Wedger

Interesting thoughts from all. A cautionary note from a good ol' buddy's experience, and one I took great heed of personally. He always used a buoy/anchor (Alderney) system, which I presume he, for similar reasons to the above, used a stern bollard to tow the anchor and chain into the ring for winch or hand recovery. On one occasion, he had fished the first part of the ebb, back into a part of St Alban's Ledge, until the tide picked up. (33' wooden fisher 5+ tons) Upping anchor started OK, having freed it from the bed, warp on stern bollard. Suddenly he had loss of power. (you can see where this goes). Drifting down tide he + one crew try to sort out the engine as they drift to the ledge when the anchor (which was only half in) drops on the ledge, immediately sticking in. This swings the boat from broadside on, to stern up-tide in seconds, right in the rip / over-fall zone. Stern under and shipping water, the axe went through the warp ASAP but only just in time.

Very well done Kim , and well done to all !! Difficult doesn't begin to cover it............ (Although I did hear one of the river boats had a fish well over 3lbs and one of the non members fishing the mere had nearly 20 fish ) Proved a point to me though....... not a comp. angler myself but persistence pays so I'm told My persistence thus far, however, caught me the smallest specimen blenny ever At just half the length of the maddie bunch it was attempting to gob down it deserved a medal. Sorry I rushed off at weigh-in.......... points needed elsewhere Great hamper Rich, a credit to ya! Happy Chrimbo All

Nice fish chap Sunday Good whiting caught out of Mudiford - due South. First fish up 4lb Several over 3lb Also reported a pout over 3 lb usual kennel problem.

Makes holding your rod a bit tricky

Moderate Mike ........ and Paul D. Mike. Couldn't pick you out at the meeting as you were not obvious, so changed your web handle . Seriously. Very busy meeting. I had the mock-up net at the meeting but things were so busy that the moment was lost for mere net discussion. If you guys would like to have some net to try I'll cost it and let you know as soon as you tell me what sizes. Mike I have yours already so I'll dig out the info and let you know. You should really have a 'butchers' at the stuff so I'll send you a sample. If it ain't right I'll investigate further. A couple of the chaps recon it was the DB's for a conger net. RSVP Wedge

Mike A tale of two idiots who venture out onto a salt marsh to shoot wild duck. Not much wrong with that, if that is their chosen sport! Trouble is the irresponsible way they go about it. They actually walk out to a spot on the marsh near to the main channel where not only do they get cut off for 3 hours but at high tide they are waist deep in water with the tide flowing round them. On the occasion related to in the article they describe how an ignorant member of the public had raised the alarm and then described the actions of the Coastguard as a fiasco likened to the Keystone Cops. They had not logged a plan with MCA or the police they had no means of communication with them. Taking a drink from a hip flask they celebrate beating Mother Nature, but go home in disgust as the would be rescuers have somehow stolen the magic of the moment, and 'this is going to be embarrassing at the next wildfowlers meeting'. I'll bring a copy to the meeting. T

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have got onto this one now and I believe they are going to respond appropriately.

Sent you a photo of 'Otter' some time ago! Are you waiting for the launch?

If any of you are in BASC and/or have seen the recent article 'Ever Been Drowned?' Perhaps you would give me your impression. I have already sent a response to the editor, which I am about to copy to the MCA and RNLI. It would be helpful to hear your views first. Come on chaps let me know what you think. Many thanks T

Rich, Personally, I'm going to leave it until tomorrow to go to the meeting........... T

Gosh chaps............. what can I say! Wasn't there Didn't do that Won no prizes Watch out next year chaps There IS going to be an increase in the field....... Big Style WELL DONE ONE AND ALL

O' course you could just run yourself a nice hot bath and float ya tank instead of ya rubber duck No need to get it wet inside! No smokin' in the bath though

Rich, Just spoken to my 'Mike' fixer chappy. He reports successful repair!!!!! I can now take things to the next level, re. adapter and camera etc. T

Kam, I learned two new 'nautical' terms today . 1)

and.............

and then...............

Wanderer's return to Playa-del-Parkstone. Funny how the camera as well as the Met. can also give a very glossy view of conditions. This is how The 'Shoreman' viewed the return. The 'Intrepid Ones' will no doubt tell a more colourful story after a bevy or three .

Bacon roll anyone?

Nice to see so many Poole Piscatorial Pioneers preparing to play at Parkstone Plague . A lovely start to what we all hope will be an enjoyable and productive day. Good luck to all .

Jeepers guys, If any of you try that demo of Mike's, for goodness sake make sure you stow the soap securely before taking action........... There should be an HSE report on this............... My duck is at the vets and my keel might be damaged

Oooooooooooooch....... slipped a disc Mike, these practical manoeuvres to demonstrate tides in the bath can be painful ............

Perhaps there should be a closing time for the queue not the scales !

There is, of course, still some Sea Magnet about !

I'll remember to log in next time There are a few bait droppers around but I too would worry a little about use in very deep water. I think I would be tempted to use a small but heavy streamlined dropper then try to fish back in the tide a little. I've used them up to 80' or so to reasonable effect. W

I should point out that the way I've rigged the net in the photo is a triangle. The part that goes around the rim of the frame is over 4 metres long. The net narrows toward the bottom to the point of the triangle, so the finished net could be immensely deep, if required, narrowing as it goes. Wait to see the proto. T