Beer & District Sea Angling Association

Welcome to BDSAA web site. If you are a resident in the area and looking for a club to join, you will find meeting dates and an application form on our contacts page. If you are visiting the area and wish to fish either from the shore or boat and want help, assistance or just an update on catch news please contact us – we may also be able to assist in providing a local guide during your visit.

Useful Links

BDSAA are not responsible for the content of any external site linked to via this page.

Why not plan your fishing trip in accordance with the predicted tides at the venue of your choice? Click on the following and select accordingly – remember some marks fish better than others at low or high tides.  Tide Times

Going further out to sea, fancy fishing a wreck, try this link as a guide to their locations  Wreckfinder App.

Want to to compare your latest catch against the recorded specimen weights – follow this link select the AT Fishing area accordingly and away you go Fish Specimen Weight Calculator

Meeting others to fish with? Already at a mark and want others to find you? Need emergency assistance? (all emergency services in the UK have access to What3Words enabling precise location identification – click the following link What3Words

Fancy a day’s fishing on a charter boat? Check out the boats used by the club:

Join Kim on   Sambe 

or

Stuart on Orca

Both skippers have a wealth of knowledge and will do their utmost to put you on the right mark.

Fancy a day out from Beer Beach on the water ? Fishing or just pottering around the bay contact Beer Self Drive Boats via their Facebook page Beer Self Drive Boats

Want to know more about what is going on in Beer? Click on this link to find out the latest Beer Village Devon

Visiting in late summer? Have look at the exciting and varied activities hosted by Beer during their famous Regatta Week Beer Regatta Week

Are you a football fan? (Yup even anglers like other pastimes!) why not stroll up to Beer Albion Football Club if they are playing at home to watch grass roots competitive football Beer Albion Football Club

Regional Sea Angling Committee


Regional Committee for Sea Angling

We have a social media page on Facebook click on this link to find us there    Facebook

Once you are a paid up member of our club you will be invited to join one or more of the informal “Whats App” Groups managed by club members for club members, these allow for match related chat, updates and news to be passed swiftly between the membership.

News & Information- Updated 7th March 2024

BDSAA has a long and vibrant history but just like many clubs and societies members come and go, we are open to new members for  the rest of 2024 – please follow the link to our application form elsewhere on our site.

Saturday 24th June 2023

We are saddened to report that our Club President John Cornell has passed away.

John was a well known local builder, who as a lifelong club member, always supported all that we did and tried to achieve.

John will be much missed. our condolences are extended to  his family and friends.

Boat Match report Sunday 14th May 2023.

The weather gods were kind to us , but despite this it was a  challenging days fishing with small tides and the dreaded may water present. Both boats spent most of the first half of the day drifting over the rough ground catching a variety of fish. Despite the conditions a total of 11 species of fish were caught. This included Bull Huss, Conger, Dogfish, Mackerel, Pollock, Pout, Poor Cod, Whiting, Ballan Wrasse, Cuckoo Wrasse, Goldsinney Wrasse. Top angler on the day was Roy Shipway with 560pts 2nd was Clive Baddick 460pts. The highlight of the day was a very large pod of Bottlenose Dolphins possibly between 50-100 animals.

Boat Match report Sunday 16th April 2023

A total of 12 anglers fished on two boats in good weather, cloudy but warm and dry, with 13 species caught. These include Conger Eel, Dab, Dogfish, Grey Gurnard, Mackerel, Plaice, Pollock, Poor Cod, Pout, Smoothound, Whiting, Ballan and Cuckoo Wrasse. Best fish of the day was a 4lb-6oz Ballan Wrasse caught by Ross Lambert.

Top anglers on the day were Nigel Derbe and Les Bradbeer both scoring 520 points each. Thanks to all anglers who fished and of course the two skippers, Kim and Stuart who worked hard on several marks to find the fish. We look forward to the next trip on the 14th  May.

 Shore Match report from Saturday 1st April 2023

9 Anglers fished the match at West Bexington from 17:00 to 23:00hrs, the sea conditions were challenging with a big swell prevailing. Dog Fish, Pout,and a single Cod being landed. Well done to Adam Cawley coming out as winner on th enight – for full listings visit the results page.

The 2023/24 Angling Trust Species Hunt is on!

WHAT IS THE SPECIES HUNT?

The Angling Trust Species Hunt is a sea shore based competition designed to get anglers out fishing and enjoying catching a wide variety of sea fish of all sizes.

It’s split into two parts:

Species Hunt – your challenge is to catch as many different species of fish as possible from UK waters.

Specimen Hunt – we want you to catch the largest specimen you can. We’ve picked out 38 sea species for you to target – the bigger the better!

WHO CAN TAKE PART?

Species Hunt is open to all.

Just register for Species Hunt 2023-24 using the form on our website

When you’ve registered you’ll receive a welcome pack through the post which includes a laminated Species Hunt card, a full set of competition rules, a guide to the specimen sizes and a TronixPro retractable tape measure for measuring your catches. We’ll also send you information on how to handle and measure your catches safely for the benefit of the fish and yourself.

WHEN DOES IT START?

This year’s competition runs from Saturday April 1, 2023 and runs to Sunday March 31, 2024.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?

It’s simple – go out and catch a sea fish! Once you’ve caught a fish, place it carefully next to your laminated Species Hunt card and measuring tape (preferably on a soft surface), snap a picture, and then carefully return the fish.

You’ll then need to submit your picture to us via the Species Hunt email address stating the name of the species with the date and location caught – specieshunt@anglingtrust.net

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Our team of experts will keep a running tally of your catches and judge specimen-sized fish. Multiple captures of a species will only count as one, but if you’ve caught a bigger one than you have previously then you can enter it into the Specimen Hunt via the same email address including:

Photo with tape measure clearly shown. You may use a measure other than the Tronixpro tape measure provided that it is accurate and visible on the photograph. We need to see the whole fish in the photo.

Tactics used to catch the fish e.g. hooks, tackle, bait, etc.

Weight of the fish (optional)

Photo of you holding the fish – we love to publish lovely photos of our anglers! (optional)

NEW FOR 2023 – SPECIES HUNT ELITE LEAGUE

Species Hunt can become very addictive and highly competitive, and we wanted to ensure that all anglers of all abilities can enjoy the competition equally so this year we’ve established an Elite League for the Top 30 anglers from last season’s competition to compete in, with the main General Species Hunt for the more leisurely angler to enjoy. At the end of the year there will be relegations and promotions from the two categories.

There will also be a Junior category once again this year which is open to anglers under 16 years of age at the start of the competition on April 1 2023.

NEW FOR 2023 – MORE TRONIXPRO PRIZES!

Thanks to TronixPro there will be monthly and yearly prizes across all three categories worth over £3,000.

All Specimen catches are judged by our panel of experts for monthly prizes. If you’re selected as our Specimen Hunt Fish of the Month winner, you’ll receive a £35 TronixPro tackle bundle.

For Species Hunt, the winners are crowned by who catches the most species during the competition year, and there are great tackle prizes up for grabs:

Elite League – Winner will receive £400 of TronixPro tackle of their choice, the runner up £200, and third overall £100.

General Species Hunt – Winner will receive £350 of TronixPro tackle of their choice, the runner up £300, third £250, fourth £200, and fifth overall £150.

Junior Species Hunt – – Winner will receive £200 of TronixPro tackle of their choice, the runner up £150, third £100, fourth, fifth, and sixth overall receive £50 each.

NEW FOR 2023 – THEMED CHALLENGES

In addition, this season will see the launch of two seasonal challenges for all Junior anglers taking part in Species Hunt. Starting on Saturday July 1, 2023 and running until Saturday September 2, 2023 we’ll be rewarding the capture of 10 carefully selected species with limited edition Species Hunt stickers. In December we’ll select two more fun species for you to target, again with some superb stickers as the reward for anyone able to crack the challenges.

NEW FOR 2023 – FISH OF A LIFETIME

We’ve seen some amazing fish species and specimens entered for the Species Hunt competition over the years, including several record-shaking fish and hundreds of personal bests.

While every fish is special, we wanted to reward those truly incredible catches with a new Fish of a Lifetime Award. Judged by the team at TronixPro, there will be two awards each season for fish which really stood out. Each angler will win a TronixPro Xenon DV8 fixed spool reel worth £99.99.

GO FOR IT!

So, what are you waiting for? Get your registration form filled in and get catching! We’re looking forward to seeing your fish.

Don’t forget we’ve got an active Species Hunt Facebook page too where you can share your catches, stories, and pick up some great advice too.

Find it at https://www.facebook.com/groups/specieshunt.

5th Match 2023 – Boat Match 

10 anglers boarded the two boats – 5 on each one of Sambe and Orca. The weather was cold but clear with low tide due around mid day, the sea state was flat calm for our steam out of Beer. The conditions though changed as the day progressed the only real constant being the “cool” air temperature, that increased to a mildly warm on the occasional appearance of the sun! The chase was on for as many species as possible as per our normal club matches. Early success came about on board Sambe with all anglers hooking up into Whiting, Poor Cod, Pouting and Cuckoo Wrasse, in very quick time.

3rd March 2023  – Trophies & Records

All members are reminded that although now in the interests of fish preservation, we no longer routinely weigh fish caught at a comp “weigh in”, trophies etc are still there to be claimed, and records still exist to be beaten. So when fishing on a boat or the shore bear in mind any of the trophies listed below – get a photo of fish caught weigh it and record it if you think you have a claim then submit it to either the Secretary – Shore sec or Boat sec for forwarding onto the trophy manager Tim Mitcham or direct to him please.

Claims for AT specimen fish may still be made direct to the AT or again via the relevant secretary.

Beer & District Sea Angling Association –

Annual Trophies / Cups and Awards

“Junior” Members may exclusively win the following: –

Special Junior Cup – awarded for the best Fish caught by a Junior in the Xmas Fayre

Junior All-Night Shore Champion Goblet – awarded to the best Junior in the Club “All Night” Beach Competition

Junior Shore Champion Runner Up Shield – awarded to the runner of the Junior Shore Championship

Junior Shore Champion Cup – awarded to the Junior Shore Championship winner

Junior Small Boat Runner Up – awarded to the runner up of the Junior Small Boat Championship

Junior Small Boat Champion Cup – awarded to the Junior Small Boat Champion

Junior “Big Boat” Runner Up Shield – awarded to the Junior “Big Boat” Runner UP

Junior “Big Boat” Champion Shield – awarded to the Junior “Big Boat” Champion

The B Godfrey Cup – awarded to the Junior catching the best specimen fish from a BOAT

The Paddy Norcombe Cup 1974 – awarded to the Junior landing the best specimen fish from a shore mark

There may also be ad-hoc awards for those in the Junior section of the club. 

ALL Members of the Club are eligible to win the following:-

The Whiting Tankard – Best Whiting caught

The Wrasse Cup – Best Wrasse caught

The Skate Shield – Best Skate or Ray caught

DC Retter Cup – Best Pout caught

The Pollack Shield – Best Pollack caught

The Stan Bees Award – Best Mackerel caught

The Ling Shield – Best Ling caught

The DJ Snell Cup – Best Bass caught

The Percy Cousins Cup – Best Bream caught

The Vernon Poole Memorial Cup – Best “Lesser Spotted Dog Fish” alternate name “Spotted Cat Shark”

The W Webb Cup – Best Conger caught

The 1967 Trophy – Best “Flat Fish” caught

The Frank Norcombe Tankard – Best Cod caught

The Lottie Lambert Award – Best Gurnard caught

The Secretaries & Treasurers Tankard – The most unusual species caught

Fred Smith Memorial Cup – Highest cumulative number of specimens caught in the year

Vernon Poole Memorial Award – Highest number of different species specimens caught in the year

The Beer Cup – the best specimen caught in the year

Alan Westlake Trophy – Most species caught in any single competition shore or boat

The Paul & Carol Trophy – Best specimen caught in the all-night shore competition

PHU Award – Best specimen boat or shore caught in January

Hunts Trophy – Best specimen boat or shore caught in September

The Andy Smitherman Award – Out of Town Boat Champion – best results cumulative from a none Beer Boat

Out of Town Cup – Awarded to the best Beach cumulative results from outside of area C

BDSAA Shield – Highest cumulative total of different species caught on a boat in the year

Seaton Tackle Shop Shield – Highest cumulative total of species caught from the shore in a year

Ely House Tankard – Best specimen caught from boat or shore Seaton or Beer

Mick Leach Tankard – Best combined Boat & Shore results in the year

Peter Emmanuel Summer Series Cup – Best cumulative scores from “Mid-week” summer Shore competitions

The Evening Cup – Best cumulative results from any “Evening” Big Boat Competitions

The Tackle Box Lyme Regis Award (Summer) – Best cumulative Beach results Apr – August inclusive

The Tackle Box Lyme Regis Award (Winter) – Best cumulative Beach results Jan – Mar & Sep – Dec inclusive

Small Boat Challenge Shield – Best specimen caught on a Seaton or Beer launched small boat

“Junior” members are not eligible to win the following (*alternative Junior only awards are detailed above)

Mick Leach Cup – Runners up in the Senior Shore Pairs Competitions

Fabricators Cup – Runners up to the senior Boat Pairs Champions

Runner Up Shield (Boat) – Runner up to the Boat Champion (Senior)

Beer Trophy – Runner up to the Shore Champion (Senior)

M&D Bowl – Senior Pairs Shore Champions

D&K Bowl – Senior Boat Pairs Champions

JH Maundrill Cup – Awarded to the Champion Boat Angler (Senior)

Frank Norcombe Cup – Awarded to the Champion Beach Angler (Senior)

Small Boat Salver – Awarded to the Champion Small Boat Angler (Senior)

The seaward Trophy – Awarded to the “Personality” of the year – for contribution to the club and it’s wellbeing

The Skippers Shield – Awarded to the Beer Skipper who had the top 4 results from any two competitions.

The Dave Graham Memorial

Remember no submission no chance of winning a trophy.

BDSAA News Update 10th February 2023

The Boat angling section along with 3 guests managed to get onto the boats and off the beach on Sunday 6th February 2023.

The day started with the Boats launching into an emerging fine day, with winds from the North East / East initially worse than were forecast, and the temperature fairly low, the seas were short and choppy with wind against tide. Both Orca and Sambe headed east of the river mouth. The morning was challenging to all on board but still all were able to boat a variety of species. As the day progressed the wind cut back and the temperature warmed up making for a progressively more pleasant day as it went on. The afternoon found us all commenting on just how warm it was for February. With the catch increasing as the wind dropped more species appeared, by the end of the match 12 species had been recorded as caught. Top anglers on the day were Les Bradbeer on Sambe and Phil Cocker on Orca.

For full results see the results page.

BDSAA News Update 9th February 2023.

Our shore or beach angling section has their first competition of the year held at Branscombe Beach on Saturday 28th January 2023.

The sea was reported as being “Flat Calm – Like a Mill Pond”, the weather was extremely cold with little noticeable wind. A limited variety of species were caught in very small numbers – Dog Fish, Bull Huss, Whiting and Pouting being about all that came to the baits offered.

Well done to Mike Davis for emerging from the cold on the night as winner.

For full results see the results page

The Christmas cash prizes were awarded to Mike Davis, Phil Richards, Adam Cawley with Jo Westlake winning the best overall fish of the evening.

Well done one and all.

BDSAA News Update 12th Dec 2022

The planned shore comp for last Saturday (10th) was cancelled due to local weather conditions meaning that the lanes were unsafe to  drive on. This comp will be rescheduled.

BDSAA Club News – December 2022

As we approach this festive season, all members of BDSAA wish all other anglers a safe, merry and successful winter fishing period.

We held our AGM on 18th November the main items to come out of that were a restructuring of fees payable (see membership form elsewhere on this site) a slight change to both shore and boat scoring systems and we welcome Les Bradbeer as our new Boat Secretary. He along with Julian Driver our Shore Secretary  may be contacted as per the details on the contact page.

It’s been a busy year for all, the club has continued to engage in competition matches both shore and boat – though the latter of course has been perhaps adversely affected by the weather this year.

We are grateful to our supporters who steadfastly look after us when seeking tackle, bait or clothing – thanks all.

Our membership form for 2023 is available via this web page – fees are due to be paid in January covering the period Jan to Dec 2023. Any joining between Jan and end of June will need to pay full year subs, anyone joining after 1st July will get a discount of 50% to the end of Dec 2023.

Boat Competition Update

The December comp was cancelled due to the weather, as were November’s, October’s and September’s comps, so it really has not been good, however when we last fished the standings were as follows:-

Les Bradbeer 2225 – Phil Cocker 1905 – Nigel Derbe – 1625 Bill Cassar 1625 – Roger Carrow 1300 – Ross Lambert 1295 – Stewart Leach 1145 – Steve Harries          1130 – Richard Westlake 925 – Mike Davis 865 – Roy Shipway 680 – Ameerah Bouhmid (J) 610 – Tony Robins    530 – Andrew Evans 350 – Andy Yabsley 325 – Brian Lawrence 255 – Martin Locke 220.

Its great to see Ameerah our youngest regular boat angler doing so well, well done Ameerah.

Shore Competition Updates

23rd December 2022 The final placings for the 2022 shore fishing comps are now available to view under the “results section”.

Latest Updates:

PageDate
Fixtures for 202324/5/2023
Boat Champ Results24/5/2023
Shore Champ Results22/4/2023


Membership Appl. Form

About Us

BDSAA is a small local club that meet at Beer Albion Football Club offering an informal focus for Sea Anglers in the area, we maintain a membership of about 40 people. We fish from both the shore and boat approximately once a month (next dates and venues on our “Fixtures page”). Primarily a species hunting club we concentrate our fishing to the greater Lyme Bay area in the main, but do venture out if a member has a particular wish to fish a specific venue. We regularly fish against other clubs, mainly those from East Devon i.e. Honiton and Lyme Regis, but would always welcome hosting a visiting club for a match.


The club has been in existence since 1965 when it was simply known as the” Beer Fishing Club”, over the years it has kept to the same format of being informal, friendly and welcoming always of course maintaining it’s base in the beautiful picturesque village of Beer.
Our membership is drawn mainly from the Beer and Seaton area, however we do have members living as far a field as Taunton and Crewkerne in Somerset.
The Club has statements for Environment & Ecology, Future Assurance, Equal Opportunities and Young People & Safety.

Life Jackets & Buoyancy Aids

The Angling Trust, along with other agencies is keen to encourage the wearing of Life Jackets or Buoyancy Aids when participating in any water-based pastimes such as sea Angling. The Angling Trust insurers now stipulate that in order to claim against the Trust’s insurance anglers MUST be wearing one if on a boat or have been wearing one if loss of life is involved.

The AT has several partner retail units offering savings to members of up to 15% on the purchase of life preservers. Suitable ones may be purchased for under £100. The following guidance may be useful to anyone interested in buying one. For angling a minimum of 150 Newton as below is recommended.

150 Newton Label

150 Newton Inflatable / Air Foam Jacket

This level is intended for general offshore and rough weather use where a high standard of performance is required. It will turn an unconscious person into a safe position and requires no subsequent action by the user to maintain this position. Standards applicable to this level; EN 396 or ISO 12402 – 3.

50 Newton Label50 Newton FOAM Buoyancy Aid
This level is intended for use by those who are competent swimmers and who are near to bank, shore, or who have help and a means of rescue close at hand. These garments have minimal bulk, but they are of limited use in disturbed water, and cannot be expected to keep the user safe for a long period of time. They do not have sufficient buoyancy to protect people who are unable to help themselves. They require active participation by the user. Standards applicable to this level; EN 393 or ISO 12402 – 5.
100 Newton Label100 Newton Inflatable / Air Foam Lifejacket
This level is intended for those who may have to wait for rescue, but are likely to do so in sheltered water.
The device should not be used in rough conditions.
Standards applicable to this level; EN 395 or ISO 12402 – 4.
275 Newton Label275 Newton Inflatable Lifejacket
This level is intended primarily for offshore use and by people who are carrying significant weights and thus require additional buoyancy. It is also of value to those who are wearing clothing which traps air and which may adversely affect the self-righting capacity of the lifejacket. It is designed to ensure that the user is floating in the correct position with their mouth and nose clear of the surface.
Standards applicable to this level; EN 399 or ISO 12402 – 2.


Supporters Information

Our Supporters


Seaton Tackle Shop


P.S. Monograms


The Tackle Box

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