Mike Fox

Interesting thread. This might be a silly comment, but if they are so popular, why don't people just keep them and not put them up for sale? Are they considered an "interim" boat that people buy before upgrading to something larger? Some of the most popular makes of yachts rarely come on the market because people are so happy with them! Very often they are kept for 10 years or more, and when they eventually come onto the market, they are sold for more (in pound terms) than they were bought for. Mike

The entire crew of Frisky plan to fish this one... Mike

Channel hops in sailing boats can be slow. We generally pop the autohelm on, and the excitement is the hourly chart plot, the terror of the shipping lanes, and generally enjoying the journey with binoculars watching gannets and shearwaters. It's a great unwind at the start and end of the holidays! We started our holidays last year with a trip to Guernsey from Poole, taking around 12 hours, and running out of fair tide at Beaucette Marina in the North of the island, where we had a calm night in a disused quarry - still the only marina I've ever been in that's 70 feet deep. Angling was banned in there after locals were caught gutting large bass and pollack on the pontoons - caught straight down! Apparently, theres a couple of rusting cars in there, full of conger! You did the right thing Martin, slow but sure. Mike

Well done Lewis and Dan! Mike

Brilliant Mike ! Worth registering them both officially I suspect. Was it anywhere near the spot you told me? Saw you coming back in on Sunday on the approaches to the chain ferry, but you seemed a little preoccupied. That broken down Sunseeker was in an interesting place, eh? Mike

Some great fish there. Well done all. Anyone fish overnight at all? Mike

Left the boatyard for the 7.30 bridge on Saturday 9th June, and arrived off Dancing Ledge just before the charter boats. Picked our spot with care, using the new twin frequency sonar to check out ridges, holes and ledges. Anchored 50m uptide of a nice cluster, and settled in for a long wait, deploying groundbait in batches to the seabed. Took a while for the fish to show, but were they good! We had more 2lb fish than ever before, with all of us catching quality fish on squid heads on 1/0 hooks - and the odd one to No2's The best went 3lb exactly on digitals scales, and we all hit PBs! We also had spider crabs, with George taking a nice one for his tea - a firm favourite after our French travels. We did keep a few males for the pot, and released well over 20. A few dogs as well, but mackerel were scarce. We tried a couple more marks in the area too, but the first one did it for us! Also saw new club member Alan and crew on Marcel, who anchored nearby, and seemed to hit some good fish too. Fog was grim, with visibility down to less than 50m in the afternoon. The new plotter did it's stuff, and got us back to Swanage Bay where it lifted, where we saw Rob and Jo on "Jo-Jo" on the edge of the banks, where we had more smaller bream, and a specimen diver! Charlie Chapman popped by too in a borrowed boat - good to see you afloat! A great day, giving the new electronics a real test ! Just need a few decent waypoints now. Mike

Would love to catch an undulate Paul, as have never caught one before! What do they taste like? Mike and Alan - you would be more than welcome. If we find the alleged undulate/blonde/small eyed hotspot (or anything other than a doggie), you will be the first I tell (on Channel 6 low power?). Imagine a 3-way raftup on one anchor in 100' of water! With a bit of luck we'll get to try a few new marks and will consider moving until we find something interesting. Mike

We plan to be afloat tomorrow. the jury is still out for Sunday. Off Swanage somewhere is likely, with the tides the way they are. I think we'll use the slack tides to try a few of the newly-shared club marks (as in the Members-Only Section), and test out the updated electronics. Taken the conscious decision NOT to fish the comp, as the specimen format has proven to be difficult (if not impossible!) for us to compete with faster purpose-built angling boats who can move quickly to a wider variety of more distant marks. We can't seem to break the 80% specimen level, seem unable to find the quality fish, and need lots more practice! Had there been a species element we would have joined in, and gone for a dozen or more. Hope this can be included in future years for us slower boats restricted to the more inshore marks who struggle with the larger fish. Hope to see some of you out there, and if you smell freshly ground coffee wafting on the summer breeze, feel free to scrounge a cup! Good luck for all those who are in the comp. Mike, Carol and George

Alan, The Rips are around 20 miles south - still fancy playing? Mike

Like it Tom ! Can imagine the headline now... "Merry Fisher 695 rebuffed by agent. World's first lilo with inboard diesel engine and patio doors as replacement. Agent elevated to Lilo Lil status on club forum." Mike PS Are there cod AND pollack on the rips this time of year?

Would love to, but would hate to constrain you to 6 knots. Will have to await your ripping yarns with interest. Mike

The current mid-range forecast for the weekend suggests generally light winds Friday and Saturday (with sun!), and a real risk of a weak low pressure system working up the English Channel on Sunday, which could generate some light/moderate Easterlies, or perhaps poor visibility. There is nothing on the forecast as yet to suggest it will need to be called off, but all skippers should plan to monitor the weather particularly carefully over this period, due to the extended competition duration, and make their own judgement whether they continue or not at their selected marks, or with a planned trip. I would also recommend that everyone planning to fish the comp checks and updates their safety kit in advance of the comp starting: 48 hours at sea might flatten batteries, or deplete fuel supplies particularly, etc! Also, agree buddy boat arrangements and backups in advance - it might be difficult on the days. For those planning night fishing on local marks during the competition, please prepare in advance for anchor lights, shifts for a 100% watch pattern, and arrange to slip and buoy your anchors should a rapid exit be needed. This is the only club night comp of the year, and extra care must be taken. Let's discuss further at the meeting on Thursday. Mike

The case for the defence is simple: - All club records etc are done on trust; - Trust includes correct recording of species and weight; - Analysis of club catches resulted in a record for smoothhound being agreed; - Smoothound is Mustelus mustelus; - There is no club record for a starry smoothhound - Mustelus asterias; - The two species are easy to distinguish; - The British Record list includes both species; - This is the first claim for a new club record for starry smoothound, even though larger ones may have been caught in the past by club members and not separately identified / recorded as such. - There is no need for a category/species/qualifying weight to be agreed before a claim - what if a thresher shark had been caught, for example? Proposal: - Leave existing club record for Smoothhound to stand; - Allow this claim for a Starry Smoothhound; - If another club member has previously caught a larger starry smoothound, and claimed a separate club record as such at the time, then a separate, retrospective claim for that fish should then be allowed. Mike PS Great picture editing!

And with the stars....

First picture....

Charlie, Some good points, and I do understand some of the history, but think it a little unfair if this fish were not eligible, even on a temporary basis. As an easier suggestion, why not keep the existing record for the common smoothhound (cancellation would be unfair I believe), and let this start the record hunting for starry smoothhound. As you say, the British record is much bigger, and the new club record will probably be broken several times this year until it stabilises at a truly huge fish - but allowing several club members a chance at their 15 minutes of glory (and Carol to grin from ear to ear, at least briefly)! Cheers, Mike PS Had Carol smashed the British record, would the club have allowed it then?

Hi Alan, After having a couple of trips out with other club members, I had a similar problem with inappropriate tackle, and came to the same conclusion - I needed new kit, and so did my son of 12 - for anchoring for larger fish in stronger tides. I checked out mid-ranged gear, and having used an Ugly Stik spin successfully for many years, went for their 20-30lb two piece rod, which splits into two sections of about 4'. Few other rods of this class broke into this size - which we need for storage, car boot, etc. We now have two of these. For reels, I went for the Shimano TLD15 - a robust bit of kit, that should give many years of service. My son is less experienced with multipliers and he has the equally tough Shimano Charter Special 2000 - both at broadly similar price. Both reels have 30lb braid, which makes a huge difference with sensitivity and reduces the amount of weight needed. I bought from a local tackle shop, and got a healthy discount on listed prices by buying all together. Internet purchases might have saved a bit more. The kit I chose suits our needs, but yours might differ. There's a lot of advice available on older threads on here. Have a read, and if you can, try a few different models out before taking the plunge. Mike

Paul, the current club record is claimed against Mustelus mustelus, the common smoothound. I trust this was correctly identified at the time. Gnasher, we intend going for another club record this summer, at a little spot where we have previously caught two specimens of a fish not currently on the fish list (as per catch reports). Am not sure if there even is an NFSA specimen size for this particular beastie, but irrespective, the presence or absence of an NFSA specimen size should not prevent a club record claim, IMHO. Mike

Thanks Duncan, but I note that Golden Grey mullet is distinguished, Red and Black bream are separately recorded, Lesser and Greater spotted dogfish, and Red and Tub gurnard, and loads of different rays, etc as well. Surely all separate species warrant a separate record? Mike

After a frustrating wet and windy half term holiday, we managed to take Frisky Fox across to the Solent, to try to get George a specimen flounder - without avail, but we did spend a gorgeous calm evening in Newtown Creek where he reacquainted himself with the schoolies (all returned). We decided to try a mark near Lymington for the smoothhounds on Saturday, as soon as the fog cleared enough for us to see the Solent! We anchored up in about 20' of water, and deployed a combination of rag and squid on 3/0 hooks, which had worked for us in the past, and Carol had a lovely Starry Smoothhound (Mustelus Asterias) of exactly 6lb on our digital scales. I note from the club record list that only common smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus) has a record, and therefore, would like to claim a new club record on Carol's behalf. Photos to follow, hopefully showing the distinctive "stars" to evidence the claim.... The rest of the trip was less eventful - George missed a cracking run, and I managed a pup of an embarrassing 2lb. The promised wrecking on a wreck near Southbourne didn't even find evidence of the wreck! Pollack fishing on the rough produced a couple, and fishing X-Ray on the return trip produced 5 male bream of around 1.5 lb for the pot - but no rays on the drift. Mike, Carol and George PS Paul - could I ask you to modify the catch report site, so this species can be added please?

Well, we did it. Splashed out on a box of tricks that promises a lot, and at more than my original budget. Spent a few hours at the Marine Super Store in Port Solent during the rain on Monday, with a knowledgeable assistant showing me the various models on display/demo We bought the Gapmin GPSmap 550s. Reasons for purchase: - Internet searches on models, specifications and prices suggested it was worth a good look; - Integral detailed charts for whole of UK, Ireland and N. coast of France. No more needed. - Large, incredibly clear screen with superb resolution - worth the extra over the 450 in my opinion, but it was a close call this one; - Integral twin frequency fish finder/sonar (bought the transducer too); - Simple, straightforward menu system; - I already have depth sounder and fixed GPS at the chart table (plus handheld for the grab bag), so a combined unit isn't a problem, and in fact, space at the wheel is tight, so it's actually better. All I have to do now is get a lump of pasticene for the transducer, drill a few holes in strategic locations, and do a bit of wiring. Why am I dreading this bit? Mike

Took advantage of yesterday's brief weather window to venture forth for a few hours, going out with George and Carol on Frisky. The sea was eerily flat in Poole Harbour, with steadily thickening white clouds, and with a 6-7 on the Forecast for later we weren't keen to go too far. We dropped down harbour to our wrasse mark, and finding no-one else on it, we tried a few drifts, and were into the fish straight away. Simple running ledgers, with rag on a 1/0 hook on light spinning gear were being nailed every drift, with most round the 1-2 lb mark, when George connected with a fish that doubled his rod over. After taking line again and again, he brought it to the net, and a plump 3 pounder came over the side. This was the heaviest wrasse he had ever weighed, so an official PB - but much smaller that a huge yellow wrasse he had caught from the same spot years ago - when we had no scales on board. That was the biggst wrasse I had ever seen - and caught by a 3 year old! A few more drifts saw more wrasse, when I felt a gentle pull, then a couple of seconds later a slight knock, and I tightened into a good one, which then dived repeatedly, stripping line from my reel again and again, rod doubled right over. It took about 5 minutes to bring ito into the net, with repeated crash dives. Another official PB for me this time, at 3lb 13oz. Carol was catching fish steadily, but just couldn't connect with the larger fish - she was trying slightly higher in the water though, hoping for a pollack or bass. After an hour or so, we had a chat with a couple of boats sharing a nearby buoy who had been watching the constant action, and found the idea of a sailing boat with rods over the side quite funny. They had a couple of wrasse, small bass, and dogfish (in the harbour!!!), but nothing keepable. As the weather seemed to be holding, we tried further out, but rounding Old Harry, we were greeted by returning angling boats, and a Force 5-6 Westerly, with blackening skies. The trolled mackerel lines had been untouched apart from the inevitable weed (with a few baby sandeels mixed in!), so we turned tail and ran back into the harbour, spotting Mad Mike in his new gin palace, Pride of Morpork II, fishing in a well-known bass and plaice hot-spot. After a brief chat, we headed back in - hoping they had more luck with edible fish than we did. Mike, Carol and George

That sounds like a brilliant day! Much better than ours too! Dead envious about the pollack - how far out? Mike

18 boats on Dancing Ledge sounds a little unusual to me. Wonder if the comments on here have contributed to its popularity? Sounds like a brilliant day all the same. I thought the thornback looked more like an undulate to me.... http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/pages/undulateray.html but a lovely fish all the same. What depth did you catch them in ? We might have seen you out there and never realised - we must really get one of those pennants... We fished off Swanage, and over the Whitehouse Gounds for a time, but didn't see any mackerel - and no ray! We had a stack of bream too, to almost 2 lb, a handful of dogs and some chunky wrasse, but nothing interesting. Saw a boat fishing live sandeel for bass, (though saw nothing landed) which persuaded me to fish a storm shad for a while, but without success. Mike, Carol and George