Mike Fox

Looking dead smart Trevor !!! Mike

All, I received the following reply from Mark via e-mail on 1st Feb, which I copy in full here. Am not seeking to influence anyone, just keep everyone informed about an interesting response. ------------------------ Dear Mike, Thanks for your e-mail and I appreciate your suggestions. I also enjoyed meeting everyone the other night and took on board several ideas for specific campaigns. I

Yes Martin

Open Letter to: Mark Lloyd of the Angling Trust (from an ordinary sea angler) Dear Mark, Thanks for taking your time to give the PBSBAC a presentation this month, which was both educational and interesting. You might remember me as the chap that asked you a rather innocent question as to what you were doing about discards from commercial fishing vessels. While you answered my question, agreeing it is an issue, you did not respond in a manner that demonstrated you have a clear strategy to deal with this. I did point out this was a

Well done Rob, and skipper Neal too !!! Always good when a plan comes together. The Frisky Fox crew did just a half day, focussing on a quick dangle on 5 marks that have previously produced the odd cod a lot closer to home. Alas, the combination of suspected sprats and the cod's urge to make baby codlets at this time of year seemed to distract the cod from our intentions, and we registered our first blank of 2010. We did have one small bite each on an inshore bank...but whatever it was wasn't big enough to take our baits I suspect. Well done those who caught something!!! Mike

George and I will give the club comp a couple of additional entrants on Frisky Fox - half day planned! Mike

Good to have another "traditional" displacement fishing boat in the club. Fine looking craft, and in good order by the look of it! Have fun with sea trials in the West Country! Mike

We have a 35lb CQR on Frisky, backed up by chunky 8mm chain and warp. Far too heavy to manhandle regularly from depth, but needed to stop 6 ton of boat moving if I ever need it to stay put, especially in the fiercer tides to the South of our sea area. For fishing, we have a lunchpick of a 5kg claw anchor (cheap Bruce clone), with 5m of 6mm chain and 110m of 12mm 3-ply nylon. It's so far undersized it's not true, but has held us up to a F4 in flat seas. Any swell or increased wind usually makes it drag - or trip. Lifting it used to be by hand, but we tried the Alderney Ring last year to good effect in 100' of water (around 3-1 scope), which we can just get to work at 6 knots using a large fender as the buoy. The boat weight tends to smash cable ties quickly, and we use string. If it ever gets properly caught, the boat weight is sufficient to break it out....or has so far! I wouldn't recommend anyone using an undersized anchor other than for short periods when position is constantly checked, and only then if they have a "real" anchor to back it up. Mind, it does make retrieval a bit easier! Mike

I winced.... Happy New Year Martin ! Mike

Well done chaps!!! We tried a couple of spots from Frisky Fox, in our first trip in about 2 months, but an inshore mark 90 minutes "out" (for us) didn't seem the best of choices in hindsight...nor whole squid to 3/0 pennels on 100lb trace. Hey, we might just have had one or two ! Unfortunately we were plagued with doggies and smallish whiting, and not a flounder in sight. Second spot seemed a slightly better choice...in sight of Wight Magic, Court Jester and Gastronaut in Holes Bay, and we changed the squid for ragworm on a No 4 fine wire, but alas, still no flounder. Well done all who persevered! Mike

1.) Adam F 2.) Alun J. 3.) Zed 4.) Neal 5.) John Young 6.) Martin 7.) Dean 8] Dave Evans 9] Jim Davies 10] Mark [zippy] 11) Littlesal (Graham 12)Tony D 13) Rob Francis (on JV) 14) Charlie Annear (on JV) 15) Carl 16) Aaron 17) Rich (on Warren) 18) Jon (Jay Kay) (on Warren) 19) Pete Senior Serenity 20) Tony Deavin Serenity 21) George Fox - Frisky 22) Mike Fox - Frisky

The entire crew of Frisky is grounded this weekend too... Mike PS We need a cod for the species comp !

To position an eye, you need to acquire one, make up a decent backing pad to spread the load as far as is practical, and decent stainless penny-washers. I'd mark the position you need it from the outside, then use pilot drill bits to mark inside. You might be best to glass the backing pad inside, or use an epoxy putty that will dry hard, hold it in place and help spread loads. Drill through again with small drill bit first to get positioning right, then use a larger bit for the retaining bolts. then you need to smear both of the bolts and the eye "pad" with Sikaflex or similar from the ouside, push it through, and tighten the nuts progressively. I usually let it dry, then crank it up a little tighter to improve the seal still further. Take care with cleaning off the sikaflex...probably best done after it's dried and "squidged" for the first time. Good luck. Mike

Would recommend siezing (mousing) the pin of the shackle to the shackle itself with either monel wire or a cable tie to stop the pin falling out. Definitely worth checking the shackle pin is still tightly secured every trip, as the wire or cable tie can break. As Charlie said, rig to trip by making sure the shackles goes to the bend of the anchor, and securing the anchor chain to the main eye of the anchor using a weak line or cable ties, so if it's snagged, the weak link snaps, and the anchor just gets hauled out backwards. Studland bay is allegedly littered with anchors from people who didn't do this, and just hauled in an empty chain....mainly yachties to be fair! Mike

here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8308254.stm Mike

I think you work the tides very well, and deserve more luck for your endeavours, but rather you than me across Hurst Narrows at 3knots boat speed. We have to plan carefully for tides as well, and your speed and range can more than double when you get it right. Great pictures, unlucky with the fishing, but I can imagine the fun if you got a decent cod on board!!!! Best of luck, and keep at it! Mike

Frisky had a great day yesterday, if it had been a species comp! We started betwixt the piers trying for the elusive plaice, and was surprised to find the mark devoid of club boats. After hoards of micro-bream, half a dozen tub gurnard, a small smoothhound, a dragonet ...but no mackerel...Carol caught another dab. Not a huge one, but in jest we weighed it at a shade under 4oz, so we recorded 3oz, and laughed that it might have beaten last year's winning plaice...and then carried on. An hour later that was the the only flattie we managed. We sprinted over to X-Ray on the last of the flood, having a quick chat with the crews of Neo and the Grinch, and tried to pick up our favoured mark...but a crabpot buoy made either anchoring, fishing or retrieval tricky, so we moved to a deeper part...hoping for some ray action. As others have said, a lovely sunny day, and hoards of dogfish...and bait-robbing bream...but no ray! On slack water the swell got noticeably worse, and with the prospect of wind over tide, we decided to up anchor and retrace our steps, swiftly followed by Abode 2 who had joined us. However, the previous stunning success on the flattie mark failed to be improved upon, so we dashed back to the harbour, trying a drift for plaice. Again failure, so we returned for the 5.30 bridge lift after having a brief chat with Alfresco (apols if we disturbed your fishing chaps!). Hope others did better! Mike, Carol, and George

The radar signals idea is probably quite close to the truth. We were going into Dielette on the Normandy coast for the first time a few years ago, keeping the regulation half mile off the nuclear power station there. A French warship appeared out of nowhere coming to investigate us, and our fixed Garmin GPS was knocked out. Around 15 years ago, I was off Start Point at around 5 a.m. when two large naval vessels of different nationalities were playing a game of nautical "chicken"...bow to bow, about 20' apart, with the least skillful being blown downwind. The old Decca system I had then was wiped. Have since heard of others with problems near "active" naval vessels. Mike

If it has to be done, alcoholic beverages of the sparkling variety should really be consumed on it's first immersion, accompanied by a suitable quantity offered to Neptune. Personally I think smashing a whole bottle on the bows is excessive, but a generous slosh from a filled glass might just possibly let you get away with it. Dunno about lettering mind... Mike

Sounds like you've been busy Paul! I use stuff called "Mer" for stain removal and polishing, and have done for 20 years. About

Well done both boats! Might just mosey on over to my "pass the box of squid" mark this weekend, subject to this weather hanging on ! Mike

You might want to try a block of plasticine moulded close to the centre line of the boat, and the transducer mounted firmly in that, as vertical as possible. I've done it in two of my boats, and as a temporary measure, it's lasted for years. Good luck! Mike

There are squid to about 2' long out there! Saw 4 last weekend in a pack hunting retrived pout! Mike

Every chance Frisky will be out too, listening on Ch 6. Mike

Well, the crew is revolting. Calm seas and neap tides are begging to be used on Saturday, but due to the need for new rugby boots and other activities, it seems I'm alone in wanting to get out. Willing to take one or two crew on the slowest boat in the fleet to a couple of inshore marks, if anyone is interested. Space is more limited than on a 15' boat (for example), but can offer a chance of something a little different, if people are patient ! Was thinking of a try for ray and smoothounds off Swanage (ok, dogs and mini-bream) but could be persuaded to try elsewhere. Alternatively, if anyone is going for something out a little further, and wants crew, it would be good to have something for the pot! Cheers, Mike