plaicemat

Glad you enjoyed Florida, Gordon. There is plenty of ad hoc fishing to be had, as you have found out and with a bit of research and local knowledge, the boat fishing can be great and not necessarily too expensive. I think I'll probably be down there November time when the deer hunting season starts. Hunting early morning, fishing later in the day. Great. Terry B.

Rich, regarding next week, I'll have to get back to you as the weekly schedule is not yet finalised. Terry B.

Cool! Now where did I put Grandpa's old tuna gear? Terry B.

Unfortunately, not the repeat red letter day that I was hoping for. My plan was to get back on the bream before they did their breeding thing and cleared off. Too late! The beggars have either already gone or were not playing in the neap tides. It wan't a question of slow, we didn't have a single one at Dancing Ledge The other species caught were, of course, welcome, but I do like a plan to come together. Added to all this, the engine seemed to be playing up. When I tried to start it, turning the switch produced absolutely nothing. Kept trying and eventually it fired up. This is a little disconcerting to say the least; who wants to be round at Dancing Ledge, with no-one else in sight, and an engine that will not start. Fortunately, each time it started after a few attempts and we got back o/k. I anticipated an expensive electrical bill (not my forte) trying to find a dry joint or loose connection. Hoorah! I must have caught the kill cord at some stage and virtually switched it off and having replaced it, all is well. I'm surprised it started at all under the circumstances, but I'm grateful it did. Unless someone can put me straight, I think that must be the end of the concentrated bream action and I must find a new target. Now, who's going to come out and teach me how to catch bass consistenly rather than the odd lucky one? Terry B.

What a great day! Good company (and bringing lunch), Good weather (what's that?) comfortable sea and a seemingly continuous supply of bream. Broke my PB at least twice and my new technique seems to work well and I even managed to catch more than The Harvester (you know who I mean) . Unfortunately, I'll miss the 48hr comp (collect wife from Heathrow Saturday and her birthday on Sunday) but hope to make another trip after the bream before they thin out. Now, who's free next week? Terry B.

Keep the envious remarks down, I don't want Dilys spotting them. I've convinced her it's normal to take a year off!

Thanx a lot, mate, your a star. I've been building and repairing rods for about 45 years and never had a problem sourcing rings before. My local stockists say they only go down to 2.5mm, which I find hard to believe. I don't like compromising on the end ring as it is the first in line from the fish and takes all the strain. I am therefore very grateful that I don't have to compromise. I have to say that I've never used my hot glue gun for this before. Just goes to show that we never stop learning. By the way, I see you're in Weymouth. Do you have any connection with Weymouth Angling Centre? Terry B.

Probably just a typo, Tom, but it is Terry Bartell (without the 'w'). Most dates are fine with me at the moment as I'm on an extended sabattical. Terry B.

I'm up for it if you can make my Warrior look good. Nice idea, thanx for the offer. Terry B.

O/k everyone, thanx for all that good advice. I have to admit, I hadn't thought about hot glue and I have a gun in the garage. I've managed to get a 2.5mm ring and will fit it by that method. Terry B.

Only trouble with packing out and epoxy is that it tends to be rather permnent, i.e., if I need to do it again, I can't remove it with the same ease, if at all, as I could with superglue. That's why I'm trying for the correct size before I resort to bodges. But thanx for the input. Terry B.

Nice thought, Mark, but they only go down to 3mm tube size. These Solid C rods are so damned thin!

Help! I'm having great trouble getting a new tip ring for my Fladen Solid C 10-20lb rod, which has shed it's liner. The size appears to be the problem, it being so small. It is a 7mm ring with a 2mm tube; I'm not too worried about the ring size being exact but, obviously, the tube size is fairly critical. I've tried my 3 local shops and no one can come up with the goods. I can get a 2.5mm tube but this would have to be araldited in as opposed to superglue and the problem would come if I wanted to repeat the operation. Anyone got any suggestions or contacts in the rod building business. I've even tried Fladen but haven't had the courtesy of a reply. Terry B.

How the devil are you going to get Phaeton into a campsite in the New Forest? Wouldn't a caravan be more appropriate? Terry B.

Hell of a way to go from Barbados to Plymouth for a day's fishing, no matter how good. Terry B.

I bought a load of pop-ups recently on ebay for peanuts. Excellent for bassing in the harbour to escape the pesky bait pinchers. Terry B.

I'll bet that was rough coming round by Old Harry wasn't it, Dave?

Mike, gurnard are a delicious fish, much favoured by our continental cousins. In some areas, they are known as the chicken of the sea. Unfortunate thing is, as Fred says, you don't get a lot per fish. Bloody great head and mouth tapering off rapidly to the tail. In the Med they even eat the smaller ones and serve them whole. Terry B.

Have a great time, Gordon and give my regards to Fla. I've been going there for the last 45 years since my sister moved there. Great place for a holiday, fishing and hunting, wouldn't want to live there, though. Terry B.

Right, operation brownie points! Where did I hide those paint brushes? Terry B.

Abject apologies all round. I wasn't being tetchy, just a little frustrated at having YET ANOTHER eagerly anticipated trip snatched away at the last minute. Surely to God things have got to improve!. I don't even mind getting a little damp occassionally for the benefit of the drought. Global warming seems to just mean wind, and lots of it. I've got a week fishing in Denmark with my Danish friends in July; I hope things calm down for that as I'm travelling over on the bike. Terry B.

Don't be pedantic!. With Met Check giving 3MPH, I was only saying that there appears to be little consistency when the going gets tough. Whatever, it looks cr@p and a good time for catching up on admin. Or perhaps I'm just getting older and softer. Terry B.

Right, move over, Terry's coming through!. No longer a humble cod man, I'm now a Shark Chaser. Funny thing, though, all the time I was a Cod Catcher, I didn't. Will I be more successful with my new found status? Watch this space. Terry B.

Accuweather is giving 35kph. That's what I like - consistency. Perm any one from four, divide by a bucket of sea water and it will still be wrong. I feel a lazy day coming on! Terry B.

Obviously as a cosy for the fishfinder. Terry B.