitless. Going into December I was feeling positive I had just received a wonderful donation from a group of Skittle players from Holsworthy, this is an annual event to win my father in-law Denzil's memorial trophy. Every year my mother in-law Ann chooses a charity to support and all proceeds from the event go to that cause, this year she chose my challenge. I was to ill to play but supported my wife Lisa who done pretty well but was ultimately bested by a professional none the less, a great evening and I was particularly impressed when my significant other explained my challenge to a crowd of people who didn't have a clue what she was talking about. I am so grateful to all concerned for their support not only this year but on every year to support the event, Dad would have been proud as punch. Below the winner of the trophy, Mum Ann and light of my darkness, Lisa, the total raised for my challenge was £160, taking me through the £1000 barrier, fantastic.

With my monetary target exceeded for the second time I guess I could have bowed out on a high, after all 76 species is far more than I ever hoped for. Unfortunately the angler in me wanted me to catch just one more fish, just like the one more cast scenario we anglers are hardly ever satisfied, pushing for more fish, bigger fish till our bodies finally divorce the mind and refuse to function. So what did I have left that would still be a viable target, top of the list was the fish I has spent many trips across the year targeting, the Spotted Ray, I was told on numerous occasions the easiest of rays to catch. This had been far from the truth and with 6 attempts drawing a blank I was fast believing this fish to be merely a myth, however I set my sights firmly on this fish, being a lover of rays anyway. With several boat trips booked in December I knew I had several goes at the little nemesis and it would be nice to finish with a fish that vexed me so much this year. Well the Gods of the weather conspired and a combination of strong winds and heavy rain kyboshed the first 2 boat trips and made fishing a truly miserable experience. Searching for something to fish for I tried out the lakes in the slim hope of getting a Crucian Carp, the wind and rain were relentless, the quiver tip wouldn't stop quivering the float couldn't float and I got drenched, result, blank!

Finally a gap in the weather up on the north coast resulted in our trip out with the Happy Danglers being good to go, this was with Minehead skipper Steve Webber and was a great chance for a Spotted Ray. The day of the trip arrived and it was an early morning sortie but Chris and I had a plan B should I fail to catch the Ray from the boat, we would go straight to the beach and try for one. The trips with the Danglers up north are always filled with Banter, Bacon and Bullhuss, the sort of trip where the fishing is secondary. We arrived at the harbour as per the scheduled departure time and everything looked perfect, the weather was settled, check, the guys were all at the harbour, check, we had plenty of bait, check, the boat was sat ready to go, check, the sea was lapping gently at the steps, wait a minute where was the darn water!

Fortunately the tides are swift up on the channel and after 30 minutes the water was deep enough for Steve to bring Osprey over to the disembarkation zone, we were off chasing the legendary Spotted Ray for me and Cod for everyone else.

Chief Dangler planner Nick Smith was in fine form and when you add Paul Lorrimore into the mix it makes for a laugh a minute, Nick even managed to kick his recent chunder habit. With rigs tied, baits banded and hopes high the anchor was dropped, this was only a short half day trip so we had to make the most of every minute. It didn't take long for the first sandpaper shark to appear and like a bad case of Delhi belly everyone suffered, their constant intrusion a waste of bait and time. I did manage to catch a Whiting that was quickly returned to the seabed on my second rod to find me a monster, it was out for minutes before a Conger of around 15lbs took a shine to it. The Whiting went on to catch me another Conger before its final journey ended in the belly of Dogfish of equivalent size, such was their determination on this trip. Chris then hooked into some sort of behemoth which not only showed it was not coming without a fight but it wasn't actually coming to the surface full stop, the hook came free. Nick's son in-law Jordan was top rod landing a good Huss and a Conger topping 20lb but generally the fishing was tough and before we knew it we were heading in. Chris and I were straight off the boat and swapping the gear over at the car, we got some tips from Nick, Paul and Mikey Webber before heading down the beach. The beach at Minhead is strewn with ankle breaking boulders and having already suffered a few painfull falls this year I clambered carefully and soon reached the waters edge. The sea was retreating and we planned to fish the dropping tide until low water at 6pm, this would lead to regular re-casts to ensure we were in enough water.

The sky was becoming angry and soon we were hit by heavy rain and a sharp cold wind, the early start was taking its toll as I now felt tired and cold. A rainbow appeared high in the sky and just maybe there was to be a fish scaled pot of gold at the end of it, and yes there was in the shape of a plethora of Dogfish, they must have followed us back. We battled through the hordes of doggies in the hope that a rogue Spotted Ray may beat them to the bait, it wasn't to be and as darkness fell we trudged dejected back to the car for the long journey home. I really felt it was a chance missed and every trip seems like a giant game of Jenga with another block removed and the tower close to falling. Frustrated by my depleting opportunities I booked a guided session with Minehead shore guide Craig Butler of S.S Angling in the hope he could point me in the direction of a Spotted Ray, like Jansen Teakle's excellent Gambling Angler guiding service, Craig also knows his area and techniques. A shore guide maybe frowned upon by some I cannot recommend them enough, a couple of sessions with these guys can give you the confidence to go out and catch fish safely, while using the best of methods . I arrived at my second home Minehead Harbour as the sun was rising on what was a splendid morning, the meeting place was outside the tackle shop Craig runs.

Unlike Debbie Harrys famous lyrics the tide was low and we would be fishing from low tide up, before long Craig arrived and we yomped off to the mark Craig recommended. Strangely this was yards from where Chris and I had our attempt recently but under Craig's tutorage I must admit to feeling a little more confident. We discussed methods, baits and tides that favour the species and Craig went on to tell me they were one of his favourite ray species and despite their small stature they punch well above their weight. I learned a great deal in a short time and like Jansen had given me the tools to target Thornback Rays, Craig had left me more confident in targeting the Spotted Ray. I caught several dogfish on our session and despite being at the right spot, with the right methods and bait the little ray didn't show. Craig had to make tracks to his sons Christmas nativity but set me up on a highwater mark before he left. We made our way back across the rocks and just before I made it to the safety of the grass and during Craig's anecdote about an angler who slipped and couldn't get back up due to his huge rucksack, I once again slipped and fell to the ground this time landing on my wrist and bending my fingers back. I am sure Craig was relieved he had got me to sign the insurance waiver, but it was my pride that was hurt more than my throbbing hand. Craig made sure I was okay and got me set up on a much safer mark before bidding me farewell.

Once again I stuck it out to the death, fishing on into the night until the high tide, the rain had become torrential and I gave my new waterproofs a proper work out, the prize for my efforts 2 dogfish and a Whiting. This month was harder than I could have imagined and the thought of December being the only month that I didn't add a species was fast becoming a reality.The next trip was to be a real Christmas social aboard Anglo Dawn with skipper Andy Howell, Chris, I and mate Steve McDonald were all determined to make this a fun day out. Despite the social side of the trip Andy had used his contacts to find a Spotted Ray mark, thus putting me back in with a chance. Once again the weather spoiled the party and strong easterlies scuppered this Christmas eve party, Chris and I headed over to the lakes for some crusting carp consolation. I have managed to get the carp to take floating breadcrust every month of the year and hopefully Christmas eve would be no exception.

Sure enough the Carp obliged and we managed to get a few fish to brighten our spirits, it was nice to get something other than a darn dogfish, as it was fast becoming Dogfish December. When I got home I managed to grab an individual space aboard Mike Webbers Teddie Boy, again from Minehead and on boxing day, I was out on a planned trip with Mikey on the 29th December but a bonus trip could be just the tonic.

The trip was scheduled to leave at 10.30am and get in around 19.00, my plan was once again to fish the night on the beach should I fail to get the ray again, only 6 days left so I needed to pull out all the stops. I left home boxing day at 8.30 and the morning was still and warm very unlike December of late. I pulled up outside the pub near the harbour securing one of the much coveted free spaces, today was going to be a good one, this was my first trip with Mikey having had previous trips cancelled by the weather. I have heard good things about Mike and as Steve Webbers son he would have certainly been raised with the sea in his blood, at 21 he is another of the West country's next generation of skippers, like Lewis Hodder, Kieren Faisey and Looe's two Dan's are the future that will keep our sport alive. When I got to the boat despite being early I found I was still the last there and I quickly climbed aboard and bid everyone good morning. The 5 other anglers were all friends but such is the comradery of the angling brotherhood I was quickly made welcome, I was in-between Clem and Biff which I found out was like the rose between two thorns. The two guys trading humorous insults all day was entertaining to say the least, Mikey backed the twin engine cat out of the harbour and turned her seaward. We were soon cutting through the calm seas heading westwards back to Devon, passing the various shore marks I have yomped too recently.

Soon the anchor was released into the coloured channel water and the engines fell silent, Teddie Boy swung round on the rope into her position and Mikey yelled "okay lines down"! I had tied up new up and over traces using Craig's rigs as a template these were to be baited with sandeel / squid wraps and fished uptide. The bait was cast uptide and the 6oz lead dug into the sand perfectly leaving the fine tip of the uptide rod curved sharply. I decided unlike everyone else I wouldn't put my down tide rod out but instead concentrate on the uptider with small sandeel baits. We were supping our first hot cuppa of the day when my rod sprang back sharply, I wound down rapidly until I caught up with the fish. The fish was fighting well in the tide and gave a few short sharp runs before Mikey netted the first fish of the day, a pristine Spurdog my first of the winter.

I recast as Roy at the back of the boat was also into a nice spur, they do go well using the tide to their full advantage.

A few more Spurs appeared around the boat some biting through the trace at the boat, I then hooked a good fish that went off wide of the boat but managed to bite through my 80lb 10x trace, no doubt a Spurdog. I changed the trace to a stronger 150lb mono but this meant changing up the hook size too as the mon wont fit through the 2/0 long shank hook eyes, added to this the stiffer trace is more rigid and doesn't flutter in the tide. The spurs seem to disappear allowing the pesky sand paper sharks to fill the void, skipper Mike quickly deciding to move to a deep hole that fishes well over slack water. Mike did tell me that a spotted ray is more than possible from this mark so once again I crossed everything, the compact sandeel baits were suffering at the hands of the dog squad and when everyone else were hitting good Conger and Huss on big baits I had to question my sanity. The Huss were getting bigger with Roy landing two personal bests in a row to a best of 12lb 8oz, I do love Bull Huss and I must admit to feeling frustrated sitting it out for the ray. I had posted on facebook that I was on my 9th attempt at the Spotted Ray and the support I received during the day is what kept me focused, top rod Jon Patten even offering to take me out for one if today remained fruitless. Biff and Clem either side of me both landed nice Huss and I simply had to join everyone else and bring my down tide rod into play. I set up a 200lb mono trace and 8/0 hook baited with whole Herring then lowered into the depths of the hole, it was hit instantly and I struck into a good fish as the rod bent and juddered. Just before the surface the fish was off, it had spat out the bait a trait common place with the Huss, I re-baited and sent the fresh bait back into the gloom. I checked the uptider only to find yet another blooming dogfish hanging from the hook, how long had that been there I wondered. No spurs had been taken from this mark and as I was casting away from the hole I decided to go back to the 80lb trace and smaller hooks, a fresh sandeel / squid wrap was hooked up and the rig cast well uptide. I sat back to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee courtesy of the skipper when I noticed the downtider rattle sharply, this rattle changed to an aggressive serious of pulls and It was time to investigate. I struck to find the reassuring weight of a good fish on the other end and this time the Huss wasn't letting go as the skipper netted it.

The Huss was followed by a small Conger before everything went quiet, it was then Roy at the back hooked something special as the fish battled for several minutes taking yards of line on several powerful runs. We were all straining to look through the chocolate water for the first glimpse when the line fell slack, the fish was gone, the skipper felt it was a good Tope but like the answer to the question how did trump end up in the Whitehouse, we shall never know! The skipper announced 5 more minutes then we are moving to the final mark to try for a Cod, everyone sounded their approval, all except me, I knew that was curtains for the Ray again and also a cold lonely night on the beach. I packed away my downtider and as I rolled the trace onto the foam holder I noticed out of the corner of my eye the other rod pull downwards slowly. I watched the rod tip intently and it sprang back as a fish pulled the grip lead free from the sand, I wound the reel frantically to catch up with the running fish. Finally the line tightened and I could feel a fish nodding in the tide, the fish swam uptide and Clem told me straight away, " that's the fish your after boy". Mikey was next to me with the net and he too said its got chances, sure enough out of the murk appeared the most wonderful sight, my own Yeti, or loch ness monster the Spotted Ray. Mikey didn't miss with the net and the beautiful male Spotted Ray was safely aboard, the other guys were made up for me but I honestly felt elated. I quickly stripped off to reveal my Stroke T shirt, Biff was getting concerned as I removed my layers thinking this was some type of strange ritual I did.

I was so happy I posted the picture straight on facebook, not something I normally do as I tend to save it for the Blog but this was the culmilation of a lot of time, effort and advice from fellow anglers like Ian Hooper, Paul Lorrimore and of course Craig Butler. This fish was species 77 and meant I had managed to catch species through every month of the yearlong challenge. We went to the Cod mark for the final hour but alas no Cod appeared, I sort of hoped they would for the rest of the boat to get the fish they really wanted. I of course didn't do the night on the beach opting to go home and celebrate with the family. Was this the end, well maybe it would have been if I hadn't worked out that although I had achieved 77 species I was now also on 51 sea species, one more sea fish would take me to 52, I had to try. I decided my last effort would be directed towards the 3 Bearded Rockling, a species that may just be possible from the shore or boat. I received some great information from North Devon angler John Shapland on areas to target the species in Ilfracombe and Minehead. Chris and I would put a maximum effort into this attempt which was to be all day Saturday the 29th December. We arrived at the mark only to find another angler already in the spot, this angler though was only interested in stealing our bait and Chris gave the bird a dam good telling off!

We fished the tide down with no luck and I decided to message Paul Lorrimore to see if he was around, he told us to pack up and move to a different mark for the low tide. We met him at the new spot and he gave us some further tips and methods to target the Rockling at this mark. This spot and the habitat that Rockling love is snags upon snags, the rougher the better which equals tackle losses, Paul also brought a spare rod down for me to use which was dam decent of him. Chris then hooked a fish which dropped off right on the edge he told me he was positive it was a Rockling, I then hooked a fish that got me into the snag again we felt it was the target. Paul had to make tracks, it was his wife's birthday and they were off out for dinner, dam decent of him to even pop down. With the darkness now upon us I hooked and landed a small Conger Eel, I followed this up with another small Conger, but still no Rockling. As the tide started to push in I landed two Pollack on chunks of herring which I really thought were the target. The tide had risen to the point we needed to move and we made the decision to make tracks back to the first mark where it was safe to fish the flood. We sat eating a portion of chips while the sea crept up the beach and it really was a lovely evening to be out, I managed another Pollack and a Pouting. Then I cast a bait a bit closer to the abundant rocks, this resulted in rod wrenching bite that I couldn't stop before it got to safety of the snags, that was a decent fish. At the same time Chris landed a better Pollack and we thought things are starting to switch on, despite sticking out the whole flood nothing else happened and the species eluded me.

The boat trip we had again with Mikey on the 29th had been re-scheduled for New Years Eve with a departure time of 3am it was a real red eye trip, to make matters worse I had a cunning plan to get to the harbour by midnight and try for a Rockling or Gilt Head Bream. This meant when I woke up at 9am on Sunday the 30th I wouldn't get anymore sleep until New Years Eve afternoon over 30 hours later. When we arrived at the harbour at 23.50 I already felt knackered and I really felt I may regret this plan, we set up the LRF gear and tried to catch that last species. I had a good bite that turned into a little bit of a battle on the light gear, once again the darn Dogfish spoiled the party, however on light stuff you know they are there.

Chris then tested his LRF gear further by hooking a Conger Eel which lead him a merry dance fighting right up to the steps, I added a further dogfish before conceding it wasn't going to happen from the shore. Mike arrived to fetch the boat and once everyone was on board we were on our way for my last trip of the challenge, despite being full of confidence the day was really tough and consisted of hundreds of dogfish and strap conger. Chris did hook a good fish that took line but such was our luck that the only decent fish we had got away, I ended the day with my last fish of the year being yet another darn Morgay, Rough-hound, Small-spotted Catshark, Scyliorhinus canicula, or as we know it Bloody Dogfish! I think my face cant hide the disappointment of the final effort but as my wife reminded me 77 is a long way past 52 so I should be satisfied with that, if I wasn't an angler I probably would be.

So despite my best efforts and a big bunch of help from my fellow anglers my challenge ended on 77, UK species, 51 of which were sea species and 26 were coarse. Also during the course of this challenge I managed 43 personal bests if I had included my fish from Thailand it would have been 49 personal bests, a total I never expect to replicate again. The biggest misses of the year would have to be the Porbeagle Shark, losing two was a real blow and also the Dragonet. If I include the journeys undertaken by Chris and I the mileage would exceed 7000 miles, the costs of bait, tackle and trips were extensive with two trips a week being the norm regardless of weather. I have asked a lot of my friends, family and fellow anglers and the fact there is nearly £1200 on my just giving page is testament to the generosity and support of great people. I do feel fished out, exhausted and glad it has reached its conclusion, I had great times, sad times and have hurt most of my body at some point. I have made new friends and great friends, I have been moved by the generosity of strangers and humbled by people with little to spare, so many skippers have gone out of their way to support me both via donations and trips. I have not named people individually but for everyone who has donated, supported me, given advice or simply liked and read my blogs you are all great, great people and I cannot thank you enough and I am proud to call you friends. I do have to say a big thank you to Chris, I really couldn't have done it without him, sharing the driving, splitting the bait costs, taking my pictures and wrapping me in Vinegar and Brown paper when I have fallen, yet despite all this, I still took the mickey out of him at every opportunity and with very little right to reply. Finally I must thank my wife and children who donated the most precious of things, time with their Dad / Husband, again I couldn't have done this year without their total support I am truly blessed. Due to the fact that during this challenge, I fell into the Bristol Channel, slipped on rocks several times and fell down a slope gashing my hand, I was given some very sensible gifts for Christmas by my family. I know the RNLI have been running a campaign to encourage anglers to wear a life jacket I have always been concerned about the bulkiness of such items, however the Crewsaver sport165 is perfect and leaves an angler with no excuse not to wear one. This has been combined with Snowbee Rock Hopper boots to ensure I don't slip as much next season.

Apologies for the health and safety interlude but having experienced several accidents during the course of this year it only seems right to highlight ways to mitigate the hazards as much as possible, although the biggest safety device you can have is a fellow angler, fishing alone is just to risky. So what happens now? Well hopefully I may get a few more donations now the challenge is complete, thanks to the 36 donators so far, some have remained anonymous so I cannot thank you personally but thanks so much. I am going to organise a date for the cheque photo with the Stroke Association and hopefully Andy Adams down in Looe, and in the next two weeks the book should be complete. Thanks to the following boats, skippers and Shore guides for putting me on fish this year, in no particular order.

African Queen, Alan Hemsley

Anglo Dawn, Andy Howell

Bite Adventures, Chippy Chapman

Pegasus, Lewis Hodder

Force 10, Pete Davis

Swallow 2, Murray Collins

Lo kie Adventures, Kieren Faisey

Reel Deal Charters, Dan Hawkins

Osprey, Steve Webber

Teddie Boy, Mike Webber

Silver Halo, Matt Forester

Bluefin, John Barbeary