dicky

i was in the aqaurium at la rochelle today and seen a few of those stone bass, big buggers. seems to be a lack of charter boats in general in that area and the ones that are available aren't cheap.

was a tough day. it's a shame the commercials have now found the marks as it won't make it any easier. forgot to take the pi$$ out of steve for you but had a little go for myself.

Had a day out with Steve yesterday after the bass. lovely weather but hard fishing. started off on the bass and i had one first drift, thought this was gonna be a good day but it turned out a bit of a struggle. we only had around 10 on the first mark so moved to another bank where i had 2 in the first 2 drifts but they were the only ones. as we lost the tide we moved again to a bit of rough ground after cod, i managed 1 and bumped a couple. 2 others were caught and also a couple of pollack, pout and a cuckoo wrasse to myself. when the tide picked up we went back on the bass but didn't pick up any more fish on lures or live joeys.

cheers trev, i will post a report of how we get on.

got a bass trip tomorrow on true blue. anyone know how the bassing is going at the mo and if the macky are about in numbers?

nice one niggel. sounds like a serious bit of kit, just right for being the first out on the wrecks after the cod.

blimey 27kn. you'll be in alderney in a little over 2 hours. how much fuel you burning at those speeds?

having fished that area and also a regular angler in the bristol channel i would say that none of those fish are undersize. that is around the average size of the cod run most years, 2-3lb fish. some years the average is higher some lower. they don't get that many large cod and even fishing whole squid baits or small live whiting you can still catch plenty of codling. when on our boat we tend to put most back and take a few that are gut hooked and bleeding. it would be nice if all the cod caught were 6lb plus but thats not how it is unfortunately. i do aggree though that the minimum landing size is to small and should be bigger so that all fish have reproduced at least once before being taken.

do you know any? it's under swap and shop and i would swap it for my seahog commodore.

little sal if you can't get hold of last months sea dangler pm me your addy and i will post it to you. Dicky.

very true about the anchor ball. only small boat i've ever seen display one when at anchor in the brissy channel is ours! only ever seen 1 charter boat display one and that was off Brighton. Never seen anyone anchor on the shambles either.

not that i like the idea of the shambles being trawled but i think if he is towing gear and boats are not anchored then he has the right of way. frustrating i know but it's a little easier for a powered boat to move rather than a larger boat towing gear.

hoping to fish this as crew on one of the Burnham boats. What happens if the wind is blowing a bit too much, does it get cancelled or fished in the harbour?

out sharking tomorrow from milford haven if weather allows on white water. down there we always fish on the drift. any fish from the freezer, trout are good aswell for chum. Do any of you know a friendly fish farmer.

deffo made the right call. did my vhf certificate on saturday and the instructor was rnli. he said if unsure make the mayday call as it can be down graded by them later if you get everything under control. those early minutes when you make the call can be vital especially with fire in a small boat. delay and by the time the lifeboat gets to you could be to late.

there was some one advertising on here not that long ago but his posts seemed to have dissapeared. perhaps he didn't pay for the adverts.

i agree with Trev. Also as the water warms up the fishes metabolism speeds up so they need more oxygen. If you have to go the air stone route rather than raw water then you will need to change the water regulary. What are you trying to keep alive? If sandeels then try a coolbox with ice packs in the bottom and keep the eels between sheets of wet newspaper.

get yourself a new abu suveran evo 12lb class. you'll like it that much you'll soon buy the 20lb as well. by the winter you'll be after the 30lb for those needles cod. it happened to me!!!!!!!!!! have a word with Mark at Alderney Angling and ask one of the guys visiting to bring it back for you.

Extreme marine in Southampton, not Christchurch i know but not a million miles away if your stuck. 02380 639278

after the lord mayors show and all that. club comp yesterday and what a difference a week makes. only a short comp over the high. i had 5 eels to low doubles and a couple of thornies and 2 dogs. nothing insize for me. there wasn't a single cod weighed in but on a brighter note there were a few bass caught.

cheers guys. it was only slow for the first 1.5 hours till the tide eased a bit then it was pretty consistent. the codling seemed to come through in little groups. this winter has been the best for a few years on the cod front and if they return next winter then they should be in the 4-8lb range with the odd double.

Me and my bro took our boat out Saturday from Burnham on Sea. Huge tide and fishing was slow till it eased a bit but between us we managed 20 thornies to 10lb 12oz and 10 codling to 8lb. Nice flat seas and a bit of sun made for a very enjoyable day. Got a club comp Sunday so watch the fish dissapeare.

used my avet wrecking on saturday and had pollack and ling to mid doubles. loverly to use, super smooth drag and bags of power.

my nice shiney new blue Avet SX arrived today which i plan to use on my Suveran evo 12lb class. looks and feels the "mutts" and i'm shore would be well balanced on a kenzaki 6. hoping to get out on saturday wrecking from weymouth to test it out on some fit pollack but weather not looking to promising at the mo.

there is a long ongoing thread on WSF forums about boat insurance. lots of confusion and conflicting opinions but it looks doubtful to me if any boat under 23ft will get cover for more than 12 miles.