Mike Fox

Heyyyyyy Dean! Hope you have a great one mate! Mike, Carol and George

Wonder if the "fishing guide" concept stretches to being a commercial activity? Or Level 2 Powerboat instructor? Might avoid the need for big boat, MCA registration etc. Mike

Happy birthday Graham! Hope you got lots of tackle and things! Mike

Hi James, You'll have two target species to play with in the next few weeks. The plaice usually come in first (the spot I mentioned to you), and ragworm on ledger rig to a size 1 hook is about right, fishing on the drift. Some anglers swear by attractors such as plaice spoons and beads. I find bites are few and far between, and any early fish are quite skinny after spawning. The black bream then follow shortly afterwards, and you'll find that all of the best spots quickly look like a car park at weekends. Using your chart, GPS and sounder, you should be able to identify the rocky areas where they congregate. Poole Patches are one of the closer spots, and this is public knowledge. Bream are shy biters, with small mouths warranting No 4 hooks, certainly early season, with rag, squid and mackerel all working as baits, but I favour smallish rag, with a tip of squid. Drifting covers a fairly wide area, and will catch you fish. Lifting a rod tip slowly can encourage a better bite. The Patches are usually better at anchor, with certain spots taken very early in the day. Boats anchored with groundbait do particularly well. I know you haven't done much anchoring, but getting a good setup is sensible both from a safety and fishing point of view. There's lots of posts on the forum about this, but many members with boats your size will have a 7.5Kg Bruce "clone" anchor, plus chain, then 100m of 10 or 12 mm nylon rope as a general purpose system. This should be ok for up to 100' of water in calm conditions. Lots to think about! Good luck, Mike

For anyone considering heating: Cost of diesel heater, assuming single outlet =

You could always consider upgrading to environmentally friendly propulsion Adam Mike

I popped in this weekend, and bought a load of hooks (60p a packet of 20), a few lures, and some other bits. Braid had all sold out, and prices were generally HALF the price of the Fladen gear at The Range (or wimborne Market). Their Chieftain 30 multiplier for example was

Hi James, I'm always willing to help out club members with any safety matters, and would be more than happy to have a chat. Perhaps if you come to one of the club meetings, we could get the ball rolling? We have one this Thursday in Parkstone as it happens, and you'd be more than welcome to come along then, with no commitment. The chaps will be able to give you loads of ideas! Due to time constraints (work, boat maintenance, and time to find fishing time myself), I'm having to restrict my personal checks to Club Members a little more than before. If you choose not to join the club, and to remain just a Forum Member, I can put you in touch with the local RNLI SEA Safety team, and can arrange for someone else to provide the check for you. Either way, I would strongly recommend having a free independent and objective SEA Safety Check performed, as this will give you a great idea of the safety equipment you really should have before investing in tackle, fish finders etc. Once the safety matters are sorted, and you know how to use them and the boat, then you and your crew will be able to enjoy your fishing in more confidence. I've dropped you a Private Message - follow the link above to see it, and on-screen instructions, if you would like to reply! Mike Safety Officer

I saw Graham's new setup yesterday, and couldn't believe the detail and resolution present. A highly impressive bit of kit, that promises a lot, and am sure will shortly deliver! If anyone is investing in a new electronics setup, I suspect this would be superb to see in action! Mike

Welcome indeed James! As well as being a great club for learning all about fishing, you've definitely come to the right place to improve your knowledge of boats, with a huge wealth of knowledge about boat craft, equipment, seamanship, and safety at sea. The members are great at sharing safety information as well, and there have been many instances of members helping each other out, online, ashore and afloat. Try to come along to one of our meetings (next Thursday for example), and introduce yourself and join in! There's usually a good turn-out, and it will give you a chance to meet others with similar interests, and pick their brains! As Martin said, the fishing season is just about to start. It makes sense to be prepared, and you'll soon be taking advantage of the club membership. Hope to see you soon. Mike Safety Officer

Well done Paul. At 2lb, it was almost certainly an immature fish, and therefore not interested in going South spawning! Suggests fish that size can be found all through the winter! Mike

Pete, Anchoring is given a very high priority by the RNLI, as this can be the last chance of saving a vessel from being washed onto rocks etc. The folding grapnel is not one of the best designs for general purpose use, and has got limitations, especially at only 4kg. For a 20' boat, the RNLI suggest that you should be considering a main anchor of around 8kg, backed up by a decent length of chain. The anchor weight helps penetration into the sea bed, and the chain helps prevent chafe, and gives a more horizontal pull to aid setting. There's lots of different views about anchor patterns, prices, and techniques, and it is definitely worth chatting with a few other club members. From my personal point of view, any anchor used should be considered as disposable. They do get stuck, even when tripped, and I am prepared to buoy and cut the anchor cable if I can't retrieve. The Bruce "clones" from chandlers are quite cheap, and seem popular with many members, including myself. Any anchor will struggle in change of tide or wind over tide conditions when you need precision anchoring over a small mark or wreck, but if you would like me to perform a SEA Safety Check, we could go over some options and ideas, and maybe I will be able to answer these and other questions for you. Mike Safety Officer

It's actually the time of year when most bony fish think of spawning, and have headed out to deeper water where they think it might be safer for this activity. Evolution has looked favourably on this annual approach, as the planktonic young get first pickings of the spring bloom of other planktonic species, and survivors get a great head start. The end result is that all that is often left inshore in February are cartilaginous fish like rays and dogs, which tend to stay around and either give birth to live young later in the year, or produce "mermaids purses". The smaller immature fish like small whiting and sprats might still be found inshore, as will conger, which only spawn once in a lifetime. The odd cod might just be around for a sprat feast too, but most will have moved offshore. If you get out next weekend, perhaps try the wrecks for conger, or the banks for ray and dogs? You might need to be patient.... Good luck, and let us know how you get on! Mike

What is the name of your insurance company, Graham? Always good to know an outfit that agrees to pay quickly! Thanks, Mike

Small tip for those who are going.... Use chain to connect your vessel to the mooring buoys in Alderney. The motion there frequently chafes through rope on the mooring rings, and adrift vessels have ended up on the rocks, down the Swinge, or into the Alderney Race itself. Mike Safety Officer

Trev, We scraped two of our boats back to bare hull when the old stuff got very flakey. We found that half inch wood chisels were best for the job. Dust masks are essential if you do that - the toxins also affect humans! Oh, and antifoul will flake off a bare hull - so a primer is essential, as Charlie said. We use a soft erodable antifoul, but most power craft we know use the hard types that withstand 20 knots worth of pounding. We once spent a season on a swinging mooring, and the tide and current almost washed off all of the antifoul in just one season. Mooring in fresh water and having trips to the sea is a great combination - seaweed is killed by fresh water, and vice-versa - so long as you keep using it and don't let the weed build up. As a result, I'd consider one of the cheaper hard varieties - the expensive stuff might be wasted. On the other hand, if the old stuff lasted 3 years, you're doing better than us, and maybe a good one is a good investment? Mike

Congrats Martin! Hope the wrapped pressies contained all the tackle you ever wanted! Mike, Carol and George

Looks like it's passed well to the south of us, and is now starting to come ashore: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7197667.stm There will be the odd bit still in our patch for months though! Mike

Well my suggestion for the pinnacle of angling achievement would be.... Long-Spined Sea-Scorpion Twitcher and I think everyone over 2,000 posts should be reclassified! Any other suggestions to keep this running? Mike

Having killed a number of fixed spool reels in the last 20 years, the bit that tends to go first for me is the line roller on the bale arm. Would recommend checking this carefully, and greasing it well before first usage. Any signs of sticking, then service carefully to avoid grooving. As with other reels, washing well extends lifespan. Mike

Hitting a section of timber at 20 knots is a real risk. A collision between a boat travelling at speed with a piece of timber will punch through a fibreglass boat like a knife through cheese Note that as it gets more waterlogged, it will float lower and lower in the water, and will be almost invisible at speed. Just to put this in perspective, a hole of 3" diameter will allow approximately half a TON of water in every minute, according to the RNLI. This won't give you enough time to put a lifejacket on - so please wear them regularly! I strongly advise keeping a very good lookout during the next few months (not just days) as this stuff will hang around, and this adds real danger to coming back after dark in the next few weeks particularly. Take care out there chaps! Mike Safety Officer

Wow Charlie! Still, I guess if you divide 150 litres/mile by (say) 300 regular crew, you're doing a much better mileage rate per person than some of the club boats! Mike

Great fish Dan, and superb skippering Charlie! Alfresco is on a roll! Mike

Hi Andrew, Please take great note of the safety equipment offered on any second-hand boat. Many owners "carry" the gear onto their next boat, and unless they're giving up completely, you might find the safety gear inadequate. The reason I'm suggesting this is that you might be buying a great boat package, but it might leave you and your crew exposed from a personal safety perspective, and you may will need to spend more money to get the safety gear up to spec, and depending on the sort of range you would like to cover, this cost can go up. Check out some of the posts in the "Safety" forum, and prices in online chandlers etc. If you would like some help in determining what you might need and why, the RNLI provides a free, confidential, objective and personalised Safety Equipment Advisory Check for small boat owners, and I have performed a large number of these for club members. If you join the club, I would be delighted to help you out on a visit to Poole, or if you decide not to join, contact the RNLI, and they would be pleased to arrange a check for you at your convenience. Mike Safety Officer

I can see the development of new "Sealskin" artificials as we speak... http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_71...7170807&bbcws=1 Mike