Swainiac

Confused.com...........is this sunday a specimen comp...fished for heaviest specimen....or a species comp.....catch most species of fish, (as thread title suggests?) Rich

Bob, Cod will be showing for a while from now on, ask the Bass boys!! Todays tide is best for plaice, possibly better even tomorrow. Rich

Bob...how about you bringing Splash out along for a jolly one day?? You can see the drfits patterns then. Rich

Not jammy Bobski............................fishing good numbers chap! tried and tested last season.

I reckon that Slam Duncs record will be broken by a Turbot from the Shambles this summer!!! Nice one skipper

Great result guys....nudging that club record too. Spot on. Rich

Welcome aboard Darren, may I offer the first tip.......leave the Mother-in-Law at home!! Tight lines, Rich

They rear up fish for the table for the likes of Waitrose and M&S, I kno wthe guy who feeds, fishes out dead stock etc etc.........all year round shorts and t shirt stuff. They are doing very well.

100% specimen Tom, well done.........fish of the month maybe?? We did shite today.......btw!!!! Rich

Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwns, checks time, signs petition, grabs tackle, leaves for the boat. Rich

Paul, is the trip on this friday?

Adam, I spoke with Josh today, and he is planning a shambles trip tomorrow, the water is clearing, and you should have some sport. Tight lines. Rich

Sam, it looks an A grade already, well done. Rich

Welcome aboard Alan, glad you came out of the shadows!!!!! Hope that the forum and club give you what you are expecting. Rich

Tom, surely the size of spool and amount of line retrieve per crank, determines not really a reel for deeper water? My ABU Ambassadeur Five, (circa 1970) gives a similar retrieve, but has no lever drag, but is still a joy to use on a light rod.I am fed up sending the ABU 7000 back to Pure Fishing for repairs, so I bought the Penn 975 lver drag, which I find faultless. I would like a look at one of these as a small LD reel. (Bassman, if you Google Avet, have a look on the Charkbait site, they were one of the first to flog these reels, and they are showing all manner of colours on their site, so maybe the Fleabay ones are genuine Avets). Rich

I have asked for 25, which I will purchase on Sunday, and I will bring them to the next club meeting. If I get a receipt for Bob, can the club reimburse? Rich

Wont get round ure girth mista!!!

Tom, I was tongue in cheek earlier mate! I know your more scientific approach to gear, I tend not to confuse myself with such issues! Id rather just fish. If it works for me, I'm happy. As far as bassing techniques go, Kam, you have to rememberthe commecial boys are fishing for a living, so their methods are tried and tested to quite fine lines. Charter skippers have anglers of differing abilities on board, and will advise a method that all anglers have a chance of catching with. One benefit of fishing farther behind a boat full of anglers, is to get behind their terminal tackle, and out of the readed tangle zone! I recall in the weymouth festival year before last, I took bass on each drop, out of five drifts, and BB was unfortunately tucked in between the tangle brothers, and caught squat as he was knitted in each drift!! I would tend to watch the bass boys, and try their methods, which will change as the tide eases, as will their target area. That way, the small boat owner can still get amoungst the fish each drift. Tom, I would appreciate input on a medium (sub

Mikey, you may also like to consider buying two rods of differing lengths, of the same-ish class, as using a pair of rods on the back of your boat, you will benefit from getting the second rod tip farther away from the first, separating lines, which may otherwise tangle. There are a few spanners thrown into Tom' excellent review of his handbuilt rod, which mainly is echoed here with pennings by Dean. One thing I'm not so sure about is the handling weight of a rod, with claims that you can hold it all day. If you are hauling up 1 1/2lbs of lead on a light short rod, cast after cast, then I'm afraid you will feel it at the end of the day. Your uptiding styles will allow far less weight to be used, and be easier on older, less supple limbs! You know my attitude towards spending hundreds on rods, and I believe we are from the same mould as far as that is concerned. I havent been failed by uglys, and I know I bang on about them, but they are suitable for my style of fishing. I would rather spend a few more quid on a decent reel. In the end, mate, its horses for courses, if you want to run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, unfortunately you have to be a thouroughbred, if you merely want to compete in the 100yard dash acrosss Camber Sands, a Beast of Burden will suffice!! Rich

Paul, Ive sent you a PM. I did post sizes on here before the last Alderney trip as Slam Dunc quite rightly suggested, and a genius like yourself on the big white box will find them, I'm sure. I think I have a few sets for the Penn, Charter Special, TLD 5 and 10, (same sizes), and Penn 975 LD. Rich

Tom, you obviously need to push a few weights chap!!!!!! I can't honestly say I feel it a heavy rod to use, but then I dont sit at a desk all day!!!! Even my 50lb class Ugly is an ok rod to use all day. My 12lb class rod took Ling to 19lb and conger to 30lb out of a wreck, thats without the tip dipping into the sea!! Hand built rods are nice, I have a custom built Terry Eustace "Big Tench" rod tucked away somewhere, which was a joy to use. he only thing I have against spending huge amounts on gear is the thought of it getting stolen, and then being sold on for a pittance to some spotty herbert in a pub carpark. I'll stick to my cheap and very useable rods!! Rich

Adam, best tides for the Plaice out on the Shambles is a 1.6 to a 1.8, so try and organise it for the smaller tides. The plaice re and have been shoing for a while now, but are still skinny. Early turbot have also been taken. Rich

Tom, if it handles similar to an Ugly Stick, and looks to all intents and purposes like an Ugly Stick, and you need to beef up the rings and shorten the butt, then why spend

Duncan, I have W/lash Pro on all multipliers from my ABU 5, (10lb), my two TLD 5's, 15lb, my ABU 7000BG (chocolate geared!!!) has 25lb and my Penn 975 has 20lb. The five has had the braid on it for simply aaaaaaaages, and hasnt failed as yet. (Tempts fate there!!). The W/lash pro does appear to "fluff up" a tad, but I havent had this cause failure with early season bass or mid sized pollack and small cod. All the latter were taken on the TLD's. I guess its all about storage and maintenance. If you leave it salty, perhaps it degrades a tad quicker, I dont know, but I wash mine after each use. Rich