Coddy

Allan, Mick and I fancied a trip out and the weather seemed to say yes for a change. Down at Cobbs for 8.15 to get under Twin Sails bridge but it was a bit foggy especially through the harbour. Decided to try an inshore mark first before going out to deeper water. Dropped the pick at the chosen mark and we were soon into fish .............. dogs with attitude (again) Mick came up trumps with a small ray then proceeded to start catching more with Allan joining in the Ray haul from time to time Me, I became Dogfish King! Mick's tally here was Small Eyed 8.5lb, 6.5lb and an undulate of 12.5lb Allan's best was a 6.5lb Small Eyed. At slack we headed off to find deeper water and see if we could find any Whiting and the elusive Cod, well after looking at where some banks were we found a fishy looking spot. Again we were into a few dogs but then Mick hooked into something decent and eventually pulled in a 23.5lb Blonde Ray Allan managed to get a hook into the Bay Monster but his 100lb trace line with 10/0 hooks was bitten through after a bit of a tussle with his line going off in a number of directions at high speed! One day someone will get the better of this fish an actually catch and id it. As the tide increased we started to drag the anchor so up it came and as the fishing has slowed we decided to head in early for the 3.30 bridge Once the fog cleared it turned out a nice sunny day, not a great day for me but good to see some good fish come aboard Thanks for the trip Allan and Mick for the banter Dave

Looks a bit precarious sat up there, do you have any rails to hang onto whist downing your G&T's or is it tea/coffee and a bacon sarnie?

Here is our esteemed Conservation Officer at the helm of the ALB Lifeboat at Poole Any thoughts for a caption to go with the picture?

I have the C-Map NT+ version which I found really helpful and with the aid of a "user card" can transfer marks and waypoints to the plotter easily, it also added up as a backup for or my marks, waypoints and routes should I loose them on the plotter.

Sorry but I don't see the connection with Talk Talk, they are looking for help in numbers and locations what's the problem? If you don't want to do it don't do anything but don't complain if the stocks decrease or they allow catches for rays again for the commercials Sorry, but pointless messages on a serious issue are not constructive in my opinion

Get back working on that house!!!!!!!!!!

The UK Shark Trust are calling upon all anglers to report their catch of all Rays and Sharks especially Undulate & Thornback Rays They are asking for locations, which are kept private, An electronic report form can be found here http://www.sharktrust.org/en/record_your_catch All information is kept confidential Dave

Happy Birthday Mal

Health & Safety issue here, those high hells are not suitable for work wear. The cloth bag may get caught up in the saw and upset her balance which could result in falling on the saw or even worse on the rod which might pierce her in the chest or head!

Do you still have the Warrior Duncan?

I agree with Charlie's thoughts in the last post, both Allan and I have been trying to find a suitable windlass with both spools on one side and it would appear that there are very few if any available. The problem as I see it with spools either side is swapping them over, especially with the tension when the anchor is 3/4 of the way up, and the angle of the warp and chain coming over the bow roller.

The fitting of a capstan in the deck area on a craft with walk around sides would be a pain and I suspect a safety issue should you need to get past it in a hurry or in a rough sea. Boats which don't have this feature capstans seem to work well, however even on some of the newer charter boats have to have a capstan/winch on the bow as they too have walk ways around the cabin especially on some of the cats. There may also be an issue in getting sufficient reinforcement for the mounting of a windlass as the pull and strain can be considerable especially if the anchor gets stuck!

Allan's been looking at a windlass as well for his boat but from what I have seen in the specs most recommend 3 strand nylon. Multiplat is nice but expensive and from what I have seen on other boats and my own experience the windlass is not that kind to the rope, so I would save some money and by the 3 strand nylon and replace it when it is worn or frayed. You may well have to purchase calibrated chain as well, which adds to the overall costs involved. A lot depends on how you want the anchor to recover and drop. We have only found one make that has an electric free fall to drop the anchor from the cabin. I would steer clear of those which offer a corded remote control as in many cases you will need two hands to deal with the warp and possibly the anchor. Foot controls at the front may well be useful however. Powered lowering can be painfully slow and many require you to go up front and release the clutch to allow a fast drop, this may not be nice on a sloppy sea state day. Also I hope you have a good deep anchor well as many state the minimum drop required to prevent a build up of rope and chain in the storage well. The other thing to consider is a self launch and recovery bow roller and possibly a plate on the bow to protect the gel coat as the anchor comes up out of the water and is swinging about. Lots to look into, if you can see another craft the same as yours, check out how they have installed the windlass and if possible ask the owner if they have had any issues. Good luck Dave

Do give the zips a good coating of WD4o and wash well as they are very susceptible of seizing up with salt water

Nickname "mouldy Rob" :lol:

I also think the very inshore wrecks have long since gone flat and I am sure that some have recovered. You may find the odd Valentine tank which may hold an odd conger and pout but the more productive wrecks are a fair way out unless to go West around to Swanage but then you have to watch out for divers! The problem we have all found is that during the storms of a couple years ago many of the features that most knew changed so the charts are no longer as accurate regarding the contours, keep an eye on your fish finder to find "fishy" looking spots. Just that it may not fish one day the next it could hold the PB of a lifetime so keep trying. Nice report by the way Dave

Best wishes Nige Have a good one

Hi Ron and welcome to the club This page gives some general marks to help start you off, can't guarantee any fish but may worth a try in the local area. http://www.pbsbac.co.uk/ipb/topic/5646-new-member-club-marks/ I too have a Shetland, mine is a 535 which has more cabin space than deck area but they are good safe boats and are ideal to start with or on a budget Look forward to meeting you at a club night, you can even bring the FPO (fishing permission officer) if you wish! Dave

How about a nice power station pumping out hot clean water? That would attract a few fish! A neuk station built by the Russians would be handy!!! That would get the "not in my back door" peeps up in arms :lol:

There is a plan to renovate Bournemouth beach over the next 17 years If you wish to check it out for more details here is a link http://bournemouth.gov.uk/Attractio...chManagementScheme/BeachManagementScheme.aspx You can see the plans in Bournemouth library as there will be quite some construction work ongoing including Hengisbury Head long groyne Dave

Talking to Allan on Saturday, he suggested a short trip on Sunday as the weather did not look too bad, so after careful consideration I said yes! Allan also invited Mick (Sparky) along as his boat is feeling poorly at the moment. We had decided to give the comp a miss this time as we all fancied a less stressful day just to be out in the fresh air and have a laugh. A gentle start for the 9.30 bridges and a trip down to the piers, not very quick due to the sloppy sea state, we also looked over a wreck, as shown on the charts but could not see anything significant on the bottom so might be a bit away from the chart mark. Allan managed a Tub Gurnard to start us off but otherwise it was very quiet, a few boats around but with the wind and sea state increasing we decided to head into the harbour for a bit of shelter. We tried a suggested new mark looking for anything about but again it was dead, did see all the power boats heading out for the race however. We then tried near Brownsea and it seems we found the fish that were hiding, admittedly not big fish but when Ballan wrasse hit your bait you know about it shame they don't put up a bigger fight even on light tackle. We then started getting Bream bites and up comes a Gilthead by Allan, more wrasse then Mick pulled in a Red Mullet By this time the tide turned and the weed started so we packed up and headed in for the 3.30 bridge and home. Thanks to Allan and Mick for a good day out Dave

Happy Birthday Allan Hope you have managed a glass of wine or two or even a Larger Dave

I should have learnt to play golf or encouraged the wife to take it up !

Barton Bay is the usual location but may well be worth a try nearer to home