billy2shots

Thanks for the tip , I will do that next time. The last 10 can count themselves lucky

With the forum being down last week you lucky lucky people get two reports for the price of one. Sunday 13th August- An early start for me and my Pop's saw us casting off from Parkstone Bay at 05.55. The harbour was flat calm and we were confident in our plans for the day. We arrived at the end of the Swash with the intention of getting a Ray or two on the last hour of the ebbing tide. Pop's struck first with a small blonde of around 6lbs (spots all the way to the edges of its wings). 15 minutes later and a gentle bite saw me connect to something that didn't want to leave the sea bed. Eventually I made some line gain on the critter and slipped the net under a 14lb Thornback. This is my biggest Thorny and it fought harder than undulates of similar size. Anchor up and it was time for the second plan of the day. Fresh Bait! Now I must confess to a little cheating here. On our way across the Bay nothing was showing on the finder and no birds were working. There was however a charter boat drifting just south of our heading. As we approached we saw the tale tale signs of rods being pumped. We allowed plenty of space and set up a drift up tide from him so not as to pinch his fish. After 10 minutes we had a bucket of Macs to see us through the day and a couple for the pan. On to our fishing spot which was to be the very western tip of Dolphin Sands. On arrival we couldn't help but drop the feathers for the chance of getting some more bait for the freezer for the next couple of trips. The mackerel were jumping on the hooks as were plenty of scad that were returned. All the fish were good size but I picked the last smallest one and hooked him through the nose and dropped him down in the hope of a bass. Unfortunately no bass played the game but countless pack Tope were had between 5lb-10lb and another Ray although I can't remember the weight (nothing too big). The funniest catch of the day went to Pops with a jumbo mackerel caught on a large fillet of mackerel, greedy devil. Teeth well and truly cut on small Tope from a few sessions I need to search out the slightly bigger fish. Back in for a washdown at Parkstone Bay at 14.30 and back to real world responsibilities. 21.8.17 (yesterday) My Mrs and kids have been itching to get out due to the poor weather these summer holidays trips have been limited. I had Monday booked off work for a while and all week the forecast was bouncing between unfishable-ok-lovely. The decision would have to wait for the day itself. The day didn't start well as I was woken by a txt saying two staff were off sick meaning I had to head to work. Luckily having got over the busy period I was able to leave at 12 noon. I was still a little concerned that it may be a bit uncomfortable for the kids as the junior comp the previous day was hampered a little due to conditions. Oh well let's give it a go. 1pm and off we go. The last time we went out as a family we had a bit of a shocker only landing a couple of Bream. This time I I felt the need to Boat some fish to keep the fishing bug alive within a 7 and 5 year old. To do this I used all my angling wisdom (basically got lucky) and put us straight on some mackerel. A string of 5 was lifted aboard first drop. In a 10 minute frenzy we had around 25 fish, all put back apart from 3 kept to use as fresh bait instead of the frozen fish I had from the week before. We spun round and dropped anchor on our mark. Pressure off for the rest of the session now as it didn't matter how things went from here. We only fished until 6pm making it a short but sweet trip out but the final couple of hours resulted in 5 Rays to around 14-16lb (no scales with me). A great little session, it was a little lumpy at first and the kids did feel a bit sick but from 16.45 when the Flood started everything went calm. It was a beautiful last hour of fishing and a pleasant trip back in.

I agree with what you are saying Hooky in so far as there are lots of variables that go into catching fish but I disagree to some extent about locations. Having spent a couple of decades observing fish feeding patterns there are undeniably certain areas fish feed in more confidently than others. Whilst we all know fish don't stay in a particular area that doesn't mean they feed to any extent everywhere they travel. They can travel from A to C but just because they pass B doesn't mean they will feed there (does that make sense? Or have I confused myself lol). We know that fish will swim up and down the Bay constantly but we don't fish flat barran ground, we fish banks and undulations. We do this because we have learned through experience (or asking others) that fish feed in these areas and not because we think it's an underwater aquarium where fish can't leave. The trick is working out why fish feed in a certain locations on one day and not another and that brings into play what you mention about tides and moon phases. Put all that together and you will have more good days than bad. The problem I have is the fact all my learning up to this point has been in freshwater and I'm starting again at square one in the salty stuff. The principles will be the same but my notebook is blank. Fishing fish holding areas to learn when the fish feed is job one, from there I can delve into more specifics. Without that fist step I am just a man in a boat relying on luck.

Lol, doesn't everything.

Hooking a seal, now that's a horrible thought.

Feels like ages since I last managed to squeeze a fishing trip in due to our lovely British summer weather. I've totally neglected the harbour in the 10 months I've had my boat and it's times like these a few good marks in sheltered water would come in handy. Had a potter around last Sunday to try and find some likely spots. I was thinking of fishing near the drying out spots between Brownsea and the entrance. I need about 1.5m under me so will need to be a little careful. I picked a spot outside of the nursery boundary (line from the castle to Jerrys point) and outside of the channel that runs around the islands. I saw a couple of 6-7lb harbour bass kept (by 2 anglers , 1 each) by a boat at my marina that has wet my whistle but what else is around? I know the odd Bream turns up but I was thinking slightly bigger. I thought about setting up for larger bass with the hope that the odd Smut might be around. Wishful thinking? Pops also had a small conger near the castle going back a decade or two but I've got the feeling targeting them may result in a quiet day... So without trying to pinch actual marks, is there any areas worth a look? Does my pre chosen area sound way off? As always, any help very much appreciated.

Sorry I should have been clearer. The windless machine broke. Speaking to a guy at Saltwater solutions who has the part I required to fix it. The anchor is tripoed and I dragged it up manually with a little elbow grease.

Didn't have the best of days..... Swanage bay was lovely and the cliffs made for a nice fishing location but as soon as I rounded the corner from Old Harry I got a negative feeling. I pottered up and down the bay a little but couldn't find any clear features just gentle sloped depth changes. In hindsight I think I needed to go closer to the beach for some more pronounced undulations?? Or closer to the Pier end of the bay. Anchored just off Ballard in the end for the last couple of hours of the ebb. Fish baits lasted seconds when they hit the bottom due to what we later discovered were crabs. There must have been an army of them down there. Managed to winkle out a few Bream before deciding a move was in order. I fancied trying the nearby spoil grounds but unfortunately the windless anchor decided to break. Typically I was wedged in to the rocks below and it took 2 of us all we had to pull the bugger out. Ended the last couple of hours drifting past old Harry towards Poole bay on the flood and missed a take on a large fillet of mackerel. , summed up the day really.

Thanks Sam, I will take squid and and frozen macks for the Rays and keep my fingers crossed for a hound or two.

Looking to head around the corner to Swanage tomorrow. I've yet to go past Old Harry yet having stuck to Poole Bay thus far. The plan Try for some fresh macs first. Fish the middle of swanage bay on the drop offs for Rays during the ebb and then Ballard for Bream on the Flood. I would love a smut but I'm not sure that going to happen as I'm not taking crab. Any advice or pointers for the area? (sorry had intended to come to the meeting last night before life got in the way).

Took some friends out to the end of the Swash today. Only managed a couple of hours before taking refuge in the harbour. The wind and tide had us sideways on to the relentless waves that were coming every couple of seconds. Why so rough given the relatively low wind, is it due to spring tide?

Just happy with the scrap. It put the Topelets that I caught last week to shame. Luckily I had the clutch slackened off as I turned my back I heard whizzzzz from the screaming take.

Didn't realise they were a good table fish until I was doing some reading up this morning. Oh well maybe next time.

I have this week off of work and was planning at least two fishing trips. Unfortunately Monday and Tuesday were booked up with other commitments and the rest of the week looked windy! There was nothing for it, packed the car and made some grub for the kids. Picked them up after school (well a cheeky 30 minutes early actually) and we were on our way to the boat. The plan was to potter out to the end of the Swash and just drift the bay for the evening feathering for mackerel. 30 minutes in and we hit a shoal which so us land 5 in 30 seconds. The tide wasn't strong enough to fight against the opposite wind direction so we pretty much stayed still. After an hour of very little the mrs asked why we weren't fishing for anything else. I reminded her we didn't have any bait (the 2 keeper Mack were heading for the BBQ). That's when she told me she had packed some frozen squid I had from a past trip. Engine on and it was off to just outside Poole Patch. Fished there for about an hour and a half and had 6 Bream (no keepers) and a nice Tub Gunard that took off like a scolded cat. It must have been knocking on the door of 5lb and was a great scrap on light rod and line. So pleased we squeezed a last minute trip in, the evening was lovely and to catch a few fish was a bonus. Edit. Ok 5lb may have been a little optimistic but the Tub was around 4lb all day long. At the time I remembered hearing tales of double figure Tubs from years gone by so didn't pay it a second thought. Looking back I should have taken some pics and or kept the fish as it seems a decent specimen. Oh well he lives to fight another day.

Had an enjoyable day yesterday. Left Parkstone Bay at 9.10 and headed out towards what I thought was Sadler. I stupidly left my phone at home which had the GPS numbers on. I must have fished a different area because Fisheagle drifted the Sadler and I didn't see him. Whatever the location I found a lovely feature with a shelf dropping from 12m into 18m. Feathered for 20 minutes and had two mackerel, 1 jumbo size that was gifted to the mrs on return home. The action came thick and fast from 10.20 to 2.45 when we upped anchor and headed home. 15 Tope (5-8lb) 1 double figure ray 1 LSD 2 Macks Target species were Tope and Smoothies so half job completed.

Many thanks. Planning on leaving parkstone bay at the same time. See you out there and tight lines!

The boat is fine, I'm the limiting factor at the moment lol. Gradually building up experience and knowledge and plan on heading offshore in the near future. Would really appreciate any marks. I'm gradually making up a list/book to keep on board. Will keep ch6 on and listen to others.

Great info, thanks for that Reel Wizard.

Conditions look half decent so I'm planning on heading out on Tuesday. Last trip was a successful Bream bashing session around Poole Patch before the weed completely spoiled the second half of the day during the ebb when Rays were the target fish. I'm looking to get a decent bend in the rod and return to catching something more substantial. I've stuck to the Bay for the first 6 months of my sea fishing journey so far venturing only as far as East as Dolphin sands on one occasion (from Poole). I can't decide whether to go out Ballard/Peveril way, go back to Dolphin Sands or push south for deeper water. I'm in a Merry Fisher 805, sea keeping is pretty good but speed over water is pretty slow so I would be looking at something less than 8 miles from the harbour entrance. Ideally I wouldn't mind targeting Smoothies or Topelet (have they returned to Dolphin sands yet), Bass, Rays, conger. Any pointers on species that are around in decent numbers and location to check out would be hugely appreciated. I would like to narrow things down a bit in my mind and have one or two plans in place by Tuesday.

If you have a problem and no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you should hire The Bream Team. Last weekends mission was to catch my first sea Bream. The crack team was assembled consisting of 3 generations, me, my son and my old man. Unfortunately we were a man down before we set off with my son going AWOL with ear ache. Now 3 weeks ago a previous mission was met by catastrophic failure when the target got away without us even setting eyes upon him. It wasn't all bad news because on retreat to the RV Point a very nice mark was located and stored for a future ambush. I realised why things didn't go according to plan. I was over gunned with a stiff boat road and tackle more suited for general fishing then specialised Bream gear. I went armed for war but I should have prepared for a skirmish, gorilla style tactics. I prepared better for the coming fishing trip. I closed the door of my garage with me inside and that's when the music started to play Dun Dun Dun, Dun Dun Dun........ Instead of making a plane out of a broom handle and some paint pots, I assembled my weapon of choice. I had plenty of gear in which to use. I selected my Drennan Avon feeder rod that had been gathering dust in the corner for years and paired it with a small baitrunner with 12lb mainline. My carp tackle was raided and size 6 micro barbed hooks were borrowed. Some 8lb fluorocarbon for hook link material rounded off my Bream bashing weapon. Sunday morning arrived and we synchronised watches for a 9am meet at Parkstone Bay. By 9.45 we had arrived at the previously stored mark (just outside the recognised Poole Patch). Time to dig in and wait.... We had 2 hours until the tide turned so this was going to be an in and out job. If we were lucky and completed our objective we were to be assigned new orders. Redacted Eyes Only --------------------------------------------------------------------- I can confirm that on Sunday May 28th at a time of 10.15-11.45 the above mission was heralded as a complete success. A dozen Bream (and a wrasse) fell to the Avon Quiver tip upto a weight of 1.5lbs. All fish fell to squid strips fished on a bastardised 2 hook rig. New orders saw the assault team charged with a new target, Code Name RAYmond. Coordinates were given for the end of the Swash and it wasn't long until we we were bedded down in our new hide. Unfortunately the fishing was ruined due to masses of weed ebbing away. It was impossible to present a bait and after an hour and a half the anchor was raised and we returned to base. All in all a good day with target species smashed. I love it when a plan comes together.

Took my kids down to the boat show on Sunday. Donated to the RNLI a few times and was rewarded with an evening phone call. Turns out I won a raffle prize. Hospitality tickets to Henley Regatta! A bit posh for me but it should be a good day out.

Good luck to everyone today. Stay safe and catch plenty. Sounds like it's going to busy out there.

Thanks for the great advice. I used to regularly fish tight to snags in my carp fishing days. Many a fish found their way out of the snags given enough patience. 45 minutes of waiting banked by biggest common carp (38lb). In my younger days I would have given in and pulled for a break!

La Fiona. Will be out between 10-4 I imagine. If you see us, send some fish our way!

Thanks guys. I might stick with the Patch. That way I can move for a little plaice fishing in open sandy areas and hit a couple of Ray marks. Anchor will be tripped and will follow advice about fishing slightly uptied from the rocks.