alun j.

Just been down there to see it at Spring Low......... .........and most of the buoys have gone, leaving two yellow and a distant red one. So beware......... keep inshore of the two yellow buoys , they are on the edge of the two largest gravel banks. Alun.

Just a short session in the afternoon sunshine........annoying problems with new [ replacement ] Lowrance unit !!...at least the sounder was OK and handheld GPS still onboard. Went to the Rough and tried a few spots........ but couldn't escape the hordes of dogs and pout [ every drop ! ]. Did pick up two small, but table - size, bass, a small conger .......... and was smashed off by something very big [ probably a conger or possibly a big ray] that grabbed one of the small pout; fishing big , for me, with 30 lb. trace, this thing abraded and/or bit through leaving managled pout on top hook. Fishing died with the tide, so I upped anchor on the slack and went back to the Ledge for the first part of flood as the sun went down; calm and beautiful surroundings....... just one, slightly bigger bass amongst the endless succession of dogfish..........obviously I wasn't quite close enough to the Ledge's rough ground. Had a dash back in with Neo......I thought his boat was supposed to be quick!!? and met Enticer on the slip.......all having similar sort of days. Good fishing to those out today, Alun.

and.....to complicate matters.........it's always changing shape!!, varies from summer to winter and the effects of atmospheric pressure on sea levels. Go and have a look on Sunday or Monday afternoon, about 3 or 4; an average sort of Spring low but High pressure will push the water down another 20 - 30 cms and the gravel will be visible over huge area and you will think 'Channel??? What channel??' Alun.

Rather than emailing report [that gets 'lost'], I'll bring my form to thurs' meeting! Only 77 points for me, 84 for Gordon Moore [ by my counting] ........ but I got the best bass.......[and she went back]..... and whiting supper this evening with forest mushrooms [ but that should be in the recipes section !]. Great day out.......... thanks again Gordon ! Alun.

Hi Terry, Post up when you intend to visit and you'll nave a queue of offers [ more at weekends ] for crew who all be able to give some local experience. Best to avoid Feb. and March, as there's not much about here then and it can be slow to pick up in April [ better further west ]. Alun.

Hi Terry, Welcome to the club. I see you are another member with the same birthday [ I think there are 3 or 4 of us on 18 / 6 ]. What sort of fishing do you like/prefer , if not constrained by the weather ?? Alun.

We were in the Western Solent, where the wind was much more N.E. and whilstling down with little shelter. Much more pleasant at 8, Gordon and I were able to drift the Bridge on the last of the ebb............ fishing Stormies with high hopes. Second drift and Gordon's into a fish, not big, but up comes a wrasse !!, about 3 lb. to a jelly eel. No more action here and no tide. Wind freshening, so didn't fancy our chances out by the charters south of the Needles. The trip back up the Solent was slow and bumpy, with wind[increasing] over tide [increasing] and ,by the time we got to Yarmouth, with no shelter apparent, I was thinking of changing plans. Gordon said to give it a go and put out a bucket drouge; that did the trick and held us in the tide nicely! Within 30 mins, I picked up three bass 3- 4 lb. size whilst Gordon got doggies pretending to be bass and putting up a line-taking thump! Then everything went quiet and we spent a few hours watching the boats[ to make sure they missed us !] Not a very successful day, but three bass in the box in a fresh Easterly is a result ! Alun.

Gentle[ish] easterlies and fine weather...... anyone fancy joining me on a trip out of Lymington ?? Tides are a lot easier, so there could be some better fishing in the Solent..... or might venture down to the Needles. Talk of a few early cod ??....but I think bass and/or ray is more likely. Alun.

Yes , this has scuppered my invite to fish out of Falmouth, where forecast looks like stronger E. or SE. than here. Sat. still looks reasonable, esp. with an early start. Several options , as long as E. does get too fresh........ possible trip to Needles or back up the Solent on a more gentle tide than last weekend ! No firm plans yet but anyone like to join me if I go ? Alun.

Well done Paul !!....... my how your fingers have grown !! Just a bit green with envy....but well done on your perseverence; I took one look at that murky water pouring up the Solent and thought that lures wouldn't work as well as juicy bait slices. We had a good lie on the wreck on the flood........but the steady stream of bites was only pout [ some reasonable, semi-jumbos!], then doggies. Slack water lasted about 15 mins......... then it started coming down the Solent faster and faster...... pound and a half of lead to hit hit bottom, even with micro braid. Bites stopped as we were now on the wrong side. Re-anchoring was required...... but inexperience in that sort of tide put us too close with too little warp out and we dragged into the lump. A few bites but too much flow . Attempts to retrieve anchor ended with warp cutting on the wreckage. Next time I try this spot, it will have to be neaps. Nevertheless, it was a lovely warm day....... and that area over near the Island is sheltered from the stong S. winds that were whipping past us and knocking the sailing right over; I hope Simon enjoyed his trip out and the doggie fillets help make peace with Lynne !! ?? Off to Falmouth next weekend....... if weather allows. Alun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Paul, Shame about the weather but I expect you'll enjoy the footie.... Have a good day, Alun.

Weather forecast looks lousy for both days..... but I am tempted to sneak out of Lymington and creep across to the Island for a bit of shelter from the expected Southerlies. I lost several good fish there last week; with weaker tides and a change of tackle, I fancy there could be some bass and rays mixed in with the small bream. Need to check domestic arrangements first.....but Sat may be the better day. A few showers will help wash off the salt !! Alun.

Hi Fletch, With that size lead I'd think a fixed spool reel will be painful on your finger !! Multiplier is much easier.....Abu 7000 can be set up to be pretty trouble-free. Alun.

Well done Paul.......... you seem to have the knack with the turbbies this year. Enjoy your catch, Alun.

Simon and myself were keen [ all week ] to get to Weymouth and fish for bass. The grotty forecast and lack of communication here made it all sound doubtful and a call from Paul D. didn't make it sound any more likely to be 'on'........so we thought of alternative and comfortable action if it was as bad as forecasts. Lymington seemed a good fallback...... with a chance to venture out of the Solent if weather was better and shelter from the East if not. A very calm start soon freshened up.....and mackeral proved very hard [ for us ] to find. Our trip towards the Needles was soon abandoned with incresing swells and Totland Bay was fruitless , save an odd doggie. Another try for mackeral at the Sconce was a big zero [ good job we'd brought some frozen]. Whilst Neo went off to find some success on Hamstead Ledge, we tied up near the wreck east of Yarmouth....... a lovely sheltered spot in an Easterly; deep water close inshore......... but boy the tide belts through; over a lb. of lead needed , even with fine 20 lb. braid. But , with a decent bait hard on the bottom, some action came in a series of explosive action......... punctuated by increasing weed nuisance. Small [ish] bream first, with the odd better one; then some big fish lost [tackle too light, too short, up too tight to big lead] rays were around [ spotted ones but small], then some 3 to 4 lb bass hitting both rods at once. Neo reappeared for last hour......but weed getting the best now. Not a hectic day's fishing but the warm sun and cosy spot made me think that fishing andweather forecasting have a fair bit of luck and art mixed in with the science! Alun. PS. Well done to those who got to Weymouth; any news from Burnham ??

After much consideration.......... plans are now focusing on trying a trip out of Lymington............. on the basis we can find some shelter and the chance of a few bass [ in relative comfort]! Portland is sounding like an exposed spot in the Force 4 or 5 or 6 ?? and we are novices in the big tides !! Paul D. seems of a similar mind If things were more definate, we would have come along....... but flags seem hidden. Ironically this wind / weather would probably have been OK at Burnham; perhaps we should have gone there ?? Good luck , Alun & Simon.

No posting...!! Is the Burnham match off or on ?? Alun & Simon.

Simon, Yes......... then No ....... then ????????? Battery was fine to start the engine.........and now the unit does zilch, even with the engine running ....... fuses OK I'll see what BHG say in the morning. Alun.

I got a call at work today from Debs at home...... there was a horrible 'squealing' noise she'd tracked down to my GPS that was driving them mad !! When I got home I found my daughter with her finger on the 'PWR' button, like the boy with his finger in the dam. Left alone the screen would flash......and the peeping sounded...........so I disconnected the power supply.......and restarted...............all seemed normal but the GPS didn't get a fix; on turning it off on the power button, it turned itself back on a few minutes later............. and repeated this a few more times. I disconnected power supply again and checked the power supply by starting the engine [ fine !]. Reconnected with engine running , but now it's DEAD ! Fuses all OK, so a phone call to BHG and it looks like a trip to Lymington in the morning rather than a trip out. Not impressed with a unit that has had about six hours use and about a month old. Lowrance 332C. Wonder how long it will take to be sorted [ BHG have no replacement units !] Good job I'm going out with Simon on Sun. Friday fatigued....... Alun.

I / we plan to leave BH23 about 6 ...... to make Weymouth for 7........if I can get Simon up amd out !! Alun.

I think BHG go with Yams for a reason or two ! They certainly seem to know their stuff about the Yamaha engines.......... and always seem really helpful. I'm sure there's a Yamaha dealer in Poole that would service; there's a flag and Yam sign at Salterns Marina. On the 5 20 , fitting out [ any engine ] should be easy as there is trunking and easy access along the sides. Good luck with your choice / decision. Alun.

Hi Allan, I'm opting for a handheld [ at first ] and seeing if it meets my [limited] VHF needs; I like the open boat and ability to swing my rods about. Second battery goes in the port seat locker and connected to cig. lighter type socket via a fuse. I can plug in my bait tank pump [ a portable set-up] or a series of fluro lights for night fishing. I've kept things simple and not wired to the other, main battery; topping up with a charger every other trip is simple. Alun.

Well done finger-crossers.......... looks like we might have a calm[ish] day if the current forecast holds. Simon......are we targetting the bass again ?? Adam ........ can you post a few tips for us Portland Novices ? Alun.

forecast looking better.....v.light easterly, cloud and a few spots of drizzle; anything's better than strong wind. OK Dave.... will bring it along for you. Alun.

I'll be crewing for Simon [ britboard] on Caimara.........and hoping weather will be kind. PJ......... I've got your B.bomb from Terry.......... would you like me to drop it in to you on the way home from work one day ?? Dave [ Codfather]........ I have your's too. ......... next meeting? or next weekend ?? Alun.