Adam F

Looking good fred - she's gunna be a beaut!! Any thoughts on her name?

Bob, Dont worry, the latest from the IOW is that several of the club boats have headed back in for the safety of the Solent, swell has picked up as has the wind. I know what you mean though - my wind tree here in Verwood is pretty still.

Hi Robfnet, It's not a fantastic time of year for inshore fishing. If you are only 13' I would be wary of more than a mile or two offshore which limits your options. Swanage bay may give a few whiting.... The spoil and whitehouse grounds are about 5/6 miles offshore but can be nasty if a tide/wind kicks up... Good luck!!

Good Man!!! Result. when the rest of us were still stuffing our faces, I was looking at the windless skies and wonderinf about the fishing! The morning flood I'll bet?? (never fishes on the ebb) Was the piccy where you caught the fish??

2nd proper trip of the year after Mr Cod had my brother and I launching alongside Bob and Jas at 8am this morning full of expectation after Paul's fish the night before. It looked pretty foggy from Mudeford, and alas it got worse as the exited the Run - vis was down to about 15/20' max and I soon lost bob, although I could hear them talking! Eiree indeed! We stuck very close and slow scanning the horizon for other boats and buoys as we headed SE to the IOW - after 5 miles vis was as bad as I have ever seen it and we could hear the lymingotn charter fleet chating on Ch6 remarking how bad the vis was at the island and how radar was helpful, so we decided to stop short on the ledge for a few hours as the safe move and see if it improved. Feeding squid to the dogs for the next 2 hours, only 1 solitary whiting made an appearance Anyway at 10.30 the vis improved dramitcally to a good 30' so off to mark 1...for a cod! It was just as bad here and the fishing was v.slow - not much to report really so a long cold steam home in zero vis at 12 knots had us hitting the run 1.5hrs before LW - plenty of water surely??? Wrong!! The sandbanks were a good 3' out of the water - this was going to be tricky!! BW made it through with a mixture of luck and experiance of this dozens of times this year....and we were soon back on the trailer, but Splash Out was'nt so lucky and I lost her in the sh$t vis. Bob later recalled a tale of almost 45 mins of getting stuck, and bashed in the hard ebbing tide in less than a foot of water. When he finally made it back in his prop had been well and truley shot blasted and was a good 1" smaller!! All in all a pretty naff day - still good to fish with my bro for a change and (just about) better than xmas shopping!! Merry Bl@@dy Christmas!!!

Thanks Tom (and crew) for an enjoyable morning. I am looking at slightly larger than the 585, but wanted to go along and compare it to the other similar boats I have been on - I admit to being a pilothouse sceptic... First impressions - great looking boat, alternative to competitors, but nice lines. Some good features - tones of storage, plenty of room to sleep, and well finished. A few things were lacking IMO - midship cleats, a split anchor box lid, a cast and longer bow roller, taller handrails in the cock pit and a rear rail - this said, all aftermarket additions... Negatives - helm seat needed a higher back for long cruises and the fishing space was 'cozy' for 2 anglers - three was a no, no...and for me and all the cr@p I carry it would have been a tight squeeze. To conclude before we left the marina, I was under the impression that this boat would suit someone who still wanted to trail, have the occasional overnight and wasnt too serious an angler. Leaving the marina for the harbour, noise underway was quiet and with three aboard and all on the starboard side, the boat canted minimally - less than the warrior - a surprise to me... Giving the engine a little throttle, the superb 70hp Suzi performed well on such a larger boat (for the engine) and whilst I felt it was working hard (4500 - 6000 rpm) it coped OK. Running through the small overfalls on Old Harry was the real test and I felt it handled as well as my 165, it was also a very dry boat. OK, it banged and slammed a little, but what 18' boat doesnt when driven at 15+ knots into waves (bar a rib)... To conclude I was more impressed that I thought I would be. 10X better than other comparible pilothouses, and I was somewhat dissapointed to tell Tom this!! The boat isnt for me - only due to too small a fishing space, but bar this a cracking little boat. Adam

BW also joined the fray and Alan and I slipped away at a very respectable 8.30am into a glouros morning - a little snotty once further offshore, but certianly not too uncomfortable. Bites from the off continued for the rest for the rest of the day, 3 boxes of squid later and we never had a single cast between the six rods fished all day, I've never caught so many doggies!! Jumbo pout to just inder 3lb a few scrappy congers to 25lb and a solitary 'lost' channel whiting completed the catch. But alas no cod. Morning flood tide best though - will be squezzing another few trips in this week!

More sad news toady from Weymouth: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6178407.stm Bad news anytime, especially so in the run up to xmas.

I'm fishing!! Was meant to be with the big gay badger, but from his above post it seems he is working - so, can be crew or can crew.... If I take BW, and it's floundering I can take 2... Adam

The rips in BW was fine and good, but being honest we are running at the very max of our operating range, both in capability and fuel. Once I get their I have enough fuel to fish a limited area and then return with a little in return, if I wanted to hit a wreck another 10 miles out I couldnt. Also we have to be 100% the weather will be spot on. I still appreciate all of the numerous advantages that a trailer boat has to offer and it's a fine line that needs to be balanced dependant on lifestyle and requirements.

Cheers Martin, Very good article - and even with red now gone, it still stacks up to go diesel... Just need to find the right boat now!

The boat will go on a mooring, as I say, Gordon has a trail boat so I wont loose the flexablity, hopefully will gain the oppertunity to fish further afield more often. It will be a 12 month mooring as I use my boat all year round, most probably at Christchurch. The other factor is I am looking to move house and at the moment locations are limited as I need to be reasonably close to the sea if I'm towing - If I go on a mooring this becomes less of an issue. Coddy - I will have a word with Salar, as changing the engine over could work, all depending on the costs really.

So is this one!! 4.3l Mercruiser EFI - Dan, what did yours cost to run? I want to change to gain a little more range and a larger operating window. With Gordon now having the same Warrior as me, it is crazy having two the same as we both fish together more often than not. It is likey that I will sit tight and see what happens with red diesel, this used to be a reason alone to go inboard, but maybe not now? If diesel becomes the same rate as in the petrol stations, what will be cehaper to run? An inboard diesel or a 4 stroke petrol outboard?

No thoughts then anyone? Would be interested to know roughly the fuel economy for a petrol vs a diesel esp now with the red diesel issue?? The other option would be to buy a boat from abroad - how easy is this? Are their brokers that will do this for me in the UK?

Typical init! Weeks of windy weather and the day you want to give a boat a real thrashing it goes flat! They do give the wind picking up about lunchtime - failing that you will find waves around the needles area with the big tides....hope it gos well!

My money is on a diesel inboard - fast though...not a plodder and something to match our chairman's image....fast and furious!!

Well done mate!! Didnt realise that you had 2!! Good fishing. It wasnt easy today (but you guys did look warm in your 'tent') You are right - Lymington is superb - they appreciate the local community and the need for a good public slip and therefore have a wide medium steep slip into deep water at all states of tide and good parking. The fact that the RNLI use the slip to launch the ILB helps of course!! (RNLI funding - at Mudeford they ignored the public and built their own!!) Here's to more high pressure over xmas..

Still looking for new boats....never ending search! Seen this - cheap as chips...BUT - engine is petrol inboard. http://www.boatsandoutboards.com/view/DYL023/ Too dear to run? Too dear to change? Probably, but worth checking.... Ticks quite a few boxes...and a diesel version is almost 30k...

So! The money is on a new toy, but which one....? He's keeping tight lipped, so what's the money on?

Tom, You neednt worry - if we can fit the 4 above plus you and Dave aboard a 585 youve sold it!! See you Friday. Adam

Paul, I have a vernier if you need it - but easier is to take the rod down to the shop.. Adam

Rich, Competely agree. One of the reasons I bought BFM in the past was that it was different to the others - sure it didnt have the high gloss, massive budget feel of SA, but the articles were wrtitten by a range of people, all anglers who had somehting constructive to say... I now feel that the articles are manufactured to fit in with marketing strategies - ' its Dec - lets have a 'how to catch a 20lb cod' article....etc... Jim did a superb job with the mag, but I cant help feeling that since it has been handed over, new owners and editor etc, it has joined the que and followed the others. I havent had a copy for 2 months now and havent missed it. Shame really.

Terry, Have you tried unscrewing the blidge cap? Water can accumulate in here from the wet anchor locker which isnt 100% water tight. Apart from that, I cant think what it could be - the 60hp shouldnt have any issues....

Mikes last piece of advice is well worth remembering, but the addition of a bucket makes this far more effective - even a jacket or towel will enhance the sea anchor effect.

Tom, Read Cascars post again - it doesnt broach in a head sea, its a following sea as he describes second time around. Yes, I found it scary - the first time was on the Shambles, and it ended with the boat sideways sliding down the crest, all three of us in a pile on the floor and hot coffee everywhere!! Far from me being an expert, I feel some kind of a keel and or a lower COG would help. Its a shame, because if they could get one to handle as well as a Warrior, I would buy one - (pilothouses in general) but Im sceptical until proven wrong. Wouldnt mind a trip out in the 585 when she arrives though....