alun j.

Hi Terry, I'm going end July to mid - Aug. I know these fish are there but what sort of tackle / tactics ?? I 'm also keen to try the halibut fishing........ as another new species [and fine eating!]. Did you take tackle or hire / buy there ?? Alun.

I'm visiting family and friends on Vancouver Island at the end of July and plan to get a few days fishing. Problem is that no one is a fisherman ........ and my little bit of research points to the areas around Victoria having some excellent sport , esp. halibut and several sorts of salmon. Should I take some of my tackle or hire / buy there?? Are those multi- section travel rods any good ?? Are the charter trips there worthwhile [do I need to book in advance] ; I see many provide bait and tackle [ and protective / floatation clothing].?? At best I might get 3 or 4 days in Victoria ......... and a couple at Comox or Campbell Valley. Is the river fishing for salmon .... fly, bait or spinners ?? Any information or useful advice much appreciated ....... even if it only allows me to ask sensible / detailed questions for my contacts over there to ask for me. Cheers, Alun.

Mike, Orkney describe these boats as 'performance hulls'. I have a little 4 40 with a 15 hp. 4 - stroke Yam. On a calm sea, on my tod, it quickly whizzes up to 20 + mph. [sorry, gps gives mph]......... but speed drops quickly with load 2 up = 13 max.] Alun.

Paul, Is it just the weight that's the limiting factor? What about the forces on the transom?? A more powerful engine will produce a bigger 'kick'. Alun.

Paul, I thought you were thinking of going up to a 590; go the whole hog and trade in boat and engine ?? Whatever you do, the power lift is almost essential around Christchurch and its shallow waters ....... it was the best advice from bhm , where i got my boat, ..... Yamaha with power lft, very reliable. They have a showroom in Lymington and give a good package deal on Orkneys. Alun.

Sam, Try putting it on a beachcaster.......... 12 - 14 ft. 4 or 5 oz weight and even a pendulum cast will zoom out over 100m. Alun.

Sam, Your reel is an out and out caster !! Great for whizzing a bait 150 m. or more from the beach. It's fine for light boat fishing [ up to about 6 or 8 oz. weights ] but as you rewind check the lay of the line, you may need to thumb the line if the spool is full. Alun.

Bob, Nice little reels , but

I also noticed the swallows whilst drifting the Shambles on Sat. ones and twos flying very low, just over the water ...... but a steady stream of them all day. Alun.

Paul, Launce was a dead, frozen one from previous trip [one of the smaller ones] and a lump of mackeral on the other hook .......... that caught the turbot. ..........I was using a live one on a baited spoon rig .......... with no joy !! Amazing how robust those launce are......... still alive after an hour in a cool box; then an hour or two being whinched up and down through 20 m. several times and travelling several miles of drifts !!!......... and swam away at the end . ......... unlike those in turbot's tum ! Alun.

James, Well done.......with the plaice. Perhaps we were a bit late starting and missed the best flattie action. The turbot had 4 or 5 sandeels in its stomach......... much smaller than the launce. Alun.

...........with about 40 other boats !!! ........ sometimes well spread out, other times quite bunched up ......... and a few close encounters [of the careless kind!]. Shame about the Trailaway being postponed, pity they didn't move it to yesterday, then they could have met up again with the Burnham bunch who made over a dozen of the boats out there! I was really excited , looking forward to a good day's fishing after recent 'lean' trips. Conditions seemed ideal [ sun, calm sea, light winds north going round to west, small tide ........... and a bucket of Poole's best rag to load the baited spoons.]. Third trip there, now have the knack with the drag weight and adjustments...so soon got the drifting sorted...... but most boats were just 'free-drifting'. Saw a few boats bringing in a plaice or two ......but most seemed small to very small ............ but we hadn't had a bite !! Picked up a few launce ; so put one on as bait....... 20 mins later, our one and only bite of the day ......... a beautiful 5 lb. 2 oz. turbot....... for my mate Dave. ........not counting one other , a lonely dogfish. A lovely day to be out .......... and the turbot for supper was fantastic !! Cheers, Alun.

But............. ..................a 3 lb. bream produces a few lovely platefuls as well as the cracking good fishing ! ..........don't think tope rate on the culinary scale much above dogfish ! [ soup fish]. Going to try for the plaice tomorrow........... and outdo Rich's go today! Cheers, Alun.

Sam, Another advantage of the Ledge fishing is you might also hook into a decent bass or some of those hard-fighting triggers. Alun.

Having seen the forecast......... lots of rain coming........ I'm going to have a go on Sat. I have a friend living in Weymouth and hope to get out to the Shambles on his boat and do a bit better than the three plaice I had last time [in the fog]. Thanks for the comments posted re. speed of drift. My hand held gps doesn't register speeds below 2 mph; we were drifting at this or less but might have been going a bit too quickly........ and couldn't see any other boats for comparison! I suspect things could be much different Sat.; with sunshine and light winds, it'll probably be boat dodgems !! Good luck / tight lines ........... if you go Sun. Alun.

My second [only ] blank ........... ever !!!!!! Didn't seem too bad a day today......... lighter wind , sort of off shore [ NW.] Tried a few channels in the harbour on the fast flooding tide.....[ but only ravenous crabs].......... Drifted the Swash channell upto and over the top of the tide......... lots of slimy brown weed!! Ventured out to the Patch[es].......... masses of bouys around the Inner Patch [nets or pots??].........hooked onto one on the edge for a couple of bite free hours. Extended scope by exploring the rocks around the Outer Patch......... a few charter boats came and joined me........... drifting or anchoring produced the same fruitless result !! A nice bright and breezy day to enjoy on the water despite the lack of action........ .......perhaps I'll have to focus more on Weymouth for a few more weeks!!! ...or stick at home, around Christchurch for some rays. Cheers, Alun. ps. surprised how cold the water is barely 8C in the harbour and colder the further out you go !!

I've got a pair of oars.......... that worked well the one time I used them...... when I first launched, at Baiter, maiden trip, wind on - shore, so I rowed her out into deeper water to 'first start ' the engine. Yamaha never missed a beat since [ three years ago !!] Alun J. [ lives in a small world ].

Anyone who's interested.......... ....... I'm bringing a selection of Abu multipliers [ some new, some used] , various sizes.......... to the meeting tonight; some are spoken for but I've got a few others as well. Cheers, Alun.

Paul, Pollack on big Hokais and giant white feathers [ 7/0 ??] The herring we had for supper; didn't even think of them for bait. Sam, Hundreds of launce ...... the big white feathers outfished the Hokais 2 or 3 to one! but they didn't do any good as bait; only big , Poole rag caught fish. Swash Channel ?? ............ thinking of trying here later next week as tides build. I've only had a little success here in the past [ for plaice ] and often find the weed troublesome. Would the Shambles tactics of dragged weight to slow drift work here ?? Anyone tried ?? Alun.

Cool and misty......set out on my friend's boat from Weymouth yesterday morning into the murk , whipped up by light Southeasterly ......... visibility 20 yrds. and about 7 C. Slow and steady , using GPS , got us out to the banks inabout 40 mins. ......... but where were all the other boats ??? Took a while to adjust the drift speed [ difficult with no frames of reference ] using a 10 kg. gym weight and length of chain. Managed two plaice before the tide stopped......but not the big ones I hoped for [ one to one&half lbs,] Used feathers / Hokais and found Launce ....... hundreds of them......and a few herring. Question : what do you do with these giant sandeels ?? We tried them as bait; whole and slices........... but not a tickle !! Surprised at how long the water stayed slack ...... must be the double low water; when it did get going again, we picked up another plaice [ bit bigger]. Stopped on the Hood on the way back in........... and found some fair size pollack. An interesting day saved by technology ........ use of the compass would have been hopeless without gps, because the tide pushes you so far sideways! So, we beat the fog and found a few plaice and herring for dinner........and no boat traffic jams. Cheers, Alun.

Rich, Will let you know what I see / hear. Alun.

Hi Dan, Those sharp tap bites were probably pout and/or very small whiting ........ .......... I had afew last Friday....... perhaps the bass will be there soon to chase them?? I'm going to try the Shambles this Friday ....... for something a bit bigger!! Cheers , Alun.

Rich, I've sent you a pm re. reel. Alun.

I've been sorting through my tackle and found I have far too many reels !! Several are brand new in box, never used. Some I bought on ebay to replace ones I thought were worn out........ but, on servicing, have been restored. Also have some lightly used secondhand....... 5000 , 6000 and 7000 size. Before I post them on ebay, thought I'd give club members a first shout. If interested in a reel for the coming bass / bream fishing PM me and say which size reel and I'll reply with what I've got.

Gorgeous day, after the mist / fog / low cloud cleared. First surprise was the 'crash' of breakers on the Bar at Mudeford at high water and no wind!! ....... the big spring tide or previous day's breeze ? Next surprise was how cold the sea is!........ almost 10 C in the harbour but this quickly drops as you travel out and out near the Ledge it's less than 7 C ! No pollack drifting the top of the tide over the edge of the ledge [ too cold ] so went to X-ray to fish the ebb. A bit of action here, first with a blonde ray, then the inevitable doggies mixed with pout and small [ very, very small] whiting [how do they suck in big ragworm on a wide gape 1/0 ??]. Next, tried drifting with baited spoons.........all the way along Southbourne to Boscombe .......nothing! Back to ledge to try again for pollack at low water but no better...... so used my big juicy rag to target bass in the shallower, warmer water in Christchurch bay with the early flood [ 5 m. and over that all important 8 C. In Clive Gammon's books on bass fishing in Wales, this was the temp. he reckoned was critical for bass to feed........ usually occuring from Easter on....] and success!! A string of rattles and a few tiddlers before a better 2 1/2 lber. giving a great scrap on light tackle [ 1/2 oz. weight cast across tide and drifted around on the clean bottom.......... no weed !!] A lovely relaxing start to the holiday. Alun.