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Is there no prize given for best fish taken each month by a Junior within the club? If there is not, maybe its something the committee could give some thought too given it would add further encouragement for the youngsters to get out with a rod rather than wear out there thumbs on a playstation!

March Fish of the Month 1st Place Jan Tryska Undulate Ray 14lb 8oz 91% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Jerry Shutter Pouting 2lb 3oz 73% Specimen 3rd Place Alun Jones Plaice 2lb 14oz 71% Specimen 5 fish recorded on the forum. April Fish of the Month 0 fish recorded on the forum Due to Covid 19 virus Government Lockdown. May Fish of the Month 1st Place Jan Tryska Undulate Ray 17lb 2oz 107% Specimen 2nd Place Colin Francis Mullet- Thick Lipped 4lb 5oz 101% Specimen £25 Voucher 3rd Place Blake Witheford Small Eyed Ray 10lb 12oz 98% Specimen 12 fish recorded on the forum.

Part 1: How it all started! I've fished like many of us since I was old enough to hold a rod - maybe 5 years old. I remember standing on Boscombe pier with my Dad in the cold and rain, no bites and whilst Dad was keen to go home to bed, I’d always ask for just 5 more mins! Once I was old enough to fish on my own it was on the Stour at Muscliffe with Dad, catching roach, pike, perch and chub. As I got older and more independent I joined Christchurch Angling Club (CAC) and widened my horizons to the lakes in and around Ringwood. I learned my craft fishing the rivers in Dorset however and feel blessed to have been taught by my dad to fish ‘proper’... trotting a stick float in a river. If I had to pick one type of freshwater fishing - this would be it - a centrepin, a stick float and a pint of white maggots. I match-fished for a few years with good success but soon found the constant competitive edge a bit wearing, so moved onto Carp fishing. The combination of massive, hard fighting fish and the added bonus of sleeping away from home and the adventure of camping was irresistible to a 16 year old! I was properly ‘hooked’ on carping for several years and as I progressed into full time adult work, it was normal for me to finish work, drive to the lake, set up - fish all night, up at 6am, pack up and back into work for 7.30. I’d do this 3 nights a week before going home for a shower and fresh food before spending all weekend at the lake. Back in the 90’s a 30lb carp was the holy grail and a truly massive fish. I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of these beasts with my best going 38lb 2oz…. Today that's run of the mill in many lakes - back then it was a fish of a lifetime. So fast forward to what I’d guess is 1998 and it was Carp fishing that got me back into Sea Fishing. Myself and several mates had started to make an annual pilgrimage to France for the HUGE carp that it was renowned for. It was a proper adventure too - a transit van, 4 blokes, a mountain of tackle, nice weather, big carp and loads of beer! Perfect! One year we had a drop out and Neil Cooke who then owned Bournemouth Fishing Lodge ( a mate of mine as I worked in the Lodge from 12 years old to maybe 18) suggested a stand in to fill the trip. A guy joined the group called James Parker. James and I hit it off straight away and we spent every night that trip in France drinking beer on the bank into the early hours talking all things fish and fishing…. He was nuts about fishing as I was! On the last night we started talking about how we started fishing and I mentioned I actually started as a Sea Angler….. James mentioned that he had a small fishing boat back at home in the UK and that when we got back we should do a trip. I didn't need asking twice! A few weeks after getting back from France, James took me out of Christchurch, having launched at Wick on his little 13’ yellow open Shetland… it didn't have a proper name but James called it the Yellow Peril! This was my return to Sea Angling and in a heartbeat I dropped all things freshwater. After several trips in shore with James and having caught some good rays and other fish I fancied a boat of my own. As we all know this was the start of a very slippery slope! I was searching Boatsandoutboards.com daily but in all honestly didn't have a clue what I was looking at, and whilst on a very meagre salary the thought of spending thousands on a boat was terrifying! James called one day and said his mate had a little cabin boat for sale. We went over to take a look - in Oakdale I seem to recall. She looked great - but what did I know! We bought her and went 50/50 on the cost. I was still living at home at the time so ‘Tara’ lived at James’ house in Southbourne. At 16’ long with a 30hp 2 Stroke Outboard she felt like a min-charter boat to a complete novice like me having only been on open boats in the past! James and I fished all over the place in that little boat in some pretty shitty weather! We also caught some great fish! Double figure bass, Undulates to 18lb, Small Eyed to 13lb, Congers over 50lb, Huss to 12lb, 4lb Bream. We fished up to about 8 miles out but that little boat was proof that time on the sea is just as important as fancy rigs or bait! After a couple of years I was earning better, and the lure of a bigger, better and faster boat was too much! I had now started an office based job in front of a PC all day and I’ll admit to being addicted to Boatsandoutboards.com and Findafishingboat.com…. I dreamt constantly of a bigger boat. At this time I was in Bournemouth Fishing Lodge and picked up a flyer for a website called Phantom-Fisher.co.uk this was a website and more importantly a forum for boat fisherman in Poole. At this time Facebook, Instagram etc didnt exist and so a forum for people to talk fishing and boats on the internet was some kind of heaven! Phantom-fisher didnt last long though and as it closed down many of the member were homeless on the internet. At this time I was introduced to (and I’m sorry I’ll forget a few names!) Peter Russell Snr and Jnr, Martin Burt, Bob Fuller, Bob Horne (RIP) Paul Dore…. These guys belonged to PBSBAC, and I joined straight away and threw myself into the club and joined the committee to help. It was apparent that in these new modern times we needed an online presence, and thus PBSBAC.co.uk was born under the tech guidance of Paul Dore (if I remember correctly!?) This proved to be an amazing resource to tap into anything you could possibly need. Want to know how to wire in a twin battery set up? Ask the question and the members would advise! The lust for a bigger boat was growing daily and having been out one evening to be taught the Alderney ring anchor method by (then chairman) Martin Burt on this amazing Warrior 195 called ‘Maverick’ I had decided that whilst a 195 was out of my league I did want a Warrior 165. Trouble was, so did everyone else and having emptied the piggy bank I had no more than 11k to spend. I looked in vain for months, every decent boat I found was sold, all others where shit heaps. Paul Dore rang me one morning to inform me of one that had just come to the market in Eastney Marina, Hayling Island, so Bob Fuller and I popped down the very next Saturday to take a look. It was here I learnt a very sage lesson about buying boats! She was beautiful - shiny and not a scratch on the hull. Clean and tidy she looked a bargain for 11k. The sea trail went great, although the engine alarm did sound as we approached the slipway back home… however it was too late, i was smitten, and whilst the engine looked a little tatty and out of sync with the rest of the boat this was the boat I dreamed of. £11k was a deposit for a house back then, but we did the deal and soon she was sat on the drive back at home. I’d met my wife Rachael by this time and we had our own house in Verwood and I was proud as punch. A new wife, a new house and a posh new boat! A couple of months after buying BW, we didnt the annual club trail-away trip to the Shambles - the engine started playing up on the way back. I felt sick. I managed to get it back to the slip but the engine was very poorly. I was skint after buying the boat, and the call from the workshop that evening nearly made me vomit; ‘The engine is shagged mate - total write-off the block is cracked’ I did actually cry. Rach my wife was ace and after a couple of days we re-mortgaged and bought a brand new 60hp Mariner 4 Stroke. I had more great memories on BW. Some of my best were really pushing the limits of a 16’ boat and going mid-channel wrecking on her. We had to carry 4 x 25l of petrol. 1 to get there, 1 for the days drifting and running about, 1 to get back and 1 for reserve. 100l of Petrol on a 16’ boat is a lot! 25 miles offshore in a 16’ boat was both scary and exciting! One trip we caught so many cod that I couldn't get BW on the plane… we had to come back at displacement speed - the extra 25L saved our bacon that day! One another trip we started the day in beautiful sunshine, and it stayed all day - flat calm, not a ripple. On the way back a ‘pea-souper’ descended and I helmed 25 miles home on the edge of my nerves with no radar and only the MK1 eyeball for guidance. Again, after a few years that familiar itch many of us know, started again - bigger, faster, better?! I looked at a lot of options but struggled to get away from the Warrior brand, so sold BW and bought a Warrior 175. Whilst only 1’ bigger the actual physical size difference was massive - she was wider, longer, taller… self draining deck, integral fuel tank….. A real step up from the 165. I should have learnt a lesson from the 165 right? Well, ‘Out of the Blue’ had a Honda 130hp engine with a 5 year warranty and only 150 hours on the clock. Safe as houses right? We had been on another trail-away to Portsmouth as a club for the Tope off the Nab Tower and on the way back after another great day of fishing, the Honda started to ‘miss’ slightly…. You all know that feeling when your pride and joy starts to miss-behave…. It was a sickeningly familiar feeling from a few years ago. If I recall correctly I had Gorden Moore with me that day. Back home, I started a long drawn out process involving several engineers and lots of more wasted money. You know the saying ‘owning a boat is like taking a cold shower whilst tearing up £20 notes’ well this was that. ‘Maybe its the HT leads?’ Change them - nope ‘Maybe its the Fuel filter?’ Change that - nope ‘Maybe it’s the Injectors?’ Change them - nope After several hundred wasted pounds, I was poking around at the end of my whit and noticed that the oil was emulsified?! Surely the first thing you’d check? I took it straight to Honda who confirmed that Yes - once again the head was cracked. I felt sick again. Amazingly - whilst out of the 5 year warranty, due to the low hours on the engine they decided to honour the warranty and the engine was replaced FOC. I’d lost faith once again in that boat after all that. About this time Rachael and I had moved out to Shaftesbury from Bournemouth to settle down and start a family, and trailering a 17’ boat through the narrow, muddy country lanes started to become wearing pretty quickly. Once again the nagging feeling started again and I began to contemplate a bigger (faster!?) boat that could be moored and avoid the tedious 25 mile trail to a slipway. Another chapter was about to begin!

£25 Voucher is awarded for Fish of the Month, members can only win a voucher once a year then awarded on count back in the month. January 1st Place Chris Witheford Spurdog 19lb 0oz 119% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Alun Jones Whiting 3lb 14oz 111% Specimen 3rd Place Mal Thomas Bullhuss 10lb 8oz 88% Specimen February 1st Place Alun Jones Bass 16lb 5oz 172% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Jan Tryska Bull Huss 12lb 0oz 100% Specimen 3rd Place Jan Tryska Thornback Ray 13lb 0oz 100% Specimen March 1st Place Jan Tryska Undulate Ray 14lb 8oz 91% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Jerry Shutter Pouting 2lb 3oz 73% Specimen 3rd Place Alun Jones Plaice 2lb 14oz 71% Specimen April 0 fish recorded on the forum Due to Covid 19 virus Government Lockdown. May 1st Place Jan Tryska Undulate Ray 17lb 2oz 107% Specimen 2nd Place Colin Francis Mullet- Thick Lipped 4lb 5oz 101% Specimen £25 Voucher 3rd Place Blake Witheford Small Eyed Ray 10lb 12oz 98% Specimen June 1st Place Alun Jones Bass 12lb 0oz 126% Specimen 2nd Place Michelle Wilde Undulate Ray 17lb 6oz 109% Specimen £25 Voucher 3rd Place Steve Scott Smoothound 15lb 14oz 106% Specimen July 1st Place Jan Tryska Red Gurnard 1lb 9oz 125% Specimen 2nd Place Allan Green Red Gurnard 1lb 8oz 120% Specimen £25 Voucher 3rd Place Chris Witheford Bull Huss 14lb 4oz 119% Specimen August 1st Place Jan Tryska Red Gurnard 1lb 10oz 130% Specimen 2nd Place Charlie Chapman Bull Huss 14lb 0oz 117% Specimen £25 Voucher 3rd Place Mike Hall Red Gurnard 1lb 5oz 105% Specimen September 1st Place Jeremy Shutter Trigger Fish 3lb 8oz 117% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Charlie Chapman Trigger Fish 3lb 2oz 104% Specimen 3rd Place Jeremy Sumbler Trigger Fish 3lb 2oz 104% Specimen October 1st Place Wendy Chapman Undulate Ray 13lb 8oz 84% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Wendy Chapman Undulate Ray 11lb 6oz 71% Specimen  3rd Place Charlie Chapman Undulate Ray  11lb 0oz 69% Specimen November 1st Place Mike Hall Shad - Allis 2lb 6oz 238% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Alun Jones Bass 10lb 10oz 112% Specimen  3rd Place Mike Hall. Red Gurnard  1lb 6oz 110%. Specimen   December 1st Place Dave Evans Undulate Ray 19lb 0oz 119% Specimen £25 Voucher 2nd Place Adam Franklin Blonde Ray 22lb 10oz 96% Specimen  3rd Place Charlie Chapman Whiting  3lb 2oz 89%. Specimen   Well done to all who have registered fish throughout a very difficult year for everyone. Let's hope this year gets sorted and back to some sort of normality for everyone. The most important thing is to stay safe. If it is possible to take a photo or you have taken a photo that is in the results of Fish of the Month please either upload it so it can to added to the thread or send it to a committee member to add it. Some cracking fish being caught and it would be good to share them.

I asked you for your favourite fishing photo from the last 20 years Our members have voted for this photo by Dave

I can certainly see the sense in the species hunt Chris, and appreciate the point well about not all being available for the Comp days. Its good to see the youngsters getting in amongst top three, and no doubt it'll only be a matter of time before the monthly prize falls to one of the juniors (if it already hasn't!) Just thinking out aloud, if they had a Fish of the Month section of their own, maybe through the summer months, perhaps with the winner getting something like a £10.00 tackle shop voucher for instance, would that get more juniors out on the water?

Here’s the most voted for photo from March by Tarlach

Get yourself down west for some blues, i'll switch on my side scan when i am down there next (although old Lowrance Gen1) - prob not this year ☹️

One other point to add when looking for fish. In the UK it's rare that we have single large fish showing up on their own on a sonar image. We're more likely to see fish in small shoals... and this is often the best way to be certain that there are fish down there. If they show up as a shoal of bright spots/ovals, then it's probably worth dropping a line. If you can only see one or two isolated spots then a) they may not be fish, and b) even if they are, there are only a few of them so perhaps not worth trying to target them individually from 20m+ above.

I see a topic / slide show demo for our members at a club night? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got a few drifts over the Camswan in Sandown Bay the weekend before last. Here are a couple of pics, one at 455khz, the other at 800. The banana shape of the first and last pic is because I was trying to correct the drift half way through - doh! Still decent pics though. She's a hungry wreck... I lost 3 rigs on her in 3 drifts. Afterwards I did some research online and apparently she's known for having 4-5m tall beams running along her centre line, which can be clearly be seen in the last pic. No wonder I was losing tackle.

Any junior can win the fish of the month prize. R

Hi Mark, We had a restructure regards junior comps, we have proposed running their own species hunt for the season with a last day to include a chance of biggest fish topped off with their own presentation and pizza and chips at Cobbs. We struggled to get junior numbers on Comp days as holidays and other family events clashed last year, along with weather causing cancellations. Gives the juniors a chance every time they go fishing. 👍 Of course they also have a chance in fish of the month to kick our backsides!! 😂😂 More fish registered each month gives us some history and also keeps everyone interested is our intention.

Here's another Googled image that shows more clearly how a single fish shows up on sidescan. Note how shallow they are (8ft) which is one of the main reasons why the fish shows up so clearly, and so large. Fish at our depths will be much smaller and harder to identify.

Hi Andy, great pics, If the dark area is the water above the wreck am i right in saying the small white flecks in the dark area are fish above the wreck? I am with lofty with the side scan technology.....totally lost although you are making it a lot easier to understand Gary

Welcome to your Sea Newsletter Guidelines for Charter Boat fishing during COVID-19 In partnership with the Professional Boatman's Association, the Angling Trust has published guidance for skippers and passengers for the safe resumption of Charter Boat fishing in England under COVID-19 restrictions. Boat skippers should adapt the guidance to suit the special circumstances of their boat, and passengers should follow the skipper's instructions at all times. DOWNLOAD CHARTER BOAT GUIDELINES The Angling Trust has also published best practice guidelines for the safe resumption of shore and boat sea angling competitions now that further lockdown restrictions have been lifted. DOWNLOAD SEA COMPETITION GUIDELINES Our Angling Support Hub contains a wealth of information and advice to support anglers, clubs and other organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is regularly being updated with the latest Government guidance and the impact that has on angling. VISIT THE ANGLING SUPPORT HUB Shoreham Port east and west breakwaters closed to public Shoreham Port breakwaters will remain closed to the general public during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the east and west breakwaters are very important sea angling venues in Sussex and visited by anglers from as far away as London, Kent and Hampshire, as well as hundreds of Sussex anglers. The port cannot guarantee everyone's safety during the pandemic and have had to make the difficult decision to prohibit all access until such times as the government deem it safe to completely relax the social distancing regulations. Credit: OLU / CC BY-SA Fishing for plaice After weeks of lockdown, it's great to be back fishing again. This time of year is plaice time - to whet your appetitie, Tim Macpherson gives an insight into methods and habits of the plaice. Read more Expert's view of the grey mullet Andy Burt, Chairman of the National Mullet Club, provides his expertise and understanding of grey mullet through this new blog series. In the first two instalments he gives an introduction and talks about the threat from targeted netting. Read Part One Read Part Two Non-Executive Directors wanted The Angling Trust and Fish Legal are seeking applications for the role of Non-Executive Director. The roles are voluntary (10 days a year) although travel expenses will be payable. You can find details of the Angling Trust role HERE and the Fish Legal position HERE. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: how to help the environment during pandemic Covid-19 presents unprecedented times for us all, having to get used to social distancing and other restrictions. But whilst we are all doing our bit to keep us, our families and others safe, there are also things you can do at home or out for your daily exercise to help the environment. Find out how Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: CHART research plan for the UK In our Campaigns blog, Steve Murphy, head of the Bluefin Tuna UK campaign and member of the Angling Trust’s marine advisory group, talks about the introduction of a Catch and Release Tagging (CHART) research programme for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna here in the UK, following the lead of similar successful programmes across Europe. Read more Fish of the month: Turbot Credit: Luc Viato r It's prime time for turbot along the south coast at present. The best destinations are around Weymouth, drifting on the Shambles Bank or for a shore based venue try Chesil Beach. Alternatively, try boat fishing other sand or shell grit banks along the south coast like the Skerries Bank out of Dartmouth. End tackle can vary on location and personal preference, but basic flowing traces are best, between 5 and 10 foot long using 30lb mono and a single size 6/o 'J' hook. Bait should be a long sliver of fresh or frozen mackerel, lance or a whole sandeel fished hard on the bottom. When drifting over banks, make sure your weight maintains contact with the bottom and keep your spool in the free spool holding it with your thumb for a quick release of line when you get a bite. Let the line out for at least 10 sections then click the reel into gear, lift the rod tip and start winding in. News, views, tips, videos and more! We've created a new website called Fishing Buzz. packed with news, views, tips, videos, advice and more! It will help keep you entertained when you're not fishing and help relieve some of the stress and worries we’re all experiencing right now. Visit Fishing Buzz now! Species Hunt now open for entries! The new round of Species Hunt is now open for entries. 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These are birds eye view images (top down). The centre line is the blind spot directly below the transducer. It shoots either side of the boat but can't see directly below, hence the blind spot in the image. So in the first pic, the wreck was to the left of my boat as I drifted alongside it. The dark areas either side of the centre line is the water column but not directly down, rather it's the water between the sea floor to the left and right of the boat, and the transducer itself.

Are mine the white or green ones Ben?