alun j.

Bob, About half a mile or less out when you are about in the middle of the bit between the lookout and the groyne. Depth varies between 13 and 15 m. according to tide........ which puts it between 11 and 12 on chart datum. Whatever the charts say ............... if you are a mile or more out on that line, you'll be in 16 - 18 m. ; as you travel in it shallows up to about 12 then briefly goes deeper again. There are often lots of pots and ropes down there to get tangled in ............. and I have lost one anchor there. Hope this helps. Alun.

I've got that old book too !!! .......... it got me started when I came to the area in the mid-70s. 'Pout hole' is part of the drop-off from the Ledge; here it is steep and quickly goes down to 14 or 15 m...[ deeper here than a bit further out ........hence the 'Hole']......... rough one end........ muddy sand as you go towards the look-out. Great area for lots of species bream, bass, triggers and occasional cod; this tear I've had little there but masses of tiddly bream and mackerel Alun.

Hi Martin, Have sent you a pm. Alun.

Hi Terry, Great rods......... I've got three [ different sizes]....... but try and get a better deal. First two I got for

First day back at work .........too much to think about; needed a good start to the weekend.......... so the propect of a calm evening was most welcome. Not only was it calm, but warm and sunny and Paul F. [sinbad] was able to join me in pursuit of that record sole.......... [ but not last night] A few 'senior moments' delayed start when I realised I'd forgotten the lights and had to shoot home to retrieve them......DOH !!......... but this gave Paul 20 mins to tackle up and watch a bit more water start to fill the harbour. Lovely smooth trip east of Christchurch.......... looking for 'groovy' ground at 3.5 to 4 m. Another two boats in a bit closer didn't seem to get any !! ....... but we had a steady stream of fish; plenty of 'pesky' little bream, but not the huge numbers of recent weeks, a few small spotted rays, smoothies and 8 sole ....... mostly just under a pound each; best only went 1 lb. 3 oz , so no challenge to the record this time. After the fantastic sunset, the next light show was the phosphorescence in the water .......... just swirl your hand in that warm calm water and watch .......; pulling up the warp and everything flashes; drop it in the well and it glows, clap your hands and they flash green ! ......... all caused by tiny dinoflagellates [ part of the plant plankton ........ algae ] present in large numbers and most active in calm spells, during dark nights after sunny days [ particularly when day and night are both close to 12 hours] ........ just like we've just had !! Thanks Paul for the company, the beers and the excellent tea making ........ do it again soon??? Alun.

I'm with Craftinsure........... everything done online.......... same premium as when I started , three years ago. Alun.

I use Poole rag; big, lively, juicy ........ and lots of them. Don't believe tales of having to use small baits on little hooks........ these sole are voracious at this time of year........ and wolf down big baits , easily. I fish two size 1 or 1/0 hooks, Pennel style, and Mr. sole has often swallowed both !! Adam is right about time for sole to find bait ......... probably , they don't move far or fast.......... sniffing out the bait, they sit on it and munch it down, sometimes not giving a bite. Any other fish about often get there first......... so small bream are a real sole - killer. Neap tides seam to make the bream buzz off; I hope they don't come back as the tides build again later this week .......... or you can easily get through all those worms and get little to take home [ save the odd bigger bream ]. Alun

Look out James.......... I'm after your sole record! Like Adam, I was a little apprehensive with the winds forecast to be stronger than they turned out...........so was surprised early Sat morning to find almost none as I set off to get worms for a night fish [ and wished those boats out a good day with the better conditions]. Alarmed by the lack of tide...... the water hardly went out......I had to struggle in the stones at the top of the shore...... but still got some good rag. Launched from Mudeford [ in the crowds] just before 7.....planning to fish the ebb at Barton......... but there wasn't one...........or it was so weak that the light southwesterly just held us against it; put in some groundbait and it just stayed put! Fished with fish on one rod, worm on the other....... and not a bite....three hours and not a nibble [ seriously thinking I might blank ] ; decided on a move........away from usual area........ used the sounder to find a more interesting bottom contour a bit further west. [ NB. any regulars to that area....... do you notice how the bottom varies with the tide ?? On neaps , those 'grooves' at Barton are much less pronounced.] Found a spot with a goodish slope [ 3.5 m down to 4 m.] .......... and still nothing until the tide changed [ about 11]........ then bites !!........ a steady stream of soles, punctuated with a few bass [small], smoothies [ v. small], eel [annoyingly slimey!] and little spider crabs. Ran out of worms at 1.30.......... but total of twelve soles wasn't bad !! Best fish........ ! lb. 10 oz. to tie with James's ......... but there are others there to match my 3 lber. last autumn. Will try again later this week [ wind permitting]! Tight lines, Alun.

OK......... I'm cetting the hang of this now ........ just takes longer than I thought

try again.........

I lost my anchor once, a few years ago............. but didn't want to go in; so I beach the boat on Mudeford Sandbank, found a good sized flat rock and tied it to some spare rope and added to remains of anchor warp,,,,,,,, and it did the trick in lightish tide............. and jetisoned it at the end! Necessity being the mother of invention! Alun.

Oh....... to have the room! Envious again of BW. Will make plans soon............. when is the Soton Boat Show?? Alun.

Adam, What a well-kitted boat you have. I noted with curiosity the 'cooker, gas and cooking equipment'! When do you get time to cook on board?? My expeience says it's usually too bumpy to do anything with hot liquids and naked flames . Usually fishing is so busy....... there's hardly time for a tea/ coffee before something needs seeing to......... and ........ when you do open the sandwiches....... that's the time you'll get the big bite that makes you drop it on the deck![ or gets it knocked over!]. Just envious of BW. Alun.

......... trying to fit in fishing .......between diy jobs , shopping, gardening and social commitments etc. ........meant....... fri afternoon........bait dig for worms + cockle gathering ...... sat. early morning trip to Ledge ......... masses of mackerel but very few small ones and no joeys.......... but impoved my method of keeping a few alive in big bucket. So many mackerel about nothing else got to to mackerel strip baits......... hitting them going down.......or up! BUT........ not a bite on livebaits. Moved a bit to where I was getting triggers last year........but none yet this year [anyone else had any?].......... and picked up a 4 lb. bass on the light, fish strip tackle............ still no takes on the whole mackerel.......back in and home for 11 with plenty of bait for the winter!....... and dinner menu sorted. sun......... a family day out in the sun.........walking the Purbecks........ saw boats bashing into that fresh westerly and big tide........ hoping it would calm down for the evening. Still fresh at 7.30 had me in two minds over sole fishing plans........ but westerly and veering a bit decided to give it a go. Leaving Mudeford at 8..ish needed some throttle to get out through the Run as big tide was charging in! A fast and wobbly rollercoaster ride to Barton with the tide and wind got me there just as the lght was going. Anchored inwater that went fom 3 to 4 metres with swell and quickly found the area is stuffed with fish......... mostly small bream and bass. If the sole were there , they didn't get a chance........ every worm was grabbed in seconds........... by either bass , bream , smoothies , one solitay pout [ which promptly coughed up tiny, little sole] and, closest to a flatfish........ one small eyed ray. Coolbox catch return ......... one sizeable bass; five medium bream. Highlights.......... spectacular moonrise........big orange ball over Hurst, just as sea calmed down;......... phosphorescence in the water [if only they could put that in washing-up liquid!; that would get kids to do the dishes!] ....... and fishing with really lght tackle........screaming reels in the dark. Tight lines, Alun.

Oops!......... try again

24 lb. 'spring' or chinook salmon.

Paul, Cuttles well worth keeping........... just drop them in a bucket of water and they stay alive for ages. I find they eventually get 'knocked-out' without inking; but even if they do , it's only in one bucket [ easy to flush out!]. With a little experience , they are easy to prepare and brilliant on the bbq [30 sec flash/ sear on each side].........YUM YUM !!! Alun.

........and a lot of travelling! A chilly start at first light , with a cool northerly coming off the land, as I set off from Mudeford. [ Jet Lag had me up early]. Found mackerel on the Ledge, but no joeys. With the calm sea , thought I might trip across to the Needles for a go after those well-reported bass....... ....... but my little boat doesn't have a live-bait well.........just a big, wide bucket. I filled this, added 10 frisky fresh non-bleeding mackerel and set out for the 6 mile trip at about 15 mph ; the small chop bouncing us about a bit and 'shaking' the water in the bucket...........but you guessed, when, in 20mins., I got to the Bridge Buoy........... all but one were non-revivable!! Nevertheless, I joined two other boats drifting [nearer to the Needles]; using portland rig with large single , lip hooking bait.......... I watched the sounder as we slid sideways across the rocky ledge and depth going from 15m.........up to 7 - 10 .....the down to 20m on the south side. Third drift.........bang.........good bite..........mackerel gone ...no fish ! Analysis..... bait too big for single hook.........back to my usual Pennel , with second hook nicked just over 1/2 way along........ only problem, no more live bait. Several drifts with dead fish.......no takes; no luck here with feathers and with the ebb picking up........... thought I'd go with the flow. Half way back to the end of the Ledge, stopped and found a few more mackerel, but still a bit large for bait......... but put one out and drifted a bit, moved in a bit, drifted a bit more and so on, keeping bait alive and covering a lot of ground. Drift-fished right across the Ledge on the ebb tide.........not a touch, save for one cuttlefish [saved for bbq]........so change of plan. I don't like the Ledge on the ebb....... so motored over to Southbourne Rough and tied onto a pot/net buoy....... have you seen how many there are there at the moment ??.......near some uneven bottom; livebait on one rod, fish strip on the other,,,,,,,,,which catches????........fishstrip........straight into a blonde ray 10 lb + but then the hordes of baby bream hit and then big dogs........ so another move Start of flood.......so back to the Lookout to Inner Ledge area, anchor up and repeat............ plenty of fresh mackerel [ but still no joeys..... sods law!!] Managed one sizeable bass [on strip] ........... but none of the bigger bream or triggers I'd expected. Lots of boats out, didn't see much caught.........but a gorgeous day Alun. PS Anyone had any triggers yet ??

I've been reading these posts on the bass fishing........ so will have to get out and try myself......... ........between catching up on chores, d.i.y., garden....and all the things you come back to after being away a few weeks. ......... and only a couple of weeks before it's back to the grind! Alun.

Appropriate Canadian adjective.............AWESOME !! Alun.

Just got back from visiting friends and relatives on Vancouver Island........ a little island [the size of England] off the coast of a HUGE country. I will post more details later.....but in five little trips I certainly experienced variety: * spinning off a breakwater into over 100 feet of freezing cold water, trying to avoid fronds of kelp like treetrunks .... hauled out the most fiercesome fish you'd ever seen , a LINGCOD about 10 -12 lbs....a huge head full of teeth like a baracuda .........but it had to go back as it was in a conservation zone [ but I could have kept it if I'd been a Native Indian !! { hunting rights}] * charter trip out to Swiftsure Bank ........22 miles out water comes up from 500 feet plus to about 300.......rods like poles , 2 lb leads, drifting with huge plugs or lure spoons on spreader boom........targetting HALIBUT....but.......rough conditions [ cross between perfct storm and our 'wind against tide'] what skipper called a 'snotty sea' only allowed sealegs to stand 30 mins. ...... but each drop produced a fish ........ lingcod [keepable,,,,over 70 cms.= about 10 lbs], seabass [not like ours; these look like the American freshwater bass [perch without stripes] and dark brown; some bright orange [ I mean fluorescent] rockfish and a cod [ like ours] but this got eaten!!; between hooking the bite and winding up from the depths......something had bitten great chunks out of it and there was little more than head,tail and bone in between!! Back close inshore we joined a fleet of boats trolling with downriggers, using a hure lead ball on a wire to hold your bait / lure at a fixed depth [ 40 - 60 feet down in about 80 -90 feet........just a few yards off the coast] Up and down, up and down at about 2 mph..........until BANG,,,,,,, a fish hits and pulls the line off the downrigger and you now have a salmon on basically a flyrod with a centrepin reel and no lead,,,,, and a lure with a single barbless hook [Canadian rules]. Most boats carry on , using the engine to help play the fish; but I asked him to stop,,,,,,,and 15 - 20 minutes of arm-aching fun got me a pb salmon of 24 lbs. I saw two other boats hook into fish in a 30 min. spell, then all was dead...wierd! * other new experience was fly fishing off the beach; swallow water , wading out in thermal waders at first light after pink salmon [ trout sized fish 2- 4 lbs] and wow! do they fight!..........but hard work to get just one fish!.....a lot get off those barbless hooks Fantastic place to go fishing........spectacular scenery keeps distracting you BUT fishing is not easy........there's lots of water and concerns over fish stocks, fish farms and conflicts of interests I'll post again in a different forum on the rules and regulations .......... I could see it coming our way in the not too distant future I will definitely be returning there to fish again.......armed with a little experience. Alun.

Mike, With bigger tides this weekend............ you'll find a variety of action [ and not too many LSD] along the stretch from Hengistbury Lookout along to the Groyne; not far out there's deep water but in my experience the tide needs to be flooding. Tight lines, Alun.

Keep us posted.........I'm hoping to go sole .....ing on Fri night , when wind should be lighter and more NW. Barton beckons?? Alun.

I've been out a few times recently for short trips.............. mainly taking visitors for quick mackerel bash for bbq. When I have had a chance to put a bait down........... I also have noticed the relative dearth of bream this year , but lots of tope [little ones] in with the usual dogfish [even more abundent than usual] Not had any triggers yet..........one more chance next weekend, before I'm off to Canada for holiday; so it might be the end of Aug. before I get a few !! Alun

Kam, Only Dover Sole................... and three days is probably not enough at fridge temp. Skinning......... yes, that's the method, but it's much easier many days later. Catch a couple of smaller ones and try experimenting with different days... ....any from the fishmongers could easily be well over a week old. Alun.