TWO  British records top the catches of Guernsey Bailiwick anglers during October and early November. 

Both of the potential records came from the St. Peter Port Breakwater.  The Bailiwick already had the shore-caught record for Couch’s sea bream, the 2-2-1 fish caught by Eddie Glaba in Sark in November 2002.

Mark Hopper beat that record with a 2-4-8 specimen on 19 October only to see his fish overtaken by a 2-6-9 fish caught by Andy Gilbert on 1 November.

The two record fish top a whole string of shore-caught specimen fish that have been landed by Bailiwick and visiting anglers in spite of the continuing windy conditions.

It’s the season of open festivals and competitions and many of the top fish figured in the event’s result sheets.

Over 100 anglers, many from the United Kingdom and Jersey, entered the ever popular Alderney Angling Festival held in October.

Top fish of the week was a new Alderney shore record red gurnard caught by Paul Osborne.  The 1-13-6 fish gave him cash prizes totaling £650!

Other top fish from the Festival were, 7-0-2 ballan wrasse, 5-5-7 thick-lipped grey mullet, 3-10-4 black bream, 45-8-0 conger, 3-0-2 sole, 10-9-14 bass, 12-1-6 bull huss and a 10-13-6 undulate ray.

Guernsey’s West Coast Sea Angling Club hold a three weekend specimen fish hunts each year.

In October the second leg was held and no fewer than 64 qualifying fish were caught, covering 14 different species.

Top fish were, 1-15-7 red mullet, 1-4-6 red gurnard, 2-11-4 lesser-spotted dogfish, 33-14-0 conger and a 6-7-3 ballan wrasse.

For the 16th consecutive year the National Federation of Sea Anglers Shore Championship Finals were held in Herm.

It was won by Neville Charlesworth from Withersea, who caught 108 fish in the two day event.

In all the eight finalists caught 185 garfish, 233 ballan wrasse, one conger, four pollack and one black bream.  All the fish were recorded and returned alive.

Entries in the Guernsey Fish of the Month have included some good fish.  In October they included two big ballan wrasse, a 7-2-0 fish by Stuart Tostevin and a 7-0-0 specimen by Sue Le Cras.

 Hopefully catches will continue to remain on a high level, for the WCSAC’s third and last leg of the Specimen Fish Hunt which will be held from 22-24 November; the Guernsey Sea Anglers Club Fur and Feather Competition will take place on Sunday 7 December and the Guernsey Mullet Club Open is scheduled for early in the New Year.

In the Islands of Guernsey Autumn Angling Challenge, the October runner up prize of a weekend break for two to the Islands plus £500 of Daiwa tackle, is Darren Harding from Bournemouth he caught a 45-8-0 conger from the Douglas Quay in Alderney on the 21 October.  In his rush to get the fish to the weigh-in before the closing time he left his camera on his box and therefore had no picture of the prize winning fish.  ‘No one is more gutted about that than me’ he noted.  Mr Harding and his wife will be spending a couple of days in Guernsey early next year traveling by Condor Ferries from Poole and staying at La Collinette Hotel in St. Peter Port.  £150 of Daiwa  vouchers also go to David Cains from Cornwall for the top black bream (2-7-0) which he landed on the south coast of Herm on the 2 October.  Mark Harding from Southampton has been entered for the ‘pool’, with a 2-5-0 dover sole caught from the Alderney Breakwater.