Mike Fox

I'll be fishing on Court Jester with Neal and John, following my recent successes on smallish bream, at least I can advise where they weren't! Thanks Neal! Mike

Had a very mixed bag of weather over the half term, which I took off as holiday as well. Our first trip out was Thursday, when we fished several marks on the Slate Beds. Carol got us started with a beautiful male cookoo wrasse, with irridescent blue and orange colouration. George and I managed dogfish, and we all steadily caught a dozen or so black bream (all males!) to about 2lb, but no monsters between them. Big rods were deployed with larger baits, the best fish being a common smoothhound of 6lb 6oz. On the Friday, we trundled along to the Solent, catching mackerel and pollack en route, where we spent the night in peace and quiet with 6,000 screaming seabirds. As evening fell, we had 7 school bass, one dogfish and one solitary starry smoothhound of 5lb 4oz. Left next morning to fish a well known rocky mark with artificials, and 4" storm shads resulted in a few bites, with the best bass of 3lb 6oz. We then tried a small wreck, that seemed festooned with fish, but were probably pout, as none managed the artificials we offered on the drift. We then tried several marks at Southbourne Rough on the way back to Poole, after waving to a couple of club boats on the Ledge. We had a couple of jumbo pout to about a pound and a half, and 3 male bream of similar size, but the fish seemed thin on the ground - guess they have scattered now. Finished the trip with a few mackerel by trolling artificials, and tried a brief attempt for plaice in Poole Harbour with no luck. A very pleasant few days, no record breakers, but a great bit of fun. Mike, Carol and George

Am glad you were all right in the end Danny. Such a simple thing as engine failure could have been catastrophic had conditions been worse, or the location different. Hopefully, the experience will persuade you and others that the RNLI SEA Safety Check isn't something to be ignored. I for one am delighted that the RNLI volunteers are there when needed, and wince whenever I see the lifeboats going out on a shout. Interesting to think that each shouts costs an average of

Hi Alun, If you need removable steps to recover a "Man Over Board", then why would you want to borrow them for just one day only? Mike

Will be taking Frisky out tomorrow morning if the weather improves as currently forecast. Unfortunately, have no additional room with such a tiny cockpit, but wondered if anyone else is out, and able to share catch reports on Ch 6, and maybe help each other out? Having fished just one weekend this year, due to various factors, I have no real idea where the fish are. Thinking of trying somewhere between St. Aldheims and Christchurch, and maybe to 3-4 miles out to 100' or so, and would ideally love a mixture of bits and pieces for the pot (and the next species comp practice). Any suggestions as to where to try, and what for? Mike

Congrats Sam! Mike, Carol and George

I'd consider: - reducing the risk of corrosion of terminals and conections; - prevents the risk of a metal object falling across open terminals causing a short or electrical fire (it happens); - makes it easier to secure the batteries in the event of being rolled, or a severe broach, reducing the risk of electrical failure, as terminals can be ripped off. Also, a marine surveyor will probably insist if you need a survey prior to obtaining insurance, or ever want to sell, for all of the reasons above, and probably a few more. Mike

Siezing (or "mousing") an anchor shackle is one item I frequently recommend when performing a SEA Safety Check. I use monel wire to stop the shackle pin undoing, but cable ties can be equally good. Keeping a backup anchor of sufficient size to keep the boat secure is essential, and space constraints should not be allowed to be an issue for essential safety gear. If you need to hold position to avoid the boat being damaged in the event of engine failure, an anchor is pretty well your only choice, and it has to hold. Mike

"Note the typical bite characteristics of the Giant Squid, as discovered on the recent squid tagging programme" or "I should have used a pennel rig" or "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was looking for new fish-head based recipes" or "What's that on the quay, a-head?" Mike

Well done Will, all who got to the prize table, and others that took part! First weekend of the year for us, and entry seemed foolhardy! Jim - yes, it was me. Am afraid that Frisky is somewhat constrained by both air draught and speed, but it floats, we dangle, and the odd fish comes over the side. All boats are a compromise, and ermmmm ours is probably unique in the club. Mike

Good report Alan and Rich! Glad you had a good one, and hope some of the ideas paid off! Mike

Took Frisky Fox out both Saturday and Sunday for our first two trips of the year, and had a small tour of local marks, spotting several club boats on our travels. Ignored the obvious hotspots for a while, and fished a few personal favourites (without a boat for over a mile), to see how they were doing without us. No one spot seemed to excel, but tried a mixture of baits, rough, smooth, deep, shallow, and mixed it all up. Not too bad a haul of species: Doggies in up to 130' of water! Black bream (didn't fish the Bream comp, but Carol's was best at 2lb 4oz today) Mackerel (enough for bait and dinner) Garfish (George's dinner) Pollack - while bream bashing (Carol's favourite) Small-eyed ray (target species for Carol) Whiting (bit late?) Poor cod We all had fun, and slow and steady action both days. Oh, and one of the bream was sporting war wounds! A 2lb 2oz male with teeth marks round its middle, with a bite radius consistent with a tope! Think it must have been grabbed on the way in (slack line in mid-retrieve?), as the injuries were very fresh, many scales ripped out etc, and no signs of new ones. Mike

Dave, Check out Black Goby (gobius niger) - looks spookily like one, and I've had several there overthe years! Mike

Hi Glen, 8 knots is luxury - you should try 6 ! There will be a lot of boats out this weekend, huddled round the hotspots for bream. They'll give you a good chance of a catch right now. Poole Patches will be covered in boats, and if you can lower a mesh sack of fish-heads etc to the seabed with your anchor, the smell traill should bring the bream to you. I find South of the main marks produces quite well, but it's all about finding a good gap! Other general areas to consider are the back of Ballard Down, in Swanage Bay, Christchurch Ledge, or Southbourne Rough (3 miles SE of Boscombe Pier). You will catch the odd bream while drifting, but best catches come at anchor, which must be "tripped" to reduce the chance of snagging it. Use either ledger or paternoster rigs, with small hooks, size 4 is ideal. Baits are ragworm, squid strip or mackerel strip, and keep the hook point exposed, ideally in the middle of the bait as presented. Many bites will be shy, so hold the rod, strike the long pulling "rattles", and try to induce them to take by lifting the bait slightly if the bites prove to be shy. Check baits frequently (they get robbed), and wind in slowly when retrieving - might get a take from a pollack or mackerel that way! Good luck! Mike

or.... Bob knew that if he could reach the beach where the little old ladies were paddling, he should be able to distract his new friend.... Mike

Adam, Whatever you get, would be worth ensuring that the design stage includes emergency steering from the outset. Imagine being towed with hydraulic steering with engine failure, and no pump pressure! Or having all of that horse power, and no way to steer. Just a thought... Mike

If I didn't have amnesia to go along with my deja vu, I might have seen this one coming....

Hi Alan, I use a Swedish made Abu 7000 for most of my fishing, and it has coped fine with bass, tope and conger to 40lb in the last year. It's about 7 years old now. I've also got a couple of Shimano TLD 15's for the 30lb class gear. Not the fastest retrieve available, but good strong construction, lever drag and allegedly they last many years. George has the Shimano 2000 charter special which is broadly similar in construction, but has a level wind. Keep your options open, and maybe try a few from others if crewing, or have crew? mike

She looks great Dave - congratulations mate, you must be very proud! Look forward to seeing you out on the water in a little spot or two we know Mike, Carol and George

Hi Gordon, "Backing" refers to changing direction in an anticlockwise manner. For example going from E to NE, as opposed to "Veering" which is shifting clockwise. The Outlook effectively commences at 1800 Saturday, but there is no indication (as yet) in the forecast of the timing for the backing of the wind. However, you should be able to interpolate what is likely and when from the sequential Atlantic charts at: http://www.meteonet.nl/aktueel/brackall.htm Good call to defer the decision by the way! Bear in mind the flood in the Severn Estuary is from the SW, so wind over tide in shallow water might prove interesting after the NE shift. Mike

Late confirmations: Tony Deavin and Pete Russell have phoned through news that they are taking part, presumably on Serenity. Also, George Fox will be fishing on Frisky Fox, with Carol. I am still unable to fish. Mike

All, Please note that the forecast for tomorrow continues to change. I would strongly recommend that each skipper keeps a close eye on conditions, and a good watch on Ch16 for any early Strong Wind Warning that might be issued, and decide on their actions accordingly. I will NOT be fishing tomorrow, nor have access to VHF radio, and as such I have asked Paul Jennings to make any last minute cancellation call that he judges necessary. Mike Safety Officer

The forecast has changed again: Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis Strong wind warning 0353 Sat 12 Apr 1800 Sat 12 Apr Southwesterly winds will reach force 6 or 7, occasionally gale force 8 at first, before decreasing to reach force 6 at times Inshore waters forecast 24 hour forecast: 0600 Sat 12 Apr 0600 Sun 13 Apr Wind Southwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, decreasing 3 or 4 later. Sea state Moderate or rough. Weather Squally showers. Visibility Mainly good. Outlook: 0600 Sun 13 Apr 0600 Mon 14 Apr Wind Southwest veering northwest 4 or 5. Sea state Slight or moderate. Weather Showers. Visibility Good. This gives me less cause for concern, and as such the competition is ON ! Please note that the Met Office suggests gusts to 28 knots (F6) in Poole for early evening, and if I were fishing, I would be keen to avoid these. Good luck those that decide to enter, and remember that the decision to fish or not rests with each individual skipper. Mike Safety Officer

Was it this incident? http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/n...3F97&m=4&y=2008 Mike

All, Please note the weather outlook for Sunday is looking unkind, but is very changeable. The inshore forecast has been updated in the last few minutes and is here: Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis Strong wind warning 1631 Fri 11 Apr 0600 Sat 12 Apr Southwesterly winds will reach force 6 or force 7, occasionally gale force 8 for a time Inshore waters forecast 24 hour forecast: 1800 Fri 11 Apr 1800 Sat 12 Apr Wind Southwesterly 5 to 7, increasing gale 8 for a time. Sea state Moderate or rough. Weather Squally thundery showers. Visibility Mainly good. Outlook: 1800 Sat 12 Apr 1800 Sun 13 Apr Wind Southwest veering northwest later 5 or 6, decreasing 3 or 4. Sea state Moderate becoming slight. Weather Showers. Visibility Good. IF this forecast does not improve in the next 24 hours, I would say this would be unsafe for small boats, especially with the residual sea state left over from Saturday, and if the change in wind direction or reduction in strength is not early. Decision regarding go / no go has been deferred until tomorrow. Please watch this space. Mike Safety Officer