Adam F

Ill bring my famous Isle of White Plaice rig!....

I use the Std circles from Mike at UK Hooks, I got a 100 mixed starter pack. Although as you said I do find them fairly heavy in the wire and quite dear too. I do use a grinner, although have just started to crimp them and leave a loop. In my carp fishing days we used a ring called a 'hinge rig' it used a bent hook (similar to a circle) and the loop which held the hook and allowed it to move feely and exagerated the 'self hooking' principle of the circle hook. Was in my local tackle shop today and he has just got some Mustard fine wire circles in stock - cheap as chips at

Bob may need crew on Sunday Paul - just amke him promise to keep away from Atlantic storm swells this time! Check with him 2nite. Alan - just seen your post - cant you bring her down on Sunday?

Been into the shop today and ordered it - as a way of a small plug it came from Bournemouth Fishing Lodge. I used it all day yesterday with a 6/0 circle. Incidently I hooked loads more fish on this rod - and not too many doggies. Unless the fish really takes the bait proper and therefore gets the hook inside him, he dont get hooked - therefore nusiance fish that play around with the bait dotn get hooked. One thing though - you MUST use a grinner with it, doesnt go well with a blood not. Should be here next few days. Adam

Yep!!!...Me and Jimbob caught one each today!

Ok Ill wait a few days and get a few orders together then Ill go get it. Ill pm you when I have it for your addresses. any other takers? Adam

Bob - I think the dull morning and the very murky water caused by high winds and flood water from the river meant that at 100' it was probably still night for the eels.

I am sure the answer is a new pike wire to the market. This stuff is made from the same technology used to make braid, but instead of using braid fibres, ultra fine s/s wire is used - the result? I mega flexable, easily knotted s/s wire/braid combo. I was given 5mtrs as a sample a few months ago, and am just coming to the end of the spool. It really is amazing stuff. A simple blood knot is all that is needed, and the presentation is as good as 30lb nylon. It is not so thin that it acts like cheesewire on the fishes mouth, but fine enough to offer good presentation. On sunday I kept hooking eels on my whiting rod, so I changed to the wire and kept the small hooks, kept catching whiting, but didnt get biten off by the eels. Anyone wants any let me know. Adam

Bloody hell! I think it was one of the other slipways - possibly a little further up - makes you wonder how it happened?

Just as you get to the bit which requires two hands, and you need 1 last tool - it is ALWAYS 4" too far for you to reach!

Alan - Gunna need to be home by 4pm as I have to pick Rach up from work. This will mean leaving the fishing grounds about 2.30....but if we have an early start should be no problem. It will also allow you to miss the traffic. Do you have crew? I suggest that Rich and Dave Mayne crew for Domino and BW??

Paul - The netrance isnt over by the cafe - the flood waters have just moved the bouys thats all. This time of year when the water is coloured and fishing big baits for cod - you dont know what will turn up - so I always fish 150lb trace to be on the safe side. Billy - Thanks for the advice on the circles. What size do you use, and do you fish them pennel?

Catch report from Blue Warrior: (Charlie, Ill email you the score sheets later) After a nice lay in after the clocks went back, we launched at 8.00am from Wick headed for the Needles cod grounds. A flat calm sea and blanket sea mist meant the plotter was invaluable. 22 knots all the way and 20 mins later we are sat anchored 3 miles south of the lighthouse. As the mist rose, other boats joined the cod hunt, and at 11am we counted over 40 boats within eyeshot!!!! We started well, with run after run from conger - unfortunatly we couldnt connect and after 7 runs on my rods and 4 to james, we finally hooked one - a small strap of about 15lb. I then connected with a decent fish, which put up a decent scrap and gave a very dogged and nodded fight - sureley the 1st cod of the year?...no, my 1st ever Spurdog though! - Not a monster but at 7lb I was well chuffed, never even seen one before. Pout, doggies and whiting were no problem to the smaller rods, but the beast elluded us today - even with the National Boat Champion aboard! Had a lovely run home in a flat sea the run in engine purring away and the sun setting over bmth

Sounds like you had a cracking day in the sub tropical waters of Weymouth!...strange init, we spent the day in our floatation suits fishing 2lb of lead loaded with 8 squid on 8/0 pennels!, not a wrasse or mackerel in sight! Well done mate, good result, I suspect not many of the boats will have bagged that many species today.

Brilliant!!!! My feedback rating is 99% dont you know, and most of my gear comes from their!!!! Oopps, may have said too much!

The weather and tides are good for Tues at the moment.... Plan will be to launch from Wick (christchurch) at around 7ish (to miss the rush hour traffic) and then head out just south of the needles to anchor for cod and conger. We were out there today and a few cod were caught, along with a stack of eels. We will then come in fairly early as nights are now drawing in, and it will give Alan a chance to get back home and me to wash BW down. How does that sound?

STOP PRESS**.....early reports suggest that James Parker has won the 2004 National BFM Boat League.....Reports say fishing was very hard....only several small bass caught....More news later from the man himself!!

Rich - watch the weather chap - if we get a window me you and BW have a date! Im pretty free all week, and need to take a few days holiday. Adam

Best of luck tomorrow Jumbo - We will all be rooting for you, oh and if you wanna come second, Im OK with that...I think I deserve a holiday for skippering you to the top 10!! The weather for the comp sunday is starting to look like one of them lovely high pressure winter days, F1-2 NNE! Bring on the cod!

Good to see you back Mike, hope you had a good one. Look forward to hearing the full report when youve had some sleep!

Can you ever have enough!!...onyl when you find one that gives F3's all the time Here are two sites form a link on the Weymouth Charter Boat - Lady Go Diver I think thay are pretty interesting if not for our own bay. Well worth a look at though. http://www.digital-reality.co.uk/weather/liveData.htm and http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=62103 Adam

At the risk ouf tempting bad weather.....the forecast for the comp Sunday looks OK...might be able to get out to the banks for some proper fishing!

Suppose its a bit like drifting for conger? And as the other guys stated the winter cod will be feeding by smeel more than sight. That said I cant see why drifting using a pennel loaded with 4/5 squid would work if the drifit was slow enough. Hard work though, cod fishing is slow enough, so using 2/3 rods and putting them in the rests while you have a hot cuppa and a bacon roll seems a better idea than sitting on the gunnel holding a single rod! Anyway, dont matter at the moment unless you like sitting on the Slates in a F8!!!

Glad to hear you had a good day! I would have loved to have gone out today but instead I decided to get up at 4am drive to Bolton sit in meetings all day and get home at 7pm...the cook dinner, wash up and fianlly read new posts, only to find that Alun has been out fishing and caught a bag full of plump whiting!!!!!!

Yep - Know exactly what you mean! I have nearly completed the new patio - a huge job in itself, on top of that re-tiled the en-suite, and replaced the facia on the house! I could probably go fishing for a month and still have points to spare!! Seriously, I cannot remember a worse year for fishing weather. Wind has dominated the whole summer and I can only think of 2 trips where the sea was glassy calm! I was booked in for a corporate trip from Weymouth on Tiger Lily on Weds, but Online weather now gives storm Force 12's!.... Maybe November will be one of those winter high pressure months where the sea stays flat all day!