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I went out on Wednesday with my eldest son James, we had a few bass to start with and one huge mackerel. The tide eased and the wind increased so we came in and anchored around the spoils, wind was beam on so a little uncomfortable but ok. 3” cut off the mackerel for bait fillets, the rest sent out as shark bait. We had bream, one lsd the first for a while, small tope, no rays but kept busy. The shark bait was hit by tope but not hooked, Bitten to the hook! 🫣 New bait sent out, but frozen mackerel not fresh. Huge squid were following the baits up and I suspect it was them that ripped the shark bait to bits. We decided to give the harbour a go for a gilthead, had everything but, plaice, bass, wrasse and black bream so called it a day. A decent day, kept busy with a variety of species. Sunday, myself and Blake decided we would have an early morning session as he had a football match to watch in the afternoon. Picked the bait up at 6.30 and off we go, picked a buoy up outside Salterns to see if a plaice or gilthead may be about. We had a run of small bass to about 1 1/2lb and loads of wrasse so decided to move around the back of the islands. Was cracking out of the wind, but just more small bass, Blake had one decent run with line being taken but missed it. Decided to move as bait was disappearing at a pace, so I said we would drift the ferry basin for the last hour. On the way as went over a hole it was full of fish so went back and drifted over it, more small bass but gave a bit of fun but not what we were looking for. Off we go and a few minutes later the exhaust alarm sounding, no way twice in three trips! 🫣😤 Never happened in all the years of owning the boat. Check strainer, no water but no weed, check impeller, all good. I took the pipe off pump and blew down the into the strainer and could hear the bubbles going outside the boat, very strange. Put it back together and a little drop of water from exhaust but not enough. So best to check what’s going on underneath on the intake, strip down to boxers and on the bathing platform, dip a toe and it doesn’t feel the 20+ degrees it’s showing on sounder. 😂😂 Blake offered to go in, nice offer but never going to happen. In I go and found a lump of weed like a wig attached to the intake. 👏👏 Blake started the engine to check everything was working, all good so swimming lesson came to an end. Off in as our fishing time was now passed, a quick washdown and home. Got home 5 mins before kickoff instead of an hour so no footy for Blake, but he had watched moby dick swimming around earlier. 😂😂 Hopefully not a third time lucky waiting. 😢 I’m starting to think this is a young man’s sport. 💪🏼💪🏼🎣🐟 Fishing Wednesday with eldest son, round of golf with second son on Friday, and fishing with youngest son on Sunday, a perfect week. 👍

Gummage towers marina is a dynamic sort of place come harvest time . With winter rations coming in and cattle in every shed(except when they go feral; see photo) It’s harder for E3 to find a safe berth away from all the action o After my august trip I parked it in a general store shed and pushed it back “out of harms way” in a corner. No such place ever existed in a busy store shed. Too many of these thing shunting about Apparently , according to my colleagues, it was a good thing that I was driving it when it clipped the drawbar and sent the boat back into the wall. All that trouble that Chris goes to to dismantle an engine…. I found the quick way! Hardly 200 hrs old Did I feel gutted You bet I did😢😢😢 Now it just so happens that not all the things that happen in this barn are bad. Ok so the fire in February wasn’t so good, but at least the boat wasn’t in there then and there was no blood. We had it all fixed by July in time for the happy event of my daughters wedding to James. We had a memorable Hoe down that night. Now why is this relevant ? Because I hadn’t so much “lost a daughter as gained a hairy mechanic”! Not just any mechanic but one who can aluminium weld! My motor is just out of guarantee. Holes bay marine supplied it and have serviced it. I’m pleased with their service; pricey but comparable with agricultural dealers. But it is a pain that I have to do a 100 mile round trip to use them, and I waste a day. And the straw that breaks the camels back; having to pay for parking as I leave Cobbs even though my boat has been looked after on a premises which already pays cobbs a rent! Good sorts that they are , they sent me a service package(impeller and all) so that James and I could do it at home. Pig sick pigs can be pig sick for a very long time and I was one pig sick pig. James is a good sport and gave up his Sunday to get me out of the malaise. James set about the service. Here he’s accessing the plugs. Oil and fuel filters were changed and the thermostat. Then the lower gear was dropped for the impeller change. We pressed onto strip out the seals of the bevel box before welding I hadn’t realised until this point that aluminium is extremely heat conductive and James was concerned that we could burn the seals or distort the gearbox housing . Our Shetland marine engineer friend Callum advised that wet towels can be used as a heat sink. We went with that, only after stripping out the gearbox using an improvised slide hammer. James cleaned everything and got welding . First time lucky? No, it cracked. Then a sound result. Every time we heated it there was a chance of damaging the gearbox but we knew this wasn’t good enough. So once again james fettled. “ Neither of us would claim that it was perfect but let’s see if the sea notices . mercury spray paint blinky good stuff. We cleaned it with brake cleaning fluid first . It’s a new propellor . We will mend the old one for a spare. Will it be OK? Sea trial was last Tuesday ……….TBC

Well Adam, first the fishing report: I got to Tucton just after 7 o’clock and met Gordon there. He had diverted to the Christchurch angling Centre to get bait Hooky was sadly ill and had to cry off. I knew was going out of Cobbs in pool on madness. I rang him to talk about the fog we both expected it to burn off quite soon meantime, Coffee at the Captains club was good.specially as the biggest disappointment of the day was that my flask was still in the kitchen.🥲 It’s worth noting that you could get breakfast there . Drifted over the ledge for bass for a few hours. Shad nursed a cuttlefish to the boat . Ran out squid jigs and lazy feathers for much of the time. Nothing fell to them. Got a u/s pollack and a ballon and a bream to worm and a small pouting to a shad. Finally my shad got me a just and just sized Bass. Anchored to a small mark just west of the ledge which showed fish on the finder. Anchored bang on them. A shoal of mini bream. Spent too long at that but it afforded a break for lunch. Didn’t leave much time for plaice fishing and blanked at that. What a beautiful afternoon. The amber light the clouds with raindrops spangling in the sun on a glassy sea. You could do better as a poet than a fisherman. But what of the sea trial for our skeg and newly serviced motor? Really pleased. Motor Didn’t miss a beat. I had smashed the skeg to pieces and sonin law managed to to weld it back up . Good job but not plumb perfect . I was concerned that we might steer like the Bismark did after the torpedo hit. But she ran true . You’d never tell the fault at the helm. Chris64 from Banbury was asking who services outboards. James has a garage in Cricklade , J&J vehicle engineering and if you could get a service pack he would be able to do it. anyway, happy days!

We have had further bot attacks on our website causing some pages to show as unavailable for a time then be ok later. Mark and Oli are moving where our domain name is registered and front ending our site with Cloudflare, this should filter out the bot traffic and allow the site to behave normally. 🤞

Sunday looked OK, but I had a trip planned with Dave for a long day on Monday. Should we go? With what may be the last bit of Summer, Wendy was up for a short day and a picnic lunch. Unfortunately we could not get any worms, so that was limiting the inshore options 10AM to the boat and without any pressure we head out to double check the boat and have some fun in the sunshine. Out to the middle of Swanage bay and drop anchor, lots of Bream ragging the big baits. so I handed Wendy a spinning rod and she had fun catching a few, while I tried to keep a bigger bait out. As well as the bream we had a Tope and LSD and just as we were about to move Waverly passed by. I decided to go around her to get a better picture and was amazed to see how fast she was going. I had to up revs and do 22knots to get on her sunny side, but at least that confirmed that our speed per engine RPM was right again. A move closer in got us away from the bait robbing bream and we added a couple of Small Eyed Rays to the catch, before a very early finish at 1500. It had been a nice little trip in lovely weather

Look at it after it's been Sanded, Polished, & Waxed.

With small tides and very little water movement we were planning a trip way off shore, that did not happen as you will read below. A 5.00am alarm for me and on the boat prepping by 6.0am. Lots of bait thawing and dreams of something large bending the rods. All was going well till Chris had a troubled look on his face and his ears tuned in to the engine note and watching the rev counter, temp and oil gauges. He had noticed 400 revs missing at the top end, maybe something around the prop, a dirty bottom or something unexplained. Then I suggested could it be as simple as the throttle cable adjustment. Up came the engine hatch and a quick check, no not the throttle cable, but what's that noise and the temp has gone up. A quick look over the side and no water pumping around the engine, switch off quickly and let the engine cool down. Right lets deploy the Anchor, we do not want to end up in the channel. Get the rods out, no point wasting the opportunity, who knows the fishing gods may give us a gift to raise the spirits. It was very strange, we had broke down but no panicking just methodical thinking and complete confidence in Chris, with his engine knowledge, his meticulous planning carrying spare parts often needed and all the tools he needed. Well, lets get the kettle on. The fish were biting and a steady stream of bream and a Tub caught whilst we put a plan together. Time to do some investigations, undo some awkward hoses and lets check the water pump, we were fairly sure it was not spinning, with me on the Helm and Chris balancing on one leg in the engine well, right Mal hold the stop button and turn the engine over was the instruction, okay, the impeller is not turning, is it stuck, not turning. That's weird these are all new parts, plan B call home and dig out the spare from the garage ( thanks Leanne) and ask Martin at home to be on standby for a break down call out. Why is it not turning, lets get it out and inspect it. With the Impeller in hand Chris then took the centre out of the impeller, and Bingo. In the meantime as if we did not have enough on our minds, I suggested we could lift the anchor and drift over to the SRM and drop Anchor there, we can better that. If you sit in the engine well Mal with the hose running down the engine intake we can slowly make our way over there. Job done, rods over, kettle on and let the Engine cool down again. With the part in hand and the centre pulled out, what's that burning rubber smell, a quick look at the centre spline noted the grip was just not there and the splines had worn down. No problem I have 4 spares in the locker up front, change that over and put the pump back together and see what happens. Whilst all this is going on we have managed a small undulate and some more bream. Right Mal do the same in the wheel house, that's better, its spinning. Lets put it all back together, turn the water back on and see what happens. Water thundering out the exhaust is what happened, right stand Martin down and thank him. Right what's the plan where shall we go, the Banks were close so lets go there, not much tide so a bit quiet with the boat wandering on the Anchor line till the tide started. We had as many bream as we wanted, in fact they were chewing up all the baits. We also had a few Conger, Smooth Hounds running riot and some Tope, so the fish count was doing well. Not happy with that, lets deploy the Shark rod. First bite a short strip of line and a small mouthed bite off (Tope). New bait down and a fifty yard run, much more furious and some triangular tooth shapes and a much larger mouth (Shark). We have a shark in the area, all the bream went missing for a while. Very exciting and another bite off before it was time to go home. A few more small Rays and Smooth hounds added to the total for the day. Still time for a Guinness and a good clean down before our bodies and minds started to shut down, neither of us would have needed much rocking after that day out.

I had the old impeller from when I did the engine rebuild so I thought I’d investigate how the inserts are fitted in to the rubber. As you can see the lefthand Jabsco insert is totally different to the one that has failed, and you can see why it failed!! 😤 It was supplied as a genuine Jabsco part but I have my suspicions as it doesn’t have a Jabsco number on it, or have Jabsco gone Chinese? Be aware if you change your engine impeller as it could be costly. I also have an exhaust temp alarm that goes off as soon as exhaust temp rises which happens before engine temp rises. Very simple to fit as after market kit.

POLICY ROUND-UP from HANNAH RUDD Decisions shaping our seas - and how we are making sure anglers are heard Dear fellow sea anglers, Summer may be over, but there's been no let-up behind the scenes. While many of you were out on the water, our team has been deep in the detail - preparing responses to a string of Fisheries Management Plan consultations, working through this year's ICES advice and getting ready for the annual fishing negotiations, where catch limits for the year ahead are decided. These are the moments that shape what's in the water for years to come, and we're making sure anglers are heard in every one of them. Truth about mackerel Nowhere is that clearer than with mackerel. Many of you have told us this has been one of the poorest mackerel seasons in living memory - and the science backs you up. New ICES advice more than doubles the recommended catch for 2027, but don't be fooled by the headline. The stock is only just above its safety limit, still being fished too hard, and catches have exceeded the scientific advice year after year because the countries fishing it still can't agree how to share it. It's David versus Goliath - the angler on the pier with a string of feathers against industrial pelagic fleets taking hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year. That's why we've told governments that the new Fisheries Management Plan for mackerel falls short - for the stock and for sea anglers. It simply carries on as before, with no recovery target and no deadlines, and none of the five pelagic plans recognises recreational fishing at all, despite mackerel being the fish most of us caught first and the bait so much of our sport relies on. We're calling for the UK to limit its own catches, set a clear goal to rebuild the stock, and finally take the bycatch risk to salmon and sea trout seriously. Thank you to everyone who shared their mackerel experiences with us - your reports went straight into our response. Irish Sea needs real recovery It's a similar story in the Irish Sea, where cod and whiting have been declining for around 30 years. We've warned that the new Irish Sea plans must deliver real recovery for cod, whiting and herring - rather than managing decline - with proper recovery targets, an end to wasteful discarding and a seat at the table for anglers. That consultation is open until 21st October, and you can still have your say. Telling governments what the Irish Sea means to you, and how your fishing has changed, really does make a difference. Negotiations on bass On bass, the Bass Management Group returned in September ahead of the UK-EU negotiations. There was welcome common ground between commercial and recreational representatives - keeping the closed season in place for now, and firmly opposing any return of pair trawling. We also heard an excellent new study from the University of Essex on when and where bass spawn, which will help inform how the closed season works in future. Bluefin tuna update And on bluefin tuna, Defra's Bluefin Tuna Steering Group met this week. We continue to call for fairer access for private boats, while backing a thriving charter fleet that has done so much to make this fishery the success it is today. None of this happens by accident. It happens because anglers like you stand behind us - and because we refuse to let recreational sea angling, or the seas we all depend on, be treated as an afterthought. The pressure is relentless, but so are we. Stand with us, and let's keep making sure the future of sea angling is shaped by anglers. Join the Angling Trust today. HANNAH RUDD is the Angling Trust's Head of Marine. You can contact Hannah via email: [email protected] ANGLER ENGAGEMENT from PETER MORGAN Webinars with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) Recreational anglers keep asking us what our fisheries officers do or how they report incidents of illegal fishing. Our monthly series of webinars featuring officers from the regional IFCAs started last month. It is an opportunity to learn a bit more on the work they do in your area. If you have a question you would like answered there’s an opportunity to have that conversation on the night. Webinars have already been held with the North Eastern IFCA and Northumberland IFCA which have been well received. Please look out for more information about webinars covering your area in the coming months: Wednesday 28th October 2026 – North Western IFCA Wednesday 25th November 2026 – Sussex IFCA Wednesday 27th January 2027 – Cornwall & Isles of Scilly IFCA Wednesday 24th February 2027 – Devon & Severn IFCA Wednesday 24th March 2027 – Eastern IFCA Follow our Sea Facebook page! From beach litter picks to marine policy updates, Fisheries Management Plans to membership offers, you can keep up-to-date with what's happening in the sea angling world by following our Angling Trust Sea Facebook page. Click here to take a look. Peter Morgan, the Angling Trust's Sea Angling Engagement Officer, is asking clubs and individual anglers to get in touch if you have any questions relating to issues you face or to share news of success you or your clubs have had. Email [email protected] or [email protected] WALES POLICY from GARETH HENSON Representing sea anglers in parliamentary discussions on overfishing Overfishing remains one of the most significant challenges facing UK seas. Recently, I was joined by Campaigns & Policy Coordinator Andrea Dixon in representing the Angling Trust and the interests of recreational sea anglers at a parliamentary reception hosted by the Blue Marine Foundation. The event brought together policymakers, scientists, NGOs and industry representatives to discuss practical, evidence-based approaches to restoring fish populations and improving the health of marine ecosystems. The Angling Trust continues to support measures that promote sustainable fisheries management and marine recovery, while highlighting the important role that recreational anglers play as stewards of the marine environment and advocates for healthy, productive coastal waters. Angling Trust at Cardigan River & Food Festival On Saturday, 15th August, I attended the 26th annual Cardigan River & Food Festival where he met anglers and local residents throughout the day. Taking place alongside the River Teifi at Quay Street Car Park in Cardigan, the festival provided a great opportunity for Angling Trust to engage directly with the sea angling community in Wales. I was on hand to discuss issues affecting recreational sea fishing, hear peoples views on local and national priorities, and answer any questions about our ongoing work. Events such as these are an important way for us to ensure that the voices of Welsh anglers are heard and represented. Gareth Henson is the Angling Trust's Marine Policy Officer for Wales. He promotes the social and economic value of sea angling in Wales, ensuring that the voices of sea anglers are heard in key fisheries management discussions. If you’d like to get in touch with Gareth, you can reach at [email protected] MEMBERSHIP OFFERS 20% off Sea Fishing 3rd edition: The complete guide to angling from your boat or kayak Expert sea angler and Angling Trust Ambassador Jim Whippy explains in simple terms the tackle required and shows you how to get the best out of each item and when it should be used. Packed with useful step-by-step photos, diagrams and clear explanations, this handbook shows you how to set up the tackle, bait the line correctly and work with the tide to best effect. Angling Trust members receive a 20% discount on purchases. Simply login to your members dashboard to access the discount code. Purchase the book here Enjoy discounts on bait, tackle and much more! Angling Trust Individual Members receive fantastic savings on bait, tackle and high street goods - what's more, we have offers specifically for sea anglers! Adult membership costs as little as £33 per year - take a look at how much you can save on the link below: COMPETITIONS PARTNER Get 30% off Tide – and support the Angling Trust Our partnership with Tide Together Competitions is already helping to make a real difference.Tide has helped raise more than £10,000 for Angling Trust National Teams, supporting our anglers as they represent England on the international stage. Now there’s another simple way you can help. Get 30% off your first Tide order Exclusive to Angling Trust members and supporters - use code TRUST30 at the checkout and you’ll receive 30% off your first Tide order. And it doesn’t end there. By taking part in Tide Together Competitions, your future Tide purchases can continue to generate support for the Angling Trust for the next two years. FUNDRAISING More chances to win in the Anglers Lottery! Sign up to play the Anglers Lottery and you'll be entered into the monthly draw with the chance to win up to £25,000. You will also be automatically included in the Fab Friday Draws - an extra 4 weekly draws per month giving players the chance to win 8 prizes every week! 1 x £250, 2 x £100 and 5 x £50. £10 a month = a chance to win big + make a real impact for angling. (T&Cs apply. 18+. Please play responsibly. For support, visit BeGambleAware.org)

Oooohhhh you cynic!

Freeola are undertaking some planned maintenance on our webserver. We have been warned the site may go down at times or the whole time between 15:00 on the 9th Oct and 18:00 on the 10th Oct

great result Martin, and possibly a handy "son in law" to keep in with 😉

Leaving Portland and lots of BFT behind

Hi Graham, go to 12 volt planet website who sell everything to do with 12v electrics and also specialise in marine. I’ve just ordered a marine 12v cigarette lighter for the new lamp I’m getting and needed cable, they have a cable size calculator on their site and also help information, you’ll be able to input load, length, voltage then you’ll select cable sqmm and you’ll see a cell going red into green as you select different cable sizes.. you’ll also need the tinned cable for marine but that won’t effect the size

What a sorry tail Charlie, so pleased it's all back working again. A full explanation is really useful intel for other Volvo owners, thank you. Reading some of the comments, all boat engine parts are expensive, Volvo do not hold the monopoly on that. For someone reasonably mechanically minded servicing Volvo engines and legs is straightforward it's all in the standard manual supplied with the boat, no workshop manual required, and it saves a load of dosh. This is what I do but I also get one of the Volvo engineers to give the engines and legs a once over as they have second pair of more experienced eyes. Fortunately Ropewalk don't mine me doing the servicing myself and fixing what I can and leaving them with anything I'm not confident about doing. This is not a plug for Ropewalk just saying cultivating a good relationship with a good servicing company you trust can be highly beneficial.

Well done guys Great report Mal and a lesson to others to stay calm and think through the issue, before it becomes a bigger problem. Chris has all the skills and spares required, but an impeller change at sea is not easy. Well done We were out in Swanage but had heard nothing on the VHF when I called out on Channel 6 as we passed the ferry. Out of interest we too suffered from bream hammering baits, and you caught more than we did.

October 2026 CLUB & FISHERIES SUPPORT Meet the Angling Trust officers helping clubs and fisheries thrive From club development and funding advice to tackling invasive species and supporting environmental projects, the Angling Trust’s Club & Fishery Support Officers provide practical help to angling organisations across England. Working across four regions, they help volunteer-run clubs navigate everything from governance and recruitment to grants, biosecurity, training and fisheries management. They also provide a vital link with the Environment Agency and other Angling Trust services. In our latest Ask the Expert feature, find out how this dedicated team is helping clubs become stronger, more sustainable and better equipped to meet the challenges facing modern angling. Discover more here PREDATION WATCH: Linch Hill otter fencing project Angling Trust Fishery Management Officer Jake Davoile discusses the importance of effective fence management once an installation is complete. The video highlights how protecting a fishery requires a long-term commitment, with regular monitoring and maintenance playing a vital role in keeping fish stocks safe. Environment Agency funding through rod licence sales is available to help with predation issues, more information can be found here. FUNDRAISING Broadlands Gathering raises over £3,000 Thank you to everyone who took part in our recent Broadlands Gathering auction raising just over £3,000. Our 10 lucky winners are now looking forward to fishing on the Test and we’ll share photos and videos after the event. Another huge thank you to Broadlands Estates for generously donating the day and supporting our work. Coming soon ... win £2,000 Daiwa tackle Our Annual Christmas Raffle will launch on Monday 2nd November with 20 fantastic prizes up for grabs - including £2,000 of Daiwa tackle of your choice, £575 YETI bundle and £458 Westlake bundle from Go Outdoors. Tickets will still cost just £2 – look out for the launch email and social media posts in coming weeks. TRADE PARTNERS Investment will make fishing easier to book swimbooker, the technology behind the Angling Trust’s Event Marketplace, has secured a six-figure investment from Stuart Hennell, co-founder and former CEO of Watchfinder. The investment will fund swimbooker’s first national TV campaign and accelerate development of its online booking platform, which connects more than 140,000 anglers with over 300 fishing venues. Through the Angling Trust’s Event Marketplace, swimbooker provides the booking infrastructure helping clubs, fisheries and qualified coaches promote fishing lessons and sessions, making it easier for people to discover, book and enjoy fishing. Read the full story here. SEA FISHING Irish Sea fish stocks need real recovery The Angling Trust is calling for stronger action to rebuild cod, whiting and herring stocks in the Irish Sea. Responding to new government Fisheries Management Plans, we say the proposals risk managing decline rather than delivering genuine recovery. We want healthy, resilient fish populations, less wasteful discarding, better protection for vulnerable species and proper recognition of the impacts of climate change. Recreational sea anglers and charter skippers also need a stronger voice in how these fisheries are managed. The consultation is open until 21 October 2026. Find out more and have your say. Mackerel far from recovered despite advice New scientific advice could allow more than twice as much mackerel to be caught in 2027, but anglers shouldn’t mistake that for a recovered stock. ICES says the spawning stock is only around 4% above its safety limit and remains well below the level considered healthy. The increase in advice is largely due to a stronger 2024 year class, which is based on a single survey and still needs to be confirmed. Meanwhile, countries fishing the shared North East Atlantic stock have repeatedly set quotas far above scientific advice. The Angling Trust will be pressing governments for sustainable catches and a fair international sharing agreement. We also want anglers’ experiences of this year’s poor mackerel fishing to be heard. Read the full story. SAFETY ADVICE Make sure your next catch isn't deadly... With power lines carrying voltages up to 132,000 volts, our trade partner Northern Powergrid is urging anglers to tackle safety before you set off: Always ‘Look Up It’s Live! to check where overhead power lines are located. Plan fishing activities in advance to be aware of overhead power lines. Carry fishing rods horizontally to reduce the risk of making contact with overhead power lines. Remember: you don’t need to make contact with a power line to be in danger. Electricity can jump to an object or person – so stay well clear! If you are a club or fishery carrying out maintenance work, risk assess every situation, on every occasion. Inform anyone working near power lines of the dangers and the action they should take in an emergency. Always carry a mobile phone and save the free 105 phone number in your contacts. Request a free Look Up It's Live! safety pack Anglers can request a free safety pack which contains a ‘Look Up It’s Live!’ safety advice leaflet, tackle box sticker and air freshener with lifesaving emergency advice on what to do if you come into contact with power lines. Simply fill in the form here and Northern Powergrid will send a pack to you. You can also download a safety leaflet here. Read about the Angling Trust's partnership with Northern Powergrid here. FISHING IN WALES WATCH: Lure fishing on Bala Lake Ceri Thomas, Fishing in Wales' Marketing Manager, visits the largest natural lake in Wales armed with a spinning rod looking to catch a range of predatory fish that are said to live in this vast sheet of water. At only £5 a day it is terrific value! ANGLERS AGAINST POLLUTION Get your Weird Fish supporter T-shirt To celebrate their sponsorship of our Anglers Against Pollution campaign alongside Angling Direct, Weird Fish have launched an exclusive range of T-shirts to raise funds and awareness of the campaign. Four shirts are available online and through Weird Fish retail stores throughout the country, and Weird Fish have confirmed they will donate £5 to the campaign for every T-shirt sold. And the best part … Angling Trust members will receive a 20% discount every time they shop with Weird Fish! Just login to your dashboard to access the special code. COMPETITIONS New team to lead England Disabled squad The Angling Trust has announced a new management partnership for the England Disabled Coarse Angling team, with current manager Paul Etherington joined by highly successful England U20 manager Jason Kirk. England have finished fifth at the last four World Championships, narrowly missing out on medals. Kirk has led the U20 team to two golds and three silvers in recent years and will bring his international experience to the squad, alongside coach Billy Kirk. The team is now preparing for the 2027 World Championships in Italy and is seeking sponsors to help fund its campaign. Read the full story here. MEMBER SAVINGS The Member Benefits section on our website offers you even more great savings! Organised by angling preference, it is easy to navigate and provides a clear picture of how you can save money with our trade partners. Click on the images and links below - and discover how much you can save! MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION More efficient. More friendly. More savings. All members and subscribers should have received communications from us regarding our new membership system. The final touches are underway – please look out for an activation email in your inbox in coming days announcing when it goes live and what action you need to take to access the new dashboard. Not only will it make our system more efficient and user friendly – members will be able to access a host of exciting new discounts from companies such as Berghaus, Sealskinz and Highlander Outdoor as well as High Street brands for your everyday purchases including John Lewis and M&S. FUNDRAISING More chances to win in the Anglers Lottery! Sign up to play the Anglers Lottery by Tuesday, 20th October and you'll be entered into October's monthly draw. You will then also be automatically included in the Fab Friday Draws - an extra 4 weekly draws per month! In addition to the £25,000 total possible monthly draw prize, players have the chance to win 8 prizes every week! 1 x £250, 2 x £100 and 5 x £50. £10 a month = a chance to win big + make a real impact for angling. (T&Cs apply. 18+. Please play responsibly. For support, visit BeGambleAware.org)

Do we know any Bowie fans? Fancied a go at this as it's raining. The computer says it'll look like this on a 120mm x 150mm piece of Oak. Bowie short.mp4

Great job !! I cannot help but think though these marine engine manufacturers could all do a better job with their construction and material choice especially for the skeg area.. they are quite delicate and considering they are the first area to take a thump .. maybe they are designed especially for the after sales spares business and not for the customer

Phil won't see this...... a life of technical issues! [emoji1787] R

Both my batteries were in the stern, Engine battery std, Aux battery Port. The VSR and Battery switch were mounted in a waterproof box fitted to the Engine Battery box. The switch isolated both batteries, there was a combine position for emergencies.

I fitted a VSR to my Warrior. As soon as the Engine battery voltage reaches the required voltage it switches in and then charges both batteries. When you stop the engine, the batteries are separated, so the starting battery doesn't drain while you're sat fishing.

I am not understanding what the reason is behind your setup. Usually, 2 batteries which are designated as starter and leisure use multiple switches (3) with a cross over functionality. The installation of a auto sensing split charge relay, allows for the leisure to be charged when underway. Beauty of the above, allows the leisure to be drained when at anchor etc, and will leave you with a full charged starter battery when you head home. The cross over option, allows you to start the engine via the leisure battery in a flat starter situation. Great redundancy. The 16mm cable should be sized to allow starting of the engine from 5m away, not charging only..... The model of outboard, will determine how big that cable really needs to be. Happy to chat through if you'd like. R

I agree, reference the show and the chandlery. Plenty of Champaign palaces but very little for the "normal" guy. (although the Louisiana Chicken food was nice) 😉

went to boat show today, absolutely waste of money ,big empty spaces,not a lot of chandlers, not as many affordable boats, less food and drink stalls,hardley any seating for us old farts.

Well done boys handled textbook style, glad you still had a reasonable days fishing

Thanks for the report Mal spot on. A big thank you for Martin for being on call if required, benefit of being in the club. 👏👏 An ok day in the end, personally never seen the insert spin in an impeller before, I’m suspecting it maybe a copy and not a genuine Jabsco as it didn’t have Jabsco numbers on it, where as all the others I have do have.

Flapping and panic generally help no one. Many many many years (decades?) of going to sea experience obviously came in to play, and Chris wouldn't have been phased and called upon that knowledge. Also, the best way to think is to keep distractions at bay (hence, he told you to fish Mal! All part of his plan [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787] ). Top job on you both, making ready a secondary plan and being self sufficient! And to have a few fish and species on top, a great day! R

Im in the process of adding some bits and bobs to the electrics on my boat and one of the additions is a second battery. Ive fitted the switch and wired in the main battery to terminal "1," the engine and accessories to "common" and am intending on connecting the leisure battery to terminal "2". All pretty straight forward so far. The preferred location for the leisure battery is towards the front of the boat, in a small locker. This would require 5M of 16mm (110amp) cable between the switch and the battery (with very similar for the earth). Once again, this (in my tiny mind) seems perfectly fine. However, reading electrical questions on other forums, there are lots of advisers saying that the voltage drop on 5M will be too much???? And it'll put a strain on the engine alternator or it'll not enable charging of the second battery due to the length of the cable! This is obviously Facebook replies, which we all know can range anything between truth and absolute rubbish ..... so, what do the REAL experts say? Over to you. (and thanks). Graham

This is a fun photo comp to spread a little interest around, any club member can add a photo. Please add your fish/boat/marine views photo's taken this month here, most likes (and only likes) wins. The winner is announced in this thread on the 5th of the month following. The photo with the most likes will be added to the photo of the month gallery. Only photos placed in this thread for the month will be considered when totting up the likes.

Quote "thats worth more than 2p surely? " 😆 I don't understand why you're worrying. If you do get into any trouble just throw your passport over the side and call the coastguard. They'll look after you.

Bear in mind that I know almost nothing about electrics but . . . . . If I need to jump a car I connect the jump leads & wait a few minutes. I don't just try to start off the jump leads. The current will flow from the battery with the good charge to the one with the bad charge so after a few minutes there's plenty of "oomph" in there to start without any trouble. Just my 2 pence worth. 🙂

Sorry Graham can't help you there. Both our batteries are in the cabin close to the switch,

Need to establish current draw of your starter. You could melt the wire if trying to use it to assist starting..... maybe it won't..... with petrol around, I wouldn't risk it.

mine is a physical switch, to switch between battery 1 (main), battery 2 (aux) and both like Terry, and the set up i'm considering is virtually the same as he had. It can use either battery (or both) depending on the switch position. So, unless the main battery died completely, the aux would (in my tiny mind) only be used to give it a bit of a kick to help start the engine? Where was your aux battery Brian?

Thank you Mark. Looking at their voltage drop calculator online and checking the alternator spec of my engine it would seem that a 12v 20A alterator charge over 5 met of 16mm cable should be well within tolerance. Unless anyone knows otherwise?

I’m starting to think this is a young man’s sport. 💪🏼💪🏼🎣🐟 Fishing Wednesday with eldest son, round of golf with second son on Friday, and fishing with youngest son on Sunday, a perfect week. 👍 Sounds great mate. But I know what you mean, two Tuna trips in 6 days had my legs aching.

Wow what a difference, easy to see which is the weak one. I would sent that photo to your supplier. Well done Chris, and thanks for the update

Mr. Sod and his law on that intake Chris. Glad it's all sorted and wasn't another mechanical failure. 😉

Contact Jabsco and ask if that's one of theirs. If it is they need to scrap that design. 😒

I'm on Various forums and another one I'm on was acting up this morning as well. I won't use the words on here that I'm currently thinking. Oh dear. Oh my! That sort of thing.

Well done guys on not suffering major damage, getting it going and getting some fishing in to boot. Yep that must be a pattern impeller. Note to self don't take chances with something so vital.

My little trick is wrap the squid into a tiny sausage with plenty of hook showing, hard to get the bait off without a hook up.

Well done on finding his first boat, of a sensible size and power. Many of us would of got carried away with that budget. He also sounds very sensible in booking the training, prior to starting using it. A good friend did the same two seasons ago, bought a similar boat and did training with his family. He has really enjoyed being confident to take the boat out from Cobbs in the nice weather. He has moved her from dry stack to a pontoon to make it even easier.

That's bad if these parts are inferior. Ordinary boaters could have done some damage to their engine before realising what was going on. All because of one cheap part that was used to save a few pence. Very well done Chris for getting it fixed. 😉

Why use Ai for useful science and medical break throughs when you can do this:

Well done Charlie, as Mal sayes if you didn’t have the knowledge you have it would no doubt of been far worse £££££. I have VP which I have discovered seem to really know how to charge crazy prices. Should I ever change my boat which I doubt I ever will, going with a more agricultural engine, like an Iveco would definitely be my choice, on a shaft, with a rope cutter. I chose VP and legs on advice that they were more fuel efficient, well, the cost of a complete service on the legs (first in five years, I stretched it!) was unbelievable, I think I could of taken my boat on a world cruise for the price!!!! I would strongly advise anybody thinking of buying a boat to chat to club members who have something similar, ie shaft/leg/outboard to the pros and cons. Especially those like Charlie and Chris who have brilliant engineering knowledge. CONGRATULATIONS Charlie your up and running, look out fish !!!!!!

Well that took way too long to sort out. From what looked to be a small fault, it proved to be a much larger and more expensive one. Initially the engine would not start, I checked some connectors and it started. Tested it several times and went to an anchorage in the harbour, went swimming and cleaned the hull and sterndrive. A few days later went onboard to give the clean boat a test run, as on the previous fishing trip it seemed to have lost speed compared to the engine RPM. When I got onboard the engine failed to start. Fiddled with all of the same connections again, but this time it would not start. read out said , engine in gear will not start. Initially I kept checking things online and Chat GBT which gave a variety of possible causes. I made a list of them and over a few days in really hot weather, worked through the list. No change I was being helped by Richard from Pinnicle Marine, but eventually we ran out of things to try. I had to book another engineer to bring his Volvo Vodia diagnostic system onboard to fault find my Volvo Penta D4. [Richard did spot a cracked bracket on one of the pump mounts, I ordered parts and fitted while waiting for parts to arrive.] This system indicated that one of the EVC units was showing fault, not only would I need to buy a replacement PCU, but then I would have to have it programmed to communicate with the other parts of the system by Volvo. This part is not refundable due to programming, we were only 99% sure Vodia had this right, but it had to be changed. To be honest the engineer was as worried about this as I was, so with permission of another boat owner at the yacht Club, he fitted my PCU to another vessel and its system immediately came up with the same fault code. This is where time started go wrong. The engineer went on holiday. Volvo Penta messed up the order. Engineer returns to be told part not ordered. But worse than that Volvo Europe were now on shut down. Part arrived back in UK about a week earlier than anticipated after programming. engineer fitted it and all system start communicating with each other, great news, but engine would not start [*^*^*^] A bit more auto configuration and calibration bought up the same message that we started with, "engine in gear will not start." During the initial fault finding Richard and I had tested the throttle lever, to find that its microswitch closes a circuit when in Neutral. I had made up a small lead to insert in the circuit to trick the system. It had not helped at the start , but was still onboard, so we used it again. I was very pleased when Sam turned the key and the engine started for the first time in over a month. Three faults all at the same time. who would believe it When I get back to the office, I contacted Volvo to just pay them for fast delivery of a part. Once again they were useless [Its obsolete, no alternative] Back to the boat to get the control lever, then a few hours trying to chase up the part required. I could not find the complete part ,but did source two options for microswitches, sod it I ordered one of each. After a few more days parts arrived and one of them was a good match, so was fitted. I took the lever back onboard, wired it up and all was good again, engine runs, gear change works. I only had time to properly fit the various parts back on the boat and engine, before Wendy and I flew off to the sunshine of Madeira for a week, [The holiday was cheaper than the parts] When we came back, I still had the original fault to sort out. That of slow boat speed for engine RPM. After getting hold of, and cleaning up a second hand set of G5 props, I changed them from my dinghy last Friday. Out past the chain ferry, throttle up and back to the usual boat speed at 2500RPM. At last I have my boat back. Sorry for the long ramble, but I wanted to give other Members an idea of what I have learned from this experience, apart from how frustration it is to have a broken boat in a long hot summer. 1. If you fiddle with what may be loose connections, do it one at a time, so you know which one fixes the issue, should the fault return. 2. Volvo Penta parts departments are useless, chase them up for spares and ask for confirmation of orders 3. Volvo parts are expensive and not always available. 4. Find yourself a good engineer with knowledge and contacts for your boats engine. 5. Have a very understanding wife. Lastly have some very good friends at your fishing Club, that will listen to you banging on about bloody boats, engines and particularly Volvo F*****G Penta. But offer you the use of their boats or take you out fishing. Thanks guys, you have helped keep me sane since July. I hope that the fish are biting now Alfresco is up and running.

Posted for Colin-58