great white

Hi A selection of those type of pins are available from large Chandlers. Get one with a ring in the other end so that it can be attached to the boat or you may buy several a year Charlie

Jack I am glad we were not on your price structure last Thursday. 4k for a days fishing would be hard to explain to FPO. As Humphrey would take nothing for Diesel the only cost was bait about

Hi Adam Yes there is an annual membership fee, I am not sure what it is now but they have a website if you want to look it up. To become a full Member you have to catch an eel above the qualifying weights of: Shore 25lb Reef 30lb Wreck 40lb Its a very good Club with a large Friendly and keen membership, and they have a wonderful set of Trophys. Charlie

As Martin says it may just be that dragging a weight allows more people to fish it for longer and on bigger tides then Peter, and such a Mark must have a limit on how much stock it can hold relative to how many rods are targetting that stock. Shame because it was such a good mark, that said I believe it is still well worth a visit or two. I am sure that the Weymouth boats still do very well out there, and our trailer boats had some nice fish in 2004. Charlie

Hi James Another good trophy from the BCC their Solitair Cup, heaviest eel landed without any assistance. Actually the Club record fish won me that one a couple of years ago, my mate on the boat would go nowhere near it in the water or in the boat. So it was landed weighed and returned without his help. That trophy also stayed in Plymouth, the keepsake is an engraved tankard which has an eel for the handle. You get one for winning any of the annual trophies, I have a few in the loft if you would like to see what you are aiming for Charlie

Its a shame my British Conger Club membership has lapsed. They have a terrific Bronze trophy for the most returned eels in a year. So far this year I have caught and returned 18 I won the trophy in its first year 1989. But they would not let it out of Plymouth, it would be nice to win it again. I would add the photo, but that would open me up for some stick Bit older and greyer now Charlie

To be honest Kam I only sent the photo to Paul so that others could have chance to add some comments So I do not have any problems with any comments Charlie

Paul The tell tail is just an indicator that you are getting a flow through the engine, they regularly get blocked by salt crystals as the water evaporates out of the salt water while the engine cools after use. This also happens inside the block therefore it is very good for the engine cooling system to run the engine in fresh water ASAP after returning from the Sea. The majority of the pumped water from your engine exits through the centre of your prop to prevent cavitation increase thrust and cool the exhaust and leg of your outboard. If your telltail stops try clearing it with some form of wire while the engine is running it should clear easily, if you are not getting cooling your engine will overheat quickly and an alarm should sound in your control box Hope that helps Its probably what your website says Charlie

I like James am yet to be converted to circles I used them a lot in New Zealand where they are very popular. And have read about them a lot. The theory seems to be that they go deep into the fish then as it runs they come out and as they pivot around the scissor in the jaw they then get pulled into the fish. Obviously not all fish are caught by deep hooking and waiting for it to move off. so it explains why they do not always work . and I believe striking is a definate no go area you just wind in and maintain pressure. The other thing about thursday is that eels tend to come in head first and back away or dive rather powering off to the side like a good bass or tope. so perhaps they are not the best hooks for eeling. I had no problem with pennel rigged 6/0 Viravas Big Mouth Extras on thursday but had to cut quite a few traces to prevent damaging the fish, I changed to bigger single hooks to prevent this which cost me a couple of fish that spat the hooks. I chose not to use the Large circle hooks because of the theory about the way eels are caught/fight. Comments please Charlie

Not all my fish are the tiddler sort Sam, I think I had the first, most and biggest on Thursday Charlie

Its not the size that counts 24 ounces of pure muscle. fought all the way to the boat on 30lb gear. [ didn't even know it was on really, thought it was a pout] I told Sam it would get more comments than his 46lb 8oz one. Charlie

Hi James Nice to be out there today and thanks for your company Are you reducing your photo's for the Forum? they seem bigger than mine so am I reducing mine to much? I thought they had to be fairly small, can one of the administrators advise please for future ref. Thanks Charlie

The biggest of 40 landed on Ow Much today. we also lost a lot to the wreck and a few spat the hooks. 46 lb of slippery Eel, just about to go back. Charlie

Adam showing us how its done, well he is about to try and feed Jame's new auxillery bracket to a conger. Over 15 miles from the chain ferry but check out the sea state

another view of James with his new toy at sea. Charlie

Dawn Raider Raiding a Wreck today Charlie

Hi All, What a great day. After a day bouncing around without many fish yesterday, the plan was ether a haul out to the Rips to look for pollack or a trip west to a wreck for the Eels. The Weather and tides were so good for an Eel trip that Humphreys arm was easily twisted into that decision. so with Dawn Raider in Hot pursuit off we went. By the time most of you were finishing your first coffee at work we were anchoring the wreck, but the position was not to our liking so in came the anchor to be moved 50 metres South. [ The hydraulic hauler certainly helps]. By the time James had his anchor in, we had an eel on the way up and in less than an hour we had 10 on the boat. As the tide slackened we were pushed south of the wreck to wait for the flood tide. After moving for the flood the action really started and the size of the fish improved with several over the 30lb mark being lifted in to be weighed. We were fishing one rod each to avoid tangles, and a couple of times had treble hook ups with the other rod out of action due to re-baiting re-tackling or having just landed a fish. It was hectic on Dawn Raider and impresive to watch the lads in action with plenty of double hook ups, and at one time they were both playing fish with one rod and the other rods in James very smart rod holders going mental as another pair of fish waited for some attention. In the end we had a total of 40 eels. before we had a couple of slow drifts over the wreck then a move inshore to try for other species. The best Conger onboard today was 46lb. But it was definatly a Conger Day as we saw James catch another in there as well, with a few Dogs and what may have been a Huss. Great day and nice to be able to offer James and Adam a guide in such lovely weather to a wreck that fished so well. I expect we had over 1000lb of fish onboard today and all went back, most without coming out of the water. I am going to have a sit down with a beer to sooth the bits that ache tonight. tight lines Charlie

Hi Alun I am out tomorrow with the kids so if we catch or hear of anything being caught I will post tommorow evening. Charlie

Nice looking boat and I really liked the advert format. If you click on the pictures you can drag the corners to enlarge and get a better view Charlie

Have a great Birthday Hope you get what you wished for Charlie

Hi Alun Not sure I would be to keen to be out fishing in a small boat in that forecast. Having just spent two days Instructing Powerboat level two in the Harbour [and getting a fair amount of salt water over by floatation suit in the process] I am very aware how bad the forecast was. And how rough the harbour was in the Main and North channels. We would not have gone out except that we had 4 RIBs, all with full safety equipment, We were in VHF contact and with an Instructor on each boat. Even then we cancelled boatwork at 1130 this morning in driving hailstones and heavy gusts of wind. As we said last meeting it is the skippers discision to go to sea, but considering you were probably the only boat around, and the forecast was so poor was it the right one? Nice fish Alun and I await a fish report so that I can add them to the book. but was the risk to high? A concerned Charlie

Nice to hear there is a window I have a few days off so hope to get to a wreck again with the boys May even get a trip with ow much and go a bit further out Tight lines all Charlie

Brave Man I hope it keeps midges away from the orifice it may finish up in.

Duncan You may be right about the fuel economy but the cruising speed would make your trips from Rockley to weymouth or the solent a long day. Charlie

Nice to see that persistance pays off after your very quiet trip earlier in the week Can I ask someone to send me a catch report of who caught what, and I will add them to the book. Nice one Charlie