Graham Nash

You have no excused Dom .... you were out recently unlike some of us!

ha ha ... I actually did it too !!!!

Nice trip .... and once again top marks for returning some nice fish.

sounds like an excellent trip Chris. And top marks for returning the bass

Many would have given up at the first hurdle (especially with a 2 hour drive before you even see water). Well done for persevering and great result (so long as you dont mind doggies )

Fishing is a funny old game isn't it Lofty. The anticipation during the build up. the planning, the preparation and then the event. Often the event doesnt come near to the expectations or hopes but we still love it and we still keep going back for more. It's a little bit like the lottery in the early days. Well done on the dab tho'

Is Jim on holiday????

not at our age Charlie

Nothing better than grappling with a big blonde Peter

Incidentally Matt, we caught some pretty decent Blonde rays last year, many between 16LB & 20LB most were caught on 20/30LB gear but one of my crew caught an 18Lb'er on an 8Lb class rod. It took him forever to get it off the bottom and even longer to get it aboard. They were both knackered by the time he got it into the net

I buoyed my anchor rope at a wreck off the Isle of Wight Rob. Big buoy and left some slack in the rope but it just disappeared in the tide. I would have been better just cutting the rope as short as I could, instead I lost extra rope AND a big buoy!!! Have not had the chance to ghet back there at slack water and to be honest it would cost me more in fuel than the cost of a replacement anchor & rope anyway so I'll put that one down to experience!

looking very nice. I hope you have many happy trips in her.

not me

Having been watching the weather reports since Christmas this was the first time that both favourable weather and a quiet day at work coincided so it was off out on the boat for me and my usual crew. I had decided on a mark before we left but as we neared it we noticed that there were lots of boats in one area a little further on so against my original plan we decided to act like lemmings and follow the pack. Found a little spot but it was too close to another anchored boat so we motored round a little to see if we could find anything else of interest and decided on a little lump showing on the sonar. Within minutes my mate was into a small whiting, minutes later it was my turn for a slightly better one then there followed a steady stream of whiting to 2lb 5oz for most of the rest of the afternoon. Once the tide changed my mate hooked the obligatory doggie then as the tide ran stronger I got something a little heavier. Excitedly I told my mate to get the net but was a little disappointed (and surprised) to see a small Blonde Ray of just over 5LB curled up using the tide to make me work to get her up. Lifted the anchor around 3ish and headed back for home. Was lovely to be out but my sea legs seem to have been left somewhere in 2011 as my tummy was doing some strange things every time I concentrated on anything like tying a knot or untangling a mess. Was also nice to hear a few other club boats out and hopefully we will get their reports in due course.

Ha Ha .... well somehow I have managed to beat the odds and it would seem (so far) that I am getting a day off to go and play!! Still about 10 hours for something to go wrong but I have my fingers crossed :-)

You only have one back Nigel so look after it mate. On the plus side, it gives the rest of us a chance to get to the top of the leader board for a very short while

I have booked Wednesday off too (but some bu66er will spoil it for me). Same as Charlie i'm staying West. I don't expect to catch much but I just need to get out!

Is Mr Shotton invited

what a salesman Terry .... wanna job?

Sssshhhhhhhhh

Looking at the forecasts for next week, it looks like I need to book a couple of days off! Can it really stay that good?

theres a tender bashing up against the rocks on Holes bay rd at the moment. already holed otherwise I would have pulled it out.

And The Wife of course! Oh yeah ... and the wife

Congratulations Adam & Family Concerning the trip, I too would possibly be interested in crewing as i doubt my fibreglass skip will be ready by then. I seem to have got over my sea sickness problem but would still only be interested in making the trip in favourable conditions (I think most skippers have the same idea this year anyway). Graham.

If the floor is soft .... check the transom too. Shame, I virtually gave my 17ft day boat and trailer away earlier this year, much much less than what you are looking at spending on this one.