Mike Fox

Neal phoned me yesterday, offering a trip on Court Jester, and met him down at Cobb's Quay for 9.30 as planned. The car was iced up, as was the pontoon, oh, and the decks. We left promptly after sloshing the ice away with a bucket of brackish water, and headed out to a mark beyond the Spoil Grounds targetting cod. Unfortunately, the wind might have been in the NE, but the swell remained firmly from the East, and speed had to be reduced as the waves built. By the time we had reached the mark, the gentle NE4 conditions over Easterly swell and against a flood tide too made conditions frankly unfishable. We surveyed the mark, and headed back into a mark in Poole Bay that Neal and I both had fished in summer conditions. If all else failed, we should have whiting there, and after dropping the hook, a whiting took the first bait presented. We had a steady trickle of them through the morning, and as the flood was dying away, I had a different bite. Definitely not a whiting, and yet, it didn't feel anything special. Holding the rod now, I felt a gentle moving away, and leant into the fish. The 30lb class rod (club prize rod - for my bass in 2007) arched over, and I realised it was a good fish as the TLD15 started losing line. After a few thumps, it seemed to hang in the tide, and I was wondering if conger or ray had grabbed hold. As it came to the surface like a dead weight a long pale flash resulted in Neal yelling "Cod" as he went for the BIG landing net. He netted it first time, then as he lifted it onboard he reckoned it might have been a 20lb fish. After tidying up, and getting a rig re-baited, I weighed it on digital scales, and it's lowest steady weight was 22lb - a new Personal Best, and best for the boat. What's more worrying is that Frisky is out of the water, and after today, Neal now has whiting, cod, a lonesome doggy and a small poor cod, and is way ahead of me in the year-long species comp! Mike

Not previously spotted on the club site: "In line with our recommendation to DEFRA and in absence of government initiative the NFSA have agreed to increase the minimum size of BASS to 45cm. This comes into effect for all members on 1st January 2009." See www.nfsa.org.uk for confirmation. Mike

Well done chaps - it's good to know that there's a couple of cod closer to Poole than the Needles Car Park! Mike

It did save - along with comments from other club members too. Keep them coming chaps! Mike

Joint Venture looks superb, you've done a really smart job chaps, well done. Mike

I tried leaving a 300 letter response (all that was allowed) about banning the dumping of over-quota bycatch, with massive fines for contravention, and zero profit for landed over-quota fish. Am certain this would prevent over-quota fish being caught in the first place, and contribute to stock recovery. The site didn't store/print my response. Mike

Have managed to get the next couple of days off work, and have seen the high pressure building, and the winds dropping. If anyone would like crew on Monday and/or Tuesday, and is keen to have a go for a few whiting somewhere there is a chance of a cod, I'd love a shot at them too. Have squid in the freezer I can bring along, and am happy to help with fuel costs. Message on here, or a PM? Mike

Well done chaps on a superb build, she looks great. Hope you have a successful launch! Mike

Another good report chaps, it's been a real boost this last few weeks to see some of the catch stories. Keep them coming (and save a few for me!). Mike

Agree Alun... Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis Strong winds are forecast Inshore waters forecast 24 hour forecast: 0600 Sat 29 Nov 0600 Sun 30 Nov Wind Northeast 4, increasing 5 or 6. Sea state Slight. Weather Showers, rain later. Visibility Moderate, occasionally poor. Outlook: 0600 Sun 30 Nov 0600 Mon 01 Dec Wind Northeast 5 or 6, increasing 7 for a time. Sea state Slight. Weather Rain or showers. Visibility Moderate or good Mike

Hi Charlie, am probably ashore until March now, and the hull will lose a lot of moisture over that time. I don't have a meter, so not sure how damp it is currently. It's an isophthalic gelcoat on the Moody, which is quite rare, but is designed to be more impermeable to moisture than the standard. They certainly suffer less osmosis problems than many fibreglass boats. I also have been warned by my insurer that they require a full out of water survey before renewing in October 2009. I will have had this boat for 7 years by then and it will be 20 years old, and suspect there will be a few recommendations that I will have to do (new rigging, check/replace keel bolts etc). It might be an expensive winter! Mike

I should have mentioned the prop is bronze, and careful polishing usually brings enough copper to the surface to prevent growth for a year. The shaft is stainless, supported by a p-bracket with cutlass bearing. The shaft is usually greased, to make later cleaning easier, and usually has minimal growth of bryozoans (sea mats) etc. I've found over the last 20 or so years that painting the shaft and prop just doesn't work, as all of the "goodness" from the antifoul gets leached out with the turbulence etc, and then the "dead" matrix remaining attracts growth. How do others do it? Mike

Frisky is now ashore for the winter, after an unexpected second summer afloat due to unforeseen events earlier in the year. We used International Cruiser Uno, which was designed for one coat coverage, and one season afloat. It's a soft eroding antifoul, suitable for slower boats that don't get quite so much pounding. Our first summer was fine, with no appreciable growth, and nothing other than slime. The shaft anode fell off, but I had hoped the main hull anode would continue to provide some protection. We only managed a few trips over the winter, but again, little growth was noticed. The boat wasn't used much in the early part of the summer 2008, and following the Spring's algae bloom we did a scrub in late July - but was unable to easily reach the prop area. The picture here shows what the prop area was like after being afloat for 2 years without a scrub. Barnacles and sea-squirts mainly, with bristle weed too. The overall drag was enough to reduce speed from 6 knots at 2,500 rpm by about 1 knot. A lot would have been due to the prop being inefficient, but also the drag from the growth. Moral of the story? One season afloat for me for now on, and Cruiser Uno was fine for one year. A second is pushing it. Mike

Well done Gordon and Paul - shows what can be done! Mike

Don't forget cameras and scales those who go Haddock bashing! Good luck all! Mike

Great news Terry, well done, you've just given us all hope that we might get something different this winter! Good to have a second report too Graham! The club record is vacant (just checked) by the way. Was this on coloured, white, or metallic feathers by the way, and were they baited? Thanks, Mike PS About 10 years ago, I bought some sprats from an inshore netting boat on Poole quay, and he had a box of mixed bits and pieces as well. There was a haddock of about 1lb in there. I asked him where he had made the catch, and he said about a mile off Old Harry.

Met up with Rich before 8.30 and pottered out for the Species Comp. Tried one of my plaice marks in the harbour, and Rich hit fish first drop...but it was a lovely Tub Gurnard of about 1.5lb, Rich's first hence a Personal Best. Nothing else showed so we bagged up on Ballan Wrasse both while waiting for the fog to lift, including another PB for Rich at 2lb 6oz. We then tried a drift or two for bass near Poole entrance, getting a fish each, and a bonus Gilthead Bream for Rich (another PB?). Saw garfish following baits so changed tackle and caught 2 in 2 drops, plus a bonus mackerel. Lots of mullet shoaling in the entrance area by the way...not keen on any baits presented! We tried off Ballard (another Tub, to me this time), then tried the Spoil Grounds for the alleged cod and whiting....for zero success. Not even a bite. Stuck it out an hour or so in glorious sunshine with big leads, then drifted a while to see if that helped, but no joy. Tried Poole Patches for the usual bits, but nothing showing, before returning back inside the harbour for a final plaice of about a pound and a half to me. Overall: Rich Stevens: Tub Gurnard 1 = 3 Ballan Wrasse 4, inlcuding a PB of 2lb 6oz = 8 + 2 = 10 Gilthead Bream 1 (does this count) = 3 Bass 1 = 5 Bonus for 4 species = 20 Total = 41 points (please check) Mike Fox: Tub Gurnard 1 = 3 Ballan Wrasse 4 = 8+2 = 10 Garfish 2 = 4 Mackerel 2 = 2 Bass 1 = 5 Plaice 1 = 3 Bonus for 6 species = 40 Total = 67 (please check) Lovely day out after the fog lifted, saw a good few club boats out and about. Thanks again for the trip Rich! Mike

Rich kindly offered me a place on Warren, and we'll be out from Poole in the morning, entering the comp. Mike

I check the shipping and inshore forecasts from the Met Office - they are the most credible of the marine weather forecasting sites. mike

The recommendations within the Ouzo report still hold good. I agree that the Plastimo tubes give next to no echo, and the bar has been raised regarding what is acceptable. At the moment, "radar reflectors" are being sold that do not meet the required standard, thereby adding to confusion. Personally, all I can advise is get the best you can afford, and make sure it's correctly mounted in poor visibibility - if not permanently. Having had a number of close encounters of the large fast shipping kind both inshore and offshore in moderate and poor visibility, I'm glad my radar echo is good - and has been checked! Mike

It's all looking very professional! "Proper Job!" Mike

Incredible experience Al - and great write up! Congrats! Mike

Nicely done chaps, and some good write-ups! There's bigger giltheads around Poole, Carol having had them to 2lb 2oz. Good to hear of red mullet too, our best has been 1lb exactly off Swanage, but we've had them on the edge of the Hook Sands too. Both make very good eating when big enough! Mike

Have used International antifouls for about 20 years now, and have been generally happy with them. The current Cruiser on "Frisky" was applied last Spring (2007), and due to various factors, we didn't manage to haul out over the Winter or Spring. We applied a couple of coats of antifoul over the old stuff that really should be taken off sometime. The results were good for 2007, but we noticed a line of green ribbon weed at the join to the boot-topping (Trilux) in early Spring. We had just a couple of trips in late Spring when growth was minimal, but on our recent holidays we noticed the through-hull log had stopped working, and the boat felt sluggish on the way over - GPS speed over the ground confirmed this. I withdrew and cleaned the log in Ste Pete, finding it heavily fouled, and replaced it without the usual Trilux, to get me through the holiday. The boat still seemed slow, and in Trebeurden drastic measures were needed. George and I scrubbed from the dinghy as best as we could to start off. Then, I used cable ties to attach a couple of old "fish cloths" to an old rope, and Carol and I stood on either side of the hull and "see-sawed" the rope and cloths the whole length and width of the hull as best we could. Huge clouds of brown slime and sludge came free with blue clouds afterwards as we got to the antifoul, but the keel felt rough snagging the cloth, and is probably covered in barnacles, or the makings of a decent moules/frites. Summary: Cruiser is fine for one season on a slow displacement boat. For two seasons afloat, or a planing hull, I think I'd consider stronger antifouls such as Micron or harder ones designed for faster boats. Boot-toppings such as Trilux are much harder than erodable antifouls, and are good for the increased turbulence around waterlines for one season, and scrub up well for a second. The join of anti-foul to boot-topping has lots of turbulence, and is susceptible to weeding. Hope this is of some help to members. Mike

Good to hear there are some mackerel and bass around...! Two rescues the same day? Well done that man! Mike