Bob F

Hmm...never heard of a handbrake moving to the on (up) position before. I wonder if the emergency cable (wire) that you hitch to the car was somehow pulled too tight and was pulling the brakes on???? If your handbrake is not working now (i.e. the brakes do not come on), I guess you'll have to look at the brake shoes and see if they have worn down. You may be able to adjust the brake setting with the ratchet that you access through the back plate, but I suspect that the mechanism is rusted solid and not automatically adjusting the brake setting. It will be a case of stripping them down and releasing the rusted parts. It's fairly easy to do, if you've done it before. Bob F.

Here, here.

...yes! a Basking Shark, not a Whaleshark. Whaleshark's are bloody huge and don't frequent our waters (I believe). Blimey, another senior moment. I'm getting worried...

Sounds like a Whaleshark, at least I hope so that close to the shore. Wonderful sight to see.

Mad (but not that mad ) Mike

Mark B, it looks like the one I miss-gaffed for you.

You *$~!!@^^%$$,

John Wilson was catching them on the telly tonight, onboard Tiger Lilly.

I've emailed these guys to get more info on their flares. And I'm a little concerned that I cannot find them in Yell.com. So, hang fire until I've checked it out some more. cheers Bob F.

Just came across this site for special offers on flares: http://www.j-marine.co.uk/ They are a local supplier: J-Marine Marine House, 49 Queen Mary Ave Bournemouth, Dorset BH9 1TT, United Kingdom Inshore Kit -

I'm with BT Broadband and this has been fine. Bob F

12mph is just over 10knts. Yes, weed and other gunk is a common problem that blocks the water cooling inlets. Also, make sure you flush the motor with fresh water to prevent salt build up in the cooling system. Salt can often block the water outlet which stops the tell-tale or rooster showing. It's worth carrying something that you can poke in the hole to remove the salt if this happens. Bob F.

Not over 50, I want to be first to hit the 50 off the Ledge.

Looks like a nice photo for the Conger article. Any of you got any photo's of bigger conger (that doesn't include James!!!)?

...using a fixed spool upside down????

...doesn't shock me in the least. I've seen him use cat food, washing machine tablet bags, bird feeders...the list goes on. It's amazing what these ex-coppers can dig up from the Evidence store rooms!!??!!

Never a day the same...

Rich, no, the superglue is definitely not essential, but gives added security, especially if you like to cut the mono tag really short. I also find that the superglue streamlines the knot which greatly reduces the amount of weed that gets caught on it. Very useful in the Solent.

Alun, what are the charges for using the Castletown slip? And what's parking like?

Talk about making the most of a session. Nice one.

Rich, My guess is the braid is fraying cus it's being squeezed between the mono as the knot is pulling free. If you pinch the end of a length of braid and then pull it through your fingers, the end becomes frayed. What knot are you using? Try the Albright and add a drop of superglue if you want to trim the mono tag really short.

I use a leader for uptiding, and also for a rubbing trace when fishing for rays, conger, tope, etc. Bob F.

I messed around with trying various different knots for tying braid to mono leaders the other week. By far the best was the Albright knot as suggest by Pete. It's easy to tie and forms a neat, small, knot that doesn't get caught in the rings or in the level wind. For added security I finish it off with a dob of super glue (as BB suggested). Works a treat and really strong. Give it a try. Here's a good sight for seeing how to tie knots. http://www.marinews.com/fishing/fk_main.htm Bob F.

Malroy, Need to be a little careful with this. It is obviously cheaper for a reason. I've noticed two things: 1 - It uses the older cold-cathode backlit displays, instead of the new daylight viewable TFT, which are fantastic. So, it might be more difficult to see in bright sunlight, and it will use slightly more battery power. 2 - It looks like if only accepts the standard Navionics charts, and not the newer more detailed Navionics Gold charts. But it is WAAS enabled, so it has an accurate GPS, like the more modern units. For the price it still looks like a better buy than just getting a standard GPS with black and white Garmin unit like the 152 (cost about

Adam, Below is from an old post I made. cheers Bob F. A couple of guys have asked about the contents of the various flare packs. This is what I posted on PhantomFisher last year. Collision pack = 4 x white handInshore pack = 2 x red, 2x orange smoke (circa