Paul D

Adam. Get in quick and you can upgrade for

Engine is going into SAL Marine and will probably be in the

Boat engine is in for service on Thursday. Assuming I have boat back ( which should be the case ) and the weather is OK ( which hopefully will be the case ), then I will be looking for crew on Sunday for a Christchurch Ledge / Needles and/or XRay trip. Any takers ?

Trevor, Sorry I didnt get a chance to chat at the meeting. The size of net I am after is 48 inch diameter and a depth suitable for a conger ( not sure on how deep this needs to be - 5 FT ? ) cheers Paul

or www.uk-hooks.com

Paul, I know I should have them somewhere, bt do you have any pics of MarineBoy - post them here if you wish. cheers Paul

Found it now - you sent via Martin ( I could use this as an excuse but it was my fault - I totally forgot to add this ). - I have added it to the members boats now. Apologies again. Are there any other boats which need adding ? cheers Paul

Trevor, Apologies, but I cant seem to find the picture in my e-mail. Did you send it direct or via someone else ? ( I am sifting through e-mails at the moment ).

Added to members Boats now

Alun, Try opening this URL and if you get no banner at the top do you have a yellow triangular warning in bottom LHS of the browser - if so click on it and let me know what it says. Top Border

Alun, The bar should still be there. You have to have active scripting enabled I think.

Bob, I did the same with mine. I found that as it was summer the warmth of the sun on a tank containing some fuel with the valve closed caused sufficent pressure to expand the tank again. Perhaps you could put a tank with a little bit of fuel into the airing cupboard ? PS: I accept no resposnibility if house burns down etc. etc.

Early start for me - got to Baiter from Christchurch around 7 AM and my fishing partner for the day travelling all the way from Portsmouth. Uneventful launch and had a little bit of trouble starting the engine as the boat has not been out for what seems like an eternity. Realised on way out that I had forgotten to get any useful marks and having fished out of Poole only once before, I decided on heading for the slates if it was not too rough ( decided it was ! ) or the East of the Spoil grounds if it was. ( Last year I got a sizeable whiting from this mark - this year we had quantity but not quality. Started off fairly quickly with what turned out to be our biggest whiting within 15 minutes of setting up. Throughout the day we had "waves" of whiting but the fishing was sporadic to say the least. Steve had a dogfish and Bass on each hook of his pennel rig - bass was only around 1 1/2 lb so returned. We had around 8 whiting each by the end. so decided to have a go in the Swash channel ( never know might catch a 22lb turbot ! ) as was getting fed up being tossed around in the lumpy sea ( although I have fished in worst - last year or example ! ). On the way back in tried having a go at the herring in the channel and caught 4 of them in 15 mins but cut this short as my engine was failing to idle and was then running really lumpy - I think one of the carbs is flooding - engine service needed ASAP. We were going to have a go for flounder in the harbour having followed Splash Out in but stopped for the Herring instead. Having read Rich's report I wish we had Nice picture of Neo struggling back in with a rough running engine - thanks Trevor. Sorry not to have gone to the presentation, but unfortunately I really had to get back home after the comp. Many thanks to Paul J and the rest of the organising committee for an excellent comp and next year I will have learnt how to catch some Flounder

Forecast is for wind to drop to F3 NW. Warming up to 5deg at lunchtime.

Sam, At least I know there is one boat I will be able to keep up with going out

I knew James would be unable to resist

A man comes home from work one night with a sheep tucked under his right arm. As he walks through the door he is greeted by his wife. "Honey, this is the pig I have been sleeping with" says the man. "Ha, that isn't a pig, that's a sheep" his wife replied. To which the man replied "I wasn't talking to you"

Neo will be out with myself and a work colleague on board ( provided it doesnt snow and he cant get over from Portsmouth ! )/

Nice one ( again ! ) Gordon. I have yet to catch a Spurdog.

Nice one Gordon. Not jealous one bit ( and not a very good liar either ). I am saving myself for the 27th You sure it is the biggest this year ? - Bigger ?

I stand suitably corrected Will have to try using mackeral all year around too. ( Not as if I have been hauling in cod - but helps to get out first I guess ).

Dan, Re: Mackeral for cod - don't bother - squid is the bait to use. Mackeral strips will get you whiting though. ( If you havent got any squid I can do you a block for a reasonable price if you want to collect before Tuesday. ) Personally, if I were going out and couldn't afford to get to the needles, I would choose the gulley just off the ledge ( got 2 cod last year from around there ). Double Squid on a pennel rig doing the trick. Alun J is "the man" to advise on best locations there. Also, if fishing whole squid there is always the chance of a good bass.

Trevor, I will need to learn how to stitch together, but sure I could do this. I have just bought a broom handle to use for the landing net handle - seems strong enough - just working out how to drill a hole through the bit the handle slides into ( stainless steel and my rechargable drill wont hold charge for long ).

Interesting proposal. Having read the referenced article I was astounded to see the part that mentions the proposal would not apply to French and Belgium ships which have historic rights to fish within the 12 mile and 6 mile limits. I never realised that they had such rights. Previously, I did not subscribe to the view that it was French / Spanish ( any other country you choose ) - fault that the stocks were declining - and English and Scottish trawlers were as much to blame . However, it is astounding that some French and Belgium trawlers have historic rights to fish within UK 12 mile limit.

Gordon, I seem to recall you did tell them once ( before I stopped you whilst in full flow ). Something along the lines of "couple of old women" etc. etc.