Adam F

Hi Camira, Very sorry to hear this news. She is a cracking boat which I know you havent had long - what a shame. Im sure you will sell her no problems, esp. with the mooring. Have you also put her on Boats and Outboards? Best wishes with the health issue - hope you are better soon. Regards Adam

Was reading an article a few months ago. They connected a brand new PC to the WWW - without ANY virus protection to see what would happen.....5 mins is all it lasted - it was then so knackered it required a complete system re-install to clean it up! Like Martin and others I always keep the sortware bang up to date. Adam

May tag along Sunday if the weather is nice - pushing it a bit with Alderney next week, but if I take the FPO (who is now a member I might get it through!)

Mike Y also had one of these today...beware. Mike - Im sure someone will be along shortly to sort out your horse problem...

Duncan - 3/4's in any direction will be OK I'm sure for Pheaton. We left in a 6 last year and whilst it was hellish inshore, once 15 miles off wasnt all so bad - mid channel it doesnt matter where its coming from apart from if your going into it. I'm sure it will all be fine. Adam

I have already sent this link to Jim for constructive critisism. Tom - your comments are spot on.

We deserve it (well I do anyway!! ) after two year's running of bad weather and only just making the island - I must admit it is all looking good - maybe too good... We never really know until 24 hours before hand Im afriad. Last year they were giving 6's & 7's the week before and then they mellowed it the day before - we just got over and the conditions improved all week. Adam

A slow day also for BW and DR. With the small tides, we opted to head offshore and find some deeper water and a little tide. To be honest having a decent day's fishing took priority over the club comp. At first wreck started well and showed promise....James bagged a pout first drift and we all had tugs and plucks...another few drifts of the same and I hooked into a small cod of 6lb. Hopes high we continued to drift, but alas no more fish. We headed out further trying each new wreck as we went - all looked very fishy, but failed to produce the goods. Was a great day to be at sea though - even BW could have steamed to Alderney it was that flat! We also had a near miss with a tanker - this one was doing about 15/18 knots and appeared out of the gloom about 1/4 mile off our stern whilst drifting one of the wrecks - he was headed dead at us. As I was drifting I wasnt too concerned, just kept the engine running. He would have hit us, had I not moved. We saw a a chap on the bridge, who could quite clearly have seen us! I nudged BW about 50 yards forward and the boat steamed past - crazy! Anway, we anchored a wreck at slack for eels, but even they didnt want to play. Tried a couple of slow drifts on the shambles, but again not a sausage. The water was so clear the bottom could be seen at 40'! So to end the day we ended up back on the hook where we scored a few pollock and wrasse. That's it on BW now until mid may! Next week - Alderney!

Why not then? Asa you know I have been asked to submit the odd article to BFM now and then, and I am always looking for a new angle - articles on our comps get boring quickly after the first few. If Trev's in agreement Ill do one?

It's a tough one isnt it? Trying to please all of the readers 100% of the time. I have every back issue of BFM (I like reading and I keep them as a resource libary) and I think you will find that the ratio of overseas articles, adverts, home seas fishing etc has remained pretty much the same since day one. Now, I must admit that the overseas stuff has held little interest in past issues, but now as I am sheduled to be doing a bit over the next few years - these articles hold more interest that the ones at home - so they will appeal to some people. Same with the adverts - sure they take up space and are pretty generic - but of you are looking for an item, they can be dead handy - I like to keep up to date with new products and prices and the adverts are an idea medium for this. Finally, yes I know gallaries of anlgers can seem boring, but again its a method of seing what is being caught, by whom and where - I dont mind it at all. To sum up - I think BFM has a good balance of articles, you certianyl dont get the obgligatory aricle in April - 'How to catch Spring Plaice!' or the one in Nov - 'bag a PB cod' that you do in some publications.... Rant over! Soon the fishign will be so hot, that we wont have time to read anyway!

Well done that man! Sam - that was a truely 1st class piece of work IMHO and you deserve that! What college you going to?

Gordon's beautiful 17lb spring cod

My Pollock - 12lb.

Forecast looked good, so days of confirmed, Gordon and I slipped BW at 6.45am into a still Weymouth harbour. Poking our nose out of the entrance we were greeted by a nasty chilly easterly, with a short sharp 3/4' chop... and only managing about 8 knots max - 'wouldnt have taken the day off if we'd known about this we said'.... On reaching the banks it had mellowed a little, but still grey and chilly. The first wreck held lots of promise from previous weeks, and after a few plucks on the first drift I hit a reasonable pollock, 2nd time around. It was then hard going - with the odd tentative knock and bite - the fish were very hard to hit - and it stayed like this all day - we put it down to the easterly wind and / or the tiny tides? The took 6 fish in total, before it became really crap - we then shot off to the banks to drown the fresh fat rag we had. The radio was very quiet and from what we did hear - the bank is still fishing terrible After an hour of drifting in the small tide our worms remained untouched We had a decision to make - and luckily it turned out to be the correct one! Bows pointed south, plenty of fuel in the tanks and off we went - sea now flattened, wind and what was left of the tide up our chuff and a nice 18 knot cruise - soon found us hunting a new lump of steel. It wasnt too hard to find, but somewhat off the numbers I had. A real beast of a wreck - I reckon on 200' long and at least 80' - excluding the bits at the edges - in deep water too - 290'!! First two drifts - nowt, so changed to a stormy. Next drift a few plucks, but no contact - then third time lucky - bang!! and what a bang it was - streaming line back to the depths I had a real fight on my hands - confirmed when a cracking pollock hit the surface - 12lb!! Beauty!! The tide now slackened - but we continued to fish - hard work, still the odd pluck but no connections, and then bang - in again, good fight, could be a cod - then the hook falls out! Gutted. The shad had been torn in two - maybe the cod's teeth? The tide was now down to just 0.5 knots and I was knackered from the morning gilling, so wound in and put the kettle on. Gordon continued to fish - determined as ever - still fishless on wreck no.2. Then it happened - a good fish was on and a lively fight ensued - deep down 30' under the boat we saw a huge shape appear - a massive pollcok maybe?? but no! This one was sandu coloured! A bloody massive cod!!! What a result for Gordon - he deserved it! 17lb was the lowest scales weight on the boat - a lovely spring cod! Unfortunalty the sport was even harder on the ebb, and despite the odd pluck and pull that was it. A smooth, fast steam home in the lovely warm weather saw us back on the drive for 5pm! Phew! Another good day all in! Hope it's as good sunday..... Adam

Maybe it's a new cod attractor - find out tommorow!!

You should be Ok - I have two batts, but run the 110 AH 99% of the time and have no problem - ideally I would always advise 2 batts (maybe the next job 4 u??) Try it and see how you get on? Adam

Wow! Rich - are these for a 1000 Charter Special? If so can I have 1 set please? Ta Adam

??? Confused? The nylon keel band is 1.) Screwed to the gel, no the bare glass, and 2.) Spends all of its oving life under water - therefore wont it earth out? Whats the potential hazard of having a nylon keel band? I know some manufacturers even fit them as Std, so they cant be dangerous?

I have a GPS card for the laptop this year - so can stream live online pictures straight from the Island onto here for you all to salivate over!!!!

OK.... So as you drift along you approach a sandbank, lets say coming from 180' to 60' (as they often do in the CI's) this is indicated by the 'rip' - the small (or big, ask Martin about 2004... ) overfalls created by the volume of water being squeezed through the shallowing water column. This indicates the top of the bank - when we see this we know the boat is going over the top of the bank - by 'spooling' the reel, i.e taking your thumb off while in free spool the bait remains in the kill zone for longer, if you spool for long enough and have the righ lead on, the bait 'flies' up slightly in the water column, enticing Mr Tubbs along! Hope this helps?? As for bait - killer last year was a fillet of macky, cut lengthways into two, most of the flesh scrapped away and a single nick with a sharp 6/0 fine wire through the little red ligament at the tail end - never comes off, remarkable actually.

What a great site - didnt even realise I had been in Cambs that day.... Worth checking though!

Spooling is a practise taught by CC the first trip we made in 2004. Basically the hot zone for the flatties is the downtide side of the bank - they seem to sit here waiting for food to wash over the bank before they rise up ans whack it. When the boat approaches the rip, we spool, or 'fly' the bait back over the ridge to tempt a take. Doesnt always work and thier are the expections to the rule, but the fishing is hard enough - so anything to make life easier is good in my book! Finally, the pratise Rich describes is also essential - just to make sure they get the bait in proper. Adam

Mines been fine so far....???? Why do they recommend not to use it?

Weve all got secrets Kam....some just more-so than others! Break out the cloaking devices!!

570x310mm - is this too small? - how big are yours Steve? They say that wil the door opening widened that crabs and lobsters will use it?