Adam F

Bob and i were chatting away the other day and we discussing the subject of a Man overboard. So what would you do?....... Picture the scene.......... ' its a lovely warm summers eve. You are out on the ledge anchored next to 2 other boats with you mates on. You and your boat buddy have 3 rods out each for the eels, which you expect to feed once the big spring tide eases. It is a calm night, hardly a wave. The tide is about 2 knots. Youre sitting on the gunwhale, when all of a shudden you loose you balance and over you go. Hitting the water takes your breath away, for even though its July, the evening water is surprisingly chill. By the time you shout for help, and you partner has realised where you have gone, 5 seconds have passed, and in the 2 knot tide you are already well on your way to France.' Okay. So what would you do as the man still on the boat. You have 6 rods in the water with 1.5lb of lead on, 60 feet of water and a big tide. Winding them all in would take at least 5 mins. So cut the lines. Wheres the knife? Then the anchor?...pulling it up is out the question, so cut that....another 2/3 mins. So you start the boat. But over the sound of the engine can you hear his shouts? Where the hell is he?????? It sounds pretty dramatic, yes...but reality could be not too different. I'd like to hear peoples views on what they would do? Personally I am looking for a floating strobe. Activated when turned upside down (biased weighting) this could then be seen for a mile or so, and would make all of the above a little less dramatic. Just throw the light overboard, and do what you need to. Adam

Sorry, - typo!!!

I'll have a crack at the Plaice one bob. It looks like ti takes a month to write a good article, you would have too much on your hands to do them all. Leave this on to me...hopefully i will be an expert after next weekend! Adam

Quire a collection reading this 2nite!!!! I vote for the plaice, and leave the nab for the summer as another trail-away, maybe replace the manacles? as dave said, one bad day, another could be a red letter! Adam

Cheers Bob, very informative. Adam

....that's almost 30 quid more than I paid!!. Mind you,...They are likey to be the older (better?) design, and I would be very surprised if they had a good selection left. Adam

Dont want to steal Martins thunder, but I also have a stove you are welcome to use Bob. It runs on unleaded petrol, and burns about 20p and hour. It is also very powerful and will melt a 1/2lb of lead in about 3/4 mins. Just let me know. Adam

Rounhams Service station, I belive, Bob...not roundways!! Just after the turning for the M271, easy to find, well sign posted. There is a large car park so plenty of room for boats and cars. Better get me spoons out!

Tell me more about ten fathom bank and the adamant shoal??? I was lead to believe that St Albans is ok at certain states of tide?? Is it not only when the tide is flooding strongly that is the hazardous? Can you pass over ok, at other states??

Or buy it on May when we go to alderney???

Sounds good to me!!! darnt tell her in door though!!! we'd be on the plane tomorrow!!! Anyone know much about Standard Horizon??

Linking this thread with the one previous re. the divin site and wreck marks. Just how many of the marks on: http://users.pandora.be/tree/wrecksite/_en...el?hide=visible are available for us 'small' baot guys to fish?? The chart in the link doesnt show distances from land (?) so where should we be aiming? Adam

I know just been looking. Stramge, the other items of gear we have beenn thinking of have been way cheaper....The SH product is

Hmmmm.... got me thinking? As the Standard Horizon units are American, maybe they will be cheaper?? Lets have a look!

Thanks Paul, handy site! - plus helps the club along the way. Just had a quick look - some reasonable gear, but a lot of cheapies, didnt think the rods & reels were that good, but the terminal tackle is reasonable. Adam

STREN has been around for years, and years, and years. Stood the test of time. First really became popular for Salmon fishing, but since has become popular throught the sport. cant really go wrong with it Alun, just a good, reliable mono. Personally with braid (ive tried a few) I havent really found the ideal. Spiderwire: Fused braid, so very smooth and very thin. Downsides: Thin cuts into you hands very badly when handling under pressure, outer sleev wears away from the core. Dynon: Opposite of the above really. But thickness catches the tide similar to mono. Gorilla Braid, + similar: Good combination of both of the above, but slipperyness can cause knots to slip. Uniknot best. Expensive. I have one of each on my reels depending on what I'm after, and overall they are all pretty good - just personal pref. Adam

No thermomiter, but stuck my hand in a few times, bloody freezing (is that a scientific reading???!!!) wind was on my back Sun was in my eyes snowed Rained a bit of sun , but was stood in the water in my waders all day, so over all pretty damn cold! Thoughts of shorts, deck shoes, and sun tan lotion plus hungry bream bass and smoothies kept me alert all day though!

Will you include how to gaff a conger?

Fair play to you for trying Alun! I also went out today....but not to sea. Had a river match against Ringwood and Test Valley. Drew a cracking peg at Thoop, looked well fishy. Well,

I'll find out for you. Shouldnt be a problem, if we can accumulate a few orders, we may get a decent bulk discount. Adam

Hi all!, Just to let you know - Bournemouth Fishing Lodge in Moordown, Winton (915 Wimborne Road) is under new management! Neil Cooke, previously asst. manager, has bought the business from the former owners. Neil is a good friend of mine, and we have discussed the area of sea fishing recently. Although not recognised for sea tackle in the past, Neil has pledged to change this, and had already re-stocked the sea section with almost every type of rig component you could imagine. He has also just achieved an Okuma account, and has stocked his freezer to the limit with peeler, hermit, mackeral, sandeel, lug, etc, etc. Neil will also match any mail order price where possible, (most cases!) so you get the value for money - and the local service!. If you havent been into the shop before, pop on in. I know it may not be as handy to Poole, baiter etc, as some of the shops, but I believe it to be one of the better shops in dorset. I have also been negotating with Neil for some better sponsorship prizes this year for the open in return for a link on our main page. Adam

Hmmmm something I was going to ask....How can i catch my own eels?? Where do i get a trawl? Can i get a smaller trawl for a 16' boat? Can I make one? I have seen people 'fishing' for them in the sand at low tide in cornwall, can we do this anywhere? Or do I just have to buy them???

I know that Roger Bayzand uses the inside SS part of the washing machine also, i suppose you cant really get a better method of filtration and areation than the sea itself! When travelling, you are correct you will need a source of areation. Hmmmm not too sure on this one, the battery opertated ones would probable not provide enough power. I would look at th pumps and air stones made for the fish keeping industry, these can be quite powerful. Only porblem is they run on 240v, so either need a convertor, and a 12v version. Maybe send Jimbo a PM, he works at Southern Aquatics, - what he doesnt know about keeping fish alive isnt worth knowing!

I'm no expert, but what I do know is that the most important thing when trying to keep sea fish alive is enough aeration, especially with mackeral and sandeels, and that the water they are in is replaced very frequently. The areation speaks for itself, in that both are fast swimming fish, and therefore use alot of energy, pass alot of water over their gills, so plenty of bubbles is needed! The water needs to be on an almost constant flow as waste from the fish builds up very fast, and the organisms in the water itself will die, causing the water to become polluted, thus killing your bait - by having a constant flow of sea water in and out this slolves the problem. Hope this helps? PS. Did you see last month's BFM? Graeme Pullan detailed 'tuna tubes' they have on tropical big game boats, and suggested these could be used on british boats...worth a look. Also - another cheaper alternative, and to those of us with small boats...how about a coarse fishermans keepnet hung over the side??? Solves all the problems in one go! - Cheap and effective, plus requires no permanent instalations. Adam

On the topic of VHF's, just seen the new Navman offering in BFM. At under