TomBettle

Absolutely spanking looking tank Rich. Really good explanation and great pics. Truly is the "Mutz Nutz". My only question is: With the down pipe drilled all round at 90 degrees, how do you get the clockwise water flow? Cheers Tom

I agree with a lot of what Rich has to say, but for Tope I hate using wire. I know it sounds daft, but it chaffs the end of their teeth off and they need tem for catching stuff. Wire WILL give slightly better presentation of the bait, but a marauding pack of Tope will hit anything they believe as an easy meal. They go for live bait as they see it as an injured fish in or near a shoal - easy picking - hanging off stiff mono or wire it will still look like an injured fish s it really doesn't matter. People say they will bite through heavy mono, and tey may VERY occassionally, however I have caught a fair few Tope of al sizes and never had a problem. Thresher Shark? Yes very possible and they will absolutely crash through a pack of bait (literally), however unlikey to be the same shark biting off the mackerel over and over whilst drifting over a relatively large area.... Still say pack Tope, several of them smashing hard into the baits and ripping them apart. The smaller Tope will generally hit with little or no warning whereas the bigger solitary fish tend to take more time as they are competing less. Tom (I like the top skipper bit, but think I have a fair way to go, before I could be as good as some of my professional frends... But I do enjoy catching fish and seeing my crew catch too)

I don't know the bank you were fishing, but if you were bitten off over and over then pack Tope is very likely. Yes try again, but step up to a 200lb mono trace of 12" and a 6 foot rubbing leader of 50lb to 100lb mono. Flapers etc will work very well, but if you were getting smashed over and over on livelies then go for it with them. Tom (What's with the charter skipper? Never take a penny in profit! My guests simply offer help with my fuel bill and sometimes servicing costs..... )

Finally Rup! Well done mate. Done it over a wreck, but never over the inshore reefs. ....Please can I come again to try and solve this virginity issue I have? Tom

Hi Tom Welcome onboard. I use the Tek Tank system and with some plumbing from my deckwash, used in conjunction with the Keep Alive pump it now works brilliantly. Just wish they were less expensive as most people here just use an old drum and DIY their set-up for well under

Tope without a doubt

Absolutely stonking Al! You and Rupert certainly make an amazing team. I can only hope that I get to join you again soon. Well done, an absolute fish of a lifetime! Tom

Abbie has just been reading over my shoulder and was genuinely touched by your kind words and I too, thoroughly enjoyed having you guys along as crew fo the day. We'll get out again sometime soon and see if we can increase those PB's all over again! Tom

Personally I fish for the fun of it and if I am able, may fish a competition as it co-incides with a day I am out anyway. For me, species comps don't do it. I prefer to target specimens and aim for a bigger average rather than lots of little ones. Also, when we are in club waters fair enough, but a lot of my fishing takes place outside them, however I always let you know if I am West of the Bill. Tom

Not a great pic as taken with the phone camera, but here is Sam early in the day with his Codling and a typical Bass. I think these two were caught by him on the same drift?...

Charlie it is very simple. I tend to use skinless fillets,but looking at your filleting yesterday I would simply recommend scaling the fillets. Do it in the garden as Mrs A will do her nut in the kitchen. Take a sheet of kitchen foil and lay the fillet on it. Now spinkle some finely chopped spring onion all over the fillet. Take some fresh stem ginger, remove the hard skin and then slice the ginger into wafer thin sections and lay them along the fillet. Pour over a reasonable "glug" of light soy sauce (dont use dark). Wrap up the fillet into a lttle package and bake in the oven at about 190 to 200 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness of the fillet). When cooked, lay on a bed of rice and pour the juices all over. Yum! I had the above last night with a small side salad served with a balsamic, olive oil and mustard dressing. I also had a little sweet chilly dipping sauce on the side to mix with the rice and Bass. Sounds like an odd concoction, but t was fantastic. Tom

The calls came in as planned at shortly after 19:00. Arrangements made and breakfasts booked at the new "Tuck Shop" on the quayside in Weymouth who incidentaly are our new dealers for Jeanneau boats. Charlie calls a little after his planned time slot and apologises claiming he couldn't help it as he was throwing up. "No problem, I'll pick you up at 05:45 and we'll head on to collect young Sam." I have to admit, I wreck fish more often than not onboard Quest II, but I was quite excited. Apart from some whinger who managed a couple of Turbot in Alderney it has been a long time since I had club members onboard so the pressure was on. "Rich the expert "I fish every day or certainly most"" "Sam the man", "I've a bigger boat than you" the young trier & "Charlie Chunder" the new comer. All out on my little girl for a day on the water. Just before the scheduled 05:45 I am outside Charlie's house and I can hear heaving from the open bathroom window. "This lad gets sea sick whilst on the loo". Cup of tea made and we head on to young Sam's and get a very rapid tour of the new bateau from Charlie C wo was up at stupid o'clock for no aparent reason. Rich had claimed that he was staying at Boy Billy's that night, but the rest of us had guessed that he was really just an excited little girl and couldn't wait to get out. The truth be known, he had camped on Weymouth Quayside after the Samaritans has asked him politely to leave. Anyway, whatever the reason, I ordered him his breakfast by mobile telecommunication and arranged to meet him at just before 07:00. By this point we had stopped the car at least half a dozen times for Charlie Chunder to chunder. Straight into the tuck shop to collect our breakie and Charlie chucks again, then we get delayed by Senor Andy the fuel man.... Great bloke.... when he turns up and this time he is over an hour later than agreed... Something to do with running out of go go juice and needing to refill his tank. Anyway, finally the old codger (hope he doesn't read this) finally arrives grumbling because he can't find me even though I am tied up where I always meet him. Quarter past eight and we are finally on our way. A quick stop for Charlie to throw up and we try and bash out a few mackie live baits. Not many are showing, but half a dozen or so nip in the new and improved "Tek Tank Livewell" (Please see our sponsors for more information) and they are happy as larry bathing in their "super double flow, gentle washing, extra oxygen, filling slightly too fast home" and we head in a South Easterly direction stopping only a couple of time for Charlie to chuck up. At this point Super Rich has a bright idea. "Let's stop on the race and use some of the livelies for Bass" A five minute detour and we are drifting alongside half a dozen charter boats and all our rods are down for Bass. Well three actually. We had forgotten Charlie who was throwing up in the corner so Rich kindly set him up and thrust a rod in his hand. A few minutes into the drift and bang, "Bass on". Sam the Man is in. Not a big fish, but at about 3lb we hadn't blanked. Another long drift and Sam continually strikes every time his bait bounces bottom whilst cursing he has missed another one and we decide to head an hour and a half South in search of rusty things. Three of us make ourselves comfortable for the journey in the wheelhouse and Charlie makes himself comfortable heaving over the side... Storm Lures and Shads on. Various colours and sizes hurtle 200 feet into the depths as we set up for our first drift in the last hour or so of the flood tide. First drift and a tiny Pollock of about 2lb falls to me. Then another, fractionally larger and then bang a real fish is heading for the rusting hulk. A few minutes later and a good Bass surfaces and is deftly netted by Rich. On the scales she bounced from between 7lb and 8lb 4 so we give her the nod at 7lb and run up for another drift. Charlie throws up one more time and is soon into his first real fish. A pretty Bass of about 4 or 5 lb hits the deck and he jubilantly hurls once more in celebration. Another drift or two and my so called expert Anglers begin to get the hang of things and soon all the crew have had a Bass or two. Rich even manages the tiniest Gurnard you have ever set your eyes on to a Storm Lure. As the tide dies away Sam hits into his next fish and a nice Codling of about 5lb is soon in the coolbox, "chips for tea, Sam?". Charlie eats a Jaffa cake and then manages to hit a sea gull 10 yards away with the projectile vomit that ensues. The tide dies to nothing and we manage to sit directly over the wreck for about half an hour. I use this time to educate my crew into the use of colours on their lures . Explaining that the rest of us had been using the "Pearl White" Storm Lures and getting several Bass and small Pollock yet young Sam had hit his Codling with an Orange lure, but it didn't matter as it would go dead now due to the slack water.... Sam proceeded to haul in another Bass or two and a few Pollock. As the Ebb began, a commercial rod and line Bass boat arrived. "Fantastic" three of us thought, "this means the Bass will come on even more...." Three of us then promptly bag up on Pollock and Charlie chunders. The Bass boat seemed to fair no better and we could see the net come out a few times, but for small Pollock. Charlie is now slowly imploding, his toes first and with each next heave he is finally left as a saggy bag of skin so we send him into the cabin to sleep it off. At this point I decide to revist the discussion about how the Cod will prefer orange and as a gesture of confidence I swap my "Stormy" for an orange one and promptly catch a Cod of about 8lb. Then a Pollock, and another Pollock and another Pollock and so on. It seems the Bass have gone off, the Cod are there, but we are getting our Pollocks rapped every time we drop down so at about 15:00 we call it a day and turn for home. Charlie manages to throw up his tecticles and finally goes down in the cabin for a nap... Not the most spectacular day onboard Quest II, but steady right the way through with Bass to about 7 or 8lb, Cod to about 8lb and Pollock to low double figures. Everyone did well, even Charlie who managed several fish in between ground baiting. At about 17:15 and as we round the harbour wall into Weymouth a fresh faced Charlie emerges from the cabin asking, "Can I come again?" Charlie you are more than welcome anytime! Tom

Just got a message from Rich. He is down in Weymouth tonight so Sam and Charlie will be coming with me (or in Charlie's car). Tom

Been fiddling with my posh bucket today to try and improve things. I have decided to keep the "infuser pump thing" which stay on suckers at the bottom and directs a flow of water around the tank (clockwise flow). That is the standard system that blows little bubbles around. Following the theme of the traditional live well I then went to B&Q and bought several hozelock thingy connector oojamaflips. I then drilled a 25mm hole at the bottom of the tank and attached a hozelock thingy with a "on off" type hoze attachement. The theory being I can drain the tank from here. Next I drilled another 25mm hole at the max fill height at the back of the bucket and attached another hozelock thingy. The hole through the connector is small enough to stop any lively fishy swimming out, but acts as a drain. Finally I drilled a third 25mm hole and attached another hozelock thingy which in turn connects to the hozelock thingy on my deckwash. On the inside I attached a brass 90 degree elbow to direct the water clockwise. So: The tank is filled and freshwater comes in via the deckwash which directs the water clockwise around the tank. Further oxygenation and clockwise flow of water comes from the tek-tank infuser thing. The level of oxygenation is very adjustable with a nobby tap thing on the side. Finally the water drains from both the top (overfill) and the bottom as required. Testing it today and it seems to be 99.9% spot on. The only problem is it fills very fractionally faster than it can drain so I may put one more drain at the overfill level. Alternatively, I'll keep the lid on and simply stop the pump a minute before we get the bait out allowing a little water to drain off first. Fingers crossed it is a success! Tom

Sam If the fish are having it tomorrow you should easily beat your Pollock PB.The cod one is touch and go as they have been getting them, but they tend to be just under the double mark with a few stray 20's for good measure. Fingers crossed guys! Tom Charlie I am fairly sure that what you have purchased will do just fine, either way, I have plenty of spare bits n bobs onboard. Tom

Hi Guys Can I please ask each of you to call in this evening. Rich: Please call at +/- 19:00 to finalise travel details Also Rich, can I ask you to grab some bottled water and a pint of milk for T & C? Sam: Please call at +/- 19:10 so I can let you know who is collecting you and at what time Charlie A: Please call at +/- 19:20 so I can tell you what time to get your kettle on! Home Number please as the mobile is a bit shaky in the house. 01202 760711 Off to the boat in a moment as I haven't seen her since Alderney and I don't know what state the other guys have left her in Bring gear as previously described: 12lb classish rod / reel Braid mainline 20lb / 25lb hook lengths 4/0 & 6/0 fine wire hooks Selection of rubber things I have leads onboard, but 6oz through 10oz will be helpful Bring your own sarnies please Also bring a couple of sets of macky feathers to see if we can get a few joeys for livelies if I can't get hold of sandeels (not the end of the world, the rubber stuff will do just fine). I am going to have a tinker with my tek-tank later to see if I can improve it's keeping livelies lively. The plan will be to catch some mackies and then head n a general South Easterly direction to a couple of rusty things. We have flood tide until about 11:30, when it slackens, if our wreck is doing very well we may drop some cut baits down (not at anchor) to see if we can persuade something long and slimey to take it (on the light gear! , it's fun), but will more likely end up wth monster pout. If the wreck has been poor, I'll use the slack to move over to an alternative rusty thing or two and then later we'll use the ebb to shove us up the chuff a little on the way home. Should be back in Weymouth at about 17:00, but we need to fuel up and tidy up before we go home. Fingers crossed for a good one! Tom

Forget the new Abu's from the far east. Go for the decent penn's or shimano's over and over again.

Well done for percevering Chris. Nice fish Tom

No bananas on board and no bouncing pirks whilst everyone else is using jellies. . Go with jellies, if naff, use a pirk.

Rich The Plan: 1) Sam gets a lift from me, Charlie A or Rich. 2) Charlie A provides a cuppa for us all at the crack of wotsit (about 06:00) at his before heading down to Weymouth for about 07:00 (I can drive us all, Charlie can drive us all or we go in two separate cars) 3) Quick Bacon Butty and another cuppa at te new place on the Quayside. 4) Check the boat to make sure, yes the guys have fueled her, yes we have plenty of leads. 5) Dash to WAC for any bits we may all believe we MUST have, but don't really need. 6) Beg, borrow, steal sandeels if we can (jelly worms, shads and stormies will do just fine otherwise) 7) If no sandeels head to the bill and get a few mackies as back-up and then steam some 20 + miles mid channel. 8) Bounce lumps of leadl and wriggly things or rubber things around large bits of rusty metal for the day in the "hope" we may find cod, pollock and possibly bass. 9) If we remember a pint of milk and some bottled water I may remember to make the odd cuppa during the day. 10) About 15:15, dehydrated, sun burned and either fishless or a boat awash with the stuff we head back, possibly stopping at the bill for some fresh mackerel to bring home. 11) Call Andy (fuel man) and force him out of the pub to give us a top up of go go juice. 12) Tie up and wash down the boat at about 17:00 before heading home. Tackle: Whatever you want, but I will be using: 12lb class rod Braid mainline 6/0 hooks for joeys, 4/0 hook for sandeel Storm lures, jelly's and shads Flying collar rigs and 20lb to 25lb amnesia hook lengths - short for cod, long for pollack (cod prefer the rubber stuff) mixture of leads to about 10oz. Bring your own sanrnies..... Tom

No Al They only get dizzy if you make them swim clockwise...

Arrr well, I have been relieved of the title when the pretty little boat I was helping take "blind" up the harbour went aground a second time, but without myself onboard and then proceeded to bash into large (very large) things made out of fibreglass in Salterns. Tom

Congrats to Helen Eventually Paul will get it sussed if you let him practise enough and you give him a few more tips. Tom

Rich If you want mate, you can go down in the bilge and see my golden rivets