Adam F

Yep....CG66 Form. http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-hmcg_res...a-hmcg-cg66.htm

As you may have seen, it was an early start this morning - laying awake at 3am I listened to the wind howling in the trees outside - thinking, I must be mad!! Anyway, true it was a tad windy, but hey ho - met Tom at 5am at Mudeford where the big spring tide was doing its best to suck the remianing water from the harbour - with 2 hours of ebb left the run looked practically empty - boy, this was gunna be a big tide. Action stations and BW slipped quietly through the run 10 mins later, but it was shallow - too shallow and soon we were aground in 6" of water with 5 knots of tide belting past - Tom seemed nervous, but I explained it was all in days work for us trailer-sailors....he just muttered just are all mad! Anyway safely in the deeper water we now realised the F4 growing northelry, although with the protection of the cliffs it seems OK....carry on. Out at the ledge the bait were playing hide and seek, and the sea was lumping up nice - no macky, so across to the island to try again. Stop at The Singles, and the sea is most spectacular AND we have wind with tide, anyway the decision takes all of, um.... 2 seconds and its about turn and bash into the green water back home... On the way back I have a plan and divert to top secret plan b With plenty of joeys playing in the tank we settle in. Sure, the wind is howling but OK where we are - the coastguard is now giving F5-7 on the VHF, and the sea is whipped right up - but the birds are diving and it looks very, very fishy...ZZZZZZZZ goes the first rod and plan B has worked and we are off the mark. The fish came plentifully with quite a few fish dropped - but 2/3 takes per drift seemed the norm. Tom then rescues his screaming rod from going overboard and winds in a stonking inshore PB at 8lb 8oz - a head like a bulldog, but alas not the bely to match - still a cracking fish. Comical highlight of the day was a decent sized bass playing at being a rainbow trout and as I sung my joey back on board it followed it clean out of the water (2' )and hit it mid flight, hooking itself in the process before embarking on a searing 30 yard run!! Tom and I just stood their p

...and Im off bassing! Must be bloody mad! The wind is howling outside - just hope the northerly keeps it calm enough! YAWWWNN...bloody early though!

Nice one Mike, good fishing! Are you around next week for an eve Sole session, weather permitting? Adam

Finally a decision made on the new MLS for bass: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2006/060810a.htm Surely good news, but it seems hotley debated and a few are sore that Bradshaw didnt impose the suggested 45cm limit. A review is sheduled for 2010 when the limit may be increased to 45cm. Will it help?

Nice one Mark, Back to the good ol' Quicksilver's then! Let me know how the sand blasting goes? How much was it?

Trev, Try looking new. Pop into your local shop - Ringwood Tackle and see Rich, mention Rupe and Al sent you in and see what he has. Manufacturers have seen the light in recent years - my handbuilt carp rods that cost me a fortune 6/7 years ago are now equaled in quality by the likes of 'Fox' for not alot of cash. The problem with alot of 2nd hand carp rods of yesteryear is that they tend to have heavy, bulky blanks and sloppy actions. If you get a newun' you'll get a lovel slim lightweight blank and matched rings with a 'proper' action - used perfectly to 'The Method' Egg Sucking lesson over! (Sorry!) I use an 11' 1.75lb Harrison Carp rod with a medium fast action - great for bass and not overpowering! Adam

Simon, Give me a call (number on the members list) and I will give you some info and tips, plus a few marks. If you want some company on a trip out I am more than happy to crew for you? 12 miles needent be your limit of the boat, unless that is where you feel comfortable. Ring me and we can discuss - in a rush this morning and too much to type! Adam

The use of crimps completely ruins the whole principle of the rig IMO. The beads also add little purpose - they dont have to buffer anything, so just add more cost, bulk and time to the rig. Great diagram though bob. To me the rig should be quick, cheap and simple to tie.

It was early even for me, but the text message I got at 3am from Gordon suggested he hadnt bothered sleeping from the previous night's session - ' Call me when you wake up'.... He arrived at 4am and by 4.30 we were heading out of the run at full bore - the last 2 trips for me have been slow so the plan was to be first on the mark and really give it a good bash. Anyway, it was too dark at 4.30 to feather up any bait (still pitch black) so off to the mark, but then a distant humm and the sight of green lights suggested we had been beaten to it - up at an ungodly hour and STILL beaten to the mark.... ...Aquafresh had arrived and proceeded to bag plenty of mackerel and then dissapeared before we had barely enough!.. On arriving at the mark, the bent rods on Aquafresh suggested plenty of bass were present...but our first 10 drifts suggested otherwise...I was on the verge of chucking in the towel: Up in the middle of the night, a tank full of tiny joeys and perfect conditions and the boat not 100 yards away was hauling, whilst we had not a single take!! Anyway we caught bass eventually but it was hard work. 7 bass were the total with two lost - best fish went 6lb the majority being 4-5lb and just a couple under this. We steamed back home at 11am for some well earned kip!! Adam

NICE ONE!!! Good 1st try - about time Tin Tin and his blanket had a go!! What a result first attempt!

Nice one Tom, At least a bit of action this time....my freezer is now full to the brim so I'm ready to give it a go! Interesting you had more action at anchor that drifting.. As James says - hours on the bank - its only a matter of time, and boy, o boy! wont it be worth it. I fished a Ringwood gravel pit for 12 months before I had a bite - 38lb 4oz mirror carp though...worth the wait!! Keep in there!

Dom, The ledge is best - you dont need numbers just motor over the ledge and find 30-40' of water on the back ledge (south side). Youll need to fish after dark, but it is seething with eels - need strong gear though...these beasts dont have the depth to dive, so they RUN!! Good luck!

Pretty sure Gordon will have these - I know he needs some. Ill ring him.

Quality!!! ....did they win the trip?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nauticus-Smart-Tabs-...1QQcmdZViewItem Email this guy - he is the one who supplied a few of us - he doesnt have any of the 12x9 listed at the moment, but Im sure he should have some.

Bargin? http://www.boatsandoutboards.com/view/F111098/

As Paul said -

Sky + it - will watch tommorow. Been watching 'Trawlermen' the last few nights - pretty good series, similar to Deadlist Catch that Sky ran a few months ago - sheds a slightly new light on things, but also alot we sadly know - no fish, too many boats, etc...

Just checked my set-up; Maximum angle, minimum actuator pressure. Fully loaded 165 with moderate power (60hp 4 stroke). Have fun!

Take your point Tom, but I am trying to look at it from a more 'global' perspective. Sunday is traditionally the day to go fishing, all coarse fishing comps are on Sunday's for example - that doesnt mean it is in stone, just the tradition. Sure it is still the old hard core, but the point I am making is that the same 5-10 people seem to fish each month, these were members when the club had only 60 members, now we have double that it hasnt changed. It was the same this year with the 48hr comp - the lowest turnout for years - we even had flexible fishing times oevr 3 days, prizes and a specimen, not species format. I feel the clubs direction has moved due to the forums / website influence - not that this is a bad thing, but we now have members with a different motive - all of the evidence above also backs this up. Members used to join with the main motive to get out with other, fish the comps, and get together once a month - not saying that they dont anymore, but now the main driver in many cases is to join the club to meet others, use the forum in more depth and gain experiance and knowledge - neither is wrong, just a change in attitudes. Not meant to sound like a soap box job, its not, its just my optinion. Adam

Even that is tricky Mike, even for a young flexible whipper snapper like myself!! We went out for a morning around Brownsea and found a sectipon of shallow beach where we could jump out with chest waders on. As I have noted before, take a pan and paper and log the results against the settings - planing time, planing speed and top speed - but overall you will just get a 'feel' for what is best after about an hour. Most 165 owners have found that maximum angle on the tabs coupled with medium actuator pressure works best, but as you say engine and boat combinations can effect this. Adam

All good points chaps and you can alter the comp format all you like - fact is that you will never please everyone. If we adopted Tom's suggestion, the anglers who like the 'competition' side of the current format, going out all together and a bit of mettle in the day would be dissapointed. The format has worked for several years now, it is just this year that it seems to have slowed up. I know not everyone can fish Sunday's, but overall it must be the easist day for average joe to fish - work all week, sat with the family /choes etc and Sunday for fishing. As Charlie said, the club is now the biggest its ever been and the attendance is at the lowest - and to be honest if we look at the attendees they are pretty much the same (bar one or two) as the previous years, so is the problem getting new members to fish the comps? Adam

************Hot of the press****************** James has broken his ankle today, doctors have given him a minimum of 8 weeks sat on his arse with his feet up - no fishing! Right in the middle of the bass season as wel!!! Something tells me that he'll find a way though!!

12" x 9" from memory (12" being the width) with 60lb actuators - hence the product code: ST1290-60