plaicemat

A cocktail of banana skin and Mars bar wrapper? Terry.

Too kind, Paul. Terry.

Well done on finding the whiting, Alun. I'll set my gear up and be ready for the weather window, when it arrives. Terry.

All good wishes gratefully received, belated or not. Terry.

Is sycamore any good? I have managed to source oak dust and shavings from the local sawmill who have one workshop just making oak rustic furniture. I really must finish getting set up. Terry.

Thanks very much for all your good wishes, chaps, they're very much appreciated. I had a very exciting day clearing the leaves from the sycamore trees surrounding the garden. Hopefully this will be the last time as I'm installing a log burning stove and I'm going to cut the bl@@dy things down and turn them into logs. Terry.

When you see how it works, you will realise this is not a problem. One demonstration will be worth a thousand words. Terry.

Without trying to be smart, I don't think anyone mentioned together that the chain should be shackled at the bottom of the anchor (PJ) and then attached at the top with cable ties (Rob mentioned the ties, as did codless, but not where) to enable it to trip when pulled backwards or up. Terry.

Thank you for that, PJ, I will get my order in without delay. Trim tabs, hmm. I have had them on Stingray for 3 years now and due to a completely avoidable situation damaged one of them recently. When I took Tom out about a week ago I had removed them for repair and am now pretty convinced that the benefits derived from them are marginal at best. It may, of course, just be the setup of my boat but I really believe that the ride was actually better without them. Which is all very galling as I have previously been quite an advocate of the benefits. Oh well, such is life; now I have to decide whether or not to refit them. Terry.

My second pennant has just split assunder across the middle. I don't think they like the long road journey with the added wind factor. What about some plastic stick-on logo's (the sort that don't require glue) which could be put on a window or other flat surface? Terry.

That is salmon fishing from a boat on big rivers like the Spey where one is trying to cover the water. With stalking on a river or lake, I would agree that it is rare to use a lot of line. However, with chuck it and chance it styles of fishing which, from a boat, bass fishing is essentially, unless there is evidence of bait fish, the more water covered per drift, the greater the chance of a take. IMHO. Of course, it is more than possible I don't have your expertise, in which case I can only say this is what works for me. Terry.

I'm afraid I can't agree with the 'no extra distance'. It is very difficult to double haul effectively whilst sitting down. It's different with a double handed salmon rod because one uses the boat to get in position but for covering the ground on the drift, standing up wins in the right conditions. Terry.

Nobody's sending you anything? Terry.

Jim, you can add Stingray to your list. Terry.

Thanks for your company, Tom, I enjoyed the day immensley; well, the morning anyway. Do you know, he even had the bl@@dy cheek at one stage to say, "wouldn't it be nice if one or all the rods bent over now" before hauling in another bass. Oh well, he did have the decency to give me one of them! You're welcome back on board anytime you like, Tom and, by the way, I owe you a fiver. I'm not sure what happened in the car park (long day for me) but I ended up with more than I deserved. I think that's possibly my lot until the whiting and cod come in so, roll on the arrival of the chinese fish, Mr. Y Ting. Terry. p.s. Thanks to Alun for my 'secret' trigger mark.

...............................mackerel. Hah! You thought I was going to say haddock. No, come on, be honest. We did try but they'd all gone to Iceland. I hope it's better tomorrow or Tom's going to be really pi@@ed off! Thanks again Alun, Have a good supper party. I know what's on the menu! Terry.

I went out with Alun today and we enjoyed beautiful but chilly weather and calm seas. What more could you want? A mixed bag of fish with trigger (singular) bream (singular but a nice bonus about 2 pounds) bass (singular) and also lots of.........................................

See, I said I could remember them being here years ago. I hope any I catch tomorrow or Saturday will be a little fresher and more toothsome. Terry.

Of course, you have to ask yourself is this an elaborate wind up? Far more believable than tarpon. Terry.

I found them, take your place in the queue. Terry.

Hah! You'll be laughing on the other side of you face when I'm the new Haddock King. But I'll still speak to you. Terry.

Craig, until the club record is mine, all mine, the numbers stay locked in my vault. However, if you make your way around to the ledge, you'll find me there with, I suspect several others on the same quest. Terry.

Saturday Tom? Terry.

Due to a broken mudguard mount on the trailer, postponed until Saturday. Bit of welding to do first. Anyone else out to play? Terry.

Right! I wasn't coming down again until the whiting were in but the gauntlet seems to have been thrown down. All being well, I shall try again on Friday (weather permitting) and shall persevere until I catch another haddock. So there! Terry.