john c

I was pulled up a couple of years back by a dory type harbour master craft. Once stopped he informed me that I was exceeding the speed limit. I told him that I had been making 10.3knots and 10.4 knots on my respective GPS sets. So technically I was speeding but the wind, the tide all can affect the speed constantly. He refused to believe this and stated that he knew that I was going faster as he had needed to travel at 25knots to catch me. I pointed out that as he started to try and catch me over a quarter of a mile away, he may very well have need to go this fast as at 10 kots we would never have met. He didn't like my tone and I was persistant. As most of you have commented, you wouldn't mind so much if they were consistant and even while talking to him a number of other boats were wizzing about, minus white ensigns at great speed. He then said he could tell I was speeding due to my wash. I said my boat is semi-planing and at 10 knots does put out a large wash, which is true. Bear in mind that issue was my speed and not my wash. In order to remedy the situation I suggested that he come aboard and I would do 10 knots and he could check my instuments. He wouldn't so I asked him to travel at a speed he considered to be 10 knots and I would keep abreast of him to check that something had not gone horribly wrong with the sattellites. He was not going to play. I suggested that his instruments may be incorrect. He replied that they were calibrated at the mile posts along Durlston. So thats accurate then !!!. Some bloke with a stop watch and another with some binoculars having to judge if the mile posts are in line or not when they start and stop the watch. I told him that my instruments were calibrated by the US overnment who beamed the signal to both my GPS units from space and that I would be writing them a very strong letter for getting me in trouble. I also suggested that he might like to get the proper harbour master boat over to us and check both our sets of instruments to settle the argument. He didn't want to do this either. I think he had got fed up by then and went off to harass a boat with less aerials. When all is said and done, you are either exceeding 10 knots or you are not. I wasn't and thats what annoyed me. I think they generally do a good job in the harbour but perhaps he was a summer temp. I 'm normally a bit more mellow. But that and other incidents have prompted me to have for this year only, A Victor Meldrew year. I feel better already. John C

AHA!!!!! it was you. Luckily the light wind must have allowed the curses to drift past us unoticed. We drifted quite close to you a couple of times but the tide was not all that strong. When we were close in near to you there were no Mackeral, but a swift move further out saw a little more tide and plenty of Makeral. I'm trying to get out on Thursday once I have checked the tides and after all the antics that we have reported with the Tope doing odd things I think we now need to see one taill walking at least. Keep on with the splendid reports. We thought it was only us that didn't catch although we couldn't bring ourselves to write about it as cheerfully. John C

Jack I think I saw you out there on Sunday. Where you anchored close in to Swanage bay early on. We went to our known Tope mark at around noon but inexperience with my new anchor meant that by the time it had hit the bottom in the strong tide we were getting to be east of the lighthouse. Acouple of doggies and a 10lb Tope to Dom. Interestingly, as the Tope came to the boat we saw another larger one following about a foot behind. When we got the net out, he dissapeared sharpish. As slack approached we decided to run west were we should have been. To avoid snagging as the tide wallowed we bounced the leads on the bottom. I had a take which feels quite strange when you are holding on to the rod. He got off. Dom using the same technique hooked one and landed it. Then another late on. So not altogether a blank. At least someone on my boat caught a fish Whats your secret with the Pout?? Don't give up John C

At last some science in the fishing has paid off. On Friday took Mad Miller and crew Dom round to the west as advised. We now know the slack times for the Tope and once the (NEW) anchor was down we got bites immediately. First aboard was a 16.6lb Conger but soon the Tope were on. Not big, up to 15lbs but lots of them. After last weeks experiences of our braid breaking repeatadly, we were equipped with stronger nylon and wire traces. This did not prevent me from losing a fish that fought for 5 mins doubling up the rod then bit through the trace. Are there sharks in with the Tope???. Dom, my crew, caught a Tope of about 10lbs which let go the hook at the side of the boat. It then lurked there, so in went the tattered bit of bait it had originally taken. Dangled in front of him he could not resist. He took the bait and was briefly hooked again. Out came the net again, but oh !!!! he's off. 5 times he did this untill eventually hooked we got him aboard. The Mackeral steaks worked a treat but as the tide turned anything worked. It's a shame that we lost 45mins or so on the turn as the lines repeatadly go under the boat, drag into snags etc etc. The fish fed all the way through the slack. After bending my Danforth anchor, fluke and shaft in the reef last week I bought a new Bruce copy of 7.5kgs, much lighter than the Danforth. This was rigged to trip and was deployed using the "coat hanger" and bouy as described in BFM. The coat hanger really helps with recovery. I don't have to scream at the crew so that I can see the anchor line as it is a long way in front of the boat. Anyway, the anchor just came up. No fuss. If I can get my broken fuel filler cap off today, I will be out again on Sunday to get the one that got away. John C

We used to launch our dive RIBs from Swanage boat park. Is this slip still in use??? John C

Thanks everyone for your anchor advice. I can see by the links posted to me that it has caused some deep discussions in the past. I have just been onto Crayside Marine and ordered a new anchor bouy set.

Hi all In the past I have seen the banter about lost anchors on the site. I was afraid I would have to cut mine loose last week out of Durlston. I did not have enough line out and the angle of the line in relation to the boat did not help. I think if I had more line the subseqeunt loop in the line would have aided the anchors release. I have an Arvor 20 and a 9kg ancchor with approx. 3m chain. The anchor is the type that has two sharpish points pointing towards the chain and a piecee of bar accross the top. It will allow the flukes to swivel both ways depending on which side the anchor settles on the sea bed. I think it's a Danforth. It generally grips well but a number of times its been hard to get out, especially when the tide is pulling hard. Could anyone suggest a more suitable anchor for fishing. It has to be multipurpose as the seabed in our area as you know is very variable. Also, has anyone tried the wire triangle widget that appeared in BFM this month. It looks a good idea to keep the anchor line from fowling the prop??? Regards John C

Thanks for the info. I will record the times and tides when we are out there and see if it compares with any tables that I have. The tidal streams on the chart suggest that the tides are split at approx. 3 miles out. Just my luck !!!!! Regards John C

After our last trip when we actually managed to catch a Tope despite the dodgy tide tables, we are going on Saturday. I have slack at approx, 1.5hrs before high water Weymouth and 3.5 hours after. This is looking at the tidal streams from "Along the Dorset coast" Does anyone know if this is near. I must catch a Tope as at present my brother-in-law is beating me. Its my boat but he is a lot luckier than me with the big fish. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Regards John C

Took Mad Miller to the Tope spot about 3 miles off as advised. The tide was strong and didn't seem to relate to the Kimmeridge tables. We fished in very rough water and an increasing wind. Some doggies then my crew got a rattling bite. 7lb Tope. Not huge but a Tope none the less. I tried to fish on but my internal organs where becoming loose. The anchor was hard to break out. I think the line was too short. I only have 100m and we were in 36m of water. It came free with a judder and we headed in to the calmer water off Dancing Ledge. This wasn't as calm as we had hoped for after a couple of hours of being battered offshore. So we decided to get some Makeral by the Well. Plenty came on board together with a few triple shots of Pollack up to 2.5lb. Thanks to the club we are at last getting some fish. Thanks to Duncan for the advice. Regards John C

Thanks Charlie I found some hooks in my box with wire on them. This will probably deal with the toothy bit and then the heavy nylon may help with the rough skin. I looked at Jame's photos from his Topetastic Tuesday. They all look to be towards St Aldhelms. I have been told about the mile markers and the lighthouse, so guess they could be all along this bit of coast. The wind looks lke its dropping for Monday so it could be fairly smooth out there. We'll have a go and report back. Thanks for the advice. John C

Thanks Duncan Looks like rays R us Maybe we will be lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rgards John C

Hi all Planning a trip out tommorrow (Monday) off Durlston. Can anyone give me any numbers to locate theTope. I know the rough area but a more accurate fix might help me catch my first Tope. Also what is the best technique. I am planning to anchor an hour before slack and fish untill the tide gets too strong. Mackeral fillet to a 6/0 hook on a 150lb nylon trace. Am I going in the right direction ?? Also I believe the tide times are approx 2 hrs different to Kimmeridge. Is this before or after?? Any info would be useful. Regards John C

I've got an Ikea plastic bag that is a good bait dropper. Tesco bags work just as well but are not as trendy. Attach a swivel to the end of your line. Add a large lead. Put this in the bag of your choice, scrunch the bag around the weight and secure with an elastic band. This forms a sort of upside down parachute. Fill the bag with ground bait and hold by the handles so the ground bait doesn't spill out. Lower into the water and let it drop to the sea bed. The force of the water will keep the bag closed and when it hits the bottom, jig it up and down a bit and the ground bait will spill out. Wind in the bag and get your hook bait in the same area. This probably sounds more complicated than it actually is. Have a go!!!!!! John C

Hi all The weather looks good on Friday for my first trip of the season on Mad Miller. Can anyone suggest the most likely place to start this early on? I can get as far as Kimmeridge in a couple of hours from the slip at Ridge, but there must be some hot spots nearer to Poole Entrance. Some early Mackeral would be nice with a couple of Bream thrown in for good measure. I've got some smelly old fish bits to use as ground baitfor the Bream. I am thinking of putting the frozen remains in an onion bag and tying it to the anchor. Do you think this would help. Any ideas would be greatfully received as I really do have no idea!!!!!! Regards John C

Jack, Although yours is bigger than mine!!!, It's not size that counts, it's how you use it. I can use mine in all manner of situations, all weathers and all conditions on almost any day and acheive 100% success. As proved yesterday in the Swash. It did however attract a broken down boat that was running on a small auxillary engine (seagull). They wanted a tow into the harbour as they thought their small engine was not up to much more, especially through the harbour entrance. They had not caught anything either. So it could be that my fish deterent is contagious and is now affecting mechanical items also. johnc

The weather does look good. Think I'll try the Swash with some rag and squid just to blow the cob webs off the boat. Hope I see you out there, look out for Arvor 20 "Mad Miller", Although if you do really want to catch fish, don't fish near me. I think the fish repeller is still working. Regards JohnC

I have 2 x GPS & 1 VHF antenna within 2ft of each other the radar reflector and the radar dome. They seem to all work ok. john c

Hi Adam & Jack F My boat is an Arvor 20 "Mad Miller" its got all the kit including a built in fish repeller. I'm moored up the River Frome at Ridge near Wareham. Not being on a trailer limits my range as it takes 40 mins in the summer to get to the harbour entrance. Still we can do the Needles on a flat day in 90mins on

Thanks for the welcome. Just waiting now for my membership details to clear, then I'll be looking for some fishing out of Poole. My motto at the moment is " All the gear, No idea" so if there are any knowledgeable crew out there, youre welcome aboard. Regards John c