alun j.

Well done chaps .......... sounds like good planning comes to fruition.... ......... and a nice calm day to enjoy it. Fresh bass.......... yum, yum !! We had a piece out of the freezer on Fri.; well past its best, oily fish like these don't keep their flavour well after a few months. Sounds like better fishing will be here soon for us , inshore guys !! Alun.

...... they often get it wrong! As Adam found on Fri., Sat was much the same, and rather mucked my plans. 8 am. at Castletown there was a gentle NE breeze [ as forecast]; easy launch but no road space to park [ so

Well done chaps ! Seems like you know the spots to go. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow, on my tod , in the little boat , if sea is calm enough [ forecast looks good]. Probably will stick on the Shambles , unless one of you can tell me where to get the pollack from ??? Have a good day Sunday ........... looks like it's going to be flat, if a little damp. Cheers, Alun.

Or , Sam, in our case, a few weeks later, in half term. But........... never mind.......... in a few years time, I'll be retiring and go when weather suits......... ........and , perhaps, the bass fishing will be even better , if the Bass Plan gets acted on ??? Alun.

Kam, Have a good day; hope you enjoy your BIRTHDAY and get a few fish over the weekend. Alun.

Sam, Some of us , in our 50s, are still waiting for a chance to be able to go on trips like this ........... but have to work ....... and confined to ' school holidays' for our outings! I'm sure you'll get a job that allows you to fit in plenty of fishing ........... .......... but then ...... when family arrive.......!!!!!!!!! Good luck with forthcoming exams ......... 95 % preparation. etc. etc. Alun. PS. If you want any help revising.......... or tutorial help with 'Science'.......... just PM me.

Have you seen the forecast ????.............CALM WEATHER !!!......... Yippee...[ at last] !! Calm enough for me to take my little boat to Portland, and out to the Shambles. But if anyone was planning to go and needs crew, I'd happily join you and share. Saturday suits me better. Alun.

Martin, Felt for you last Sat........... when I got a phone call from Terry at lunch , back on shore , after calling it a day .......his long haul from Oxford, and your long wait for a day out ............... the weather has been so unkind this Spring ! And it was blowing hard enough in my garden yesterday morning to make me call off my plans.......... and do some chores instead. Next weekend doesn't seem so bad......... perhaps there'll be a few caught in the comp.? Alun.

Paul, Well done on your catch; beats mine from last week ! Sorry I wasn't able to join you yesterday; I wasn't feeling too clever in the morning, got as far as making a packed lunch then saw the wind blowing the bushes about and had second [and third!] thoughts about being bumped about. With other jobs pressing, thought I'd save some 'points' and try to get to Weymouth next w.end on the neaps. Has the water warmed up a bit more yet ? Interesting to read about your 'Tabs'........ must have a look . If they are so good, how come they aren't fitted on new boats as standard ?? Alun.

Isn't this guessing game fun........???............ [ NOT !! ] Early night ....... and see what the morning heralds ! A.

Paul, What are you going to have a 'Go for' in the harbour ?? You might be able to find a few mullet .......... I saw a shoal of sizeable ones in the pool above one of the bridges in Christchurch this afternoon. Looks like it might be a bit breezy tomorrow to go far [ forecast F4 or 5 ....SW. going NW later ] .... just on the limit for me. Alun.

I posted my one wrasse of 2 lb. 10 oz. ...... last Mon.[ 10th.] but didn't bother with the 'tiddly' plaice. Alun.

Hoping you all have a good holiday and catch a few of those late-arriving fish..... .... it can only get better than recent form has provided. Hope to see a few of you out there tomorrow. Alun.

Hi Paul, I'll probably be going out from Mudeford about then. Depending on weather / swell, I thought I might go east, up to Barton or a bit further ........... reasons as per other thread and the obivious lack of fish around the Ledge in this cold water.......... but all plans are likely to change; see what reports come in tomorrow [ Sunday]. Hope to see you out there, Alun.

I'm hoping to get out Mon........... if it is calm enough. Tempted to try over towards Barton for flatties inshore [ where the water is warmer ....... and more so if the forecast sun materializes !!]. All these negative reports could be good cause to try elsewhere......... and may be less boat traffic on a Bank Hol. over there than near Hengist. Head. Waiting to read reports from Weymouth today. Alun.

Forecast looked good for drifting the Swash, so set out to fish the top of the tides through the morning with some freshly dug rag. Zipping through the harbour in Spring sunshine, the wind was not as forecast............ fresh and almost Easterly, not the light N. expected !! Swash was more Splash !!......... so I used Shambles technique and dragged a tripped anchor to slow the windage ............ and got some nice slow drifts despite the waves ........................ Didn't do much good though........ not a tickle !! after two hours [ and it was cold..... air and water ( 7 C) ]. As the ebb picked up the wind eased , so I thought I'd stick to plan and try the Patch. I'd forgotten how rough this ground is............. can't think there's too much silt here , on the Outer Patch, as the bottom comes up from 13 or 14 m. to 8 or 9. Several hook losses later.......... no sign of any bream for me [ and no one else out there ]. Sum total..... one bite.............. a wrasse of 2 lb. 10 oz. The sun shone most of the day, the wind eased for a while before going around through the South [ different again to forecast !!] before freshening again..... to make an enjoyable day to be out despite !! Will Spring 'explode ' soon ?? ........ bringing those harbingers of good sport [some good sized bream ??]. Looks like my rations of fishing time have run out for a few weeks; hope those who get out soon find better sport. Alun.

Good luck Rich.............. but it looks like you'll get blown off Tues., with 20+ mph. winds forecast!! I'm going to try and sneak out tomorrow....... try the Swash and across to the Patch if wind is the 5 mph N. forecast. Alun.

Thanks to Terry for the two trips out on Stingray; I love going to the Shambles in Spring .........but it's not easy fishing and these two days were both spoiled by the windy weather; even more so for Simon who brought his Raider down from High Wycombe in the traffic on Thurs, only just in time to get to the AGM, then another haul to Weymouth. He seems such an enthusiast, I hope he wasn't too disappointed by the lumpy seas and shortage of fish [ it does get ( much) better]. Castletown is a nice little slip, a bit tight but improved over last few years as the step off the concrete is now onto firm, fine shingle / grit , better than the lumpy stones of past. Not much room to leave trailers ; at the moment the beach is full of small tenders and a few wrecks. Also difficult to manhandle those heavy trailers on the steep beach. Adam........ Hope you meet up with Burnham boats on Sunday and have a good day. Have a chat with them on their launch arrangements. The member we spoke with yesterday said they'd been in touch with Portland Harbour [ or was it the Navy ?]; they will be launching at Castletown then leaving their trailers and cars in the base next door and tying up their boats there overnight in a secure compound for a very reasonable small charge. Perhaps we could do the same if we do a trailaway soon. Castletown saves a couple of miles steaming across the harbour. Enjoyed all four plaice in big family meal last night........ excellent fish , all in superb condition although a bit smaller than expected / hoped for ! Postscript to other post............ I also had a ' turbot rig ' out all day yesterday without a bite......... using fresh launce and smelly mackerel ; all untouched. Squid on with the worms seemed to make a big difference, but spoons didn't ! Weighted beads beat the spoons 7 - 1 . Alun.

One 'sleepy' bass ......... just slid into the boat...........either too cold or too murky to be aware of surroundings............ other two reminded me of the 'feisty' bass who snatch and run............ although only ' pounders' , on light gear and bream rods they scrapped [ a bit]...........wiggle/ wiggle !! Hope for something bigger on Thurs / Fri. ............ Weymouth ?? Alun.

First day of holiday........ just had to get out today..... ........mostly sunny......but much, much windier than forecast ! NW., so quite sheltered at Mudeford..........and a late start so that there would be some water. 10.30 and with the tide pouring in through the Run, it wasn't hard getting out.......but still shallow [ 0.8 m on the Bar ]. Interesting to see the water temp reading fall , from just under 8 to little over 6 near the Ledge. Rounding Hengist.....bang into the wind.....fresh ,, top of 4, but not much swell, so tried over towards Southbourne...... first a drift , but going too fast with the wind, and found a few snags , so tried anchoring [ now up at the lookout ].... nothing for an hour so moved to familiar spot near Ledge as tide was easing a bit... nothing for another hour and the wind was increasing further [ good 5 now ]. Looking for a more peaceful spot , I came back round near Mudeford beachhuts and explored a bit with the sounder.......looks pretty rough at the top end towards the Head and proved with the loss of a few hooks. Further out, and back towards the entrance, I saw the temp. was now showing the 'magic' 8 C; so I dropped anchor in just over 4 m of water and put worms out on one and limpet on the other . Within 30 mins...... 3 fish ............ small bass around the pound size; too small to keep , all lip - hooked , easy to return and in good condition; 2 to worm, 1 on limpet. Wind still blowing and not wanting to run the gauntlet of the ebb on the Bar, made a quick return at 3. Sunshine made the trip enjoyable and those little bass hopefully herald the imminent return of Spring ........ but it really needs to get a bit warmer first ! Alun.

And a bit warmer still today................ BUT .......... venture out and temp. drops steadily............ only just over 6 C out in the bay. I came back into Christchurch Bay and found it was just up to the 'magic' 8 C this afternoon ............. see Catch Report ! Alun.

It will get better through Spring and into Summer; as the bank near the yellow buoy grows......... it keeps the water more into a channel that then cuts its way through a bit deeper ......... we all hope !! Alun.

4 pm. yesterday a small sailing cruiser found that bar as he tried to get out on the falling tide........and going the wrong side of that yellow buoy. The wind and waves slowly bumped him along , and 20 mins later , he got back in the ' channel' and crept out , bouncing over the waves ......... but there didn't seem to be much swell further out..... ......... nor this morning , as I drove past Branksome Chine, on my way to dig some worms ....... for when I can get out later this week [ ???????] Back to the Bar at Mudeford....... the sand that got washed away through the winter is starting to return......... you can see that on these photos. On the last big tides, two weeks ago, the area was completely flat at LW., with areas of hard gravel level with sand. Now , the bank is building close to that first yellow buoy; but it still looks tricky between the next two. If I go out tomorrow, it'll be much later than these photos show, to be sure of water. Alun.

Adam, Hope you have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY ..... at least the sun is shining, even if it is a bit blowy....... Spring is in the air. Good to see there are no jokes and jibes about the date........... never have I seen such a wise head on such young shoulders ......... [ I think you must have been around before !! ?? ] Have a good one ......... we'll all be able to get out soon. Cheers, Alun.

......such control ............ Could be Mon. or Tues. ??????????????? I'll dig some worms this weekend............ just in case. Alun.