petesnr

Im taking a back seat from the club at the moment but having browsed the thread I am struck by the fact that sea anglers have made no steps forward in getting unified representation in the last 40 years. The lessons gained from lets say unions is that united we have power and divided we have nothing but inter organisational squabbling. All energy is being directed inwards instead of tackling the only real problem facing the sea angler and that is are there actually going to be any fish left to make our sport worthwhile. The rest of it is just claptrap. Get stuck in behind one organisation warts and all so that we have united representation. As I understand it AT has a voice at government level and is the recognised body for funding. Seems like a no-brainer to me. If AT needs to change it aint going to come from outside--it needs to be changed by a large membership applying pressure in the right way--not via meaningless forums. Now I would just like to go fishing. PeteSnr

the argument that 'They are doing it for a living' is irrelevant. The whole crisis in fisheries is due to the influence of big business behind commercial fishing exerting pressure on governments to allow them to continue their unsustainable activities purely for profit in the short term. I am not in favour of bag limits until commercial activity is brought under proper control because as has been mentioned elsewhere it is laughable for a recreational angler to be fishing near a commercial and putting back the few fish he catches as he watches boxes being filled on the commercial boat. Our catches are a drop in the ocean compared to the miles of tangle nets inshore and the factory fishing offshore. I would be happy to accept a bag limit at the same time as restrictions to conserve and RESTORE fish stocks are implemented both inshore and offshore. Petesnr

Someone ought to take the pi$$ out of this photo!

Looking at the photos again not only did they cut out the bulkhead they also cut off the sides of the cabin. These extended downwards towards the stern and raised the height of the gunwhales considerably. I can understand that with this particular conversion one might feel a little exposed!! On mine I cut back the cabin roof, moved the bulkhead forward to retain a lockable cabin but I left the sides intact so retaining good height on the sides. I must dig out some photos..... Petesnr

Definitely looks like a Microplus 501. I used to have one myself and also moved the cabin bulkhead forward to create more cockpit space. The hull's of these boats are made of a sandwich of endgrain balsa between inner and outer skins of GRP. This makes them extremely light but also very strong as long as the balsa remains sealed and dry. The removal of the cabin bulkhead on this craft should not adversely affect the strength of the hull as the rigidity is in the deck. I had a 55HP Mariner on the back of mine and it flew at over 30knots. The hull has a tendency to slam in a short sea which can reduce speed dramatically if you want to retain the health of your kidneys! Surprisingly seaworthy and fun. I fished up to 10 miles out in mine and got home in some really snotty conditions without being too scared! Petesnr

Let's hope some of those we know in Poole read this and take note. Petesnr

Dont forget that it has taken over twenty years for the cod to START recovering on the Grand Banks and in the past they just lowered baskets over the side and pulled em out so there is some way to go. Channel codding is still just a shadow of the situation in the 60's despite a couple of seemingly good seasons offshore. Regulation of the commercial fishery is the only way to ensure catches for everyone. Inshore codding has been patchy to say the least. Petesnr

I understand that once there is a column of fuel the drop in pressure caused by the piston on suck phase is enough to keep fuel flowing through carbs and jets even if pump is knackered on many outboards. I have three filters in my fuel line. One on outlet of tank, one inline with replaceable filter element in fuel line and one disposable filter near carbs. When I was experiencing loss of power in the spring it was actually the third filter that was blocked so how the crud had got there is anyone's guess. Engine ran like new after replacement. Also find with my older 2 stroke that new plugs every six months work wonders. Petesnr

I cant agree with Duncan on this. Discards remaining in the food chain means nothing apart from well fed crabs. Bottom line is that dead fish dont grow or reproduce so any plan to make these dead fish part of quota and so limit future fishing is good. Petesnr

Fantastic! The fish of a lifetime. Petesnr

it was a gay pigeon then? petesnr

His brother runs or used to Loni's in New Milton--might be a starting point petesnr

Hope to get out if it lasts til the evening. Petesnr

You need to get out more--fishing that is!!

1) Adam F - JV 2) Alun J - JV 3) Paul F - JV 4) Tom B - Mrs Sea 5) Greg C - Mrs Sea 6) Terry B - Mrs Sea 7) Martin - AWOL 8) Dean - AWOL 9) Dave- Wight Magic 10) John W - Rosie One 11) Allan Green- Kind of Magic 12} Charlie Alfresco 13) Sam Alfresco 14) Graham Alfresco 15] Will TBC Alfresco 16, Alfie, Dream Drifter 17, Sally, Dream Drifter 18)Nigel,Wishin(inshore) 19) Simon, Island Girl 20) Colin, Boblin 21) Bobi, Boblin 22) Tony Deavin - AWOL 23) Dave S - Crew - unknown boat as yet 24) Craig Abode 25) Jackie Abode 26) Jason - Lazy Wench 27) Louisa - Lazy Wench 28) Peter Russell snr--possibly on Boblin and Whistler (not at the same time!)