MARTING

John you can see to my fish anytime mate. With the new job you will be able to afford to come out to Goa lol Ken the place we fish is called Malwan, Its a small fishing village (alcohol freel not a drop in sight). I travel up from Goa its 4 1/2 hours by taxi. I will be in Goa in jan so if you want to fish Malwan let me know and i will sort it out for you. The boat only takes 3 so it will be ideal for you and your 2 mates. Regards Martin.

Going to the west coast of India to fish off Maharashtra in Dec. I was there in feb this year and it was so good i'm off again. No massive fish biggest was a 12lb what they call Bass (which we ate for supper) but we caught Travali biggest 2 lb , Red snapper biggest 8lb ( which we had tandooried whole), Grouper biggest 7lb, Barracuda biggest 4lb . I will try and post some pics when i get back. MG

Thanks for that Barry i have logged it and i will use mono in future. Its little tips like this that make this site so good.

As you and i know wire traces are for conga not skate. The set up we used had no crimping at all. It failed because the line parted. The end of which was very roughly scored as though it had been rubbed with somthing abrasive. Which i thought was the Skates tail now if i'm wrong then i hold my hands up. I am not in to harming these creatures and the one's i have been luky enough to catch have always gone back with the greatest care not to cause any harm or distress. Also any other fish i catch up in Oban goes back.

No Davy sorry that is not the rig we lost, The rig we lost was all clear mono with a tube boom. Also the bait was hooked through not tied on. As i said before the tackle was supplied by the skipper colin. It was the same trace set up as Donald Mclean uses so i think it was the right one to use. Have you never lost a trace to skate???

Try www.veals.co.uk they are Dexter Q-F swivels

Peter you where out with Donald the last time i was up. Donald was on the phone to Colin a few times through the day (just to let us know how well you were doing lol) We had some small skate but nothing worth weighing.

[ Heyup Charlie. It's up mate. Regards Martin

Hi Cranfield. yes your right it's the trip thats important, I have had the big Skate so it's about taking people who have never been and trying to get these guy's into angling.

Sat morning it was grey the wind was slight the rain was light i was hung over so it was a good start!!. First stop fresh bait then off to the skate ground's. 150M drop then the waiting began then Colin the skipper put the kettle on and out came brews all round. First fish on board was a conger about 9lb, Then Thornbacks, Spotted Dog's, Small Skate's,more conga. Smallest Gurnard i have ever seen and the fist codling i have ever seen on the west coast !! . Then in the afternoon one of the rod,s started peeling line and a big Skate was on!!. Mad Mike Thursby,s first trip and here he goes Butt pad harness the job lot after 10 mins his back locks up so its has to be passed to Another Skate virgin. 25min with the new boy on the end and not even near the top the Skate flicks its tail and cut's the 150lb mono trace. All the happy faces waiting to see the big one now look so sad. But that's fishing. Sun. Sunny calm morning Oban Bay is one of the most beutiful sight's. So off for fresh bait then the Skate. Again the first fish is a Conger 15lbish complete with a 6lb thornback on the small bait hook. Loads of Doggies, Thornbacks, Bonus Small Tope. But alas no Skate. All day the mackie bait was being shredded or bitten off the hook leaving just the head!!! Great 2 days fishing Great skipper, plenty of different fish good laugh with the guy's, all enjoyed the trip. Looking forward to the next one.

[ O dear not enough Ju-Ju Mr M. Hope you feel a lot better just got back from Oban i will post later to day. Regards MartinG

Norrie is that a nose job your getting!!

I will ask Mick if he's up for it. But if he know's your coming you know he will be on it. It will be nice to hear MY MATE CHARLIE THIS MY MATE CHARLIE THAT LOL. PM me and i will give you is e-mail so you can wind him up.

Hello Charlie nice to hear from you mate.

Well time flies and it's time for another Skate trip out of Oban 6/7th oct on the Heather isles with colin again. Anyone know how it's fishing at the moment!!. Or how loch Etive is fishing for the spur dogs. Regards Martin

Ivan, Steve is coming down to our spot this weekend i will ask him about a trip. Regards Marting

Ivan stick me down i will give it one more if stevie will.

Carl i will put the ju-ju on for you and get you out on the 1/oct lol

It's not been that good for George & Des either being it their first year trading. But you can't predict the weather.

Also look on the Chieftain site the 24th is up as a 10 hour trip???

Carl let us know when your booked then we can book other dates lol.

I was in Whitby on fri & sat the small boats went out at 7.00am sat i would have thought the chieftain would have gone. But thats fishing and the skipper know's best!!!

Carl its dropping to NW 9-12KNOTS so you might be ok. Hope you have a good trip.

Hi Carl it's looking like a NW 16-22 KNOTS.