beginners advice

[Member Removed]

Hi all, I'm looking for advice on how I can keep safe and improve my chances of catching anything.

I moved down here a few years ago and have done a bit of fishing from the shore, Hengistbury Head Groyne mainly, and really fancied getting out on the water. I have bought a small Foreland fibreglass dinghy (12'6'' x 5'3'' x 2' 1'' moulded depth, just about get the trailer down the side of the house) with an Evinrude 6hp outboard, which I have been out on a few times with very limited success - one garfish and one mackerel in 8 hours fishing. I would like to get out to fish the ledge, weather permitting, and to find a few marks within easy reach of the harbour, so I'd really appreciate any advice on where I can get the best weather forecast information - particularly the wind force and sea state - as it can get a bit uncomfortable out there if the wind gets up and it gets a bit choppy. Also if anyone has advice on what bits of electronics would be most useful, fish finder, GPS etc. (there are no electrics on the boat at the moment and no enclosed stowage so maybe portable is the only realistic option).

Thanks for reading this and look forward to hearing from you as I regularly read the forums and know just how much knowledge you lot have about every aspect of boats and fishing.

 

[Paul J]

Steve,

 

I started out with a very similar setup.

It's important to know the boat and engine limitations and like you say know the weather.

 

There are plenty of fish in the harbour and close to the shore so there is really no need to push the limits and head for the horizon ( suppress those urges for safetys sake)

it's still earlyseason but there will be fish right under your nose

for weather/tides i use Windguru .com ( select avon beach) and easytide.

The two main bits that can catch you out will be the Mudeford enterance and the Hengistbury Head Groyne areas which can chop up at times.

I have fished the ledge ( 1-2 miles out)in such a set up but only in flat calm conditions and on neap tides

 

Hope this helps

 

PJ

[great white]

Hi all, I'm looking for advice on how I can keep safe and improve my chances of catching anything.

 

 

As usual with these messages the first advice is to join the Club

Come to the meetings and get to know some of the Members.

 

That will open up a mountain of knowledge and experiance to help you with all aspects of safe boating and fishing. we are a friendly crowd, behind the banter.

 

The main message would be be cautious and stay safe, your boat only suits fishing outside the harbour in the very best of weather, and get in to a habit of always wearing a lifejacket.

 

weather information I use several, wind guru, metcheck and recently the bournemouth surf report through magic seaweed.

If I was you I would check them all and believe the worst.

 

Some of us with lots of experiance and bigger craft will go out on a moderate forecast, do not be tempted to do the same. If you are not sure do not go.

 

Tight lines

Charlie

Edited May 17, 2009 by great white

[Gnasher]

my 1st boat, sweaty pollacks that was 12ft and had a 7hp on the back. we often took it out of the harbour and fished within a couple of hundred yards of the end of the groyne and we caught loads of wrass, bream a few small pollack and some gars and bass and the odd gurnard, amongst a few more suprises. A stone throw away on another closer mark will give plenty of mackeral.

 

I never atempted the ledge in it though even in good conditions even though i often wanted to. The main problem is the bigger motor crusiers hammer past you out there and its the wake that will tip you, especially at anchor! Other boats of your size will still give it ago though and i have seen them out there.

 

The best plan though would be to stick to fishing close to the groyne and with a little practise, you will bag up as the areas stuffed with fish. But if you do want to travel further, id suggest firstly getting a buddy saftey boat, and also fishing on the drift as if a bigger boat does hammer past, you can point the nose into the wash.

 

A basic gps can be bought for under

[duncan]

good advice Dan (and others)

 

rule one in such a set up has to be to consider not only the weather but the tides that will interact with any breeze, and the local 'traffic' which can, and will be, less than sympathetic to the needs of small vessels anywhere off the coast.

[Member Removed]

Huge thanks PJ, Charlie, Dan and Duncan for all the great advice, it has confirmed my gut feelings about the limitations of my small dinghy. As you say it seems that the best thing I can do is to join the club and talk to you "old hands" to get the benefit of your hard gained experience, although Thursday evenings are a bit difficult for me, are there any other days/nights when members meet up?

Its nice to know I'm getting some of the basic stuff right though as I do always wear my life jacket, use wind guru and the Bournemouth surf reports ( I also have a look at the surf cams ), but I know how quickly things can change out there and I don't want to be racing the weather back to safe harbour with a 6hp - theres a good chance I'd lose! I shall be checking out easytide and metcheck.

Your spot on with the anchor retrieval Dan, we got it stuck several times around the groyne, and if I'm out there on my own I have to fish on the drift as I daren't use it. That was one of the reasons I was thinking about a fish finder to see if it could help me avoid this, and a GPS to help me relocate any good marks I discover.

I suppose I have been lucky so far but I see what you mean about the problems for a small dinghy caused by some of the bigger motor cruisers, especially if its a bit choppy already.

Thanks again for the advice and hope to get a chance to chat to you all soon.

 

Steve.

[pirky]

Welcome to the uninitiated ranks Steve.

 

I too have just begun the "boat owner" period of my life...All I can advise is ASK before TASK. I have been blessed so far with loads of encouragement, advice and helpful hints. I don't know why but maybe all those that have gone before realise "They were there once" and there is a common bond that says "one day this person may be the only one who is able to answer my distress call".......Whatever the reason.....feels good.

but no matter how good the advice....it only counts if you heed it.....

I have an old 5.3 m day boat with cuddy and have yet to fish out of the harbour in her....so much to learn and SAFETY is the most important.

I was told....start with a good life jacket and build from there...on a boat you can't just park and walk to the garage so make sure your engine and backup are serviced and that you can contact the emergency service if the need arises.

Boat buddies are a great idea....The list goes on....I get memory jam

Good luck and stay safe

 

Dave

[Sinbad]

Hi Steve,

 

Just a point or two - with the Anchor- carry it in case your outboard packs up and you have to stayput - if you make it past the groyne, there are usually loads of pot bouys close in which you can take a loop of rope round, and this avoids having to risk your anchor. They also happen to make good fishing spots, as long as the ground isnt too rough.

 

In terms of most GPS, fishfinder, VHF etc - they are entirely suitable mounted out in the rain or spray and provided you dont immerse them - they dont need special protection at all. I would go with the fishfinder every time for the help it gives when navigating back over shallow ground apart from the ability to put you over some potential fishing spots. I used a Handheld GPS for many years, but they arent essential if you are starting out and staying close inshore.

 

Duncan's comment was also in my mind, as especialy the ledge can cut up quite rough whenever the tide is flowing opposite to the wind direction, so plan to cross it when the flows are going the same way. Also litterally 2m off the end of the groyne is deep! if you go say 20m further out, it gets very shallow - ask Paul D

 

Have Fun, but be safe.

 

Paul

Edited May 18, 2009 by Sinbad

[djredrupp]

, there are usually loads of pot bouys close in which you can take a loop of rope round, and this avoids having to risk your anchor.

 

Be careful with that! you dont know whats on the end of it!!

 

It may be a masssive pot that acts as an effective anchor, or it may be a smaller parlour pot (LIKE MINE!!) that you will drag along the rocky sea bed, until it jams solid in a crevace, costing its owner around

[Maverick Martin]

Carrying on from Dans post commercial potters don't take to kindly to peeps tying up to their pot lines for obvious reasons. You may think it does not matter but beware it does to them and their boats are bigger than yours

 

Martin

[Member Removed]

Thanks again all , I do always carry an anchor just in case but perhaps I would be better off with a smaller or a different type of anchor (I have a fishermans anchor about 14" x 20"). Do you think a trip line might be the answer?

It sounds like the fishfinder might be the first thing to look at, my problem is that I don't have any power supply on board. I know nothing about boat electrics, what sort of battery would I need to take on board or can you get fishfinders with their own power supply? Also would I need to fit a transducer permanently to the boat, I know you can get hand held or floating transducers, but they wouldn,t be much use for navigating as I assume you would need to be stationary to use them, right?

You can also see that I,m a novice at posting on forums ( i can,t work out how to include the emoticons) should I be adding this reply to my original thread or would it be better as a new thread??

Thanks again, just off to fish on the groyne at Hengistbury now, I shall try fishing closer in this time for the deeper channel.

Regards Steve.

[great white]

Hi Steve

 

Most of us seem to use Bruce anchors [or the cheaper copies] you can get small ones and a 5KG would do the job and can be rigged to trip.

 

 

As for the fishfinder most run off 12volts so a small car battery would suffice.

 

Transducers usually come on a lead to a plug and with a bracket for the transducer. simple to fit and then run the lead through the boat to a good place to mount the Fishfinder where it is easily seen.

I have seen people with a simple board fitted with the fishfinder on the supplied bracket, the whole thing is attached to a seat with a woodworking clamp. battery under the seat with wires connected with croc clips.

 

Works fine and can all be removed for storage and battery charging, but you need some way of securing the battery when afloat.

 

Charlie

[charlieannear]

I believe some of the Kayakers have fishfinders on their boats, and I don't expect they carry a car battery!

I expect there is a 'portable' fishfinder available.

[wrigler]

With respect to electronics,fishing marks, small boats ,bigger boats, in harbour, out of harbour. Please carry all the safety equip you can and listen to all our members advice. Fishing !! thats different and it's the element of surprise that keeps us hanging in there. This Sunday I left harbour at 7.30 and drifted all plaice marks I've known for the last 15 years. A big tide and a heavy swell,lines of nets and the armada leaving harbour made for a poor session. Three hours later ( I'd promised the F.P.O. to be back to greet visiting relatives )I returned to harbour , Armada still coming through. Dropped baited line overboard and proceeded to clean the deck and get shipshape before returning to P. B. Marina. Everything done I grabbed my rod and started to reel in. Sh!! snagged. I gained line and suddenly the snag!! headed for bottom.( THERE IS A GOD)A few minutes later a very nice Spotty was on the surface .Net came out (Daiwa with the spring ball that holds net to shaft) unfortunately my ball didn,t .Corrosion? I grabbed the net head and just managed to deter a last dive and netted a lovely 3.25 plaice . Point being most of my best fishes over the last 20 yrs (ling Cod and conger apart) have been caught no more than a mile from shore. Its harder but still achieveable. Good luck Terry

[Coddy]

Hi Steve

 

A lot of the information already given is great and I have listed some safety gear you may need if you have not already got.

 

The following list is not exhaustive but suggests the minimum safety equipment you should carry for estuary and inshore trips in daylight:

 

Lifejackets - A working life jacket for everyone in the boat plus lifebuoy or man overboard danbuoy or throwing rope.

Means of bailing - Bilge pumps, bailer, sponge

Means of stopping - Anchor & sufficient line to anchor in safety while you sort your problems out

Communication equipment - VHF or Mobile Phone, In date Flares, Signal lamp or Torch

Alternate propulsion - Auxiliary engine and/or oars & rowlocks

Course to steer - Compass, at all times you should know the current position of your boat & direction back to safety if the weather deteriorates or fog rolls in

Dangers - An up to date chart of the area

Containing Leaks - Bungs, wedges, rags for blocking small holes & leaks

Minor Injuries - First Aid Kit

Fire - In date fire extinguisher

Engine Problems - Toolkit, spare plugs, spare fuel

Also wearing appropriate clothing and having wet weather clothes available if required.

 

Much of the above can be carried in a waterproof container and will float, should the craft overturn, and you will hopefully be able to retrieve it.

 

Charlie was spot on about the transducer on a wooden board that can be clamped to the transom of the boat. Many kyakers use a small 7amp 12v sealed battery wich will be fine for the amount of time it is in use on each trip. Similar to those here http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=19363

Many people who use inflatables use a similar set up.

 

If you want you can get a portable GPS see a good one here http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/ag/product.asp...&pf%5Fid=AG4782 all depends on your budget.

 

Hope the above helps

 

Dave