duncan

Tom, I think Paul, quite rightly, is highlighting the absolute need for a fish to be weighed in acordance with documented procedures if it is to be registered. No if's, no buts, no estimates. Obviously there is no requirement whatsoever for all fish to be weighed and many many entries in the catch report sections make reference to fish 'estimated at' and 'about' x weight. I am amazed that this keeps coming up - and you did bring it up. In doing so you risk confusing people - hence the responses you keep getting. I've not got drawn on the accuracy of estimates before because I have simply stayed out of it but recent experiences have confirmed my previous view that whilst some very experienced people can hold a fish (or other object) and relatively accurately estimate the weight you have no chance of doing this consistently with such as huss, tope and conger which wont sit still (even in a sling!) and that some estimates can be miles out - we had 2 examples this weekend where a huss that Dave estimated at a good 12 went 8lb 10oz and a conger of around 30 was 20lb 8oz. We were both amazed and weighed them over and over again! In the case of the huss the next 4 over the side all came up heavier than estimated - we only weighed them because we were confused by the first. Dave has 'some' experience in such estimating. Paul - absolutely agree that I should have made an approprite comment re size of boat etc when highlighting the above practice. It's all to easy to forget the differences between boats and the potential safety implications. On Phaeton, and most craft with self draining decks, the big problem is just how far down the water is - not how close! Tight lines.

you don't need to bring it aboard if you have a decent net Tom!!! we tend to net eels then weigh them in the net over the side before t-barring them off getting quite a good process flow nowadays trace to hand, lead removed (lessons learnt!), net behind fish, fish in net, line slack, scales onto net, readings noted, scales off, tbar, empty net. downsides - conger slime on net and you loose the odd pound as it's difficult to get everything clear of the water and the net handle unsupported. few photo's upside - safe weight established, fish little stressed, crew little stressed! works on tope too but we tend to bar rays off if they are going back as they get caught up in the net..

I am sure Paul will post once he has had returns from everyone booked in for the event. It may take a few days for some given logistics - I believe the 'time limit' is a week?

got a decent net set up and chucked the gaff away. hoop by stainless steve via AdamF net from the states via Coddy handle from B&Q (yellow fibreglass with 2 handle areas) came with a hoe attached which had to be cut off........... it will handle anything outwith sharks and skate swiming in UK waters - including Dave if he falls overboard..............

with the weather matching the forecast to the mph and degree and a full load of bait Dave and I set out with AWOL on the annual pilgramage to RAY. as they provide fantastic sport all year round it is always a good target from all our waters. inevitably having spent a small fortune on bait we found plenty of fresh maccy straight away (well they were thin on the ground but we had time to burn before our scheduled 'start time') once Nipper and AWOL were catching (bait) we headed off to the first mark. screwed up slinging the hook the first time so decided to redo it - start of a lot of up and down anchoring that day! anyhow 1000h and it's lines down, 1002h and the rod nods the first time, and AWOL arrives as I am discussing the merits of a sun tan with an undulate! for some reason they choose to anchor slose by on the same contour........... anyhow this proved the last fish there and we moved on schedule to our second mark in deeper water. anchoring we found the tide a little ahead of schedule and easing already. hook down, baits down, sandwich open..........rod nods.....of we go again anyhow whilst Dave hooked into a nice conger that gave him and his tackle a 32minute work out in the strong ebb tide the big rays refused to play and 2lb+ was struggling to hold bottom sensibly so it was back in. nothing - moved even further in to see if the triggers would play; nope got bored headed out for a last chance at the rays but at the time our allotted 7hours expired we hadn't made much progress other than a nice bass that wanted to play. staying out in the wonderfull weather we hooked up to a few congers but no more rays........and not a dogfish in sight all day! back in at 2100h after a great day on the water nice to hear so many boats out on the water enjoyoing themselves

booking in Just to confirm that, barring unforseen extreme circumstances, Dave and I will be fishing the rescheduled Flatfish and Ray comp on Sunday 14th Oct from Phaeton. The exact 7 hour period we eventually fish will be dictated by the wind ( v light breeze honest guv) direction - but will of course be between 0600h (yea right - no chance if England beat France............. ) and 1800h with the last 7 hours over the ebb and an Easterly looking favorite right now........not least because it will give me a few inches of water under the props on the way out in the morning! Any lucky catches will be reported soonest as usual Good luck all - looking like loads of options from the recent reports

wots a plaice???????????? great report Al - got everyone double green with envy!

abrakedabra

Mike - do you have a date and time (on the tiny offchance I am passing by on my way down then.........)

this could of course be taken a number of ways Rob - including "you haven't a chance 'cos I have it sown up!" (but I know you don't mean it like that. I think it's the best comp of the year because there are so many species of ray out there and some great specimens of each are caught all the time. Add to that the shear physical effort of hauling up the larger ones and it's a good recipie overall - see you out there.

Al just remembered - I note reference to anchored and anchor line? This implies that you would be fighting these beasts (nicest possible beasts of course) against the tide as well as the hassle of the anchor line when it circles plus the potentially speedy spread of your 'slick' with a 3 knot tide! Interested in more info please.

I think I need a bigger boat.......... Great write up - thanks for taking the time.

I trust he won't be taking part in the photo comp on the day!

nice report Mike - it's a great area out there isn't it; options options options!

I am sure she will bring you a lot of fun Graham - enjoy the good times forget the rest!

sounds idyllic Paul - another nice bass...............

the Rockley Flotilla continues to grow............ I am sure you will have a lot of great times with the new boat Tony - I find that size manages to combine the family fun and fishing roles very well indeed with just enough creature comforts and the necessary sea keeping to take away that inevitable nervousness when heading back from an idyllic day round west through St Alban's, Durlston and Peveril if it's ebbing hard! Look forward to seeing you around Duncan

I think I follow all that Trev! So you haven;t sorted the proping yet but you are into the fish............ Nice bass - here's a smaller (file size) version of your pic

Indeed Mike - and the water / fuel interface in the tank provides a healthy environments for the dreaded diesel bug to multiply. Whilst the primary will seperate off the actual water the byproducts of those measly critters play havoc with the filters themselves! On the other hand diesel has a significantly longer open shelf life than petrol so there isn't any other issue to be balanced against 'full tanks all the way'.

Have you got your 2008 almanac out early Adam? Dover Tides 7/10 ----- 5.78...1.50 range 4.28 14/10----- 6.41...1.24 ----- 5.17 21/10----- 5.24...2.29 ----- 2.95 ???

Daz 1/10 through 31/3 the main channel only but right up to the start of the Frome excluding the section past Brownsea Castle out through the entrance. In practice whilst people slow down from buoy 20 through the entrance they still seem to stay just on the plane at around 13 knots.............although they shouldn;t obviously. Re the unleaded I have to disagree with Coddy's recomendation. I agree with everything he says apart from topping up the tank now. It's either sealed or it isn't overwinter and I would rather add a fair amount of fresh fuel in March than have a whole tank of potentially stale. However overall I think the issue is overrated and I wouldn;t worry at all over a few months - especially winter ones! Leaving it July /August on a trailer would give rise to a bigger issue (but as most know it's not a problem)

well done Sammy, and BB! sounds like you got the best of the conditions and the fish - excellent.

plenty of 5.5lb flounder weights thanks.............. it's more the getting in and out problems with tides and times at this time of year - the alternate weeks with low around midday are so much more accomadating to Poole and Christchurch alike. anyhow we will see (as they say)

haven't seen any reference to next weekend anywhere yet? Was rather expecting the 7th or 21st for tides - let alone giving this current batch of stuff a chance to clear!!!