Mike Fox

Depending on dates and school work, I might be interested as well. Will watch with interest. George F

Mike, you need a couple of huge livebait tanks, and if you approach the bridge at high water, to fill them. Two cubic metres of sea water weighs a couple of ton, so imagine how much lower you would sit in the water! Under the bridge at any time, no hassle! Am just trying to work out how big a pair of tanks I might need.... Mike

Fished with Simon on board Cimarra, with Peter, launching from Lymington with other club boats. My first time on a Raider 18 as well, and was impressed at the stability, speed, space, and a superb set of electronics! We fished with Gastronaught, Fugazi, and Neo at a mark in the Solent, and were encouraged by the radio message of a cod to Gordon M (nice fish Gordon!), but were doomed to a session of doggies and pout. When the wind picked up, we up-anchored and tried the island side of the Solent, having a slowish trundle over Hampstead Ledge to see what was there, and made a point to return for a tackle-risking session if our second mark failed. We fished a mark near Yarmouth that looked very promising. I had a good take on my first drop, and after lifting it clear of the sea-bed, it was thumping away in a most unusual manner then it all went slack. I pulled in, and there on my 7/0 was impaled one of the bluish-black smaller feeding claws from a lobster - still moving. I went back down, and tried to get the rest - but no joy. We had a much better size of pout, and Peter was connected to something large that seemed to be a decent conger, but it broke him up. We all had similar bites at times, but nothing we could get over the side. As the sun went down, we hammered back to Lymington at 35 mph (startling!) and a great day on the water was had. Shame about the lack of cod, but Gordon proved they're still there! Thanks again Simon, for a brilliant, and eye-opening trip! Mike

Cheers Simon - sounds good news! Hope you got my PM. Mike

Hi Mike, I bought 100m of 14mm (or maybe 16mm?) polypropylene from the commercial chandlers in Cherbourg for about

Will crew with Simon aboard Cimarra, probably launching 8 - 8.30. Let's hope there's a bit more activity. Anyone got a whiting mark in the Solent they can share, for if the cod remain shy? I suspect a few bass might still be around too! Mike

Any room for a little one chaps? Mike

and as we all know, it's an essential ingredient in gunpowder... Mike

Groannnnnnnnnnnnnnn. On a more serious note - does anyone know if you can replace the upper hand grip on a rod easily and cost-effectively? Mike

I took a second rod out on the Cod Comp, in case of problems or a chance of whiting, but noted that the handle was all gouged and damaged. It couldn't have happened on Neo, so assumed I must have damaged it in transit - maybe the tackle box banging into it in the boot of my car? Checked the boot and no evidence of damage there though. When I got home, I was going to put the rod in the usual place in the garage, when I saw these black plastic "shavings" on the floor - which proved to be bits of handle. Carol guessed it had been chewed rather than gouged. George's new spinning rod also had a few teeth marks, but his new Ugly Stik was fortunately untouched. Remembering the rod had been used last with squid, and put away without a thorough clean (tip here...), I reckoned it had been chewed by a mouse, especially as we have had the odd one or two in the garage since we moved in 8 years ago. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I set up two mousetraps with squid as bait, and this morning caught a beauty by the back of it's neck. Seeing as the bait was THEN removed by another mouse, I'm going to have to continue baiting up until I can't catch any more! Mike

Chip Monk ? Mike

Looks smart Mike! All you have to do now is to settle on a name... I'll back Pride of Morpork II.... Mike

Great day for a delivery trip Martin. We brought Frisky back from the Hamble in similar conditions 4 years ago, and the confidence that gave in the boat was immeasurable. Good luck with AWOL and all who fish in her! Mike

Top three cod were all 12-pounders. It was a lumpy day on the Needles car park, which I thought was only borderline fishable. Comp or not, it was hard to keep balance, bait up, move around the boat etc, and standing up to reel in was very difficult. We stuck it out an hour or so after change of tide, and that was more than enough for me! Knowing that Paul had caught his 21 pounder there made a visit worthwhile, but no longer roughing it after the wind went up another notch was a good decision by Paul. It clearly wasn't going to improve much ! The second mark actually gave us as much chance to get on the prize table (as Mark and Gordon ably proved), but it was definitely a 2lb lead spot. The 6 squid baids threaded up the lines might have proven a bit challenging for the codling, but both Paul and I did have a couple of bites which frustratingly failed to develop. A great day out Paul - thanks for the offer of place! Hard to believe that 40 HP could give such a performance in the Solent! Mike

George got an Ugly Stik 30lb class, and a Shimano 2000LD with braid, and is itching to use it. He's never caught conger, ling nor bull huss and reckons he now has a chance against the "mystery fish" that seem to smash us up at times. His Dad got a flotation suit, cos he doesn't like wearing his life jacket, and some digital scales that seem a little bit overkill for the Long Spined Sea Scorpions.... Just need to find a chandlers doing a sale to see if Carol wants a late gift-wrapped 10kg Bruce with 100m of rope... Mike

That would be your propellor then Alun? Allegedly.... Mike

Great offer Paul, thanks! Weigh-in ends at 5.30, so really need to be ashore etc for 4p.m. if Lymington - as it's an hour on dry roads with no traffic, and that's without a boat behind. What do you think? Mike

If anyone is looking for crew on the 28th Cod comp, am willing to give a hand etc... Mike

Great one Paul - it shows persistance pays! Mike

Thanks for the mark Paul - which produced dog after dog, and then a run of good pout to over 2lb (to Gordon). Not even a sniff from a marauding cod. Didn't get to christen the new gear on a quality fish, but it was fun trying. Great to be on the water again, and George was really impressed at the speed of Enticer, and yet again I was amazed Enticer is only 16.5 feet long. Shame that anchoring in wind over tide earlier today didn't work out - but there was never a concern about safety, even when the engine did seem to be acting strangely. Having seen Paul's superb cod, I now must admit to wanting one! Nice fish Paul! Sounds like Alun and Adam had a good session, and was good to see you both on the slip. Good luck with the worms Alun...if they last! Thanks again for a great day out Gordon, and your hot bacon rolls are unbeatable! Mike and George

Sounds good to me Gordon. I'm game for inshore if windy, or offshore if smooth. Have upgraded to a TLD15 with braid, and an Uglystik 30lb class, hoping for a stab at something substantial! Is there room for George too? Mike

Well done both! There was me thinking I had snatched a one-day weather window, and you went and grabbed two days, catching fish on both. Dead impressed that you were catching conger on rag...unless a pout got there first, and the conger took that? Mike

Well done Gordon! Brilliant day by the sound of it. Mike

Hi ! Saw you leaving Poole about the same time as us - we were fishing from yacht "Frisky Fox" near the Castle, as you went back in. I remember reading the write up about the Landau when it was new - the design was meant to eliminate wash at low speeds I recall. Have always taken great care to check the wash whenever they come past - and it does seem to be minimal compared to other motor boats. Looks a practical fishing boat too! Mike

Well done for getting out there! Shame no whiting. Where are they around Poole? The only boat I saw going out to sea from Poole was a blue-hulled Hunter Landau 20 - not you by any chance? Mike