alun j.

Happy Birthday Charlie, have a good day ; shame about the weather. Cheers, Alun.

..and me, of course! Alun.

Cheers Adam........ excellent day, and not at all like I'd expected!! Finishied with a bbq ...... in the sun ......... after spending much of the day dripping in wet gear !! He didn't even mention the conger, bass or wrasse............. and nearly losing his cherished spinning rod over the side with a feisty bream !! Just love this time of year......... so many opportunities \ options. Thanks again Adam. Alun.

Well done Stuart..........you are getting some superb fish !! This 'special' one puts you up on the trophy board. I wish we had more of these [albeit much smaller] in waters close to home!! Congrats., Alun.

Hi Andy, Wick is an easy slip to use and has a nice steep ramp into the river. Usable at most states of tide....... except LW Springs ; this is due to the big step at the end of the ramp....... beware of this when reversing down if you're there on the bottom half of the tide. Shallowest water is in the middle of the harbour [ note there that the colour of the water changes from river to sea] ; at least the bottom is soft\silty. The Run seems to have more water this year but is shallow near the outer red\green buoys.... getting out here is Ok up 90 mins before LW [if you trim up and drift out with tide; coming in, I wouldn't leave it later than 2 hrs before LW, but you can sneak in with the tide earlier [see above]. One bonus with using Wick is that the river water gives you an engine flush !..but for me, it is a long drag up\down the river at 4 kts. ....so I use Mudeford and am afloat and out in 20 mins! Alun.

Hope they didn't fall in the water........ at less than 13 C , it would have taken their breath away! Went for a walk in that [unforecasted] sunshine yesterday....... and there was absolutely no one in the water !! Alun. PS they do look cool with their punt - like paddles .......'Is this the Cam or the Cherwell' ??

Happy Birthday Dom......... have a great day; you certainly have the weather for it this year ! Many happy returns, Alun.

Hi Craig........thanks!!; I'll look forward to your call. Alun.

Tides for that weekend look good for Alderney; as we go to neaps they get smaller through the weekend. If anyone is thinking of going over, I'm available to crew and share costs [and keen to repeat the great time we had three weeks ago !!]. Alun.

I'll be there crewing for Simon on Play Hooky.......when he confirms. Alun.

Well done Will ! Must be down to more than just the spot ?? PJ.... Pbsbac boats could have been in more of the prizes .... if we had entered ! [i just wanted to be out early due to tides and forecast]. Alun.

After an early start, Gastronaught also back in before all the water ran out of Christchurch Harbour. At 3 pm, it was poring out causing some lively conditions over the Bar with the Easterly breeze pushing against it !! Paul and I had a good day...... esp. in the morning , with a steady stream of fish, fighting well on light tackle in the tideflow. Most went back , with just a few 2 lb size males into the box. Paul led most of the morning, with one of 2 lb. 1 oz.......but at coffee time [usual effect!], mine screams off and coffee is cold when a big fat female came to the net. Weighed in at 3 lb. 10 oz, photo taken and slipped back in. My next best , a blue boy at 2 lb. 6 oz, wasn't so fortunate ! Hope others did [almost!] as well !!...... lots of boats around us; a few were catching, but they seemed mostly smalll fish. How were things further west ? Alun.

With 30 fishing, and probably evenly spread between Eastern and Western marks, it will be interesting to see which area turns out to fish better [???]. Only downer may be a freshening Easterly breeze; hope it's not too strong! Alun.

True, It's why all the bigger fish are female.

Neal, It was Charlie A.

No, Duncan ........ that's this weekend! May 16 - 17 ...... social event with family ........I'll just have to fit fishing in mid-week ....... and\or when weather allows. Good to see you made it to Alderney; hope the joints stood up to all the bumps and jostling. Alun.

' Sulking' ???? Gordon seemed in right good spirits whenever I saw him! ......... and he was always first upin the mornings at B. & B. ....... keen[??].

Wish I could !! ............ but am busy that weekend

The relative few that most of us take isn't going to make much difference. These big 'breeding' fish are full of stored food [ hence the sticky fat on the knife if you fillet them.... and why they are good to eat]. My hunch is that when they start to spawn, they go off feeding [and we don't catch them in such numbers]; males guarding nests will be focused on this and not eating ! I'd be interested to know if one male can fertilize the eggs of a group of females in his territory and guard several broods....... in which case our approach in returns make sense, or are the fish paired....... which might seem to negate our returns ........ unless there are more males in the population to create some competiton and natural selection [????]. Until better informed I'll take a few fish per trip and put back the big girls. Alun.

Forecast is looking OK for Sunday, so hoping this holds and the comp will be ON. I'll be fishing with Paul Frey, so count us in....... but not sure which boat we'll be on yet. After this breezy week, lets hope the fishing holds and we get a good turn out ......of boats .....and fish . Alun.

There's keen.......... and there's Martin keen !! Good luck ..... you deserve some ! Alun.

Thank You.................. Safety Officer !!

Have a glass of wine .............or two!!...... and wait until Tuesday !! ....... ..........like me !! ...........NOT !!! What fun..........I'll have get back out fishing...... to keep my mind off it.

Taken! Someone [important] got in there quick!!

Looks like the wind should drop out overnight..... so I'll pop out for a morning's breaming. Anyone like the spare seat on Gastronaught, and doesn't mind being up early ??? Planning to leave mine about 6.30..... and back in early pm. Alun.