rich

A change of plan as Alun say's. Anyone looking for their boat on F pontoon could be in for a shock as I was this afternoon. I had arranged to meet up with Alun at 7.00 Thursday morning at Cobbs and I thought to save time I would fuel up and carry the anchor and other heavy kit onto the boat this afternoon. First shock ...no boat...second shock no fingers on the pontoon. A quick visit to the office located Warren right at the end of the pontoon tied up and hidden from view on the outside of another boat waiting to be moved to a more permenant berth sometime tomorrow or Friday. I could'nt even lift the equipment across to her. A quick phone call to Alun posponed Warrens outing tomorrow until such time she is settled on a more permenant mooring. Had we not gone down until tomorrow at 7.00 we probably would'nt have found her until the office opened. This disruption is due to the dredging of the F pontoon area which I believe is due to commence on 17th november and last a couple of weeks. Rich

Well, I've just eaten my "bait". The bass do'nt know what they missed! Rich

Having just witnessed a Master Class in bass fishing I certainly did'nt go home disappointed! I must be giving my mackerel the wrong instructions. Thanks Alun, for a smashing day out. Next time..... Rich

Can anybody tell me what the numbers used in conjunction with multipliers refer to? i.e. 5500, 6500, 7000, 9000 ect I can only assume it might be the spool width. With that in mind, would an Abu 7000 be suitable for general fishing duties? Rich

I ca'nt remember the name of the company offhand, but it's the little shop next to the Sunseeker sales office in West Quay road. He sorted mine out OK! I've just looked it up and it's Greenham Regis. I think it used to be Greenham Marine Rich

The above is now sold. Rich

SOLD Ideal tender. Double skinned GRP Dory style complete with oars. Length 2.6m (9ft) Beam 1.2m (4ft) Good condition throughout. No repairs.

Paul, I took my friends lad out fishing in the harbour last week because it was to windy to venture out in the bay. We caught loads of (small) bream and several school bass all of which were returned, but using really light tackle they felt much bigger and he had a great day and was kept entertained for ages. Point worth noting is that Poole harbour is a nursury area for Bass and as such, if caught they should be returned. I would hate to see a visitor to Poole being aprehended by the Fisheries Protection people. I am sure other members can advise on suitable marks for other species. Rich

Tough call Adam but of course the right one. Shame, I was looking forward to my first comp. With all the debate going on about wether the comps. should be held on a Saturday or Sunday and with more of us reaching retirement, I reckon we should think about holding the comps. mid week! Much quieter on the water without the Birmingham navy tearing about! Sorry, only joking. RichS

Book me in please. I shall be on Jo Jo with Rob Francis. Thanks RichS

Alan (AHOY) pressed ganged me (not that I needed much pressing) to crew on Marcel 2 for a trip out to the Rips on Sunday to see if all his efforts in rubbing down and anti fouling the hull had been worthwhile. It was and it was a day of firsts for me. First time I had been that far off shore in anything smaller than a channel ferry, although I did'nt tell Alan at the time. First time I had fished in that depth of water. First time I had had to use more than a 6oz weight The first time I had caught a cod. Not a comp winner I grant you but a cod all the same. Had it been any bigger I do'nt think my equipment or knots would have coped. The day was a steep learning curve for both Alan and myself and this was reflected in the amount of lost, broken or tangled tackle we experienced. Thanks Alan for a great day out. Rich

Yes, I was using flourocarbon snoods. I guess at the end of the day it's like any sport, the more you practice the "luckier" you get. Rich

I shall have to keep this brief as my computer keeps crashing. Alun Jones asked if I would like to go out bass fishing on Gastronought. Never having done any (proper) bass fishing before I leapt at the chance. An early start saw us out of Mudeford at about 7.30. Mackeral were hard to locate to start with but after a bit of searching we had a live bait tank with enough for our needs. Final score Alun 5 (bass) Rich 1 (cuttlefish) Despite not catching any bass I learnt a great deal about rigs, bait, techniques and how to set up a live bait tank. Wind got up and we called it a day about 2 o clock. How is it that we used the same bait, fished from the same side of the boat at the same time, had the same rigs (well they looked the same) and the score was 5 nil? Great day out, thanks Alun Rich

I can't add much more to Allan's report, only to say that two "novice" fishermen left Cobbs with more hope than expectation and returned having had a great days fishing. Whilst we were'nt getting the three pounder bream that others seemed to be catching on other marks, we lost count of the numbers we landed and all but a couple were returned to fight another day. Even when there was a lull in the fishing, the mention of putting the kettle on ensured that the rod tips would rattle again. Our nearest neighbours, some fifteen small boats, were about half a mile away and I wonderd if they were catching bigger fish, or anything at all. I would love to know. I was trying out a new 50 gramm spinning rod for the first time and even the smaller bream put up a good fight using this tackle. Highlight of the day had to be Allans ray, which had us hunting for the I spy book of fish in order to try and identify it. I told you we were novices! If ever you get the opportunity to crew for Allan, grab it. Marsel 2 is a great fishing platform and with Allan's boat handling skills and good company you can be assured of a great day out. Rich

I replied to Alun's post offering a seat on Gastronought for a days Bream fishing. Scaped the ice of the windscreen in the early hours, met up with Alun and we were afloat by 7.30 The sea at this stage is almost flat calm! Onto the mark and almost straight away we are into Wrasse and Dog fish. We are soon joined by a couple of charter boats and then by Gordon in Enticer. The sea at this stage is beginning to be the other side of lumpy. By about 2.00 Enticer heads for home with a nice Bream on board leaving us on our own. By now it's becoming difficult top stand up in the boat, but perseverance pays of and Alun lands a nice Pollack and I get a Bream of 2lb 4oz. Not a record but a PB for me. I am certainly learning what good little sea boats the orkney 520's are because despite some quite heavy seas Gastronought remained a safe fishing platform throughout. We head inshore for a while and a few more Dogfish and Wrasse are landed. I end the day with the biggest birds nest I've ever had, mainly due to a combination of braid, a multiplire and inexperience. (another PB for me) Despite the tangle and the fact that I am still swaying about several hours later, I had a great day out. Many thanks Alun. Next time it really needs to be warmer and calmer! Rich

Alun, If the seat is still available I can do Wednesday. I have no time constaints so can do 1/2 or whole day. Rich

I have read about several completly different rigs for catching bream. Advice on a simple set up would be appreciated. Rich

What a pleasant change it was to be able to go out and target something other than flounders. The weather for Wednesday looked OK ,I swopped my working hours around and arranged to take Warren out with Alun as crew to try and catch some Whiting. I say Alun was "crew" is a bit of an understatement. As my Garmin unit was back at the factory being repaired under warrenty he brought along his portable GPS. which needless to say put us straight onto the fish. Besides the GPS Alun also brought along his anchor retrieval kit as the prospect of hauling an anchor some 80 feet from the depths did not appeal to him at all. I was later able to have first hand experience at anchor retrieval albeit in waters rougher than I would have liked. Looks like something else I am going to have to scource during the close season. Watching Alun "working" his fishing gear only goes to prove that you only get out what you put in. I am, slowly beginning to realize that sitting back eating sandwiches and drinking coffee and admiring the view all the time does not result in catching many fish. On top of all this I even had my catch gutted before we had got back to the quay and a cookery lesson on how to prepare and cook them. I have to say that the sea was probably the choppiest I have ever fished in and I found it difficult at first. It was certainly the roughest Warren has experienced (and so far from home as well) but the way the Orkney coped with the conditions has really increased my confidence in the boat. I must admit when I left for work this morning I felt a bit second hand. I was still swaying, my knees hurt from trying to keep upright ,and oh yes my arms ached. Obviously not used to hauling that many fish up in a day perhaps! There are several things on Warren that need modifying and I guess that now is the time to set about doing them. I am looking forward to the start of next season already. Rich

At the moment there looks to be a break in the weather on Tuesday. If anyone fancies coming out on Warren for a spot of Flounder fishing in the harbour (Poole) give me a PM I would anticipate leaving Cobbs about 0800 and returning about 1400 Rich

Well done. Looked like a great days fishing ! Like Paul and Alun I saw an opportunity to get out on Saturday although I was not quite as adventurous and decided to restrict Warren to the harbour and try for some flounders. I was crewed by Phil, a club member I had not previously met, but he had replied to my advert for crew for what turned out to be the posponed club comp. As neither of us could make the rescheduled comp I owed him a trip out. We scraped the ice of Warren and left Cobbs about 0830 and anchored up in the approaches to Wareham river. Some good sized flounders were soon on board although there was a lull of about an hour and a half during the slack period of tide. As the tide began to run off a couple more were added to the bucket before we had to weigh anchor. Both of us had other agendas in the afternoon and needed to be back at Cobbs by 1400. I have to say that Phil scooped the majority of the catch (I always give the crew the lucky side of the boat) but it was great to get out. Thanks for crewing and for the company Phil and especially for the delightfully rich cakes you brought along. It was interesting to note that all the fish caught on this trip were caught using a ledger and none using a float. On a previous trip with Alun, all were caught using the float. Rich.

I am having to clear some space in the workshop to make way for more motorcycle and boat bits. These items probably ar'nt going to appeal to the average boat owner, but I thought I would offer them here first. Both items are in V.G.C. and look as new and I am asking about half normal purchase price for them. Heavy duty Clarkes engine stand

Having thought about it, running the engine whilst tilted up is definitely not a good idea. Being a 4 stroke the oil level is going to be affected and could have serious consequences. Also the 30 HP Yamaha has carbs, and the float level could be affected when the engine is tilted and cause flooding. I shall seek expert advice and let you know. Rich (S)

Thanks Rob, Totally agree about the muffs, but I now have my boat on a pontoon for six months so I am kippered for using the muffs. Unless of course I could use them with the engine fully tilted in the up position. I shall look into that. Rich (S)

Rob, Great info. What H.P. is your Yamaha and how long has it taken to get corroded like that? Do you keep your boat on a trailer or in the water and how have you been flushing the engine up to now? I see Yamaha advise flushing the engine for a full 15 mins. if you use the hose attachment, but I can't see as you say that that is going to flush out behind a closed thermostat. Rich (S)

Paul, I have an idea that might be OK with you and can get us both fishing the comp. I shall PM you. Rich