The Cornish Federation of Sea Anglers has published a book that celebrates the organisation's Golden Jubilee.

Compiled over six years by its former fish recorder, Bob Healeas, it is a work of immense importance.

It traces in great detail the rise of the CFSA, presenting a graphic picture of Cornish sea angling, considered the finest in British waters across half a century.

Healeas acknowledges in his introduction the affiliated clubs and members past and present who provided the mass of information, without which the history could not have been recorded.

The depth of the work is such that it requires 462 pages and more than 1,000 pictures. Some have illustrated this column, which is now in its 35th year.

The federation was formed by Camborne AA, Mounts Bay AS, Newquay AA and Falmouth & Penryn AA. On this building block, 116 clubs have come and gone, but many boast unbroken affiliation.

One of its first decisions on formation was to affiliate to the National Federation of Sea Anglers, but ten years on it severed its links, principally due to it being denied voting rights, although it paid an annual membership fee of £135, a great sum at the time.

The depth of catch information for each year is incredible and a remarkable 78 different species have been recorded, some unique to UK waters. In 2003, proposed 'No Take Zones' got a big 'No Thank You' from anglers and commercial fisherman alike.

What happened at an open meeting held at Millbrook, attended by several hundred people who were crammed into the school hall, over Whitsand Bay becoming a restricted area for anglers and small boat commercials, resulted in the project being thrown out, much to this author's personal satisfaction after intervention.

A catch history of many species creates an archive of obvious value. A prime example is the Mako shark. In the 1960s, the British record was broken several times off west Cornwall by heavyweight fish.

The most successful skipper in Mako number terms was Frank Vinnicombe, of the Falmouth-based Moss Rose, who earned the tag 'Mako Man'. His anglers recorded no fewer than ten fish.

His son Robin made the news on six occasions with Makos taken in the same period from his boat, Huntress. It has disappeared from Cornish waters, and the once prolific porbeagle is increasingly difficult to contact.

A competition based on heats across the region, staged under the banner of Westward Television, always attracted at least 400 entrants. Heat winners were taken to a final in such exotic places as Mexico and Kenya.

Redruth SAS staged no fewer than 11 of the heats in the 1970s and 80s. BBC Spotlight became involved with the Federation's Shore Championship, now fished for as the Western Morning News Cup.

I was pleased to note that I have presented the federation's annual awards ten times since 1964, and again on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Festival.

This is a remarkable book produced for the benefit of the Federation, its affiliated clubs and individuals. As Healeas says on the final page: "And here's to the next 50 years."

Reminiscent of the heyday of plaice fishing on Devon's Skerries Banks is a catch of 120 weighing to just short of 4lb by members of Plymouth's Pot Black SAC, who were aboard the Dartmouth boat African Queen.

Other multiple catches, but not of this stature, have also been recorded. Dorset's Chesil Beach has yielded yet another fine specimen of 3lb 13oz that fell to Rodbender SAC member Stuart Gray, and others weighing close to 3lb have also been reported.

The presence of vast numbers of launce at the offshore reefs, notably Eddystone, Hands Deeps and the Phillips Rocks, have virtually guaranteed excellent pollack fishing, and specimens up to 17½lb have been eager to take this deadly natural bait.

PICTURE DETAIL. One of the most unusual fish in the Cornish Federation's history is Norman Cowley's 96 lb 1 oz Electric Ray caught off Dodman Point. It set a UK record that remains unbeaten.