Adam F

Youre right - of course the correct answer is the wife.

Do you want the real answer or the politically correct answer??

Chat anyone? Thurs - 8.17pm

Someone ask James about his Frontera!! ....maybe that was a little under the belt!

Nice one Mike. I have bid on it. Not 100% the same as my other one - but as good as. Cheers matey.

Right, I think we will aim for Sat 29th May for the Solent trip. This gives us the option of Sun, nearer the time should the weather be iffy. Is this OK with everyone? We will aim to launch from Lymington slipway at about 7.30am - so arrive at 7am, all in the water by 8am. Hopefully local fishing guide DaveUK will be on hand to guide us - but basically a trip out to the West of the Solent to stock up on Mackeral, then down to the East to sit at anchor for Rays and Smoothies. So who is coming?? Blue Warrior will be there - James has 1st shout, but may be working, so might need crew. Rich JAW? Cheers

I'm sure you are right. Thanks for the support guys. I'm not sure if it has been debited - ill check tommorow. Sorta wish id bought it in blight now!

Whats an Enail - is that like a nail, but is white a round like a headache tablet???!!!

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its not a credit card - just a debit card

I have sent the plotter back last Thurs via UPS Express. It arrived last Fri at 3pm (e-tracking) Since then I have emailed asking for a date when I will recieve the replacement - but heard nothing. Not too concerned yet, as only really had 2 days - but begining to worry a little. What comeback do I have with an internet based company if they fail to send the replacement. I have kept copies of all of the transactions and all emails exchanged??? Adam

Paul - Nothing wrong with a Freelander. In fact we are in exactly the same situation, and are also looking a a freelander. Unless you are towing a 4 ton rig, the freelander will be fine for your types of boats - the only thing I will metion is that they are perminant 4WD, so more wear on the tyres - the Suzuki's are switchable as it is not really needed 90% of the time. But good solid cars though. My astra copes fine with towing the Warrior on the road - it just struggles for traction on any slip bar Baiter. A Freelander will enable you to launch and retreave anywhere. Adam

Billy. http://www.ukhooks.com Mike is the guy - lovely chap. The hooks you need are long shank streamer hooks. All the advantages of circle's, ie improved hooking, and no deep hookers, plus you can thread a ragworm, instead of having to just nick it.

Right chaps. Next trail-a-way. Solent - Targeting rays amd smoothies as last year (hopefully with more sucess and less thunder! ) Dates: 22/23rd May or 29/30th May. Done mind where we launch from, although Lymington was good last time, we all know where it is, and is good for even the big boats. What do we think? Adam

I use Hokkies. The green and pink rubber squid type. I suppose the hooks are about a 2/4? I bait them with small thin squid strips. The method I fish them is to lower to the bottom, and gently 'bounce' the rig - the bream tend to be suckers for a moving bait.

What did we all buy today them?? Me: A fancy yachty type grab bag (Martin gave me the idea) Bargin at

12 of them on Ebay at the moment. Various prices - from

Billy: I have deleted your details now that Martin has paased them to Bob. Probably best not to have your personal details on such a public place as this. Welcome to the club!

Guys - See the latest post on Alderney for up to date details.

You dont need a Game licence for Fly fishing for Mullet - If a Sea Trout happens to come along - then thats just tough luck Id say - or course Id always return it! Fly fishing for mackeral is also worth trying! With the demise of so much of the 'big' fish in our waters, trying something differnet can be very rewarding! - Catching a 1.5lb mackeral on a fly, can give you just as good a fight as a 30lb eel, its all relative to the tackle you use. Graeme Pullen has written an article in this months BFM on this very subject. Fish lighter - have more fun! - Tope on carp rods, Bass on spinning rods, mackeral / gar on the fly!

Ordered my new plotter last week - from Denmark! Turned up yesterday - the wrong model! - They have sent the std 182 mono!! Now I have to send it all the way back to Denmark, and await the replacement! Adam

Alun: When little or no tide, obviously no need to drag a weight. As the tide strengths - then is the time to use it. We find that drfiting unaided to about 1.5 knots is fine, once the tide reaches 2 knts - then over goes the weight - control the spped of your dift by the amout of rope you let out. Tackle: Either an uptider, or a 12lb downtider is best. Traces need be no heavier than 25lb - can go lighter. Hooks - well, Plaice I use about a 2/0 - 3/0 - for the turbot 4/0. Weights. Dependant on tide anything from 3/4oz to 8oz. Braided mainline is helpful. Beads, spoons, boobies ets - all personal pref - do they make any diff??? The trick is to establish the direction of drift, then set your boat at the top of the tide - drifting with the tide back along the banks. The turbot often hit the baits on the top if the edge of the bank - beware!. Baits: Rag with mackeral/squid for the plaice. Turbot - stinky mackeral. Decent sized fillet. Hope the weather is fine for you. PS: Finish the day with half an hour drifting the Hood. Great fun! - Mark B will direct you to it. Adam

The key is power and height. If you dont have enough power the signal will not reach, if you cannot 'see' the ariel, it doesnt matter how much power you have! Ever wondered why when listening to an emergancy call on Ch16 - you can always hear Portland Coastguard - but often not the other vessel? Portland Costguard are loacted some 500ft up on the cliff face! If anyone wants to know more - I have a very basical - but informative book on VHF you are welcome to borrow - handy if you have a VHF, but not yet a licence! Adam

Bit hectic for the next 2 weeks, Alderney etc. 2nd week in May - 1 eve - its a date! Paul J and I may even take you for a spot of Mullet fishing if you get the hang of it! Adam

Newboy. We had the same situation last year when kitting out our small 15' dingey. We asked all these questions, and in the end settled on a budget handheld - an XM model from memory costing about 90 quid. Basically it was crap! - The batteries (6xAA) lasted about 5 hours, even when just listening (nb. you use miuch more battery power when transmitting as opposed to monitoring) its range was useless (VHF works on line of sight - if you ariel cannot 'see' the boat you are talking to it wont work - hence the low ariel of a HH, and the mast height of a fixed unit) and it fell overboard!!!! Next we tried a more expensive HH - and ICOM, costing 200 quid. This wasnt much better. It was very waterproof, and the batteries were rechargeable, but still no good for regular use during the day. Would have made a good back-up unit though. Finally we spend 200 quid on an ICOM M104 Euro. It is the most reliable piece of kit on the boat, and it does everything I want from it apart from DSC. My reccomendations to you: 1.) Fixed unit, 2.) Go for DSC. Nowadays you can pick up a cracking unit with all the toys for around 150. XM do one, Silva are about 165. If I was in your boat (xcuse the pun!) I would look at the new Navman model - nice piece of kit. Hope this helps.