Newboy

It's only 30cm shorter than the 530, what's that, 12 inches? Couldn't you do with 12 iches less...... ? It does have a lockable door according to the ad. Having a big boat is nice, you can carry everything you need plus many more things you don't need. Take it from me it ain't all that cracks up to be. Very often I wish I have a small boat, less gas used, quicker wash down, easier to tow plus easier to launch and retrieve.

Eh..... it's Saturday today

How about this one? Good price too. If you don't want the outboard, you can flog it for a few grand. Quicksilver

The Drago has only been on the scene for a few months. Doubt there are any 2nd hard knocking about. Boat Fishing Monthly did a test on it about 3 months back, the review is quite positive (then again most reviews are). If you haven't a copy, I can get one.

Anyone know anything about them? Are they any good and at what sort of price are they? Did a search on yahoo about penn formula, plenty of info for the reels but hardly anything for the rods. Thanks

I have the Tohatsu 90 tldi, I presumed it's the tldi you are aftering?! I used a tank (20litres) and half to the ripps and a tank ran dry at the buoys outside Poole entrance on the way back (calmer weather). Fuel consumption across the board with 90hp 4strokes and Di is very much comparable between Mercury 4s, Suzuki 4s ( same as Johnson 4s), Yamaha hpdi, Honda 4s, Tohatsu tldi (same as Nissan) and Evinrude etec. Don't know if you remember, that trip we took on Sweet Honey with its old Mercury 100hp, Cobbs to Old harry, across to southbourne, bournmouth pier and back to cobbs used about 12 gallons. My new tldi 90, uses about half the amount of unleaded comparing to the 100. I think there's isn't that much between the different makes and each shines in different aspects, i.e., noise, fuel economy (low, mid and max rev), hole shot, .... If you go to the Tohatsu website, in the tech bits, it tells you what their respective fuel comsuption are (not that they will relate to your boat, but at least it gives a comparison between the 2). Tohatsu tech bits

Were you a regular on the Log Flume @ Alton Tower in your younger days.....

Trev How big is the large block, will it fit in an icebox? How much is it? Hopefully going sharking on the 4th, might pick it up from u on way back from weymouth this Sunday.

I think the folding grapnel has less holding power than most other anchors. You will probably need a heavier one, over 5-7kg to be of any use.

This table is for sale on eBay. How can you tell it is being sold by a man? Answer to follow......

Just got off a boat having spent the last 2 weeks on it, it sure feels strange as I kept having moment when I thought the ground moved. Although I did packed my 6' tele rod and spinning reel in the luggage, didn't have much chances to use it. I fished the pier in Livorne, rock pier in Cannes and Almeria. All I packed were small lures and spinners. Did not have one single take. The French and Spanish KEEP everything. In Cannes, a father and son were catching soles less than 2" long. In Almeria a bloke was using small floats with small hooks to catch small silver sardine liked fish no more than a couple of inches long.

Could it be pregnant?

Why are you carrying 2troke oil?

I adjust the inventory list according to what I am doing. The safety equipments plus any of these: elec kettle, tea makings, pot noodles, spare clothing, a toilet, a gas cooker, kettle, frying pan, lead bucket, gaff, ropes,......

Sorry Sam, that trip is full. Will let you know if there are any other trip I'm off to soon.

Nop, that's the shingles (I think). The Needles Bridge is about a mile long starting at the Needle lighthouse pointing towards Old Harry at Poole/swanage. The easiest way to locate it is when the tide is running, there will be a wall of water rising as much as a foot out of the sea level. It can be a little daunting at the first crossing.....

I'm booked on Flamer 3 (weymouth) on the 28th, if you like I can ring Colin Penny and see if there's any space left. Getting there won't be a problem I can pick you up on the way down.

Page 11 of this month's BFM, Giles Govier won the National Dinghy festival with 75lbs of rays and dogs......that's a lot of dogs and rays, I hope he likes rays and dogfish....

I think it's all to do with grow rate and maturity rate. Cod can grow to 0.5m in 3-4 years which is considered matured. While bass will take much longer, something like over 10 years. I don't have the figures for bass, but I'm sure it's in the B.A.S.S wbbsite. I seemed to remember the bass Rich released in Alderney last year (14lb?) someone mentioned it is probably 20+years old. Also I will say no chef will consider a fillet of bass from fish larger than 5 lb, as the flesh is way too firm/chewy. The best serving weigh is about 2-3lb, young flesh that melts in your mouth but with a decent amount of meat.

If you don't fancy the bridge, you can try either the shingles or just off Hurst castle. I've never drifted the shingles myself but i've been told it drift quite well. Or you can drift the area just off Hurst castle.

Surely we can't blame the skipper for catching fish? After all it's the angler who catch the fish, if he decides to keep every single fish he landed that's his prorocative. For example if Adam takes you out on Blue Warrior and you landed 20 bass and decided to keep them all, since you promised Aunt Sue a bass, Uncle Herbert 1, 2 for Cousin Pete, next door neighbour wanted 1 and so is Mr Brown down at pub,...... (I know you won't, it's just an example) no one here will blame Adam, all we think is what an a**hole you are and Adam says he might not take you out again. I have seen angler who keeps everything, I do mean everything. I have also seen angler coming back with boxes of fish. Personally, I only take what I can eat in the next 3 days, i.e keeping in fridge. I set out decided to keep 2 bass, I caught 2 and anything after I would have released. It would be nice if there is a daily limit as to how many fish we can keep on each species. I think somewhere in Ireland you are only allow to keep 2 bass, so is some place in the USA. In Australia, with certain type of fish, you are allowed a number in you possession, i.e., even fish caught 2 years ago which is still in you freezer counts! We angler keep yapping on about trawlers killing off the fish stock, we can do so much too, it's a case of whether we want to do it. Take home what you can eat while it's still fresh and stop taking fish as present for friends and relative back on dry land. How about skippers limiting what the punters can take home?

Ahhh.... never heard them called waterbike before. Thanks coddy.

What is a waterbike?

Float kit is pretty simple. From the bottom up: a treble tie to 5-10' of flouro it's then tie to a swivel. a leader of about 20' is tie to the other end of the swivel. from the 'free' end of leader you insert a bead, a 2oz ball lead, (another bead,) a large 6" float, and finally another bead. Now tie the free end of the leader to your braid using a double fisherman knot (or any other you can think of) the knot itself acts as a stopper for the float. You must tie the leader to your braid, you can't join them up using a swivel as you need to wround the leader into your reel otherwise you won't be able to get close to the fish as the whole trace is about 25' long. The way to use the float kit is easy. you drop your macky and float overboard just after you put the outboard into neutrel as the momentum will drag the float a few metres (well 5-10 is good) behind the boat. Now all you do is stick your rod in the rodholder, have a beer and watch the float. When a fish takes, the float will go under a few seconds longer than its usual dips caused by the macky trying to going under. You DON'T strike, you reel into the fish and very often the fish swim towards you and you think you'd lost the fish. Do have the clutch set as they do dive when they come to the boat. I was using a 9' bass rod together with my small spinning reel, the larger of the 2 bass dived 3 (or was it 4?) times before coming to the boat. In a small boat with 2 fishing it's not going to matter much, but in a charter boat, drop over in stages so some floats are 20-30m away and some are closer in, and prepare to 'swap' rods as floats get cross over. Do watch out for pot buoys as there were a couple on the bridge yesterday. Tomkat lost one of their float to the buoy. At the end of the drift just stick the macky in a bucket and steam over to the start for another, do watch out for others fishing floats as the floats are small and they can be a fair old distance from the boat.

Went out on Electric Blue with a party of Solent Forum members. Caught about a dozen bass to 7 1/2 lbs using floats fishing on the bridge. I caught 2 x 3-4 lbs, 1st and 2nd drift. I got bored and messed around with portland rig with stormies sandeels, macky, scad, jelly worms and shads. None caught anything until the weather turned really rough and spent the last hour in the solent but caught nothing. Nice day, wonder if float fishing work in Portland races?!