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Bouncing this one back up, for our friends that have been before and cannot join us this year. or other Members that have not been able to go yet. Basically we had it all lined up and started the usual round of; Weather watching, prepping boats and kit, weather watching, organising food, weather watching etc etc you get the Idea. Lol On the decision day the forecast looked reasonable and settled, so it was decided to go, I contacted the accommodation and paid our deposit. 24 hours later, bugger it has all changed. back to a cycle of weather watching and phone calls or messages. Then phone hotel to see what options we have. Another 12 hrs and its too windy, bummer. We need plan B. This years accommodation will be the La Ville hotel, and to be honest they have been great, started off by offering us a good rate, backed up by good flexibility. Even though we are beyond the cut off time and date they have agreed to allow us to transfer the booking and deposit to the end of May bank holiday. Thanks Roger. and thanks Wendy for bending some of our plans so I can go on the next dates, which clash with Sam's birthday. If weather allows I will still be out with the lads on Reel Magic this weekend. But not at 0500 tomorrow. Watch the catch reports. Charlie

Thanks Pete. It'll be a surprize so no testing. She needs something easy to use and lightweight as she'll have it in her pocket. Also she needs it to be stable whilst in her hand (something she's not good at)

Jim, as Graham posted get yourself down to Castle Cameras in Bournemouth to try out a couple .As well as the Hawke 8x42ED and 10x42 ED they also have some other brands to compare with. My monocular is a bit of a different beast I bought it as a spotting scope but is great for bird watching when tripod mounted. Do a search on internet for PICCOLO COMPACT 15/30/45x ZOOM 60mm SPOTTING SCOPE. I got mine off the bay for £33 used of course, I don't think they manufacture them any more

Fish of the Year 2023 Largest Specimen Fish of 2023 Largest Specimen Fish any Species Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 12/06/2023 Ian Jones Tigerfish Coalfish 7 6 5 0 147.5 28/10/2023 Colin Francis Boblin3 Mullet - Thick Lipped 5 8 4 0 137.5 10/09/2023 Jerry Shutter Loobie 1V Gurnard - Red 1 11 1 4 135 Ian Jones, New Club Record Coalfish @ 147.5% specimen. Bass (Simon Hall Memorial & B.A.S.S. Catch & Release) Two Trophies – Largest Bass & Largest Catch and Release Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 22/01/2023 Steve Scott Tigerfish Bass 12 11 9 8 133.55 24/06/2023 Alun Jones Gastronaught Bass 10 4 9 8 107.89 16/08/2023 Steve Scott Tigerfish Bass 9 5 9 8 98.03 Bream Largest Specimen Bream Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 16/04/2023 Alun Jones Gastronaught Bream - Black 3 11 3 8 105.36 30/04/2023 Colin Francis Boblin3 Bream - Black 3 3 3 8 91.07 08/04/2023 Colin Francis Boblin3 Bream - Black 2 3 3 8 62.5 23/05/2023 Mark Laing Skipper Bream - Black 2 3 3 8 62.5 Cod (Steve Chester Memorial Trophy) Largest Specimen Cod Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 28/08/2023 Steve Scott Tigerfish Cod 4 15 20 0 24.69 16/04/2023 Steve Scott Tigerfish Cod 4 8 20 0 22.5 02/01/2023 Neil Burrow Tarlach Too Cod 4 6 20 0 21.88 Conger Eel (Frank Fudge Memorial Trophy) Largest Specimen Conger Eel Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 12/02/2023 Ben Allen Alfresco Conger Eel 45 0 40 0 112.5 12/02/2023 Charlie Chapman Alfresco Conger Eel 35 0 40 0 87.5 04/02/2023 Steve Scott Tigerfish Conger Eel 15 0 40 0 37.5 Flatfish Trophy (Any species of Flatfish other than Rays) Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 18/12/2023 Dave Evans Reel Magic Flounder 2 4 2 12 81.82 26/10/2023 Blake Witheford Kingfisher Plaice 3 2 4 0 78.13 15/10/2023 Max White Here Fishee Fishee Plaice 2 8 4 0 62.5 Ray Trophy Largest Specimen Ray (Any species) Date Caught Name Boat Species Weight lb Weight oz Spec lb Spec oz % Specimen 27/03/2023 Charlie chapman Alfresco Ray - Undulate 20 4 16 0 126.56 27/05/2023 Colin Francis Boblin3 Ray - Thornback 13 9 12 0 113.02 07/02/2023 Bob Ruddick Illusion Ray - Undulate 17 3 16 0 107.42 Bob Horne Memorial Trophy was fished as a Flounder Comp (17th December 2023). No fish recorded on the day. If there are no flounders caught on the day of the competition, it will revert to Largest Flounder of the Year. Other Competitions will be added, and the results will be reduced to the top three going forward to keep the thread to a minimum. Please add any catches via “Report A Catch” on the Forum home page, embedded in the Blue Band across the page, it’s very easy to add any catches you want to report, everything else is carried out automatically. This will also automatically enter you into the Fish of the Month comp, with a chance of winning a £25 voucher sponsored by the club. All Club Comps are Open to all Club Members. Please register your Boat and any Club Members into the “Species Hunt” comps if you want to join in. Tight lines, stay safe and good luck to all club members. Please add photos if possible.

Sorry Jim missed the bit where you say Jackie cannot use binoculars, but that may be because like wendy she cannot close up a large pair far enough for her size. A compact set may be much better.

Don't know anything about this subject So can I ask. . . . . . 8 x 42 is 8 x magnification? What's the 42 ? After seeing the above posts I'm looking at maybe this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hawke-Endurance-ED-10x42-Monocular/dp/B0786NNRPW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=TOB5REJ9TPJ6&keywords=Hawke%2BEndurance%2BED%2Bmonocular&qid=1683798999&sprefix=hawke%2Bendurance%2Bed%2Bmonocular%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3&th=1 Jackie can't use binoculars but has used monoculars before. It's nearly her Birthday and as she loves looking at "stuff" when we're out. I thought it may be a good all rounder for a beginner. All answers need to be simple . . . . . so even I can understand them. 👍 Ta. Jim

On reading this thread again last night I too visited Castle Cameras this morning and checked out the Vortex and Hawke binoculars. My requirements are more for bird watching so I had already decided 8 X 42 was probably my preferred size. This gives a reasonable magnification, good field of view and easier to hold stable than the higher magnification. While there I did try the 10 x 42 but I struggled to keep them rock steady with my little bit of "old age shake" Like you, the help was excellent and I felt that after all their effort I should buy from them. I opted for the Hawke Endurance ED's. I compared them to my old ones once i got home and the difference is amazing.

Well done Chris for getting this created; plenty of scope for the leaders to be overhauled. I've pinned it and featured it. Not sure what the 'featured' feature does but sounds good!

Thanks Chris Perhaps we can arrange that at some time. Possibly after a breakfast at the friendly café next door.

The boys are back

Glad to help if you don’t need my compacts return to suit you.

Just to finish this one off. After a bit of discussion at the AGM, I thought I would let you know what I decided to do. Last week I went to Castle Cameras , who were very helpful and had a lot of different Bino's to handle and try. I also had a couple of sets on loan, so that I could check that they were also a good size for Wendy. This made it clear that the original plan to go for a compact pair was probably the best idea. So having decided top go for 8 x 32, which one to buy With so much assistance from the staff at castle cameras, I decided I would support them back and buy from them. The pair that I chose are Vortex Diamond backs, these seem to have good specifications and a good clear site when tested again today against other brands. The other thing that helped me decide is the lifetime warranty that includes any accidental damage, and back up from a fairly local shop. They will spend plenty of time on boats in my grab bag, [After our holiday in September] so I expect that to be a sensible precaution. Thanks for all of your comments and advice Charlie

That is the quandary Mal A lot like your original recommendation are 8 x32 or same brand are larger/heavier at 10x 42 is it better to reduce magnification or field of view? certainly do not have the budget to go for some that bird watchers use. Avalon seem to be a good respected brand at reasonable cost.

8x42 is the favourite in the bird watching community.