AThong

quote: Whereabouts in Suffolk are you? A few shops here (Ipswich) operate charter boats, so I assume that they would know where to get them, even if they don't supply them themselves. Thanks Elton though, but I'm in London. Just hoping to find a supplier in Kent where I normally fish. quote: Andrew, did you ever meet up with Congercatcher (Steve), they used to run a club over there especially the Bass comps. Steve and Fishing widow used to be on here for a while. Hi Alan. The names don't ring a bell. Met quite a number of real enthusiasts while in Guernsey, but don't remember their names though. Did the Annual Bass Competition for the 2 years there, but didn't win any prices. My 4 lb bass wasn't even considered good enough for anything. But the experience learnt fishing there, is invaluable. Had a 8 lb 12 oz Bass last Thursday 29-08-02 from Dengemarsh. Photos and write-up on my site at http://www.shorefishingadventure.co.uk' target='_blank'> Used a whole whiting as bait. Didn't have any live sandeels, so that was the best I could think of.

Cookus, Try my website http://www.shorefishingadventure.co.uk that I have just updated yesterday. Shows my favourite spots and how to get there, with info on how I normally fish the venues. Had an 8 lb 12 oz Bass on 29-08-02, second time fishing after 3 years away from the scene. Hope the info there helps. Cheers and best of luck always.

Just wondering. Does anyone knows how far one must be able to cast nowadays before one can seriously say one is going cod fishing ? Or are most of us wasting our precious money buying baits, paying for the petrol, and wasting our time freezing our whatever off waiting in vain for a cod to come in real close to the shore where our bait is most of the time ?

Good move Norrie, Now, your 7HT when coupled with a good rod will be capable of getting you amongst the Cod. Only if you were to work on perfecting a consistent long-range style of casting. Good idea is to locate a casting instructor. All the casting instructors that I have had and ever met, never did it for the money. Having one was the wisest decision that I ever made in my fishing life. Or find a casting club and go to one of their casting days. The 7HT just needs to have the brake blocks adjusted to suit different conditions. Whereas an Abu Mag Elite only needs a flick of a slider. Convenience yes. But that is not all. I can now concentrate on giving every cast my greatest belt and not worry of whether I'll get a birdnest or not. I actually forget that the reel was ever there. Casting technology at it's very best. Enjoy your 7HT. It's a really capable reel.

Then try to get a second hand ABU Elite. It should easily outlive three cheap reels. I would have had the pleasure of owning and using it for 15-20 years. Could easily outlive me even. Three £35.00 reels will cost you £105.00 A second hand Mag Elite cost less around £70.00 A new Mag Elite now cost £105.00 at http://www.tackleworld.co.uk Don't be mistaken that all Abu's are the same. You cannot compare a Abu 6000c with a Abu 6500 CT Mag Elite. World of difference when casting is concerned. Control of the Mag brakes and spool technology makes that difference of 80 yards between them. I'll easily punch my bait 150 yards into a head-on gale and get back to my tea in my beach buddy. Using a 6000c, I may get 80 yards if I am lucky enough not to get a messy birdnest to sort out instead of sitting with my tea mug and watching the rod tip. Enjoy yourself, no matter what your choice. A Ferrari = 10 Fiestas ( Difference of easily £70,000.00 here ) New Mag Elite = 3 Shakespeare Atlantis (£35.00) Difference of £70.00 !!! Your poor comparison, the Abu 6000 cost a hefty £69.00.

quote: Yes ! I'll definately give it a simple but nice sounding name that everyone is familiar with. If it is so great, out of this world, well, I'll call it the 'E-T'. Ex-Tra : For the anglers that want much more out of their equipment. I'll still stick to that.

Hmmmm? YES ! I'll definately give it a simple but nice sounding name that everyone is familiar with. If it is so great, out of this world, well, I'll call it the 'E-T'. :cool:

Don't bother with cheap 'imitations' of multiplier reels. Fishing and casting should be a pleasure. So save up, and enjoy the pleasure of owning the best reel around. The price of these 'beauties' are really reasonable these days, as the these companies has invested a lot of money into developing it for us to enjoy. The prices have also gone down nowadays because of the competition, which is great for us anglers. Had many before and tried many. But I'll still stick to my trusty Abu Elites. I had been dreaming about these beauties long before these were even designed !!! Had a Abu Ultra XL I, Ultra XL III and the Ultra XL IV back in the 80's, and even converted a pair of Abu XLT III in 1992 into CT's ( hacked of the level-wind ). These were the original reels using the Magnetic braking tech, along with the Abu 6500 GR, and all made of the moulded plastic frame technology. Had always been longing for Abu to create one using the original 6500 frame and incorporating this Mag braking system into it. Finally, Abu listened and came out with these Elites. Bought the first one when it came out around 1987, and never had it serviced at Abu. Haven't needed it, and will never do, as these are fantastic machines and easy to take apart to maintain. Not much to maintain though. A quick spray under a tap after used and I'm done. Once a year I soak the spool bearings in 'lighter fluid' to clean it out and lubricate it with 'rocket fuel'. Just treat these 'Ferraris' with respect and loving care when using, and you will love it all your life. Bought my second Elite in 1999 when the price went down. Never regretted it ever. These Elites were my personal dream all along, and they even perform far better than I could ever imagined. These are the reels that I trust when I want the distance. I have a Daiwa SL30SH which I use when I target Bass closer in, as the capacity for 20lb B/S line is adequate, the winding power is tremendous, and it has a line-out alarm function. Different tools for different jobs, I would imagine. I know I am getting more out of fishing nowadays than I ever would if I were to use inferior reels.

Good buy, the SL30SH. Got yourself a nice powerful and trusty reel. I only use it when targetting for bass with big baits not too far out. That's where the big bass are normally patrolling around high tide. It is the line out alarm facility that I really like about this reel. The fish can take the bait and run, without me having to worry about the whole tackle and the tripod being dragged into the sea before I can respond. haha. But it is not built for distances like the Abu Elite, 525Mag or the 7HTs. So don't imagine that you can really get tremendous distances casting with it. With this in mind, try not to push it too much and you will cut down on overruns and birdnests. You'll be able to plan your type of fishing around the capabilities of your equipment, and enjoy it all. I'll be extremely happy to consistently put my bait 50 - 80 yds out. Worst scenerio is to give it a hefty belt while trying to get great distances with it, resulting in frequent frustrations. Fishing, and being able to cast well is suppose to be fun. So have fun then. Practise casting with it and learn the capabilities of it. Develope a smooth casting action and you will enjoy it all the time.

Does anyone know of someone who can supply live sandeels ? When I was in Guernsey, Channel Islands for two years, I bought a portable live-bait box with an aerator specially to take live-sandeels with me as bait. The whole of the Guernsey fishing fleet depends on this one trawler that goes out everyday (weather permitting) to supply them with live sandeels for their bait. Hope to find a supplier here in Suffolk, Essex or in Kent, where I normally do my shore angling.

I would like to thank you all for taking the time and trouble to provide us with all the info. Greatly appreciated. Just to let you know that we spent Wednesday night at the 'Dirty Wall' in Aldeburgh. Looked at the area in Aldeburgh Town at the Pay and Display parking, but not much privacy to pitch up and spend the night there. Too many people about eating their Fish & Chips. So decided to go further away and pitch up before the Martello Tower. We arrived late in Saxmundham at 6.05 pm so had no bait as the angling shop had just closed. Got caught up with the packing and the traffic. Sigh ! Anyway, the family of anglers from Norwich fishing at the Dirty Wall were very kind to let me have some of their bait. They gave me the rest of it when they let for home at 2 am. Great chaps and real friendly they were. Does the angling community proud. You tend to meet kind and helpful anglers everywhere. The wife and kids could not get to sleep in my Beach Buddy, as it was too uncomfortable and cold. So they slept in the car in the end. Apart from that, they enjoyed their time at the 'sea-side' away from London. They miss it very much as we have lived 2 years in Guernsey in the Channel Islands from 97'-99'. The morning was nice and warm.I did a fry up for breakfast and the family played on the shingle in the sunshine, while I drove to Saxmundhan for the ragworm. Fishingwise, well I blanked. Fished the whole night. Then the flood tide in the morning to two hours after. Only saw the signs of the'thieving' crabs on my rod tip. Even brought one out when I happen to hook it. Not a bite, except from a honey bee that got into my collar when I was frying the bacon. Ouch ! Where do the bees come from ? Breakfast sure attracted a whole bunch of them and was very worrying for us. Lucky that it wasn't my kids that got bitten, as it is real painful and itches. We could not spend another night sleeping rough as the weather got a bit chilly. So we drove to Thorpeness to have another look at my 'dream houses' on the cliffs facing the sea, namely 'The Burrow' and The Red House'. I fished around here once in 1994, and fell in love with it all. Standing on the beach at the place under the cliffs and casting into the deeper channels of the surf during flood tide, I had 6 school bass on crab. Too bad, 5 were undersized, so were returned. But the atmosphere of it all had me dreaming of this place eversince. Even when we were at Guernsey ! The sound of the surf on the shingle here at the Ness is truly unforgetful. 5th time now we visited this area, and still the dream continues. So, no more night fishing with the family for some time. Unless we get a caravan. Day trips will be better in the near future, I guess.

Hi Guys, I am still trying to decide on where of these 2 areas to go to for my sole fishing bbq/camp out with my family. Hope they can last 2 nights. Kent Coast - fishing at Dengemarsh and Dungeness. Suffolk Coast - fishing at Thorpeness beach, then Sizewell and maybe Southwell beach near the North car park. Any better place than these two for the fishing and the sights ? Still undecided.

Yep, Been to Dengemarsh, last in October 1999. Lots of whiting then, just can't get through the schools to get at the Cod. Or was it too early. Dungeness power ststion area was full of baby flat fish and tiny soles at around September 1999. Guess it is still a healthy place then. But it is a bit of a walk from the parked car and yes a bit isolated for the family. No Ice cream vans, you know what I mean, lol. Been fishing all round the Kent Coast, yet still cannot think of where to go yet with the family. Sigh! Any suggestions? Dungeness will have to wait until I have kept the family happy for a while. Cheers!

What's the world getting to these days ? And people paying a lot mone money buying organically grown vegetables. Grown on p..s and sh.te I would imagine ! Soon we may have another food scare with vegetables being contamidated with whatever sh.te that was used to grow it. Something smells there.

Hi Des, I guess you are in a bit of head scratching situation here (lol). Things you have to do these days as a parent. My son will be 9 in 3 years time. For a while now, I have been worrying a bit about him catching the fishing bug. There are no jabs for it and when you catch it, there is no cure for it. Only thing I can do is have him tag along on some of the fishing sessions and let him realise the boredom, the tiring sessions, and seriously, the blanks that so often occurs. But kids somehow always find something interesting, even on the most mundane session, and he would be pestering me to take him along again. Sigh. Why can't he just go practise on his piano or something? Anyway back to your question. Ask yourself, are you prepared to go through with it. The whole set up does not come cheap these days. I personnaly will not consider a cheap kit as you pay for what you get. It does not last for sea fishing and you will not get the enjoyment or even the remote possibility of getting to the fish. Fishing should be fun, and being skilled at casting, and being efficient at setting up for a session and later packing up, really requires quite a bit of organisation. A good organised kit will last for ages, till he has grown enough in both strength and skill to join the ranks of the big boys of the tournament casting scene. I think it will be great to get him the one and only outfit that would be his pride and fancy for a long while. Gone are the days of lobbing a baited hook and catching a fish. It is also wise to get him a casting instructor, and start him right. Unless you are really patient and willing to put in the hours with him. Being able to cast well is utmost in angling, as the whole whole idea of the angling industry is to get the baited hook to where the fish are feeding. Therefore,I would honestly believe in getting him a serious multiplier reel. The sense of elation and achievement. He will be proud to be able to cast well with a multiplier reel. It is easy nowadays, as multiplier reels have greatly improved with technology. If he wants to fish, he really has to learn how to. An Abu Ambassadeur 6500 CT Mag Elite may seem to cost a lot (£105), but it is all worth it in the long run. It will work out cheaper to get him one now instead of later throwing away a not so cheap £50 fixed spool reel and buy a pair of these later on, and will still have to learn how to cast with it later on in life. Seriously, shop around for the best price and get him one. A 12 foot beach rod and reel will be good enough for most situations like beach and pier. A match angler will only use his trusted rods, even on a pier, and it would probably be his 12 ft Match Rod of some expensive description. Anyway, a 9 year old will not be able to give the rod the compression it needs to cast well with it yet. Waste of money and over the top at the moment. But a Daiwa Millionaire 12ft Multiplier 4-6ozs (MRXS120M) at £96.00 will be more realistic a tool. Not too heavy and coasters for a down the butt reel fixing so he can get the right balance. And most of all, it is great for lay back style of casting which he should serious be practising and fishing with, and where he can later graduate to the pendulum. A good casting instructor that will teach him the fundamentals and safety issues is money well spent. An Ian Golds 6ft Super Match Rest (Double) is a must (£31.00) for fishing purposes and care of the rod/reel. This will stop him placing the outfit on the sand/pebbles thus elimidating damage. Next wiould be a Shakespeare Beta Seatbox (£26.00)and a BREAKAWAY SEAT BOX BACKPACK ADAPTOR (£35.00) to carry all his equipment in. It will instill some sense of organisation in him in packing the neccesities and not being over the top, as he will have to backpack it all the way top the fishing mark. And the bits that fit into the box like weights, line, hooks, swivels, shock leaders, crimps, beads, nail clippers, baiting needles, tackle wallet, bait elastic, reel pouch, head lamps etc. All these for a start, and does not even include a John Holden's Beach Buddy and a Tony Tackle's Rod/Beach Buddy and Tripod Holdall. If you are really serious about this, get two sets of everything, and share the Beach Buddy with your son. At least you know that he is safe, and you get to share more quality time with him. That is what I look forward to everytime. My son to share some happy time with me going fishing. Cheers and have a great time together.

Thanks Cookus COOKUS REPLIED went to southwold - suffolk a week ago and caught 2 1lbers on ragworm . for a shitty place to fish it wernt bad i thought I heard the northside of the pier in Southwold, end of the car park, walk on to the beach, pitch a tent and fish from there ?

Thanks guys for pointing me in the direction of the soles. I don't know why, but fishing from piers and sea walls has never tickled my fancy. I guess I'm a silly romantic that prefers the beach where I can pitch up my beach buddy, sit on my seatbox, brew my tea, do an imitation pendulum (lol) , and hopefully land something fancy for all the trouble. But most of the marks that I normally do my fishing at involves trekking a way bit from the car. I am sure my wife and kids don't muster my kind of enthusiasm to trudge all the way there and then having to put up with the discomfort and boredom. Hythe fishermen's hut is quite alright but not much good fishing these days I guess. Where else can I take my family, where they can play on the sand, sleep in a tent, and I can catch something for the b-b-q when we are hungry? Toilets & shower facilities, ice-creams and snacks. A parents' nightmare looking for a holiday destination. I can do my fishing anywhere on my own, but when the wife wants me to plan a fishing/camping holiday for the family, I am completely stumped !!! Help !!!

Hi all, Has anyone been targetting Dover Soles from the shore lately ? Been off the scene for a while, and looking forward to camp a couple of nights out with my wife and two kids in a few days time fishing for dover soles. The only time I caught a sole from the shore was at the Dirty Wall in Aldeburgh in 1996. Wonder where they are at the moment. Any help anyone? Or can anyone suggest a good tent pitching beach where you can park your car beside your tent and fish from there. Many thanks. Cheers. Andrew Thong