Serious Fun

You may be wondering whatever happened to the RNLI film on sea safety for anglers that Arron and I helped with back in June. Well, the project was part of something much larger than just a safety video - it is a whole safety, information and of course fund-raising programme branded "Serious Fun" that will run for the next few years.

Apparently the RNLI revenue from legacies is declining, the value of their investments has been hit in the current financial crisis and quite rightly, they are making leisure users of the sea aware of their need for funds. The Serious Fun DVD will be launched at the Excel Boat Show in London (9-18 January) and covers all aspects of leisure boating with short films on each category of water sport including our sea angling film stars "Salar" and "Aquaholic". As soon as the DVD is made generally available I will put links on my web site. We wish them all the best with their campaign, and if you feel like subscribing, I recommend an annual membership by Direct Debit, it is quite painless and also very helpful.

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Short Cut Danger

This is really only for boat anglers that fish between the Nab Tower and Bembridge. The eastern approach channel to Portsmouth and the Solent is clearly marked running north and to the eastern side of the Tower. Many small boats fish the banks and other features either side of the channel keeping well clear of large ships passing, although we do see ferries avoiding the main channel and cutting close to Bembridge Ledge on occasion. However last Sunday's tide encouraged a small convoy of much larger ships to cut between the Nab and the Island, passing very close to many small boats anchored there. The sight of one of those huge car delivery ships approaching while you were happily fishing for cod in what you thought was a safe place, could be seriously worrying.

I hope it didn't spoil that little boat's day.

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December Bass

I was going to post a report on my fishing trip last Sunday but my single cod was dwarfed by a 33lb 10oz monster caught on another boat on the same day - have a look at my Catch Reports page for a very impressive photo!


It was a great day: calm sea, sunshine and plenty of fish. What more could you ask for - in December of all months? I had a strange experience coming back in when I ran into a huge flock of seabirds spread over about a quarter of a square mile of sea about four miles offshore. I would expect that in smaller doses in summer when they hang around over mackerel shoals, but what were they doing in December? I stopped the engine and drifted quietly. Soon I noticed spiky fins cutting the glassy smooth surface of the sea, and looking down I could clearly see groups of panicking sprats. Bass, traditionally a summer fish, had met sprats, traditionally winter fish, right there in Hayling bay and they must have thought it was Christmas. Bass were hunting in their hundreds - thousands even.


I flicked out a small sprat-like lure which was immediately jumped on by a schoolie but then another strange thing happened: as I reeled it in I saw it was being followed by about ten of its brothers, keen to get in on whatever action was going. I popped him back and flicked out again, this time letting the lure sink further in the hope I might find larger fish and sure enough the next one was a plump two pounder. I changed up to a larger surface popper and spent the next half hour catching bass after bass as they lunged for my plug in great splashy takes. I could even see the fins homing in on the lure as they cut through the surface film. Tremendous fun and a great end to one of the best days fishing I have had this year. It is also encouraging to see so many small bass, let's hope they have a chance to grow bigger.

Cod Poll Results

The Cod Poll on the Boat Angling web site has built a nice little picture of our local cod catches this season so far, and the statistics are very pleasing. The majority of returns show more cod this year than previous years, some reporting smaller sizes, others similar sizes. This picture is backed up by reports from our neighbours fishing the Needles to Poole marks, and the sample of reports on web sites all indicate reasonably good catches but few of the sizes that were once common. In a few more years maybe the 6 to 8 pounders swimming around now will have filled out a bit. Thank you to those that have helped with the poll.

Guys from the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network have contacted me to spread the word on their work to increase the (voluntary) size limits for fish taken for the pot, which seems a good idea. This is to align the limits to the maturity of the fish so they have a better chance of growing big enough to breed: the recommended minimum size for cod is 50cm. More details will be posted on the Boat Angling web site soon.