Socksy Squirrel

Just try replacing 'number of times you wish to make love per week' with n and it is pretty obvious. n x 50 x 200 = 10,000n, the first digit After that; 44 x 200 = 8800 If you have celebrated your birthday this year add 105 8905 is equal to 6900 + 2005 That accounts for the second and third digits, 69, and the last two, deducting your birth year from 2005 will yield your age if you have celebrated your birthday this year. It only works if you are under a 100

Hi there, I would try eBay, set up a search on Abu 5500 and get them to email you the results. The reels turn up every few months and I have acquired two this way. On past experience you are looking at £80 for a reel in good condition and £140 for a mint one in the box with all the paperwork etc.

They make quite a good dead bait, we use them fresh or frozen and the local potters use them salted for lobsters and crabs. Chop scad in half, throw in bin, add salt etc, the salt dries and preserves them. They are not bad to eat, the local Portuguese look at you in amazement when you chop them up and use them for bait.

Wrasse were widely eaten in the islands in the old days and they were popular in the south west. A wider variety of fish were eaten everywhere, tastes change and often it would have been wrasse or conger or nothing. Pretty good baked, I take the odd one for my parents and a few other older Jersey people.

Supposedly king rag in not native to Guernsey but has established itself from discarded worms. None have been found in Jersey yet.

I thought some people might find this interesting. Jersey Evening Post Editorial 01/09/05 Fish stocks under threat? JERSEY has always looked to the sea to earn at least part of its living. In the Middle Ages the Island was famous for its dried and salted fish. Later it became the headquarters of a cod fishing industry that saw Islanders crossing the Atlantic to fish in the prolific waters off Canada. Today our fishing fleet catches crabs, lobsters and some wet fish, notably that staple of the modern restaurant menu, the bass. Looking at the wide sea from the safety of the shore, it is hard to imagine that its resources could ever be depleted. Sadly, there is increasing evidence that, for one reason or another, stocks of the species on which our fishermen depend are under threat. Earlier this year it emerged that lobster catches had suddenly declined by as much as 40 per cent. It now seems that far fewer large bass are being caught this year than in previous seasons. It is, of course, dangerous to jump to conclusions where fish and shellfish stocks are concerned. The dearth of lobsters could be explained by climatic factors which have upset normal patterns of growth and moulting, but to substantiate this theory a great deal of complex research would be required. Equally, it is difficult to say with any precision what has led to the scarcity of bass that has been reported. However, there is strong circumstantial evidence that points in one direction - towards the pair trawlers which attack the dense bass shoals to be found off the west coast of Guernsey during the winter. The trawlers' guilt cannot be taken for granted unless the case against them is substantiated scientifically. That said, it is hard to believe that powerful vessels towing massive nets capable of catching tons of overwintering bass in a single shot has no effect on summer migration into shallower, warmer summer waters - such as ours. There is, meanwhile, a paradox in the attitude towards what happens off Guernsey's west coast. Our sister island's fishermen and administration have been greatly exercised about Jersey vessels fishing on Guernsey grounds that they have traditionally been free to use. Sadly, there are far fewer signs of their eagerness to investigate pair trawling activity on their doorstep that, quite conceivably, is doing great damage to a precious resource - the breeding stock of mature bass that represents the future of the species.

They might be useful in harbours or estuaries particularly after a period of heavy rainfall. A lot must get washed in at these times and I would guess that the fish learn to feed on them.

Hi there, I was watching Rick Stein tonight and an old French fisherman was fishing for what looked like allis shad. He was netting them in a river estuary. There was some stuff about conservation but there were nets everywhere and the stocks were declining. Not a lot of hope for the shad down there! They cooked them on a barbecue made of vine trimmings. Stein suggested that if you could not get allis shad then you should use mullet [ 31. August 2005, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Socksy Squirrel ]

I use the ones the size of a fifty pence. They can be collected by the bucket load from the side of Elizabeth Castle. Use a Mustad Ultra Point 2/0 and hook them through a leg socket and out the back. That way they wriggle for ages. if you hold them on their back then they are quiet until the hook goes in then the claws go mad.

I would go for 15lb mono from a good manufacturer. Some people like Sufix, I prefer Diawa Tournament and the Penn Surf is good. You could go to 18 or 20lb if you find it too light. It will give you a lot less problems than braid which can bed down.

You could buy yourself a Daiwa Tournament X 130M. A very nice rod indeed, more casting potential that most people will ever need and it fishes brilliantly. £400 recommended retail price but you can usually get them for £270 or so. [ 24. August 2005, 11:42 AM: Message edited by: Socksy Squirrel ]

The little luggage trollies are quite good. They can be used to carry your rucksack along paths or causeways, when you get to the rough stuff they can be folded up and strapped to the back of your rucksack. They rust even if washed with fresh water and sprayed with WD40 after each trip but they are good for a few years and at around £10 each cheap to replace.

I bought myself a Garmin 72 this year. There is a nice booklet that came with it that explains everything and it can be switched to simulation mode for practice. You can take it on walks with you and try it out for real as well.

This is quite a nice tide site, http://www.pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tides/ Only a seven day predictor for the UK but there are loads of other stuff to browse through.

They are monsters in any terms, a 2-08lb fish is a really good one down here. Dogfish, Lesser Spotted (Scyliorhinus caniculus) Boat 4-06-08 Port Logan, Scotland G Griffiths 1994 Shore 4-15-03 Abbey Burnfoot Kirkcudb. S Ramsey 1988 [ 27. June 2005, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: Socksy Squirrel ]