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.

Fishing and Reading

At last, a weekend that was just about fishable. Salar has been back in the water waiting patiently for a sea trial, so I combined the two and headed for a sheltered corner of the Solent for an hour or two. You don't have to go too far offshore for cod at the moment, there has been a string of reports coming into my boat angling in-box from anglers reporting cod catches about a mile from the shore along the eastern side of the Solent. The cod didn't oblige for me this time though, but I had plenty of whiting and they are just as tasty if a bit more fiddly to prepare. A tip from the cod-catchers: don't go all traditional with huge baits - try small ones alongside, you may be surprised which one old bucket-mouth goes for.

It was my birthday recently, and with all that windy weather I had used up my store of reading matter, so I spent my birthday tokens on a few books. If you are wondering what to put on the Christmas pressie list, here are a few I can recommend. If you have been fishing for 40 plus years like me, you may remember Mr. Crabtree Goes Fishing - and if you lost the copy I'm sure you once had, you can buy a reprint. All coarse fishing, but it brings back happy memories. Another find is 1001 Top Angling Tips by John Wilson. About a third is devoted to sea fishing but there are plenty of useful ideas in the coarse section too. Finally, Chris Yates goes back to sea fishing with Out of the Blue: On Fishing at Sea . This is more of a read than a reference book, but it's a nice one to lose yourself in as you nestle in your favourite comfy armchair while the wind howls outside.

PS If you like Peter Gander's drawing above, you can get it on a t-shirt or mug from FishPrint.

Boat Angling Web Site Survey

As if to prove a point from my previous blog - that if anglers aren't fishing they are probably thinking about fishing - the recent spate of windy weekends has resulted in a lot more activity on fishing forums and web sites, including my own http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/. Although it is not a commercial site (apart from my t-shirts and mugs!) I want to keep it useful for local anglers, and judging from the high visitor statistics I must be doing something right. Things can always be improved, so I have introduced a short survey on the home page using Polldaddy to find out what people want (great name, no wonder the young guys that set it up sold it recently for £millions).

When it has run its course I'll publish the results but already the first flurry of responses has been very interesting. For example, I never realised another local site has introduced subscription charges for those that don't send in catch reports! Rest assured, http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ will always be free. We have also had opposing views on a forum. Although the idea of a contact exchange forum is a great idea, there are already a lot of sea angling discussion forums available and they take a lot of volunteer work to keep any troublemakers under control. A club meet maybe? Fishing buddy exchange? Summer beach bash after a fish-in? Charter boat reports? All great ideas - please keep them coming in, 2009 could have a lot more action!

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PS Do you think that if I changed the name to Fishingdaddy I could sell it for £millions too?

Why do we do it?

This bad weather is dangerous because when you can't go fishing you start thinking, and we all know thinking leads to trouble. I was reading a forum post recently about charter skippers having to limit the amount of clobber anglers bring with them on board, and I started pondering why we need to buy so much fishing stuff. The only bit of tackle that really matters is the last few inches of line, the hook and the bait. If that is the right sort in the right place at the right time, you'll catch something even if the rest of it is attached to string.

So why do we spend so much on different rods, reels, lines, weights (OK, pass on that one, we keep loosing them!) and every new-fangled thingmy that is a must-have? I have a theory, well two actually. The second theory is that we like to extend our fishing pleasure far beyond the act of dangling line in water, and we do that by browsing shops, magazine averts, mail order catalogues and the Web. We fish for tackle and when we start unwrapping our purchase we get the same little rush of excitement as landing a fish. That is all pretty obvious, and no different from any other sport surrounded by clever merchandising. My first theory is more significant and it is to do with attitude, and attitude creates (or is derived from) confidence. Sorry if this is getting deep, I did warn you. So this is how.

If you have lashed out a wad of money on the best tackle and bait money can buy, you know that it is down to you and the fish. So nothing distracts you, you concentrate, you persevere, you guessed it, you catch fish. On the other hand, with a hook that might be too shiny, a line that you think might be too thick and spook the fish, or with a rod that is just a bit too long/short, you mentally almost give up before you start. You don't believe you will catch, you inwardly blame the gear, you flip about from one mark to the next and go home early, fishless. Your attitude translates into behaviour, and it is that behaviour that catches (or doesn't catch) fish.

If you can buy confidence in the form of £100-worth of black carbon with rings on, sure why not. But if you saved yourself the money and instead convinced yourself that your bait was well presented and in the right place, (and assuming it was) I bet you'd catch something good. Even with a crummy rod.

End of the Red Era

If you use petrol in your boat you won't care about this, but us smug diesel-buyers have finally come to the end of our run of luck. Instead of paying 9.69p a litre to the tax man, we'll have to pay a whacking 40.66p from 1st November. Most boat owners are queueing at the pump to squeeze every last drop of red diesel into their tanks before the end of October. There are a couple of odd anomolies though - red will still be sold and used but you will have to declare (usually by signing a form at the pump) that you have paid duty on it if you are using it to fuel the propulsion of a pleasure craft. This is because the same pump is used to fill the next boat which could be a commercial craft and not liable for the new rate of tax. If you have a heater on board powered by diesel (and most boats use the same fuel tank as the engine fuel), you don't have to pay the new duty on the fuel used for heating. The powers that be have decided that heating fuel can be up to 40% of the total fuel used by a pleasure craft, but that claim will have to stand investigation should they decide to have a close look.

You may think this is all daft and the rules have so many holes in you could use it to trawl for sandeels. Who am I to say? All I can suggest is that you are very honest about the tiny amount of diesel used in the heater alongside the massive turbo-diesel engine you have in the back, and that the idea of sneaking a few cans of low tax diesel into your tank at dead of night where it can't be identified among the same red diesel which you have paid tax on, absolutely never occurred to you. If you want the full HMR&C pitch on it, have a read of Brief No 4098.

Mixed Bag

I thought Summer was over but suddenly it is calm, blue skies and 23deg C. Despite that, the cod have arrived in exceptionally good numbers, with loads of reports of double figure numbers in the boat. What a change from the last few years where a catch of one or two was more common. Many of the fish are in the 6-8lb bracket like Wayne's on the left, but Arron had a 20 pounder which he made a point of phoning me about while I was under Salar painting on antifouling!

Before I forget, I came across a good tip for unhooking mackerel when spinning. As with feathering, you'll be in a hurry to get the lure back in the water but a thrashing fish and treble hooks doesn't make that easy. You can grip the fish by putting it tail-first into a cool box and gripping the head by holding the lid down on it. This makes it very steady for unhooking and when you are done it just drops back into the cooler. No mess either.

Finally, there is a new section on http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ for Fishing Boats For sale. You get a full page, photos and all, and there is no charge although a donation to the RNLI would be nice. There is a tidy Orkney on there at the moment. If you have a boat for sale, just email me for details via the site .

Rescue

Salar is now out of the water for the annual antifouling, so no fishing stories today. Here's one that I saved from the Summer, sorry I mean July, that was both a mistake and a lesson. I always think it is very handy to learn from other's mistakes, it saves the pain of having to make them yourself. Here's what I learned, maybe it will help others.

Anyone familiar with Langstone Harbour entrance will know that the area from the Ferry Boat pub to about 200 yards out to sea is where the jet-skis play, and they usually go out, make a noise for a while then go back to the pub. I was coming in from a fishing trip and I found one with two passengers on and a donut bobbing about with a third person in it. They had managed to get the tow line sucked into the jet drive. How? Beats me, these things are supposed to be idiot proof. Perhaps not all idiots are equal, as you will see.

Anyway, they needed a tow so I hooked a line through the tow-hole and pulled them in to the Hayling slip. Here is the mistake. I assumed these fellows had at least one grey cell between them but I should have told them exactly what to do and what not to do. I was towing, I was supposed to be in control. They asked me to get them as close to the slip as possible (they had no engine remember) so I nosed in carefully, then ran back to the stern to slip the rope and reverse out allowing them to drift in to the shore. Suddenly it was an "Oh S..." moment, those three muppets had jumped into the water and were happily splashing about...right by a contra-rotating prop driven by 164 galloping horses. What to do? I couldn't go back without making a large quantity of people-burgers, and forwards was into a hard thing, the slipway. With a lot of shouting and some very delicate maneuvering I managed to get clear of them, the rapidly shallowing bottom and the concrete slipway by mere inches.

Lesson - even if you are the good guy and helping people, things don't always go right by themselves. Make sure everyone knows what to do even if it is blindingly obvious. If it goes wrong it is still your fault. And what happened to the three jet-skiers? They were last seen heading into the pub.

Trigger Happy and Trigger Happy

There I was on Sunday, quietly drifting down on a flock of feeding birds, spinning for mackerel with maybe a chance of a bass if I'm quiet. Then this boatload of anglers roars up, without a glance in my direction, right between me and where I was spinning. My response was reasonably restrained in the circumstances - "Hey, do you mind??" Now if that had been a yottie, he would have said "Gosh I say, terribly sorry old chap, didn't realise...etc". But they weren't yotties, they were anglers of a less genteel nature and all I got back was "well we're all after mackerel aint we?" There is a point beyond which is is unwise to push Salar. I gave him at least three lungfulls (I can remember drawing breath twice) of the language reserved this this special sort of occasion.


On to happier matters, I was delighted to catch my first trigger fish today, of good eating size so he's now in the fridge. They are the weirdest creatures: thick skin like a wrasse, a stomach that goes up into the body instead of along like other fish, a gill opening more like an ear-hole and teeth like one of the more undesirable monsters on my son's computer games. I have it on good authority they are very tasty. I will let you know.

The Fishing Priest

Here’s a fishing joke I came across recently.

Father Michael was an avid fisherman, and whenever he was not fulfilling his priestly duties he would be out on the lough. One summer (2008) there had been weeks of stormy weather and he hadn’t been able to go fishing at all. He was desperate. One morning, the day dawned calm and mild: he could go. But - it was Sunday! He was supposed to be taking Mass in the church. “I know”, he thought. “I’ll pretend I have the ‘flu and Father O’Leary can take Mass for me. I’ll drive 50 miles to a river where I am not known, and have my day’s fishing.”

So that is what he did. However, he could not hide from God. One of the angels spotted him, and immediately snitched on him to God. God peered through the clouds and frowned.

“Are you going to punish him?” asked the angel. God nodded. The angel watched, expecting Father Michael to step in a wasp’s nest or fall in the river. Suddenly, Father Michael struck into a huge fish, and after a lengthy struggle the fish was on the bank. It was a huge salmon, almost certainly a record.

“But...I thought you were going to punish him?” asked the angel.

“I did,” said God. “Now who can he tell?”

Charley-Merde-Tete the dog

What do you do when you can’t fish because the weather is awful again, and you have fixed everything that needs fixing on your boat? You could flick through your books and see if there is a fishing one that has missed being read (this often happens to me as I get a pile of books each birthday and Christmas). Last week, I discovered a gem – why had I not found this one before? Too many “readable” books about fishing are written for the US market, or for fly fishermen, or for nostalgic, sentimental dreamers. “The Incomplete Angler” by Robin Shelton is a refreshing change from all that: a book written by a chap over here about good honest British sea angling with only a bit of trout fishing sneaking in at the end. It even starts with an account of fly fishing for bass from a kayak – how contemporary is that for goodness sake?
Written by a guy who thinks like we should be thinking but writes it down a lot better than most, this book will have you laughing, pondering, reminiscing and vowing to go fishing again. Robin explains fishing geeks and fishing porn, which will have a lot of us blushing under our wind-burn. He re-discovers pier, rock, beach, boat and fly fishing (including the contagious fly-tying obsession – don’t go there) and tells it in a way that will have experienced anglers nodding sagely and non-anglers following every word. Quite a talent. He is well within the scope of www-boat-angling.co.uk as he lives near Winchester and shops at Rovers in Fareham, although his fishing trips range from Scotland to Cornwall. Robin also knows exactly how and when to take the gentle micky: ‘aampsheer versus Hampshah; a certain Total fishing magazine; vegetarianism, fellow anglers and sleepy seaside establishments all come under his scrutiny. Anyone who elegantly refers to his dog as Charley-merde-tete can’t be at all bad. He can cook too.

Bass as a by-catch?

Chats with our local "characters" around the marina provide some interesting stories which can evolve into new ideas. Apparently, a Chinese man was fishing rather unconventionally nearby (and I won't incriminate him by saying where), using a shad. Now everybody knows that shads are used for "hopping" on rough ground or wrecks well offshore, and that's the way it is. This chap didn't know that and used a shad as a normal lure (just as they use shads elsewhere in the world actually) - and caught two very nice bass. My informant tagged a shad onto the bottom of his mackerel trace and guess what he started catching too. So when I went out on Saturday and was kept inshore by the wind, I tied a 4 inch curly tail shad on a short trace below the weight of my mackerel trace. I found that if I made the movements of the feathers more gentle than usual the shad did not tangle and in fact swam pretty well. And, yes I did. Not as big as the fellow below caught recently, but nice to catch all the same.

Catching big fish is boring

The people I know who regularly catch big fish do so because they target them, not because they are lucky. Therein lies the problem. If you target big fish, and as we all know they don't happen along very often, what do you do when they are not happening along? That could get boring. So I confess, I don't target big fish, but I would like to catch a big fish now and then (and in the meantime catch a lot of medium-sized fish). You might be surprised just what is lurking under your boat while you are hauling up dogfish, even if you are fairly close to shore. I have the luxury of fishing one or at most two people in my boat so I regularly put out several rods. One targets small and edible species like bream and gurnard; another for bass and ray, and one put out more in hope than expectation with a wire trace, 5/0 hook and half a mackerel for bait.

Often the big bait does nothing all day except pull in a stream of dogfish, but a good many times it comes up trumps. This Friday was just such an example. No more than a mile from shore, I settled down with the usual mix and caught the usual August haul of not very much. Then suddenly I noticed the butt of my big rod where the top should be - it was bent right over with line screaming out right under the boat. Forgot to adjust the drag! I just saved the situation by spinning the drag wheel back and got the rod out of the holder. The fish was heading east and wasn't coming back. After a while I gained a bit of line, then the fish changed it's mind and went deep again. This time the hook gave up the struggle and straightened. Despite the disappointment of losing a tremendous fish, I felt elated. It proved there were good fish close inshore and catchable - with the right tackle and tactics. The lesson for me was - don't get complacent. That big fish may come and when it does, be ready with the drag set, rod secure and with tackle that can handle the fight that will follow.

PS One week to go before the August Quiz deadline with all still to play for - no entries received yet with 100% correct answers! Have a go....(or even two)

Win a FishPrint t-shirt in the Boat-Angling Quiz!

Let's face it, August is not a great month for fishing, and catch reports so far have confirmed it. On top of that, the weather has been, shall we say politely, unsuitable. To cheer us all up we have devised a quiz on http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ with a prize for the winner of a t-shirt from the Shop. No strings, free to enter, just fun, how easy is that? Not so easy when you see the quiz! Actually, with a few minutes and Google it should be no problem. Click here and have a go!

More on Cowes Week....

The firework display is on Friday 8th August, not Saturday as in my previous post. QHM are sufficiently worried about idiots to issue this Notice:

COWES FIREWORK DISPLAY FRIDAY 8th AUGUST 2008 TEMPORARY 15 KT SPEED LIMIT

• NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN jointly by the Queens Harbour Master Portsmouth and the Harbour Master Southampton that a speed limit of 15 knots will be temporarily introduced in the Solent and Southampton Water to ensure safety of navigation for the COWES Firework Display on Friday 8th August 2008.
• The 15 Knot speed limit will be in force between 2130 and 2300 on Friday 8th August 2008.
• Mariners are advised that this measure has been introduced to reduce the risk of collision between the many hundreds of small craft which gather to view the fireworks display. In previous years collisions have occurred, particularly after the event which has resulted in serious personal injury to passengers and crew of small craft.
• Mariners are reminded of the importance of displaying the correct navigation lights, maintaining a good lookout at all times in all directions and, proceeding at a speed consistent with safe navigation, particularly at the conclusion of the display as spectator craft get underway and return to their home ports.
• Cancel this Local Notice To Mariners Sat 9th Aug 2008 (5 days)

Cowes Week already...

Skandia Cowes Week (I was wondering what they were doing with my pensions money) runs from Saturday to Saturday 2nd to 9th August, so it will potentially affect two weekends in the Solent. There are full details on their official web site http://www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk/. There will be a lot of racing, and mixing racing yachts and anchored angling boats is likely to end in tears sooner or later as racing yacht crews are highly competitive and may not see a small angling boat anyway. Best to keep well away from the action, which would be made easier if the organisers published courses in advance but instead they make it up on the day based on weather and tide. If you do plan to fish near the racing, please make sure you are not on a course line or anywhere near a buoy they turn around, and remember to rig your black anchor ball signal.

If in doubt keep away or at least keep a good look-out and be prepared to move. Whatever the rights and wrongs of being hit by a racing yacht, it it better not to be and if there is a chance you can avoid it then it would be sensible to be cautious. There is also a strong possibility of skippers of large spectator boats not being their normal alert selves after a few glasses, so it is not just the racing yachts to watch out for!

If that all sounds a bit nanny-like and gloomy, sorry! To end on a cheerful note, in previous years there have been spectacular fireworks on the last night so if you are fishing on the evening of 9th August anywhere in the northern end of the Solent you may see a great show.

Bassing

I had the good fortune to learn about drift fishing for bass from the apprentice to a long time bass angler recently. And even more good fortune to put that learning into practice and bag some bass! Some of the tips were contradictory to other advice, but they worked. Here's what I learned.

This is about drifting offshore banks such as The Overfalls with live sandeel as bait. You can find suitable banks easily enough, just go to The Overfalls (marked on the charts), and look at your fish-finder! Bait has to be live sandeel, everything else is a poor substitute although I have heard of good catches on shads and sandeel-like feathers.

Rods can be anything, but a light rod is more fun. A 10 foot carp rod would be ideal. Fixed spool reels allow fast drops and retrieves. Line has to be mono, not braid - about 15lb BS max. "That's wrong" I hear you say. Nope. We tried it back to back ,and mono out-fished braid 16 fish to zero. I suspect that braid makes the weight bang on the bottom, mono has more stretch and the weight may bounce more naturally.

Weight no more than two ounces, and let it drift waaay back from the boat, trundling along the bottom. Trace length is about a rod-length for convenience. Hook is a fine uptide pattern, 2/0 was recommended but after I lost a number of fish I upped to 4/0 and hung on to all fish after that.

Sandeels are hooked by passing the hook through the mouth and out through the gills, and just nicking the belly with the bend of the hook. If you still have a bait left at the end of a drift, put it in a bucket of water while you motor back for the next drift. It speeds up fishing if you have a pattern, one person manages the boat while the other checks and sets up both baits for the next drift.

Takes will be obvious, and there is no need to strike: the rod will heel over as if you have snagged but the snag will be moving. Just tighten up and the fish will be on. The take zone can be before, over or after the bank so make your drifts long enough to cover all possibilities. Bass shoals move around so if you have a few drifts without takes, try a different track or a different bank. A chart plotter track is invaluable, you can position exactly to cover a successful drift or try an area a few yards to the side.

Any area of sandy banks can hold bass at the moment. Big tides are much better, the commercial line fishermen don't bother getting out of bed for Neaps. That is all I can tell you. The other 98% is experience....

Navy Activities Portsmouth 24-27 July

This could be worth going to -or if you are planning to fish in or near Portsmouth Harbour entrance you need to be aware of the QHM Nav Warning just issued:

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen's Harbour Master Portsmouth that between 24 and 27 July 2008 due to the “Meet Your Navy” event (Navy Days) there will be the following Portsmouth Harbour Channel closures and adjustments to the Small Boat Channel Rules. These measures are necessary to ensure safety during the various air and on-water displays, which are planned to take place in the Harbour between South Railway Jetty and No 3 Buoy and in order to maintain security during the event. As far as possible, these displays have been arranged so as not to conflict with commercial movements within the Harbour.


2. Table of programmed closures:Date Time Closed Area Display/Activity24 Jul 08 1700-1725 Portsmouth Harbour area as RM Dynamic Display 1745-1810 outlined in para 3 (Rehearsal) 25-27 Jul 08 1300-1330 Portsmouth Harbour area as RN SAR Display Outlined in para 325-27 Jul 08 1405-1435 Portsmouth Harbour south of RN Historic Flight Display50° 50’ N and Main Approach Channel 25-27 Jul 08 1505-1525 Portsmouth Harbour area as CG SAR Display outlined in para 325-27 Jul 08 1610-1640 Portsmouth Harbour area as RM Dynamic Display outlined in para 325 Jul 08 1700-1730 Portsmouth Harbour south of Red Arrows Air Display50° 50’ N and Main Approach Channel These timings, which are subject to modification will appear on the Daily Harbour Movements Signal and be announced on the day by QHM Harbour Control on VHF Channel 11.


3. During the Red Arrows and RN Historic Flight Displays the entire Harbour and Main Channel south of 50° 50’ N will be closed and is to be clear of all traffic. During the other Displays a Temporary Exclusion Zone will be set up between the following points: the southern corner of North West Wall Jetty, to Pile 101, to Pile 98, to Pile 95, to Shell Pier, to the southern end of Oil Fuel Jetty to the southern end of South Railway Jetty. During Harbour closures and when this Temporary Exclusion Zone is in operation the Harbour will be patrolled by Ministry of Defence Police Launches and RIBs and vessels of the Volunteer Harbour Patrol.


4. As part of the safety requirement for the Red Arrows and RN Historic Flight Displays, the following Navigation Marks will be temporarily enhanced by the use of large yacht racing buoys: Ballast Pile, No 3 Buoy and Pile 96.


5. Outwith the closed periods outlined in paragraphs 2 and 3, vessels under 20 metres in length are to comply with the normal small craft rules as outlined in LNTM 42/05 and 28/07 adjusted as follows:a. For the duration of the “Meet Your Navy” Event, the Small Boat Channel will be extended northwards to the vicinity of No 3 Mooring Buoy. b. Notwithstanding the 50 metre exclusion zone outlined in LNTM 28/07, all craft are to use the extended Small Boat Channel when transiting the Harbour and are not to approach Warships alongside to avoid unnecessary security concerns.


6. Vessels should only cross the Harbour with direct permission of QHM Harbour Control and should only request this clearance if they have a confirmed booking at Gunwharf Quays or the Town Camber.


7. The routine Tour Boats will be allowed to continue but their operation will be affected by the Channel and Harbour Closures outlined above.


8. Further details of the “Meet Your Navy” event can be found at the website: http://www.meetyournavy.co.uk/


9. Cancel this Local Notice To Mariners Mon 28th Jul 2008 (12 days)

Seeing ships on your chart plotter

I have been watching ships in the Solent area on web pages just for fun while I was at home, without realising that the same AIS (Automatic Identification System) technology can plot those ships on your own chart plotter on your boat. How handy is that? Better yet, it costs under £150 for the parts, and gives more shipping information than radar costing more than ten times as much.

I recently fitted a NASA AIS engine to pass AIS signals to my Garmin chart plotter - more information and a "how to" guide is on my Boat Angling web site . I reckon it is a huge, and relatively low cost, addition to safety at sea. Most of us worry about being run down by large commercial craft who don't see us at anchor, or if we break down in a shipping lane. With detailed information on the vessels name, heading, speed and MMSI number displayed on the plotter, you know exactly how close it will pass, and if you are concerned you can dial in the MMSI number on your DSC VHF radio and a talk directly to their bridge. The chart plotter and AIS engine will not drain the battery like a radar will, so you can afford to leave it on, which has another benefit. You can set a safety zone around your own boat, and an alert will sound if the plotter detects that a ship is encroaching on that space. Handy if the fishing is good and you haven't had a look around for a while!

As an example, this photo is a screen shot of the very first alert that sounded when I connected the system up. The dredger Donald Redford is heading out of Langstone at 7.5 knots, and has entered the 0.2 mile radius "warning Zone" that is centered on Salar which is sitting in Southsea marina. Hardly a danger, but it proves a point. I didn't even know it was there.

Film Stars

The RNLI invest a lot of time and money trying to reduce the number of distress call-outs by working to improve safety and knowledge of everyone who goes on (or even by) the sea. Recently they analysed the call-outs to leisure craft and discovered no less than 11 different categories of marine sports that have resulted in distress calls. To try and improve safety awareness, the RNLI are making a series of short educational films, one for each of these different sports. It will be no surprise that one of them is sea angling.

I was contacted by Simon Jollands of The Knowledge Zone, a film company based in Cowes that have been commissioned by the RNLI to make these films. They needed help producing footage of real anglers, real angling boats and real fishing situations. Of course I was delighted to help, not just because it was supporting our favourite charity, it was also an excuse for a fun and different day afloat. I asked Arron to help out with Aquaholic, and last Tuesday Simon arrived at the marina in a huge and impressive RIB with his cameraman Steve Sleight, and Richard Devereux from the RNLI.

We spent an hour or so alongside the pontoon going through the script and filming sequences like engine checks, safety equipment (oops, my flares are out of date - best check yours too!) and radio procedure. Then we went out into Langstone Harbour for some simulated fishing and some moving-boat shots. Richard came along with me to play the part of a keen angler (although he wasn't).

I thought feathering for mackerel would be an easy start, but I didn't realise how easy it would be. I gave Richard a rod rigged with feathers, showed him how to drop it over the side and then jig it up and down. On the second "jig" his rod came alive and he was straight in - that was all of 15 seconds. So why did it take me over an hour when I really needed bait last week? Richard could not be persuaded that fishing can actually be quite difficult, and proved his point by hooking (and losing) a reasonable-looking bass!

Simon and Steve put some good sequences of Salar and Aquaholic in the can, and we are looking forward to seeing ourselves in action. When the set of films are finished they will be distributed free by the RNLI, I hope to have a link to the relevant ones on http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ . The photo above shows (left to right) Simon, Steve and Richard after we had finished filming.

Now its the Round the Island Race!

No respite for us peaceful anglers! Last week it was the start of the Round Britain Powerboat Race, now on Saturday 28th June marks all around the Island will be unfishable because of the annual Round the Island race. You can find details of the RTI course here; and the following warning notice was issued by QHM Portsmouth today:

LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS

No 15/08

ROUND THE ISLAND YACHT RACE: 28 JUNE 2008

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen's Harbour Master Portsmouth in conjunction with Associated British Ports Southampton and the Cowes Harbour Master (Notice 10 T / 08) that the “Round the Island” (Isle of Wight) Race will start from Cowes between 0600 – 0740 Saturday 28 June 2008. Around 1700 yachts are expected to take part in this event.


2. The anti-clockwise course around the Isle of Wight will be from Cowes starting West-about around the Island and back to Cowes. Turning marks for the race are at the; Needles Lighthouse, Saint Catherine’s Point, Bembridge Ledge Buoy and No Mans Land Fort, all marks being left to Port.


3. Due to the number of competitors taking part the starting times have been staggered to take place at approximately 10 minute intervals between 0600 and 0740.


4. Starts will be from the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Westerly Transit Line, off Cowes, between the Squadron and the West Bramble Buoy.


5. The main bulk of the fleet of yachts is expected to pass the Bembridge Ledge Buoy between 1500 and 1800 whilst the peak finishing times at Cowes is more likely to be between 1600 and 2000, these times are nonetheless wind and weather dependant. Should the weather forecast indicate light airs the finish line may be adjusted to be within the vicinity of Bembridge Ledge. All yachts taking part will be equipped with VHF and will keep a listening watch on Channel 16 and 37A (M).


6. Cancel this Local Notice To Mariners Sun 29th Jun 2008 (6 days)

Round Britain Powerboat Race, Portsmouth

More information on the race itself is on http://www.roundbritainrace.co.uk/ . The following was issued by QHM Portsmouth for safety information regarding the relevant dates:

LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS
No 14/08
THE 2008 ROUND BRITAIN POWERBOAT RACE 21 - 30 JUNE 2008

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen's Harbour Master Portsmouth in conjunction with Associated British Ports Southampton (Notice 47 (T)/08) that the Round Britain Powerboat Race will start from Portsmouth on Saturday 21 June and finish in Portsmouth on Monday 30 June 2008. There will be approximately 48 powerboats in total taking part in the event with two starts, one at 0930 and one at 1000. As part of the race build up, there will be a ten minute aerial performance by the ‘Black Cats’ Helicopter Display Team to the south of Southsea castle, starting at 0910.


2. The Race StartThe Race Boats will depart from Gunwharf Quays from approximately 0830 onwards, exiting the harbour on the Eastern side under the control of the QHM Volunteer Harbour Patrol and proceed to the holding area just West of the Submerged Barrier. At 0930 and 1000, a Race Start Boat will lead the Race Boats to the Start Line which extends from Southsea Castle to a Committee Boat 3 cables to the South. Once over this line, the Start Boat will initiate the Race Start by lowering the Start Flag. In the event of reduced visibility in the Solent or congestion in the area of the proposed course, the Start Boat will lead the Race Boats at a reduced speed through the Solent until the visibility improves or the congestion clears. QHM Harbour Control will make warning broadcasts throughout the morning on VHF CH 11, which will include a Portsmouth Main Channel closure between 0900-1000A.


3. Once clear of the start line, the Race Boats will then pass between the following gates before exiting the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth to the West:
   Gate 1: Spit Sand Fort and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the North.
   Gate 2: Gilkicker Point and HMS GLOUCESTER 5 cables to the South.
   Gate 3: NE Ryde Middle Buoy and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the North.
   Gate 4: N Ryde Middle Buoy and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the North.
   Gate 5: South Bramble Buoy and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the South.
   Gate 6: East Lepe Buoy and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the North.
   Gate 7: West Lepe Buoy and a Mark Boat 2 cables to the North.
   The course then proceeds West past Hurst Point.
   Mark Boats will fly an extra large Blue RYA flag with Yellow writing.


4. Black Cats Helicopter DisplayPrior to the Race Start, there will be a ten minute Display by two Helicopters of the Royal Navy “Black Cats” Display Team commencing at approximately 0910. The display will take place in the general vicinity of the Race Start Line, approximately 100 to 400 yards south of Southsea Castle. All craft are to keep clear of this area during the display.


5. The Race FinishThe first Race Boats to finish are expected to enter the Solent from the East at approximately 1200 on Monday 30 June 2008. They will leave Horse Sand Fort to starboard and immediately turn North to run towards South Parade Pier leaving the submerged barrier to Starboard. Approximately 3 cables from the shore they will then turn to the West around a large inflatable yellow Mark to cross the finish line which extends from Southsea Castle to a Committee boat, or another inflatable mark, 3 cables to the South. QHM Harbour Control will make warning broadcasts on VHF CH 11 that the Race Boats are in the Solent. The first Race boat home will be escorted into harbour by QHM’s Launch via the main channel to berth in Gunwharf Quays. All other Race Boats will enter harbour in the normal manner. At 2100 the finish line will move South to Horse Sand Fort.


6. Spectator CraftThis is a high speed race and in the interests of safety all craft not participating in the race must keep well clear of the Holding Area, Start Line and the intended track. All vessels should proceed with caution and keep a good lookout whilst navigating in or near the area of the race.


7. Safety/Marshal BoatsFor the Race Start on Saturday 21 June, there will be approximately 50 Race Safety/Marshal Boats displaying a large Blue RYA Flag with Yellow lettering stationed along each side of the intended track through the Solent. Mariners are strongly advised to heed the advice given by the safety and Marshal Teams.


8. Cancel this Local Notice To Mariners Tue 1st Jul 2008 (14 days)
   Mon 16th Jun 2008Semaphore TowerHM Naval Base, Portsmouth.

Mackerel aren't always easy

Thanks to Scott at One Degree West, Salar is now back up and running after the burst oil pipe was located and replaced. I took her out on Friday on a long cruise around just to make sure the engine was running OK. First stop was at Horse Sand Fort to catch mackerel for bait (and if the rest of the day was a blank, at least I could say I caught some mackerel). Trouble is, after an hour drifting and feathering, only three of these oh-so-easy mackerel were in the cool box.

Then I remembered my own advice from last year - mini lures. I had made a string or two of miniature mackerel tinsel lures tied to 20lb line which worked well when the mackerel were being choosy, but had forgotten about them. I found a set, tied them on and within two minutes had a take, then a full string. Ten minutes later I had enough bait for the day. I even caught more with the rod dangling over the side while I was baiting up later on. Is any more proof needed that sometimes those mini lures work better than standard mackerel feathers and lures? There is a section on my web site called "Catch More Mackerel" describing how to make them (for little more than the cost of the hooks).

Mackerel and DIY

The mackerel are here in force, which is great news because they are a fantastic bait, taste great in all sorts of guises, and with light spinning tackle can be very sporting. We have been catching them around the Forts, at the harbour entrances and also over the fishing marks too. When you are using strings of feathers I am sure you will have found that after only an hour or so, the feathers or tinsel can be stripped leaving a perfectly good set of line and hooks. Recognise this?

Although they are cheap there is no need to throw them away. You can buy mini squids from some tackle shops which make ideal replacements - just slide then over the hooks and fix in place with superglue.

The downside is that the squids probably cost the same as a new set of feathers! Here is a much cheaper alternative. Rummage through your gift-wrap box and find a length of tinsel cord - the sort that is made up of braided tinsel around a core of string. Silver, gold and colours all work.

Pull the string out, cut off a 5cm length and thread it onto the hook like a worm. Tease out the tail with a needle, fix the head in place with superglue and your feathers are ready for action again.

If you want a lot more sport with mackerel than feathering, try spinning with a light rod, fixed spool reel and a small heavy lure like one of these:

If mackerel are near the surface, the seabirds will give the game away by wheeling and diving. When this happens, take your boat upwind or uptide, kill the engine and drift down onto the feeding zone. Make some long casts into the shoal, let the lure sink a few feet then strip it back fairly fast. Takes will be aggressive - you could hook a mackerel, scad, garfish or bass and any of them will give you a good run for your money on light tackle. My favourite spots for this type of fishing are between the Blocks and Langstone Harbour entrance, and even up to the East Winner if the wind is not too strong. Enjoy!

Tope and the Queen Victoria

A mixed bag of thoughts this week. Starting with catch reports, it looks like the early summer is in full swing, plenty of mackerel and garfish in the usual places. Bream are still around in numbers – and not just over the traditional rocky marks either. You can pick them up over many other areas of hard ground as well. Smoothhound are being caught on crab baits with some coming to squid baits as well. And the best news of all is that some good tope are being caught, so there will be some excellent sport if we can get to the tope marks in Utopia and off Selsey.

On the subject of tope, I have met a number of small-boat anglers who have yet to catch a sizable one, but they are not that difficult to locate and catch. Here’s how I have done it. Firstly, location. Tope seem to like running through deep channels, so find yourself a deep hole or gully especially if you can find one that narrows, concentrating fish and food. Tackle is simple – a running ledger with a long trace and at least 6/0 hook, either with a wire trace or 150lb+ mono. They have sharp teeth. Bait is equally simple: whole mackerel or part thereof. I have had success with flapper (whole mackerel with just the backbone and tail removed); Arron prefers the whole fish. He should know, see his catch report of a 36 pounder.

Let the bait fish away with the rod on free spool, or just enough drag to stop the tide taking it away. A tope will pick up a bait and run with it – let it go, and tighten up only after it has stopped, turned the bait and run again. If you get a good hook hold, be prepared for a running fight that can last half an hour!

One word of warning, when landing it be wary of a tail-hold only. Fish are able to change direction by bracing their tails against the water. If you hold their tails, they are able to turn and bite – and they will. Hang on to some front fins as well!

Finally, when out with Tony recently on Summer Breeze we were passed by the latest Cunard mega-liner Queen Victoria. Am I old-fashioned or is that one ugly sea-going block of flats? What happened to those sleek liners that used to cruise past us?

How to catch 101 Bream

Here are some combined thoughts on catching bream. Bream maestro Arron and two crew boated 101 the other day, so I'm going to share some of his tips and my own. There are some good fish around Boulder, Bullocks and Hounds at the moment so hopefully these will help.

1. Use small hooks: I use size 4 down to size 10 but watch that the smaller hooks are not too soft. Bream fight hard and can straighten a small hook. Try trout fly hooks and barbed carp hooks.

2. Use a mono hook length of 15lb or less. Bream will shy away from heavier mono.

3. Use a simple trace with two clear booms or small 3-way swivels, don't use beads or heavy booms - bream will get frightened.

4. Bait with a strip of squid, mackerel belly or garfish strip, about 1cm x 5cm hooked at the end. Alternatively use half a small squid head.

5. Hook lengths can be from 40 cm to 1metre, depending on conditions.

6. Rig your lead with one or two booms above it: bottom one about 10cm from the lead, the one above it should be adjustable. Try moving it up from about 30cm if you are not catching - at slack water bream feed further off the bottom.

7. A bream bite is the classic tugging rattle. Arron recommends not striking - let the fish take the bait then wind in - if it has taken the bait in its mouth, tightening up will hook it.

8. If you miss a bite then get no more for a few minutes, wind in and re-bait. Somehow a fish can register one bite but take two baits! Also, bream like very fresh bait, they will often ignore a bait that has been in the water ten minutes. Keep re-baiting.

9. Keep feeding ground-bait in to keep fish interested. I like to lose feed squid chopped into fragments into the water, just a squids-worth every ten minutes. In deeper water over 35 feet or in very strong tides you may need a bait dropper - see here for a cheap tip. Better to have little and often than a bagful you leave in all day.

10. Use a soft rod. If you are using braid and a stiff rod you can pull the hook out and also there will be more resistance when the fish takes, which can put them off.

11. Female fish fight harder. You can recognise them from their girly pinkish hue. Please put them back to spawn.

12. Keep only as many as you can eat, and preferably just males. Minimum size is 9.1inches/23cm length. They make great eating when fresh, but lose a lot of flavour and texture if frozen for too long.

13. Try float fishing at slack tide if bites fall off. The fish may be up in the water, and a sliding float will cover more ground and depth options to find the fish.

Thanks again to Arron for some of the tips, and to Tony for taking me out on Monday. We had a great session, with plenty of bream action. We kept just a few for the pot and I can recommend simple grilled bream with salsa verde!

Garmin Chart Plotter Review and other updates

As you will know from my last blog, Salar is out of action for the moment with a sick engine, so I am confined to shore fishing or prevailing on the generosity of other boat owners. On Friday I went trout fishing for the first time in probably two years, and although the weather and the location at Meon Springs were idyllic, it was all a bit too easy compared to sea fishing. Still, home smoked trout makes a nice change!


Last week I was going to post a review of the new Garmin GPSMAP 4008 Chart Plotter, which was delayed because of Salar's little adventure. I have now completed the review and it is posted on the Boat Angling web site. I won't repeat it all here, but one feature makes it stand out against the competition - it has a true video VGA screen which is much better than the previous generation of chart plotters.


I have also had time to post another couple of updates on the web site: how to make a bailer for nothing; and a downloadable chart of the general marks published on the site. No, none of the detailed, private or secret ones are there I'm afraid!

A fishing blog wouldn't be worthy of the name if I didn't mention catches: I have it on very good authority that Boulder Bank is producing more and better bream than Bullocks Patch or Brackelsham areas. However, the shoals are very localised and the difference between over 100 (true and verified!) bream and just a few fish can be just a few yards. More bream-catching tips from my friend the bream-meister next week...

On Tow

It had to happen sooner or later: my Mercuiser diesel hasn't missed a beat for four years. On Sunday morning however, cruising towards The Hounds the engine note suddenly changed, the lights came on and the buzzer screamed. Oo-er. Remembering the drill, I switched off the engine, had a good look round to see if I was in a navigation channel or near some pots: neither, and there was only 25 feet of water so the anchor went down while I worked out what to do next. When I looked under the engine casing a very mucky sight awaited me - about a gallon of black engine oil was spread over everything. Fishing was off then.

I am a member of SeaStart (an AA of the sea, and I recommend them to anyone who goes out in a boat with an engine). Like the AA, they will try and fix the problem but if that is not possible, they will tow you home. I called SeaStart on the mobile as I was only a mile from Chichester Bar, exchanged details, and 20 minutes later they phoned back with an ETA for the rescue boat. Another 20 minutes later and Hayling Rescue, an 8 metre RIB was alongside. Now that's better than the AA. Without another gallon of oil on board there was not a lot he could do, so we had a text-book tow back to Southsea Marina. It was so textbook, I have put that section from "Angling Boats" on the Hints and Tips section of the web site - complete with pictures. Full marks to Seastart, let's hope Scott Doble from 1 Deg. West Marine doesn't mind getting his hands dirty when he goes under the casing - it's not a job I could even contemplate!

This distraction is a great pity, because I wanted to post a review of the fabulous new Garmin GPSMap 4008. It will have to wait. I can tell you though, Peter Gander has a cracking new t-shirt design in the shop - with special appeal for Merry Fisher owners!

Bream from Boulder and other news

The bream are here in numbers - if you hit the right spot. Don't rely on local news to find them - during the week, good catches were reported from Princessa, but on Saturday they were hard to find. One day they are there, the next day they may be gone! I caught my first of the season over in Bracklesham Bay but it was the only one. Next day, Arron was out on Boulder and boated 19, the best 2lb 8oz (pictured). His full story is on the web site catch reports page - well done Arron and thanks for the report.

The other bit of news is that we now have some of Peter Gander's unique fishing cartoons on t-shirts and mugs in the on-line shop. Peter has that rare combination of being a keen fisherman, having great drawing skills and a real sense of humour. You can find out more about Peter on his introduction page. We have also produced some of our standard fishing t-shirt designs on ceramic mugs, and for those who need a shatter-proof mug we have something special in the shop too! If you don't see what you want in the shop we can customise t-shirts, polo shirts, ceramic mugs and shatterproof mugs, so just let us know what you would like. Here are examples of Peter's designs:

Fingers crossed for May, we are looking forward to good sport with smoothound, early tope and bass...

Hot Fuzz at Beaulieu Boat Jumble

Sunday 27th April is the date for the South's biggest boat jumble - almost a one-day boat show in some respects. Although the Beaulieu Boatjumble is a hefty £8 to get in, that does include the rest of the estate so you can blag it as a "family day out" if the FPO objects. I'm not advertising this event, just telling you about it because the Trunk Traders section, which is very like a boot sale, had some fabulous bargains last year. I had my own patch there to sell my book, Fish Seeker diving vanes and a load of boat bits. The photo on the left is nicked from their web site (if they object, sorry, I'll take this free advert off-line!). This year I'll be going to browse, not sell, unless the weather tempts me to go fishing instead.

But I must share with you one of the funniest things I saw all year. While I was quietly tending my stall, I saw two of Hampshire's Finest coming up the field - perfectly cast for the movie Hot Fuzz. One was very ordinary looking, the other - get this - has a black baseball cap; shades; exposed tanned muscly arms; stab vest; every possible piece of police equipment attached to parts of his body, and combat trousers tucked into his boots. This pair were a sight in themselves, but what they were doing topped everything. They were checking tax disks on white vans. Surely this must be considered one of the most dangerous aspects of police work in rural Hampshire.

See you there. My tax disk is bang up to date.

More on Bream

My trip out last Sunday was rubbish, and the less said about it the better. (OK if you insist - stayed out too late the night before, off early to Sandown Bay, nice beamy lumpy sea and your author was feeling bad very quickly. So back to the marina for a kip!) On to better things, the bream are definitely around, and so are smoothound with Utopia producing some good ones. There are three things from last year's reports worth mentioning again for the 2008 bream season.

Firstly, bait: half a squid head (cut longways between the eyes) is a great bait. It stays on the hook better than the traditional strip, allowing the fish to have another go if you miss the first bite.

Secondly, groundbait. Some people swear by elaborate mixes and dump great quantities over the side, some use nothing. I'm convinced that something is better than nothing, and a steady stream will create a trail that will draw then into the fishing zone. At the very least, feed in some finely chopped squid scraps, offcuts and used bait on a little-and-often basis. If the tide is not roaring through, and you are in 50 feet of water or less, I don't think a bait dropper is necessary, it will sink fast enough and the idea is that it should spread out over a long distance downtide anyway. If you have to use a dropper to get the groundbait down, there is a cheap way. Tie a weight to a thin cord (handline cord and a pound lead is fine), then fasten the closed end of a large-sized strong freezer bag to the line by the weight. Full the bag with groundbait, then tie a clove-hitch in the cord at a distance from the lead greater than the length of the bag, and use this to tie the bag closed. Lower the bag over the side and when it reaches the bottom, give the cord a firm jerk. This will pull the knot off the end of the bag and the groundbait will wash out.

Finally, float fishing: this is an ideal way to coax fish into feeding at slack tide. The movement of the float will impart movement on the bait and you can cover more ground, without the risk of tangling as you will with static baits as the tide slackens and turns. Arron told me this tip right at the end of last year's season so I didn't try it, he did well though.

Good luck with the bream and let me know how you get on.

March and April Eastern Solent Fishing

I tried to stretch the March fishing reports as far as possible hoping for some more news, but the weather just wasn't playing ball. Weekend after weekend was blowy, but when we did manage to get out most of us only ventured as far as The Blocks. The plaice were there as usual; some days and some tides seemed to produce more than others. It is a good mark if you don't want to travel too far from Langstone Harbour, but you do get better and more consistent catches drifting the banks east of Selsey later in the spring and early summer.


It is now 11th April and I still haven't been out as this windy weather is conspiring against us. However, those lucky enough to go on the many calm mid-week(!) days have started to find bream - hooray! There have been reports of good catches on the western side of the Island. Our usual local marks of Boulder, Bullocks Patch and Hounds should start producing quality fish about now. Here's what we like to see, a prime fish in the net.




Try float-fishing when the tide is not running hard - a sliding float with the hook a foot or two clear of the bottom means you can fish ultra-light, and cover more ground. It is a great way of fishing as the tide is turning when slack water makes float fishing easier and you get fewer fish on static baits.


PS I have been watching the weather forecast very closely over the last couple of days, Sunday might be a chance at last!

Local Notice To Mariners (5/08) MILITARY PARACHUTING EXERCISE OFF LEE POINT 20th APRIL 2008

I'm putting this here because I received it via email subscription: so far (2nd April) it is not posted on the QHM site. It may affect fishing marks in the eastern Solent on 20th April.

QUEENS HARBOUR MASTER PORTSMOUTH
================================

-- LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS No 5/08 --

MILITARY PARACHUTING EXERCISE OFF LEE POINT 20th APRIL 2008

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen’s Harbour Master Portsmouth that a “Military Parachute Training Exercise” will take place off Lee on Solent, Sunday 20th April 2008.

Submarine Parachute Advisory Group (SPAG) will be parachuting from a C130 Hercules aircraft during daylight hours only, approximately 1000–1500, into the centre of a drop zone position, 50° 47’.2N 001° 12’.4W; 5 cables southwest of Lee Point. The aircraft will make several passes over the drop zone dropping parachutists in groups of up to 6.

An exclusion zone of 1000 metres radius from this point will be enforced whilst the operation is under way.

Safety communications and appropriate warnings on VHF will be conducted during the exercise by the safety vessel on station.

A “Drop Zone” Safety Officer and qualified medical cover will be afloat in a designated vessel within the area. Four Ribs will also be standing by to assist / recover personnel from the water to Lee on the Solent slipway.
Additionally a safety vessel and a Ministry of Defence Police Launch will be in attendance throughout.

Mariners are requested to keep well clear of this area whilst the exercise is under way. Vessels in the area are requested to proceed at slow speed and a good lookout is essential due to the nature of the event.
Cancel this LNTM Mon 21st Apr 2008 (20 days)

Tue 1st Apr 2008
Semaphore Tower
HM Naval Base, Portsmouth

S O Hopper
Commander Royal Navy
Queen's Harbour Master

Exporing the Solent seabed

The Marine Coastguard Agency web site has loads of useful information. I recently came across a part I had not found before: The Civil Hydrography Programme. Needless to say I had not deliberately gone looking for it. This is in fact very useful - it is the result of sea-bed surveys which are published in the form of Google Earth overlays, and shows the sea-bed as if Moses has been by and parted the waters. All you have to do is install Google Earth (if you don't already have it), then go to MCA web site page and download the files covering your area of choice. There are two downloads covering the whole of the western arm of the Solent - just open Google Earth and load the maps from the downloaded files. Enjoy.

Wet and Windy Easter

It just doesn't get better, does it? Monday was the only remotely fishable day, but it wasn't worth ordering worm. I went down to the marina with a box of squid, and spied the state of the water with a quick drive along the prom. It looked fishable, and there were a few boats by The Blocks already. Salar was waiting patiently, none the worse for the gales and a few weekends of neglect. She started first time and I headed out of the harbour entrance. The initial enthusiasm soon evaporated as it was bitterly cold, the sky and sea were a similar grey and a run down to Bracklesham was not really viable. Salar wasn't pulling with the usual enthusiasm, probably a bit of muck had grown on the blades because of the lack of use. I decided to use the time cleaning the blades instead of fishing, so it was back to the marina for a bit of underwater scrabbling. Reversing into a berth with a brisk crosswind is not easy, and after six attempts (I lost count after five anyway) we made it. I discovered that if you keep your hands under freezing cold water for five minutes it no longer hurts, so the rest of the prop-scraping with an old knife wasn't too bad. Back out to sea with a shiny prop and Salar showed she was capable of anything again. Let's hope next weekend it better!

Not a lot of fishing

March is always a bad month for me - not because of the fishing, which can be quite good for early plaice, but there are two family birthdays which involve weekend get-togethers, and Easter is coming up too. The family has no sympathy for fishing and thoughts are turning to Spring breaks, "what shall we do with the children over Easter" and other fishing blockages. On top of that, there has been some spectacularly stormy weather - did you look at the Hayling surfcam during the height of the storm? Spectacular. Anyone who left their dinghy on the top of the spit by the ferry will have a surprise: the half inch chain that they were secured to snapped, scattering about 30 tenders all over the harbour and the Winner. So instead of fishing, I have been turning my attention to fishing-related enterprise. Have a look at the Shop to see the result: the first 30 fishing-related t-shirts have been launched, so stop me and buy one!

Another lousy day in Paradise

I wish I had thought of that line. I didn't but I'm using it anyway, as it pretty much sums up today. A watery sun, wind F3 SE swinging round to the west and dropping meant a short trip to the Blocks for plaice was possible. There was a fleet of about 20 boats all clustered around the mussel beds, including Arron in Aquaholic and a few others I recognised.

It was slow day, Arron and crew managed four plaice including two very nice pan-sized ones; I saw a few others landed but none came to Salar. The anchor tripped by itself so I took advantage of the move and went over to the Blocks themselves, but nothing doing. I decided to spend the last hour back next to Arron in the hope that some of his charm would rub off on me but it wasn't to be. Tally for the day was a sea scorpion and a very small whiting, but who's complaining? I was out doing what I like doing best - it might have been lousy but it's as close to Paradise as you'll get down here.

Waiting for nothing to happen...

Wipers Fitted

There is something deeply satisfying about finishing a job on a boat. It usually involves considerable expense, four times as much time as expected, a number of minor injuries and the finished result being completely invisible to the casual observer. This was exactly how the fitting of my new wiper system went. What started as a rusty wiper blade ended as a complete strip out, new motor, new housing, new pantograph (including drilling for a new mounting), new wiring and a new fancy three-position switch. I never knew a windscreen wiper could create such emotion but I am so, so proud of mine. It is shiny, it presses against the glass, it has two speeds, it actually parks to one side and above all it removes water from the glass. All things the old one never did. If you don't have a boat, you just wouldn't understand...

Web Site

If you are a regular visitor to http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ you might have noticed some subtle differences to the site. In fact it has been totally redeveloped with the help of ace carp angler Mike at http://www.imagineservices.co.uk/ who took my original navigation ideas and content, and rebuilt the site with a modern, search engine-friendly structure. I took the opportunity to separate the Weather and Tides content and give it a page of its own; add some more attractive text and insert a few quotes for fun. There is also a new Shop page for something that is coming very soon. Watch this space.....

Fishing at last

Sunday gave us a welcome window in the weather, westerly F4 and dropping. Tides meant a very early or late start, so I opted for a warm bed and a late start. As I didn't entirely trust the forecast I headed towards the Island to benefit from the shelter, and spent the afternoon on Culver. There were plenty of large pout and dogfish, and a solitary whiting. Other boats further on in Sandown had a few ray, small cod and conger, including a large one. Arron followed me home in Aquaholic, and we took photos of each other in the evening light. Arron took a superb one of Salar.