Adam F

The obvious one - look at the size of the rod in her hand!

Unfortunatly I will be giving this one a miss - although I will be coming down for the weigh in - what time is it? We have a Xmas party tonight and the thought of chasing flounders around the harbour with a sore head doesnt appeal, and Im off all next week so will be fishing Monday, Tues and Weds! Good luck lads!

Very nice! - Better effort than last year Paul...well done! Seasons Greetings to you all! May 2006 bring the fish of your dreams!

I have just remembered a little experiment I tried last year. On every cod trip last winter (about 10) I fished one rod with flouro muppets and blooby beads, the other rod was just a straight pair of 8/0 pennels - no attractors. Ok, this was only one season, a relitively small number of trips and a total of 6 cod caught - BUT.....all came to the plain rod - the attractor rod didnt even have a touch from mr cod - draw whatever conclusion you wish. Kam - the cod I have caught over the past three years have mainly had eithe sprats, crab or pout inside them. This year it has been either pout or crab, the one from Sunday was stuffed with shellfish and crab. I also think that the cod we are fishing for (off Poole and the IOW) are a different 'class' of fish than the ones from other parts of the UK. I have always understood that basically you get the shoal fish - smaller in size and hunt in packs - like the fish we get on the ripps and wrecks offshore etc. The second type of fish are more solitary and are scavengers - they do not move in large shoals often on their own, dont haunt features, just roam and are more into picking up easy meals than chasing shoals of bait fish around. This theory was explained to me my more than one local skipper and its a theory I suscribe to, and also the main reason I think we stick to mutiple squid baits. Adam

Bob, Sounds good in theory - and worth a go - you never know. My take on it would be - the water is awefully coloured esp. S of the Needles at this time of year, visability is down to about a foot or so. People have tried fishing with herring and sprat for the cod without much succes, although your method is slightly different. For the amount of cod down their ( I suspect relativly few) and the fact you are hunting them not drawing them in - the drift method would be more hit and miss. Whereas the scent trail draws in fish and is a constant - it is just a matter of time to when Mr Cod comes along! Thats my sceptical view anyway! On the plus side trying new methods is always worth a try, and when they come off itsa great feeling! Finally - the mark you pinged wasnt where the cod came from - we moved on the flood! Good luck. Adam

Just been reading Steve Porter's latest catch report - http://www.boat-fishing-reports.co.uk/ Makes great reading and finishes with a real mystery!.....

3rd cod in 3 trips on BW...nicely proportioned fish of 14lb 10oz

Splash-Out with Gordons mate - Shaun and BW with Gordon launched at a very reasonable 9.30am this morning from Muddiford. The weather, tides and personal reasons all lead to this decision, and how wonderful it was! A lie in...and a days fishing! In all seriousness, we wanted to fish the afteroon flood and so an early start wasnt needed. The fog was a real pea-souper, but as we rounded the needles it suddenly broke to reveal a wonder summer-like day! Bright sunshine and clear blue skies! Off came the floatation suit. We joined the other 50 odd boats and out came the cuttle and squid. I opted for my old trusty marks, Bob headed offshore to fish some deeper water. The day was pretty slow with just hoards of doggies and the odd big channel whiting (2lb plus) to keep us winding in...this was typical of most of the boats from what we heard on the radio... With the flood came re-newed enthusiam....down went a HUGE block of wedger on the anchor chain, only for it to rip free of the bag anf float to the top 10 mins later! oh well! It fed the gulls! The tide seemed to take for ever to get going, and the clock was ticking away as the sun quickly swept its low path across the winter sky. Gordon bagged another couple of fat Whiting, but the cod baits were now going back untouched, not even pout nibbles.... As we sat chatting I said to Gordon that the end of the flood combined with the fading light offered the best chance of a golden beast....the hum of charter boat engines soon started up as the Lymington fleet all headed for home...the sun was nearly set now, and a chat to Bob confirmed that we would be leaving for home at 4pm sharp.... ......at 3.56pm my left hand rod nods twice...then slowly pulls over....I look at Gordon who gives me a filthy look as if to say 'dont even think of it pal'.....is this an eel....could it be a cod?....half of me wants it to be an eel as Gordon is not happy, the other half wants it to be the big prize....then a golden and white belly breaks the surface and is scooped into the net 14lb 10oz....3 trips, 3 cod!!! Bring it on!! Sorry Gordon - your go next time. On filleting the fish back home, some unlucky angler missed out as the cod had a broken set of hokkies in its belly.... Anyway, cod was the icing on the cake. Another good day out, enjoyable company and bacon rolls made the day. Adam

Were going to have another bash at the cod Terry. If you want to come along, we are meeting at 9am at Muddiford slipway. Adam

I think 'thats a biggun' has the right idea!

Bob F, Gordon, Shaun and I went out to Chesil last night for a bit of beach bashing for a change. Conditions looked perfect, warm, after a good blow, and the night time flood tide... But alas fishing was very slow. No a bite to anyone for at least a couple of hours and even then only very small put taps. We finally started to catch a few but nothing more than pout and dogs. I managed a very small bull huss of about 1lb. Anyway lovely night to be out, shame about the fishing. It does appear to be very, very slow this year, I know both the poole and IOW boats are struggling for cod and much else? Adam

Thanks Rich, I know where the lights in one are though. Gordon and I may take a foray down there on Sunday for a crack at a winter bass! Anyone fancy it? Adam

...and the forecast is looking spot on for the w/end. Ill be out Sunday, but as Duncan said dont know what or where to go - may head over to the West for a go at the late bass, or congering again, or East to sit it our for a cod??....

Thanks Kam - I thought of that last night - thats the plan! Out of interest, what sort of monthly payment do you guys have for Sky+?? We are about 25 quid a month currently, how mcuh of a jump am I looking at?

I have, and I must admit the ones with the bulkhead and double seating arrangement look very good, full standing height, full glass screen etc.. However, whilst the ride is good, I dont think it can compare to the Warrior's medium V hull. Good thought though, and I will have a serious look at them.

So no good to me then? I have 'normal' sky and want to upgrade to + but for free....!

The Samurai is the same hull as the 165, if you do a search on the forum you will find a couple of long detailed threads discussing them. They are very similar, but when you look close their are quite a few differences between the 165 and the Seahog. The one on B&O's look like a good package - it has a good engine, which is the main thing....(as good as BW?!?!?! ) The Warriors are a higher price for a reason, yes you do pay for the name, but with the name comes a certian refinement, when you look how many 165's are on the water / for sale compared to the Samurai it must tell you something.... The actual ride will be bang on compared to the 165, but it is the interior finish, the mouldings, the lockers, the hatches and catches which appear to have been given a little more thought. Obviously I am very biased! But it is well worth having a look at one (mad mikes?) as a comparison. Adam

Sky Plus?

...comapared to what? Considering a decent 165 is 11-12K, it is another 3K potentially, may be less...I cant think of any other 17' sports boat with a 100+hp engine that stands head and shoulders above the rest - IMHO all small boats such as this hold a similar share of the market?

....Great White SHARK....

...use that then! I use a simple two hook running ledger, using the KISS principle, whilst I am not the master of flounders, it sees me thorugh OK....!

Steve: Just as I thought, and good to hear that from a fellow 165 owner. Tom: they sit on a single axle roller coaster. A new package is about 18K, a little out of budget next year so Ill be looking for a second hand one (rocking horse poo) with a 115hp for about 15k...there has been a few for sale this last 6 months. Kam: That would be great if you could arrange for me? Martin: I agree, the 115hp is THE engine. After having the 60 on BW I wont make the mistake of under powering a boat again, the fact you can cruise at half throttle is the main advantage to me. I had considered hunting a 2nd hand 195 down, but room on the drive, and towing weight put me off - the 175 sits nicely between both. Rich: 165 = 16.5' 175 = 17.5' and the 195 = 19.5' The 175 and the 195 sit about the same height from the water due to the self draining deck which the 165 doesnt have. Total weight of the 175 package would be just over 1500kgs from the research I have done - just within the legal towing weight of my car. Plan is to sell BW just after Xmas and then sit on the cash until a 175 comes along.... AF

Have ruled out going any bigger for the time being. Mooring fees, maintenance, lack of flexability....are all reasons. Therfore I want to stay trailering. I still want to upgrade though and feel the 175 will give me just a little more range, useability and speed. Yes, you are right it isnt too much bigger than BW - 1' longer, 6" on the beam...but it will ride with 90-115HP, has integral fuel tanks, self draining decks etc...so these all add up to quite a bit more than the 165. Whilst BW copes fine with my general inshore work I would like to venture to the ripps and offhsore wrecks a little more often and hopefully the 175 will give me this. Bottom line - I think I will gain more from this jump than by going to a big heavy moored boat where I think whilst I will gain several things I will loose more...if that makes sense? AF

Is their anyone out there either registered on the forum or who uses the forum as a guest who owns or has access to a Warrior 175? I am looking to upgrage my 165 shortly and before I make the move I would like to sea trial a 175. Either post here or PM me if you can accomidate. Cheers Adam

Decided to go Thursday now. Post here if you want to come - Gordon is putting together an order of lug so let us know if you want some also. AF