Mike Y

Thanks Paul - that really is a very helpful run through. Will give it a go this weekend. Thanks again Mike

Thanks Martin - I knew there was a thread somehwere! Yes 195 may be on the way out but we are finding it very hard to find something we prefer. We have not entirely given up on the much-promised replacement 195 from Warrior but will catch up with Warrior at the Boat Show to find out what the latest position is on that. The Atlantic Fisher 680 may be just what we are looking for. We have to be able to reverse into the beach at Ringstead to pick up passengers which pretty much rules out an inboard. Good luck with your new toy. Mike

Does anyone have the contact details for the manufacturer of the Atlantic Fisher? We may be interested in the 680. As I recall they are based in Falmouth thanks Mike

Excellent news. Happy to have you along as buddy boat or crew as you prefer. When would be a good day for you Rich (weather permitting of course)? Mike

All being well I am going to be on holiday next week. Has anyone heard of any whiting being caught out of Weymouth? Any reports from the Adamant Shoal? I suppose anchoring the Adamant might not be ideal with next week's springs. So has anyone got any tips as to where we might get our string pulled? I guess there will still be bass in Portland Race if we can get there. Any thoughts? Mike

How did you get on Rich?

Rich My son's birthday on Sunday so won't get any permissions I am afraid. Will be taking some time off very soon so will ensure we meet up then. Is that OK? Mike

Rich I'll happily take the seat box off your hands if it is still available. Hope all is well Mike

The strong winds have been so frustrating with countless trips blown off or having to be rearranged to stay out of the wind. I could take no more so on Sunday my brother and I decided to fish a trout lake in Hampshire. It was a lovely morning and we each caught our 4 fish limit within an hour (by 8am) and returned numerous others after that. My best trout was a well-proportioned 7 and a half pounder - a beautiful fish and a new personal best. Unfortunately not the bass fishing we had hoped for but better than nothing Mike

Adam We might be interested in the 6.8 too. If you fancy a joint trip down to Falmouth and we can blag a boat off them for the afternoon Dave and I know some good bass spots down there which should still be producing!! Mike

Rich I now cannot make it this weekend but if you fancy a trip out next weekend (7th or 8th) we would be happy to join you. Maybe worth a try for the bass in the bigger tides if the weather allows. Mike

Glad you all had some fish (and cephalopods) - well deserved for the commitment of going out in yesterday's weather. Should be out next weekend - hoping for a big blonde or two. Then out for bass in the Race the next weekend if the weather holds up.

Sorry Adam I think Dave and I are going to have to give it a miss. We had a really great time on the Alderney trip this year but next January/February we are off to Namibia for a week's fishing and I doubt we will get the necessary permissions for another week. Mike

Assuming you are talking about a rubber grub, I usually fish these with the tail up (i.e. in the opposite direction to the bend of the hook) as then the barb does not interfere with the free movement of the tail. However, grubs are often fished "down" particularly if you want to create a weedfree lure by nipping the barb into the tail. Hope that helps Mike

Would be delighted to have you along Paul - we find we get the bigger bass in September too. Unfortunately, I am running out of permissions (8 bass trips in August) and the shooting season starts again at the weekend but I'll send you a pm when I next go out trolling and hopefully you will be free then Mike

Veals sell them. Use the attached link and they can be viewed on page 6 of the bass catalogue http://www.veals.co.uk/ Best Mike

With the winds pretty strong over the weekend I was limited to two close inshore trips over the bank holiday. We went out for two hours on Saturday evening trolling with plugs along the inshore reefs. Had a good session with plenty of bass (nothing over 4 pounds) some pollack and some very good sized mackerel hitting the lures. We even caught bass on a popper trolled just 10 yards off the back of the boat. Very exciting to see the bass hit the lure on top of the water! Next morning we returned at first light expecting to bag up but after 2 hours we had just had one large mackerel, one small pollack and one bass. Caught on a Maria Chase BW - my first time using the Maria which looks a very interesting lure which keeps its orientation and action even at relatively quick speeds. Inshore trolling has been very successful for us this year. I enjoy it as it is a very sociable way to fish particularly in the evening - rod in one hand and glass of wine in the other. However, I am looking forward to some flatter seas so that we can hit the Race with livelies. I am also looking forward to the flattie comp in a couple of weeks time (my first PBSBAC comp). If anyone is intending launching from Weymouth after the blondes then send me a pm and perhaps we can buddy up. I have not seen many catch reports recently - I hope the fish are biting on the other side of the bay too. Mike

Thanks Les - that certianly is an idea. I know the Yanks use lead core line for trolling for Musky. I am off to the US next month on a work jolly so I can see a visit to Bass Pro Shops for some lead core line in time for the September/October high season. I'll report back as to how I get on but I guess it may mean we need to uprate our tackle - currently we are trolling with light spinning rods and 10 pound line. Thanks for the tip Mike

Lures Duncan. We have found the lures out-perform live mackerel on the troll in the area we fish. Live mackerel tend to come to the surface unless a ball weight is used and this attracts the diving birds with the inevitable consequences. A ball weight (even a small one) seems to push the mackerel down in the weed. We are often only fishing in only 10 feet of water. Best performing lure for us so far this season has been the Rebel J30 in silver/black - seems to dive to about 5/6 feet if trolled say 50 yards behind the boat and seems to attract the bigger bass too compared to say a Rapala Husky or Rebel J20. Mike

Well after a good first week to my holiday capped by two PBs, week two saw strong winds severely limit my fishing opportunities. Midweek I had a quick trip to the River Frome for some brown trout and grayling on the fly. On Friday afternoon/evening unfortunately Rich had to cancel but my father and I got out for a bit of trolling (no success as too much weed) and then an attempt for the giltheads in Portland Harbour (just wrasse) and then a few drifts over the hood (wrasse, pollack and pounting). Not too much success but nice to be out. Sorry you couldn't make it Rich but you did not miss much on the fishing front. Saturday afternoon and the old man did not feel up to it so my two brothers and I went out for a go at the bass over some shallow ledges. It took four stops to find the mackerel but when we did they were there in numbers but unfortunately on the large size. A handful of smaller ones went in the tank and we were off to the mark. We wanted to try freelining the mackerel but the strong south westerly was reallly pushing us along. After two long drifts (the second of which saw me try a large float) we had no bites so as the weed seemed to have cleared up from the previous day we tried trolling. In a little over an hour we had 5 bass up to maybe 3 and a half pounds - two to each of my brothers and the solitary one to me. Again not fishing that will set the world alight but good to be out with my brothers making the best of some pretty nasty weather. Bring on the next springs and hopefully some lighter winds and we will be in the Race.

Egypt - a nile perch safari on Lake Nasser is a real break from it all - and blackberries/mobile phones do not work! For luxury Impalila Island on the Zambezi in Namibia - catching tiger fish while watching elephants - amazing.

Well done Tom - there is nothing like truly fresh fish!

Just got back from a plugging session - wind was not too bad although northerly helps when you are tucked under the cliffs - we had a good session and back in for breakfast - hope the fish are biting for you too Adam. Mike

I am enjoying two weeks off from work and in between odd jobs around the house have managed to fit in a few brief fishing trips. On Saturday we anchored off Ringstead ledges. No tide run so after a few dogfish we decided to drift. A sharp bite followed by a superb fight led to a black bream for me which weighed 3 pound 2 ounces on the kitchen scales back home - not a monster but a new pb for me. On Monday we went down to Lulworth ledges. In two hours at anchor we had 6 spotted rays, penty of dogfish, 2 nice red gurnard, a few small bream and countless mackerel - Weymouth Bay appears stuffed with mackerel at the moment. No trophy fish but a really enjoyable session with the luxury of two rods each as we had the whole boat to just me and my dad. Up early on Tuesday morning for some inshore trolling for bass before breakfast. First troll through our "hot spot" led to a small bass which was followed by a pollack of a couple of pounds. Next troll through and a large launce grabbed my plug. I swapped the plug for a 6/0 hook and put the launce out the back freelined as we trolled back through. A tangle on our other two rods meant we stopped the boat and while undoing the tangle I noticed a twitch on the launce rod. A short run and I hooked up to what was clearly a decent fish in only 15 feet of water. My spinning rod was showing a decent bend and line started to peel off the fixed spool. After four powerful runs we got the fish to the boat. A beautiful bass which took the scales just to their seven pound limit - I guess just over 7 pounds although it went 6:12 when back home so 6:12 will do - another pb. Not a big fish compared to some being caught by the bass masters on this forum but I was really chuffed. A couple more bass around the three pound mark on the way back and we were back home for 8am.

Count me in too Tom - great idea. For those of us based out of Weymouth will this floatfishing work up our way?