alun j.

After last year's maiden trip out to the Shambles, on a glorious early April day, I'm keen to repeat this Easter, hopefully with a bit more success than the three little plaice........ I mean 'tiny' for two of them.... caught more by luck than skill! The whole day was one big learning experience........... the tides, the swells over the banks, the number of other boats to avoid ! It didn't take long to get the drift speed sorted to match the other boats ....... a couple of divers' belt weights and a bit of chain did that .......... but getting the bottom tackle right had me guessing ........ so help please , some of you who have this sorted. Weights ??????? ..... too much........ and your tackle goes back to tangle with the dragging anchor; .... too little ........ and your tackle is swept off with the tide !! Rigs ?? ..... I stuck with the ever dependale running ledger with two hook Pennel. Addition of beads and / or spoon made little difference until you got caught up and lost expensive spoon! Bait ??? ......... thought RAG...... and had dug some cracking good worms, but two fish came on manky bit of mackeral. Rods ?? .......... normally fish with two..... but this quickly proved very difficult with all the movement. Was I right in focusing on one, constantly adjusting depth as we slid over those undersea cliffs of sand and gravel ?? Is it better to fish lighter so trace flows away from you ........ or heavier, with a bit of drag. Here was confusion, lack of experience , tangles with crew [ even less experienced!] and a tide that changed just when you felt you were sorted! I know I lost a lot of time working out what was happening in this novel situation last year and would like to get more fishing out of my day if wind and tides allow me to try it out again. Thanks for any useful suggestions, Alun.

Unscrew the end where the plunger is; pull the piston out; scoop in the gunge; replace the springy piston and screw down ............ pump away !! Alun.

I hope some people with the power to influence read the many pertinent comments added by the rapidly increasing number of signatures. Alun.

Could coated leads be an environmental thing ?? If leads are painted or wrapped in plastic do they corrode less in the water? Does this reduce any pollution caused by lost leads......... reacting to form poisonous lead salts ? OR.......... maybe handling coated leads is safer ?? The fingers that rig up the leads on tackle are the same ones pushing sandwiches in !! ......... with few hand washing facilities !! How are your brain cells with lead?? Alun.

Two sacks of spuds. 25 kgs. is pretty close to 56 lbs. A.

Paul, How much push do you have on your 520 ? I've only got a 15 hp 4 - stoke on my 4 40 but she whizzes along on a flat sea , like today, and when I'm on my own. I took advantage of today's conditions and went from Mudeford out past the Needles , about 2 1/2 miles SE of the lighthouse, close to the spoil grounds. 10 miles from the entrance and took just about half an hour each way. Unlike the conger club further west......... twas all quiet at the Needles marks. Loads of dogfish, a flurry of pout [ some reasonable ones on the 5/0 hooks!], and one thornback .......... just big enough for a meal for two tomorrow! Eerie sort of day.....lots of low, misty cloud...... really closed in about 4 and the trip back showed how useful GPS can be when there are absolutely no landmarks visible !.......... it would have been much longer if I had had to go up to Hurst and then hug the coast back ! Probably the last trip until Spring........so I'd better get on in the garden. Alun.

Am thinking of making one last trip out on thurs. The wind seems to in the north and staying light............... so a trip out to the Needles might be on...... if there's anything , other than dogfish , to catch. Anyone better informed than me ?? I think the odd big cod maybe there [ full of roe before spawning ] or is it too late now?? Have been catching flatties in the harbour ........ but the lack of tide on thurs may make this less productive. Alun.

Don't worry Charlie ......... I'm reasonably safety conscient. Having taken a forecast of west going round to northwest, I reckoned Lake shore would get some shelter. When I launched early morning, the westerly wasn't too strong and although there was a bit of a chop out in the channel, low water at Lake was only a ripple in the shallows............. and the water was almost warm !! A bumpy ride up the channel, with a strong tide pushing into the wind...... but.... pointing little Orkney into the wind and going slowly with the tide it was nowhere near as bad as I've seen off Hurst and the boat just went up and down over the chop with no 'OOH .. ERRS'. It wasn't far into Rockley channel and water calmed quickly the further up you went [with less fetch]. The wind really got up later in the morning but I wasn't worried as a trip back with wind and tide was smooth; and the veer to the northwest made Lake a bit more sheltered and few probs on retrieve !! In summary ......... I totally agree with the thinking on 'skippers call' and if you'd been with me I'm sure you'd have seen my thinking [ and caught a few flatties]. Just cooking a couple of them for supper. Alun.

Isn't it just Sods Law ........... calmest day of the week, and that's the day the boat is booked in for its annual service!! Good luck......... chasing those bass I'll keep it on my list of things to try ........... future planning. Alun.

First a bit of Biology............... Cartilaginous fish, like rays and doggies metabolise protein in a different chemical route; instead of forming urea, their livers produce a waste substance called trimethyl amine , which is then excreted through the kidneys. When killed, this compound in their tissues breaks down slowly to form ammonia ........ hence the increasing pong of nappies as fish loses freshness. With big rays, really fresh fish can be a bit tough......... so there's a balancing act. Two or three days on ice is about the best before ammonia is noticeable. My advice is * get your fish into the fridge asap [ whole ] * cut the wings off when you want them [ within three days] OR * cut wings off fresh fish and freeze.[ it does freeze and keep well]. Skinning is a painful waste of time / effort ......... * poach your wings in a court boullion [herby water with lemon] 5 - 10 mins. and the skin just slides off * keep warm while you cook up a browned butter sauce [ even better with some capers in it ] and parsley. One of my favourites!! Alun. PS. vinegar / lemon can neutralise a little bit of ammonia , but ,if it's reached this stage, the fish has lost it's fresh sweetness and will be wooly and dull !

............ of wind, that is !!.........mostly 6 or 7 and frequent gusts over 8 !! I've never boat fished such a strong blow; even with a bit of shelter up at Rockley the waves were being whipped up and then their tops were blown off!! I tied to a channel marker buoy and found myself being swung back and forth and peppered with spray from waves hitting the buoy and flying onto my little boat! Despite the slight discomfort, it was a good call to get out ......... it was so mild and, when the sun came out, almost warm !! Great views....... and quiet , with no traffic on the water and no trains clattering along the tracks up there [WHY ?]. The water has warmed up !! ...... over 8 C. ......... that's 2 degrees up on last week and over 4 on a fortnight ago. This has got the crabs active again and I got through a load of bait and had to finish early. Fish came steadily throughout.......... 6 bass , all under size , but most were close to a pound each and lively on light tackle; ..... 4 flounders with two of them good size at 2 - 6 and 2 - 10 . Top tackle today was the baited spoon [ Mepps blade in front of lots of worms on a light leger, rolling around with the tide / wind ]. With a few flatties still around , I might be tempted out in the week as I've got the half term week off ..........just have to avoid the DIY. Looks like it turns quieter mid-week. Bet nobody else got out .......... you missed out if you cancelled !! Tight lines. Alun.

Thanks to Paul for a very enjoyable day out.... lots of space and fresh air, hardly a soul about.......... and the sun even managed to come out for a while!! Not much tide, but enough to take us to fish the ebb in X-ray area ............ dogfish aplenty, but little else. For a change of scene, we moved south to ClanMacvey [we anchored up on the numbers..... but couldn't find any bottom features]........... slow to start but at the bottom the tide, pout ,of various size, came out to play........ followed by a fair size conger>>>>>>> but just the one. Then quiet again as the tide started to flood, save for a couple of small whiting [ really small !! ] Over to the ledge for last couple of hours......... had heard there might be some pollack there......... but all we found were more dogfish......... even tried drifting with hokais ........ but this will have to wait till spring I think !! No problems coming in over the Bar........... but there was a yatch around there, pinned by the southeasterly breeze. despite the rising tide. We tried to offer assistance but were too small and under-powered to pull it . Fortunately, 'Aquafresh' was on its way in too and , after a bit of tugging from different angles, pulled it free, into deeper water in the 'Run'. Moral...... if you go out of Mudeford...... stick close to those three yellow/green buoys. Think I might try another flattie session or two in Poole over the next couple of weeks ..... but then get the garden ready for spring......... and wait our new season........at Easter ?? Tight lines [ and thanks again Paul]. Alun.

Despite the neap tide, a freshening wind and increasing rain, I grabbed a couple of hours of flooding tide up near Rockley where all was strangely quiet [ no power boats......... or any traffic !] Float and ledger tied............with two flounder each. Best was 2 - 12. Wind blowing into Lake shore made the retrieve a little more tricky......... but not too bad as it's nice and solid and you can get the car down onto the gravel. Home in time to watch the rugby .........and betray my Welsh roots!! See what we can get out in the bay tomorrow. Alun.

Happy Birthday Paul, Looking forward to the trip tomorrow ............. I'm sure we can find some fish somewhere, despite all the discouraging reports! Have a good day, Cheers, Alun.

I regularly use chopped up mackeral and bits of squid. In 15 - 20 m of water, these take ages to get down [ and past the gulls !] . If the tide is slack , then this is fine and spreads 100 m and more. With a bit more tide , I switch to using a bait dropper [ barbel - style ] with a 6 oz lead on it. Most noticeable comment..........BASS.......... most of the bass I've picked up when fishing this way have been half stuffed with the mackeral bits. With a sniff, these fish can be fast moving hoovers!! I wonder what the balance is of them finding dinner by sight or smell ??? Alun.

I've only seen two so far this winter; hope to have a go next weekend , if the calm weather holds ........... My neighbour was out today, somewhere near the Needles and [save for a few pout] blanked......... as did mant of the charters around him !! Does anyone know of a run of cod / codling in the spring ?? Several years ago I had several in early May in the area between the Ledge and X-ray, quite close in where it drops off . With the focus on those big early bream are we missing the cod? I remember having good size cod and bass on the bottom of the boat on the same trip............. not that long ago ,'97 or '98 I think. Alun.

Although I voted for BASS which just has to be king of most categories, I put trigger fish close up there, edging ahead of the bream!.......... esp. if they are regularly going to come in the 2 - 3 lbs. size. Alun. PS. This is what we had for dinner tonight......... the superb eating [ even after freezing ] adds extra points !!

The tides made me call a day in the harbour , rather than X-ray. Morning flood seemed to say flatties............. with the cold weather slowing the crabs ......... so it proved................... though never as you would expect. The harbour water was really cold............. less than 5 C.......... but there were still loads of crabs. Up on the Wareham channel , I went back to my experiment comparing float fished ragworm against those on ledger. Three weeks ago , floats won hands down. Today, complete reverse.......... 9 on the bottom, 4 on float. Most categoric feature.......... no bites on ebb....... 5 on the first flood, 8 on second; though more smaller fish later. Best fish.... fat flounder 2 lbs, 14 oz. ...... nothing under 1 lb. Excellent day, great visibility over the harbour, shared only with a few nutty kids on a powerboat course from Rockley..........they looked cold!! All flounders stuffed with food............ bulging, not just their roe......... they are full of worms, small crabs and little fish. Us 'top carnivores' depend on a healthy food chain supporting the lower links !! Hope everyone else had as god a day, Alun.

Hi Tony, As per comments above.......... the best learning is first hand experience........and there's loads here in the club, willingly passed on. Lots of us will be keen to join with you and help in many ways. Is your lovely new boat on a trailer or on a mooring? If you trail, slips get very busy on summer weekends with the relative derth of them in the Poole to Christchurch area ..... but tides are very small. If yoou are starting now, then it's not the best time to boost your confidence as fishing rapidly takes a dive through Feb. and stays quiet in March. Most of us have to wait until April when the first [ good sized ] black bream arrive .......... and from then on there's action and variety as far as the weather[wind] allows! So......... when do you want to get afloat?? Post somewhere here and you 'll have many offers from members ............including me. Let's go fishing, Alun.

Sam, If you need a helping hand / informed tips with tour science and/or coursework, then drop me a PM and I'll gladly help, esp. if it enables you to get more fishing in! Tight lines , Alun [ just don't call me 'Sir'].

Hi All, I'm hoping to get out and fish X-ray area; here I've had most success with a good ebb ...... if whiting are still about ....... plus a few surprises as the tide changes [top or bottom of the tide]. Going out at first high should be no trouble over the Bar but I'll have to be careful coming in on the first of the flood, though this is easier when the water is pushing in. Anyone know if fish are still about this end of the bay ??? Alun.

Well done !! Thanks again, Alun.

NOT SO SIMPLE !!!!!!!! Maybe there's another alo alogorythm [ way of working] !!..... Look in 'catch reports'.........'Dungeness...', started by Codfather...... he later replies.......... no spot !! ??? I'm just curious....... as a ' marked man'. Alun.

Thanks all, curiosity satisfied ...... well done on the sophistication and extra features of this excellent site. Alun.

Hi Paul, Not too sure what you mean........ it's not to do with topics viewed or replied to as you'll see if you visit one of the pages of topics....... some have spots, some don't ! ........... all mine do!! Any thoughts ?? Alun.