alun j.

I'll be out on Fri. .....and possibly Thurs as well. I'll be looking for bass and triggers .....but won't say 'no' if a haddy gets hooked. I remember... many years ago..... there was a flurry of them caught in the Thames estuary [ Gravesend way] off the shore; never seen , or heard of them caught around here.......... but trust Terry's ID skills [if he had his glasses on!!] I expect I'll be having a go for late mackerel...... so who knows??; I'll post if I contact any! Alun.

Looks like there might be a little window of calm on Mon. morning. Neap tides... so no problems of getting in\out With little confidence of getting mackerel after this weekend stirs up the water, I could be relying on frozen bait to try for triggers .......or I might have a play with a castnet and see if I can get some small livebait first... then go bassing!! Weather will dictate ..... but am expecting to do 'Office hours' Alun.

Well done Dan, Superb fish ........ from the 'Chub - master'. Of course pot catch report here! Taken inside 'club water' boundaries......PBSBAC doesn't say 'sea' fishing; did you catch them from a boat though???? Congrats........ Alun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Paul, Have a good day....despite the change in the weather. Any special treats later ??? ATB., Alun.

Must be that lubricating oil getting you all sloppy!!

Was going to do Fri., but weather now looks fresh from the East. However........ Sat Sun and Mon looks much better ......so might do all three! Anyone like to join me?

Weds........ all target species achieved !! Will post details in the morning Wind was fresh but unusual direction needed different tactics!! Alun.

Well done ......... mad people!!! Just looks too uncomfortable for me. Alun.

Gastronaught will be getting out of the wind by staying close in. Definitely going out Fri. and probably tomorrow [late morning] or, more likely, Weds. Any takers for the spare seat? Alun.

Imagine went West......... Paul and I were surprised by the lumpy sea in the Swash, on a gorgeous morning, and it got bigger as we went South, so Plan A had to be abandoned. Thinking there might be shelter under Dancing Ledge [it had been blowing N. when we left!], Paul pressed on.........I hadn't realised how determined he is, they were seriously horrid swells and wind over water!! Around the corner and in under the cliffs, it was easier but not the calm we had hoped for as there was now a fair bit of S. in the wind! Plan C needed!! THrough the race and round the next corner into Chapmans Pool; at last, some calm! We tried several spots, all were rough and rocky bottom and the boat kept swinging on the anchor, dragging tackle into snags......... but it was great to be out in the warm sunshine. Target species came on almost the first drop, with a nice thornback for me. You can't see clearly on the pic., but this was the most thornless thornback I'd seen; it had just one row of spikes down the middle. Checked with Charlie\Dan's chart later, easily matches male thornie credentials. WEighed and returned, he was 13lb. 6oz. .......and the only ray we saw all day. A few nice bream [not easy to hook on 5/0 hooks] and mackerel for dinner gave us something to return with. The trip back was completely different! With less wind and tide going other way, it was almost calm !!..... except for the hairy overfalls on the three races!! Thanks again Paul for a very enjoyable day; Imagine is a great boat and you made her feel very safe in those extra- snotty conditions. Alun.

Well done Paul! ........ think I'll go after the triggers next week...unless bassing improves! We struggled to start with, but gradualy accumulated half a tankful of joeys [lovely size for bait!]. Drifts were a bit bumpy due to tide\wind and also an odd direction, being swept SE for ages before being pushed over the Ledge. All I managed was two dropped runs [ small fish I guess !??]......and Dave, not even that! Murky water ??? East wind?? Big tide???.......none of these is my favoured condition. [Excuses,excuses !!]. I'll be interested to see how Rob does today. It wasn't my day yesterday! Having 'abandoned' the bassing, we tried for a trigger. After a bit of searching with the sounder for an appealing bit of bottom to anchor over, it took a little while to re-rig different end tackle, get some berley and baited hooks in. I hadn't noticed a distant potting boat slowly coming my way .....straight towards us! No sign of a pot buoy in his path, I wondered where he'd stop?? With him now 10 feet away, it was clear his pot string was right under us!! Three braid lines nicely tangled around his rope addaed to tackle and braid losses this season. He then used his capstan to pull up my anchor, which of course, tripped it out!....so now drifting off my spot! The whole episode just about summed up my day.... and showed Dave bassing on Gastronaught is not always like reports here might suggest!! Nevertheless, it was a nice day, with good company and everything else worked faultlessly [boat, engine, GPS\sounder, bait tank] and economically. Better luck next week, Alun.

Looking like Sunday might be a breezy day.... with a snotty Easterly in double figures! Will it be left until Sat to call this one?? Alun.

Happy Birthday James....... ........one day you'll get back to fishing regularly!! Have a good day, Alun.

Poor you, Terry!! I thought you had a 'cast - iron' constitution .... if a bit slow going in!! Whose 'dodgy' ingredients\cooking was the cause????

Looks like Thurs will be my next trip out this week... ....weather promising [light winds, bit of sun!!] ....tides still a bit 'biggish', but more sociable times Out about 8..... back about 3 ['Office' hours!] Anyone able to take the spare seat on Gastronaught??. .....form an orderly queue ...please! Alun.

Well done Rob, you covered a lot of ground.... and fishing effort there, no wonder you were whacked! [getting a bit older now, as well!!] Sunday was a nice day ..... but I don't think the comp. format worked too well this time , with not enough variety of species turning up on the lures. .... don't know what others thought\found out though. Good to see bass fishing continues when weather allows. Good luck next weekend, Alun.

Good to have you onboard Peter..... but you flatter too much !! The 'score' .... was down to luck, me using 2 rods to your 1 and a little bit of guess work [ in thinking when to change bait]; I've been in the reverse positon [recently!!]. Experience has helped to find the drift lines .... but as you saw, changes in wind and tide make every one different!! Give me a call if you fancy doing it again .... but don't know if we have many more settled w.ends left this season?? Cheers, Alun.

I watched this ..... incredulous!!! As Tom says.... How did this stuff get through; it was MUCH worse than that BBC docu that was on donkeys years ago, called 'The Shooting Party' about the 'Toffs' that went boat fishing and ended up shooting seagulls......... and that got hammered! It started off on the theme of subsistence \ survival of people catching fish for the table .......went on to discuss culling 'pest' species then went downhill fast with use of the gaff....... No nets or T-bars used. Perhaps someone needs to be fed to the sharks?? No mention of their being endangered \ threatened species. 'Extreme viewing' might be a better title......... or extreme catching, extreme behaviour......or extreme[ly] upsetting !! Some nice scenery though.........or am I just missing the Sun too much? Alun.

Happy Birthday Rich......... ....hope you're having a good day, despite the pouring rain!! Don't work too hard, Alun.

Typical 'office day'............8 'til late !! FPO away.....return dependent on weather\catchrate etc !! Alun.

At last........a [temporary] break in the weather, .........so it looks like the 'office' could be open tomorrow and I will be able to go back to 'work' !! A spare seat at the Gastronaught 'desk' for other 'workaholic' ? 'Office targets' could switch to Triggers if the mackerel 'cashflow' has been interrupted by recent downturn in the weather markets. 'Business confidence' is not high with all the recent turbulence in the marketplace and lack of direction in the tidal flows! Interested applicants.... please apply through the usual channels ...no guarantees. Alun.

now looking a bit more possible for Sunday [???] .........and even better for Mon. !!

John, if you are Christchurch based, consider how much you are likely to use facilities.... I buy an annual car park season ticket; as a local, this costs a bit over

I don't think BBC is very accurate either though!

One day closer.........and it's looking all different again!! Weather window seems [ in most forecasts] to be disappearing or moving on to a later day.......just 'Windfinder' still calling a calm Northerly. Wonder what they'll say come tomorrow?? Alun.