Adam F

Pete from Burnham SAA called me last night. They want to know where there members can stay overnight and park their boats... Does anyone know of any guesthouses etc where they could do this? All I could think of is the Holiday Inn by the harbour, but I guess this would be around 50-70 squids per night, plenty of parking though! Any ideas guys?

Well done Matt, always nice to tick a species off the list. Tope can be very frustrating when they are not hitting the baits hard - for such large and seemingly agressive fish they can be very gentle. My advice would be to scale down - smaller hooks 6/0's and try either just a mackerel head, a single fillet, or even half a fillet - this usually works for me. Adam

James and I shot out (literally!) to the ledge last night for a few hours fishing. DR got us to the bream hole in under 4 mins on a flat calm sea! We arrived at 7.30pm and bites came straight away. I would love to tell you hoards for fat bream awaited us, but they didnt. Pout, poor cod, doggies and wrasse only. We packed up at 9pm and shot back home. Nice to be out, but dissapointed with the fishing. Adam

Done - Ill forgive you Mike!

OK - so nothing to worry about then! Just dont tell Rachael - she already thinks I go fishing too much!

Noticed on my outboard the other day that the sacrifical annode tab type thingy under the anti-cavitation plate was doing its job rather well - infact rather too well I think. I have only had the engine from new since Sept 04' and the tab has already lost maybe 3/4mm off the end and is well pitted?? The boat isnt on the water its on a trailer and it gets used about once a week. Is this normal or is something wrong?? Adam

....Mike, you know I still have my 2 metal tanks collecting dust. I think I sold them to Plaicemat, but now I hear he has a new boat. If he doesnt want them you can take them off my hands and out of my garage for

How to ruin your wreck fishing!

Caught Sunday 15th May

Decided to have a crack at the tope this weekend, esp. with the small tides and light winds. Leisurely cruise round to the west and stopped for plenty of fresh mackerel. The first mark didnt produce so we moved further out into 200'. Things were very slow, but then out of the blue and interupting me cooking the bacon sarnies and tea I got a cracking bite on my mackerel fillet. A fantastic fight lasting 10 mins or so ensued resulting in a new PB for me - a 34lb 10oz tope! What a fantastic fish, a lovely bronze hue to her back and full of muscle. We slipped her back after a few piccies and waited for the next one! Unfortunatly it didnt come, so at 2pm we moved out futher still to a wreck to have a bash at a few eels. On arriving we had a drift to establish the lie of the boat and as I came over the back of the wreck something slammed my feathers and headed for the bottom - I was on 30lb class gear and this fish was streaming line off the TLD15, then just as I though Id turned it, the hook pulled! - Gutted!...what was it? A big pollock or a bass maybe? We anchored the wreck and took a few eels to 30lb ish then a big yellow dive boat turned up from weymouth and proceeded to try and moor alongside me and charlie, at least thats what I thought he was doing, he was close enough! Dowbn went the shot followed by a dozen rubber suits and off went the fishing. No courtesy call on the VHF, no hand signals, hell he could have spoken to me on deck, nothing - just plain %^&&* rude. We moved again, to another lump of rust and had a nother few eels and called it a day at 6pm. Not a fantastic day, saved by the tope really, but nice to be out. Adam

Rich, We (PBSBAC) dont promote the bream comp only our own, which is run on trust and doesnt require a fish to be weighed in. It is the individuals choice id they wish to fish the PSAC Bream Comp - although I do take your point. I think most of us anglers are aware enough not to take boxes and boxes of fish just to win a prize, and personally I see no problem with taking a few for the prize / table to eat. Common sense must prevail. Adam

As Coddy says, you can either have 2 x 25l tanks like me that fit the drain sump under the transom or one large 50l tank - but option is too heavy to remove if full, I prefer the 2 tanks - also gives you the advantange of being able to swap tanks (contaminated fuel, lending fuel to a buddy etc) The 175 and the 195 have integral. Adam

Yes I have seen this boat before - it nearly ran me down a few weeks ago when coming back through the harbour - the skipper clearly didnt know to pass port to port and was dertermined to use the left hand side of the channel!!

Blimey! You wouldnt need a life jacket with them!!

Of course - you are are correct Duncan, thanks for correcting me after 20 years!

Well done you spawny bassturd! I got the phone call at 7pm whilst finishing the end of a 250 mile trip in the car! I bet it aint that calm when I manage to get round there!

'When the wind's in the East - the fish bite least' 'When the wind's in the West - the fish bite best' 'When the wind's in the South - the bait flows in the fishies mouth' 'When the wind's in the North - dont bench a forth' My dad told me this the first time I ever went fishing (age 5) and I have remembered it ever since!'

I have two Jack, but I aint selling them, they are my favourite rods! Poingdestres in Southamtpon do them for about

Coddy, Apologies - I guess not - things have been so hectic last few weeks that I havent had a chance to look at it. Plus the plaice fishing has taken a dive recent weeks. Next trip will be the Solent in a few weeks - Ill keep you posted. Cheers Adam

Not a bad haul!

Shame it wasnt caught on a private boat!

Well, were back! - Its taken a decent nights kip and a lazy day today to recover but it was well worth it. Ill just cover my trip and let others do there's. We left Weymouth at 8am on Tues but a stiff 5-6 SW was blowing making the ride past the Shambles aweful - max speed was 5 knots and that was uncomfortable. Once we cleared the banks and got a depth under the keel it evened out a bit but was still far from calm. A stop for macky 12 miles from the Bill then off to a wreck for Pollock and Cod. We stopped at a few other wrecks on the way over also. We arrived at Alderney at about 3pm, and drifted an eddy off the Swinge for Pollock - great fun on 6lb line a 20grm spinning rod! A few beers that night were well earnt! The 2nd day the sun shone and the winds dropped. We fished the South Banks for flatties and whilst it was very hard work the total tally was 20 flatties for our boat - Tiger Lilly. It was thirsty work made worse by the crewman being unable to opperate the kettle!! The last drift for the day brightend up an otherwise poor day for me - a stonking 8lb Brill - almost 200% specimen Day 3 looked promising after the day before, and a good start with a few bass had us in high hopes...but we struggled a little on the banks with only 7 turbot. However Martin showed the way with a cracking Turbot of 14lb 8oz - the best of the trip! That night we took turbot to the wonderful 1st and Last resturant, where it was served on a bed of Spinach, with parmasan and chedder cheese and then baked! Followed by 3 bottle of Sancere and 3 helpings of Chilli Tiger prawns - possibly the best seafood meal Ive ever had! Last day we headed back across the channel, stopping on a large wreck to take about a dozen ling to 18lb. We hit Weymouth at 7pm tired but happy. Many thanks to Chris Cains and Pat Carlin our Skippers, and to Leigh and Chris at the Armoury, lastly to our crewman Peter. Adam

Stand on the cabin roof, hold the vhf ariel in one hand and the rod in the other and point it towards the sky...it is good luck! Seriously, I would recommend lowering the chf ariel and all rods and sitting it out - I would think you would be ok?...

Mick, I dont have any specific info on what to look for with an Alaska, but in general look for: Stress cracks around the transom, areas on the hull that show signs of repair, ALWAYS insisit on seeing the engine running - in the water is preferable to on a hose but a hose is better than nothing, check the 'tell tale' water jet from the engine it should be cold except when the engine is turned off, check see how she idles, check the clarity of the oil, check the deck area of signs of spongeyness, crack or chips, same goes for where the cuddy joins the hull another weak spot. Basically you can usually tell from the first few looks at a boat. If she is shiney clean and looks well maintained then it is a good sign, if she stinks of dead fish is filthy dirty and rusty then it indcates it hasnt been looked after - of course their are always exceptions to the rule! Im happy to come and give a second opinion if you need. Adam

A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day. The Russian said, "We were the first in space!" The American said, "We were the first on the moon!" The Blonde said, "So what? We're going to be the first on the sun!" The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads. "You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up!" said the Russian. To which the Blonde replied, "We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night!