duncan

given that I always seem to be using traces significantly stronger than my mainline I am not sure how not using 'even stronger' ones is going to help me break out of the wreck any easier? using heavy gear like 30lb mainline braid you could stick a short section of 25kb mono between your boom and a trace swivel I suppose but on balance I think I will stick to keeping any possible weakness out of the gear adn accept the odd weight and boom as a price to play........... all the best Sunday Sam - I have agreed with your dad not to try and race you out to your favorite wreck.....

wow! makes my usual 300 mile round trip to go fishing pale into insignificance! Wouldn't want to do that just to watch the rod tip nodding all day in the tide would you. Great write up and an excellent session Kam - presume you will now be targetting large blondes, the club conger record and porbeagles in 2006?

Dan, Click hereand let the enchanted learning experience enlighten you

not perchance a spurdog, impersonating a tope, impersonating a smoothy..............

I am sure that maintaining a continuous supply of ground bait to the area bing fished will have a positive impact on most marks but delivering it precicely to the depths isn't that easy!

yep a smooth and clean bum and drive gear make a huge difference on acceleration and cruise (and therefore fuel usage) . weight seems to affect acceleration only in my case. and a really sparkly prop affects top speed only. re your fish - I had heard that most of the cod being caught were shaking their heads - probably thinking 'you're not Jack then I suppose.......... btw if you can put anything down on the gunnels it must have been like a mirror! I find that anything put down on the gunnels leaves the boat never to return very quickly! We do have the luxuary of multipul beer can holders around the boat that have been know to take mugs in the winter! I am currently working on a little rack to hold them securely upright by the galley when Dave's making the tea......... btw do you have heating on Pal o Mine?

Lumpy??? Come on Jack you could run Pal o Mine flat out in those conditions on Sunday. We listened to your report with interest, having had to rely on semaphore from Charlie regarding Gordon & Adam's exploits - and decided we had missed the window for further East. Re 'robbing bastards' - I trust you had nice short snoods for the slack water? It may well have been small bream in which case they will get away everytime - bt they tend to give the rod a rattle when doing it.

Nice report Alun - shame about the fish. I will piggyback with mine as I can empathise with the title! Not being quite sure who was actually turning up to fish Sunday, let alone exactly when they planned to turn up, I popped down at 6 to switch the heating on and returned to the van for a leisurely cuppa and brekkie. Back down at 730 to get things ready the ice was beginning to melt on the screen and the cabin was warm as toast - a condition we kept it in all day long! Eventually slipped the mooring at 0815 with 5 on board and had a leisurely run out in beautiful conditions to the banks SE of the spoils. Anchor in and fishing by 9 - what a perfect day................ Alas no one had told the fish. Whilst we had a steady supply of dogs, odd pout and a few whiting all at the 2 1/4lb mark, we saw little else. One rod had 'something a bit better' briefly on but we couldn't match the broken lines adn rods elsewhere let alone the landed fish! Fished on into darkeness but nothing saw this as a switch to action so headed in as the breeze got up a little at around 1730 - Great White and Shelia Marie having also upped sticks from the same location. All in all a great day out with good company - none of which I would trade for more fish anyway

there are also a few sailing boats that are out Sunday's and using 06 all the time - something Bear was one. As they were commenting on how close they were getting to things (and each other) you have to assume that they could have got away with 1W - especially with their aerials!

you are clearly doing something wrong on both counts Mike!

the latter Jack a nice run in good conditions but it's like a carpark there in good conditions at weekends. sometimes the Poole marks outfish the Needles, other times they don't.

yep - it was weird Sunday watching the odd huge cloured slick head off down the swash on the tide!

Ah well - and there is no club record for herring, or even a specimin weight listed in the comp rules pack for the open , so I guess it's not an eligible species for that event.......

nope - I reckon if you stick at it for a year, and take in all the advice available, you stand a reasonable chance of knowing where to be when.........then it's down to perseverance, skill and luck. of the 3 luck produces the odd good (excellent even) fish but the other two will win through in the end and deliver enjoyable trips - ripe with expectation!

Headed out on Phaeton with Dave, having elected not to head out Saturday (still trying to work out just what actually made us decide that !!!!). Found the same E then N winds and generally yuk sea conditions but a lovely sunny day though. Fishing was nothing short of a disaster - personally I put that down to having a landing net on board for the first time in three trips! Highlights - Got soaked putting the anchor down - the first time from the helm we drifted too far down on the mark Dave lost all his gear when his line mysterioulsy parted after dropping down; he blamed Phil so I though no more about it. Phil thought he had a fish but wound up Dave's gear, including weight and 150ft of braid all smiles - until it happened again and I suggested Dave look at his tip ring..........yep, cracked. Phil gets a storming run on his rod (in rest) and grabs rod to wind in a few yards of braid - snapped off when will people learn about drags? On a holdered rod it needs to be backed well off if left! 3 hours and no more bites later Dave hauls in a pout as we up anchor and head in. Nothing in the harbour entrance - despite boats all round catching bass. Nothing by the castle Nothing further up in the harbour - but we had a nice cup of tea! Still if you didn't have bad days the good ones wouldn't be so good! This one was strangly remenicent of 3 years ago when I hadn't a clue where and when to go! The good news was that the heating worked great!

bit of a joke really - especially when you look at the costs which are wholly unrealistic.

I find the committment that most people have to the equipement they have invested hard earned cash in interesting! It is of course difficult to keep everything in context but many of the points being made here as 'huge' don't stack across the range of the debate. most inboard engined boats have a fairly consistent COG when fueled up regardless of where the engine is - and although the actual drive will be a litle further back it's also even lower down. proably a neutral score. legs increased efficiency makes for excellent economy for planning boats some outdrive boats are just as good as shaft driven planning hull equivelents for generally handling conditions but once you get to a more SD hull the shafts will win hands down and are less prone to catestrophic failure! getting net out of an outdrive in a seaway isn't that much fun either - and can require getting in the water! - although it's a touch easier than being under the water I wouldn't do it in rough conditions as it's too dangerous. on most of the boats Tom is talking about it's the hull shape more than the shaft that contributes to the ride. I have an outdrive but would be equally happy with a shaft............

have your numbers on the phone Rich forecasts getting worse not better - as in there is some nasty stuff around! however I think I will come down for a few beers Friday and Sat nights at the club anyway!

well I know it's still very early and anything can happen in teh next day or so but does the panel think it might just be worth me coming down this weekend with the expectation of getting out fishing? yesterday Saturday was looking good and Sunday poor; today Sat's down to OK but Sunday is putting on a brave (improving) face! A late Sat session might be really nice it must have been pretty stirred up out there and the water well coloured so anything's possible - seem to remember a really good session last year in similar circumstances with the congers and rays all active through the tide.

excellent - had me solidly until the cod bottomed out the scales, and a good read from there still anyway.

what's going on here - you start a thread with a plee and get the net pinched out from under your nose!.............. now I am going to sulk

- yes, but it might double for an excellent livebait well! Re flotation suits etc, as already mentioned the water temperature through to early Jan isn't that much colder than July so by that argument you should wear one year round! Generally a good number of layers as designed to keep you warm out of the water will act well as an insulation in the water too - a good high vis lifejacket that keeps the head clear as much as possible being the real lifesaver in our usual conditions. That said I usually wear a 2 piece Sundridge in late Dec/Jan because I have one. Food wise pot noodles have a lot going for them in a small boat - can even be made up from a flask of hot water effectively.

thinking in a similar vein a few weeks ago...........so I have fitted a heater! Dave used to get such cold hands - now he can warm them by a nice warm vent in the cockpit of go below in the warm to make the tea

hadn't thought of that - do cat's like conger? I have 5 (well I have a boat and she has 5 cats actually - and buys fish for them all the time!) How the hell do you cook a conger?

Jack - it's rare in life that anything can be guaranteed but I will guarantee you there are bigger ones out there (in club waters) swiming around............