great white

Good Luck with the searce "James the First". I picked up a copy of BFM yesterday it has a good spread on the competiton Well done that man. When are you off to the show to be awarded your prizes. I was not going to go this year but if you have room in the car for 1 more I may be tempted. enjoy looking at what is available Charlie

Well James What can you say to someone who has just sold their good luck charm and their Pride and Joy. I hope that the replacement brings you as much enjoyment and success as Tara did. Did the old girl stay local? Charlie

I had the camera for the last one but missed the weigh in Charlie

Another tip You may well see the impending Tanker/Cargo carrier but do not assume he can see you. His deck cargo could obscure smaller objects in front of him for more than 1/2 mile so by the time you are big enough to be seen from well above sea level, you may well be in his forward blind spot. As other have said "If in doubt get the F*** out of his way ASAP" and if that means using the knife on the warp and lines hard luck. Charlie

It all shows that the right decision was taken to get back to a Safe Haven ASAP. Your decision that it was better to leave/lose the anchor and warp rather than delay your return was 100% correct. No doubt any attempts to retrieve the anchor in those conditions would have been very dangerous indeed. Why don't you try phoning one of the Charter skippers and asking them to recover your gear, they are out there most of the winter and they know roughly where you were. A good [cash ] drink to them may be cheaper than a new set. Charlie

Kam There are a few things to help when you are getting into trouble As Paul says have your lifejacket on and have a light attached to it in case it gets dark. about 4.30 today. On my recent advanced powerboat course they were very keen on carrying a chemical light stick in your lifejacket. if you are in the water in the dark it can be activated then waived around. At this time of year a floatation suit is also a bonus, my new one has 80 newtons of bouyancy, is very bright and warm and has groin straps to keep it in the right place and a whistle to attract attention. Add a lifjacket to this and chances of survival are greatly improved. not only because of the bouyancy but also the thermal properties of the suit. Flares can come in waterproof containers, if you have to go over the side hanging on to one of these containers as bouyancy, and having flares to use could save your neck. Try to adopt a policy of making sure that your tell someone what time you will be back and what to do if you are not, the coastguard can be used for this one but please inform them when you get back. a helicopter looking for you in the solent when you are already safely ashore would not win to many friends. I usually just tell my wife, and keep her updated by mobile if I have been tempted to extend the trip due to good weather and a few fish. Lastly try and learn the effect that the various tides have on the area you intend to fish, and consider what effect the predicted wind strength and direction will make to the sea state in that area. a A millpond at slack water over an inshore reef or offshore sandbank will not stay that way on an ebbing [stronger run than the flood] Spring tide. If in doubt ask for advice before going to sea or stay in safer water/or ashore Have Fun and be Safe Charllie

Glad to hear that you are both OK, and sorry to read that another anchor got away. Running a fishing boat is always a learning curve, even after many years we are all continuosly picking up new skills. However the first thing to learn is that Safety of boat and crew is the number 1 priority. It is important to realise that the size of tide and the strength of the flow not only effects how hard it is to hold on to an anchor warp, but in areas such as the needles the swells and overfalls rapidly become very large and dangerous as the tide flow increases. especially if the wind direction is opposite to the tide direction. Lessons need to be learnt by us all from such incidents. While it is great to get out fishing please remember even the best fish in the world is not worth dying for. While paying customers may force the decision and persuade larger charter boats to steam around the needles today, a small boat should not have gone considering the size of the spring tide and the forecast. Far bigger Club boats were flounder fishing in Poole Harbour today because of the forecast. This topic has given the Club Committee a lot to discuss this summer, so I thought it right to express my views on the subject even though they sound hard. Best regards and Glad you are safe Charlie

Thanks Peter As you say I only usually use them for small stuff. If they were being used for wrecking booms I would tie the mainline to the top corner to prevent sliding. and a weaker line from the bottom corner to the weight as a "weak link" should the weight snag the rusty bit. However there are much better booms available for that purpose IMHO. I believe the Club bought a stock of them recently at a good price, Martin has them if anyone wants some. Charlie

Hi all, After reading the last post I thought the direct approach best and phoned Andy at the shop. He wonders how such rumours start and confirms that all the details are very much still as per the poster. Can I remind you that if you want to collect squid at

Not a chance Kam I may get permission for Christmas Eve, in fact I will earn brownie points if I keep the kids out of the way while Wendy is busy. and this year we have no guests on Boxing Day so we may sneak out then as well But Christmas Day and Wendy's birthday on the 27th are not fishing days in our family. I like my jacobs where they are thanks Charlie

Hi Duncan If I can help with some contacts give me a call /PM Nice whiting Can I ask how far you went for them have the bigger one now arrived at the Poole end? Sam is now starting to get worried, and his mate wants a trip at Christmas but I do not want to go to far . Charlie

I know that Humphries brother Barry got beaten into second place on a competition out of Poole when another angler started to use old squid sprayed with WD40. he caught several tope while no one else onboard caught anything. At least is shows that spraying your reels with it and getting it on your line will not put the fish off. I have never tried it myself. Charlie

Hi Kam Rig the french boom by tieing the trace to the small eye in the end. either tie a weight or a clip for the weight directly on to your reel line. select how far above the weight you want the boom them twist the reel line around the short straight part of the boom 3 times and tick behind the wire loop gently pulling tight. this lock the boom in place. very simple and easy to rig or change depths. Excuse the sketch, I need to practice this computerised drwing I hope that it helps Charlie

I am sure mosyt of us have tried sprats as bait at some time for Cod I for one have never had any luck with them. when the cod are stuffing them selves with live ones they do not seem to be interested in dead ones on the seabed. I may however try a few for the larger whiting if I can get out over Christmas Charlie

I recall Jack and the TV program well, it was about the only fishing one there was back then. and very rarely missed I am sure all the presenters of such programs have to "borrow" a few ideas Rich I have heard that some magazine articles have the author pictured with fish that were, shall we say "Caught in his absence". One of the best things about fishing is the continuous learning process. and this Forum has been a great tool for that for the last 12 months Nice one Charlie

Welcome Sean We seem to have a growing following in the Weymouth area, so step in and enjoy. The new boat looks a cracker and they had a very good write up in last months mag. We will look forward to seeing you on the water. Charlie

Hi all sound like you had a good day dow at Weymouth its nice to get some alternative fishing in. Throw in a couple of personal bests and it must go down as another good trip. Charlie

If anyone fishing the Cod Comp on the 30th needs more squid Andy is selling them at

A Friend of mine owns technical tubes at ferndown he may be able to help but I think they manufacture more than repair Charlie

Thanks all All is clear now I was about to place an order with veals perhaps I will add a few more swivels Charlie

Some times when coolers start to have perferated tubes, repairs are very difficult and expensive and the repair will only last until another hole appears elseware. Have you any idea why this problem has occured in a fairly low hour engine? Is it errosion from suspended sand or an engine overheat/freeze up, remember the water is less saline near your berth therefore freezes at a lower temp than straight salt water If you could establish that, then a decision between repair or replace may be easier to make/justify. Remember that constant breakdowns and tows will soon knock everyones confidence in the engine, and in your case will seriously dent the time available for fishing. I hope the remidy is swift and as painless as possible to your wallet Tight lines again soon Charlie

I Think maybe I am having one of those moments but the description left me in total doubt as to what this rig would look like. Where is the weight attached? and the trace? Can someone describe this better please [Peter?????] or can Bob do one of his sketches Charlie

Bloody Hell Adam You swapping work for fishing, I am in shock We went out yesterday, [i could not sit here all week looking out on a mirror calm harbour] But allas no Cod We will keep trying though Charlie

Hi Rich I was out that way yesterday on Ow Much with Humphrey Neal and Graham We had the same as you, but our whiting were a little smaller. To many pout about and a lot of dogs No Cod But a lovely day to be out Charlie

Hi Colin I thought that you had slipped out today. I went out with Humphrey today to make the most of the settled weather, we went with Neal his Son Charlie and Graham to the needles area. Allthough we had loads of fish nothing to special 1 Spotted Ray about 20 whiting up to about 21/2 lb and far to many dogs and pout. We were fishing the ebb where as on Sat we were over there for the flood, which may account for the change in fortune. The whiting were generally much smaller today, with the usual nuisance dogs and although the pout went to over 2lb there were far to many of them. Just as we were about to leave the flood started to run a bit and the general size of the fish was improving. We made sure that we did not run out of bait this time, but mostly pout and dogs is poor exchange for several large boxes of squid and about a dozen cuttle fish and a few mackeral. That said it was another lovely day to be afloat. Tight lines those out tomorrow, we have left the Cod out there for you. Charlie