Bob F

Jeez!

Apparently, the documentary he was filming was nothing to do with Stingrays. He was swimming over a sandy bottom and disturbed the ray as he passed over it and lashed out with its tail as it swam away. The stinger pierced his heart. A bizare and rare accident. A great loss. BF

I went for Navionics Gold because of the better contouring. But the new C-MAP MAX NT+ would be worth a look at. It wasn't out when I was looking before. BF

Jas, Just noticed that the 11th Sept is a Monday, so I will not be able to do that. And Sunday 10th I've got to drive my lad back to Lincoln University, so Sunday is out, too!!! And Saturday's are reserved for Kayaking with the misses. I think I'm, gunna sell my boat!!! BF

Penn LD or Shimano LD. BF

Welcome, Mickey. Bob F

We also have some animated knots, including the Albright, on the Forum. Goto Fishing Chat - Terminal Rigs - Knots BF

Actually, I wrote the article on Blonde Rays. Rob gave me some tips and hints. Go to "Topics" in the menu above, and then go to the Species and Tactics section. I fancy a Blonde too, Dan. So I might bring Splash-Out. BF

and for added security, fold over the length of braid, so that you are tying the knot with two lengths of braid. BF

What model number? BF

Cue Tom.

What's the club record? BF

I agree. If the proposal is truely for conservation purposes, the same should apply to the local charter boats. But I have to ask, what is the purpose having licenses for the local charter boats? Is it so that the authorities can keep a handle on the number of charter boats that fish the region? What is the purpose of restricting the number of licenses that are issued? Has this anything to do with protecting fish stocks? It makes you wonder who has initiated this proposal. Is it the commercial boys or is it the local charter boats, too...are they seeing their business declining because of competition from "non-licensed" boats? I'm not sure how I would feel if I was a local charter skipper and saw a lot of business going to boats from across the channel. Or am I going down the wrong street here, and they all get along well? Martin, you mention the reference to Rod and Line catches. Is this commercial catches or recreational in the Boue Blondel region (wherever that is). I interpreted it as a region that has licensed recreational angling where the catches are recorded some how. It compares its catches to the commercial sector in the same region. And what was the Fisheries Protection Boat looking for when they boarded your vessel? Perhaps they were satisfiying themselves that the catches being kept were in line with "recreational angling" needs, and were "not for the financial benefit of the skipper or the angler." Something obviously needs to be done in the region. As I see it at the moment, they either apply the same catch limit on all charter and private vessels, or they restrict the number of visiting charter boats by issuing licenses to them, too. BF

Another question be help me understand this... If the Commercial sector is already properly licensed and managed with recorded catches and quotas, how is this propoal going to help them other than allowing them to maintain the catches that they have in the past? The proposal is not allowing them to catch more, is it? It's purpose is to allow them to maintain their quotas to be able to feed the public, but at the same time maintain enough fish in the region to satisfy the sporting anglers. BF

Tom brings up an interesting point. Here's a general question to everyone. What would make a satisfactory trip to Alderney for you? Is it to catch enough fish to bring back home to cover all or a substantial part of your costs (e.g.

Good luck. Dom. You mad fool. BF

Well I picked a hill to live on, and have a boat on the drive, so I hope I've covered all bases. Hmmm...thinking about it, I wonder if I can use this as an excuse for getting a bigger boat? "Yes dear, but our boat doesn't have a cooker, and what will you do if you want the loo. Perhap we need a bigger boat..." Sounds reasonable to me. BF

So here's a another view. I don't see too much wrong in the proposal, a part from not having the same restrictions on private boats. The same restrictions should apply to both Charter and Private boats. In my opinion, no body should need to take more more two of the mentioned species each if it is truely for their own private use. Regarding the Commerical sector. as mentioned in the proposal, the exisiting Baliwick Commercial Fleet is licensed and therefore there are already restrictions on the number of commercial vessels that can fish the waters and the amount of fish they can retain. All the catches are recorded, and so presumably the restrictions imposed on the Commercial fleet have been set at levels that the region can support. They've been doing a pretty good job of this over the years because the catches over there have always been good. As I see it, assuming that the Commercial sector has not increased over recent years, the sustainability of the region now being impacted by a large increase in Charter and Private fishing. The proposal is not asking for a ban on Charter fishing, but is trying to put some sensible limits on what should be taken so that the region remains self sustaining, and so the profusion of species remains for many years to come. We spend

Bless their little cotton socks. You've gotta laugh. That's the second big wrasse from the harbour, and one hell of a wrasse. Shame she wasn't a club member. The British record is 7lb, I think. BF

Reg, As Simon says, you will not be able to view the Navionics charts without using their card reader. Simon, I will be really interested in what you come up with. At the moment I connect my plotter to a battery at home so I can view the chart on the plotter in the comfort of home. and put in waypoints and marks. BF

Reg, I'm a little confused. What do you mean by "I will give it another try"? Have you already got the NavPlanner software on your PC? Again, you cannot see Navionics charts on your PC unless you have the NavPlanner software installed. If you have the Navplanner software and still can't see the charts, that's another story. cheers BF

Reg Some comments from a US forum. http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thread-...d=96689&posts=3 The issues may have been sorted out now. BF

Reg, You can't do it with the Navionics charts straight from a card reader. Navionics have recently brought out some new software called NavPlanner to allow you to read the charts on your PC (which includes their card reader), but the reviews of this software have been very mixed. Price is around

Alun, Dave, Your members details have been updated with your new boats. Dave, do you have a name for her, yet? BF

i've gotta give this a go one day. BF