Rockling

Arg! Newt! the wife's seen the photo and now she wants one! I don't think she's got snagged braid on her mind, just a battered Rockling. Thanx for the photo, it is worth a thousand words.

Blunket has gone, Bliar must follow, quickly. You read it first on Anglers Net. Someone, somewhere in Government, might realise - sort out the seas, where all life came from, then things topside might improve. Lateral thinking? Think about it. Essential thinking. Rockling.

Newt can you put up a picture of your finger saving device? Ha ha, Jabee, didn't you read "Physics is Fun" when you were at the big school? There's quite a lot of applied physics and math in fishing if you think about it. They should put fishing or football examples in the maths and physics textbooks to get the kids interested? No doubt some boffin could estimate the likliehood of an individual angler catching a fish by some mathematical formula. Rockling.

Fascinating site, wasted a whole hour exploring it, supposed to be shopping! I have bookmarked it. Rockling.

Put it all on, if you are drift fishing rough ground the braid can become frayed and can suddenly snap if snagged. Further I once had to cut the line next to the rod tip having become totally snagged on some underwater obstruction which simply would not pull out, and the boat was about to move, everybody else was out the water, and my rod looked like snapping.... You will need the extra line to continue fishing if such disasters occur. If you are trying to work out how much line to put on to correctly fill the reel to the top with braid then use the formula Pi r squared dT minus Pi r squared d1 to estimate it (volume of cylinder of spool minus volume of backing which leaves the volume of the braid); this is more critical if using braid on a fixed spool for heavy duty shore fishing. If you are using a large boat multiplier then there may be plenty room on the spool to put it on above the mono you have been using, braid is much thinner and compact than equivalent mono. Have fun and remember to bring a bit of wood, end of a broom handle is suitable, to wrap the braid round if you get snagged, never use your hands! Rockling.

Thanx for arranging my Avatar, next milestone is the next post! Good Luck!

Well done, kentangler, will get typing. The revolution in how the seas are managed must succeed!

I can think of certain marks where the seabed is reputed to be composed of lead sinkers!

Trawling has to end, there is no future for this method of commercial fishing in any fishery, anywhere in this world, that understands how eco-systems work. Is anyone up to date on the most recent types of nets/trawling systems? I gather the Danes developed specialised systems which they could stake out previously unassailable wrecks with; I understand the latest trawls plough up the seabed destroying the whole eco-system. Trawling has been compared to cutting down the forest to capture the deer but the reality is worse, the "forest" is totally uprooted and laid to waste. What has this to do with blanks? Well even the best of anglers will blank if the sea in front of him or her has been trawled to extinction. Crikey I blanked for the second time this year on Sunday (I have a liberal interpretation of what saves a blank, anything fishy, no matter the size counts!) but I have no concerns about the odd blank. However, the continuing rape of the North Sea and British Waters in general does cause me great concern. I must think about the seriousness of what threatens the seas at least five times a day or more. I suspect most of you do the same, particularly if some fishing related item appears on the TV. Make our collective voices count! Support Leon Roskilly and others who seek to inform and influence our political masters as and when they request action. E-mails are good, a written protest is even better, though time consuming. Do not report good catches on this forum! The area will probably be trawled or longlined within a few days. In fact, the more I think about it, I think I have blanked on every trip this year Hi Diabolos, bad to see you! You dish out the Heavy metal! demon Rockling. PS I wonder if my new blank free politically correct atavar has been arranged?

I give the postman a bottle, also the binmen. However, I reported the milkman to the CSA.... Rockling. To be serious for a mo, are there any milkmen with milk runs still active in the UK?

Get a flotation suit, dead simple, body is recovered, wife can claim the insurance money. If you aint got insurance you should not be fishing; I am one of the most cautious rock anglers on this planet but even I have been dumped by a wave in a place I would not choose to visit! Rockling. PS insure your tackle as well! I didn't!

4th shot down, what is that underneath the boat - shades of "We need a bigger boat!" Rocky.

Sounds like a lamprey, a parasitic species.

I use an 8" metal piston thingie that I picked it in a scrapyard many moons ago. It is solid stainless steel about 3/4" in diameter with a pre-drilled hole handy for a lanyard. One hit is all it takes; thankfully I rarely use it these days as I return everything unless I am in a comp. If it was an older policeman who gave you the truncheon it should work OK, those guys used to drill out the business end and fill it with lead! Ouch!

Thank you so much Scrabster Dangler, I will pass this on to the Boat Convenor for action. Rocky.

Can you put up contact details for the Karen, Thurso Angler. Would be much obliged as we, all the Rocklings, are planning our trips for 2005 and Dunnet Head has figured in our fishy deliberations. Thanx in anticipation.

I think the main irritant from the worms is some form of ammonia excreted by the worms. The problem is much worse with the worm sold in Iberian climes as "Americanos". I felt as if my skin was being desquamated as I threaded them on the bait needle! Worm damage to skin certainly comes into play when fishing prolonged competitions of 3 to 5 days, when it becomes important to take care of your fingers on a daily basis and try and avoid small cuts which can turn into septic hacks. Using non-scented emulsifying ointment prior to fishing also helps in this type of situation, it simply acts as a barrier cream. Though some would say this taints the bait. I remember one poor chap who had all those problems and reached to take a 'goby' off his hook, only it was a weever, and the resultant infected sting on top of macerated hands nearly totally curtailed his fishing. Do the freshwater matchmen get the same problems with maggots? These creatures copiously produce ammonia to the extent that the local tackle shop will not put farmed rag in the same cooler as their stock of maggots as the ammonia produced kills the rag. Re Spur-Hound's point about the peat, that stuff is fairly acidic I think and can only add to the corrosive effect of the worms secretions, which probably have other properties like a bad taste and tunnel wall stabilisation? Any marine biologist out there with the answers?

RE Haar, good Norse word, I always understood this term to mean a sea fog which moved on to the land, many miles inland re the East coast of Scotland.

Re fish oil, are they still using sandeel to fire the power stations in Denmark?

Use grip weights, you can only fish in close to the wall because of the fierce river flow. Best mark is to east of railway bridge. Hint: find a foot rest. Peeler, worm and mussel all work. Weed and debris from the sewers can be very troublesome and tiresome. If you cannot catch at least fifteen fish in a six hour session, excluding the odd day when nothing seems to attract fish, then reappraise your whole approach. Six out of the fifteen will be in size on average. Use a three hook flapper rig, bait scent is all important. Beachcasters are not necessary, scale down to spinning rod/fixed spool outfit. Tesco is really good value for an all day breakfast. Sea trout have featured in my last six trips there, all returned. If you want bigger flatties try the coup just up the road towatds Perth. It is a good venue for match fishing and can begood fun. Distance casting when the tide stands can produce codling, but you only have a twenty minute window for this. Good Luck! Rocky.

Hi Ian, yes, a very large Cigar shaped cylinder, off to the right hand side of the rocks as you looked seaward.

Rocky's getting confused, his tiny Rockling brain has trouble remembering even the geography and topography of the little cave he lives in with his brood. Mulling over the posts he wonders if we are getting Mull of Kintyre (mist rolling in from the sea! East and West Loch Tarbert)and Mull of Galloway (Drumore and Port Logan) mixed up, Rocky was definitely at the Mull of Galloway within the last few weeks and there were no access problems!

I was there recently, there was no problems with access (parked on the grass at the end of the track) and there was good sport with small pollack on lead heads baited with sand eel. Baits ledgered close in took wrasse, further out LSD's. Anyone know what that wreck was? Huge section on shore, other large peice is marked with a buoy. Rocky

I append details of post I put on in the coarse section which is relevent to this query. Winter, have you had much experience using braid on fixed spool reel? I have only used braid on a multiplier boat fishing at sea where superior bite detection more than compensates for braid's drawbacks. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. I am glad you seem to be succeeding with your crab pond, often it is the only bait that works. Regards Rocky other post follows if Mod allows I have had this problem with certain mono lines, eventual underloaded spool; I think some brands, e.g. Ron Thompson, are more 'springy' than others and need stretched before they are loaded on to the reel spool, or certainly wound on under a degree of pressure. Turning over the line spool every 20 to 30 turns while loading the reel spool helps reduce line twist problems and memory effects. However despite these precautions you will still get the odd occasion when your fixed spool seemingly magically empties itself of copious coils of line simply because you are slow to get the tension restored to the line after casting! Braid is the opposite (on multipliers) - it digs in after prolonged use and the line needs carefully taken off and relaid to ensure smooth reel operation. This can be hidden, I recently had problems fishing in deeper water at sea - I found the underlying braid, viz the stuff normally hidden and deep to the working line, was deeply fangled and tangled through this digging in phenomenon, I had to abandon fishing with that reel and spend a considerable time sorting it out ashore. I have a friend who swears that braid has a life of its own and cannot but tangle other lines as it yearns for company and friendship, since it suffers nothing but abuse from anglers! He swears he saw loose coils lying on the water beside the boat purposefully move across to entangle the lines of other rods. Whatever the attraction braid can cause some memorable fankles! Rocky

I have had this problem with certain mono lines, eventual underloaded spool; I think some brands, e.g. Ron Thompson, are more 'springy' than others and need stretched before they are loaded on to the reel spool, or certainly wound on under a degree of pressure. Turning over the line spool every 20 to 30 turns while loading the reel spool helps reduce line twist problems and memory effects. However despite these precautions you will still get the odd occasion when your fixed spool seemingly magically empties itself of copious coils of line simply because you are slow to get the tension restored to the line after casting! Braid is the opposite (on multipliers) - it digs in after prolonged use and the line needs carefully taken off and relaid to ensure smooth reel operation. This can be hidden, I recently had problems fishing in deeper water at sea - I found the underlying braid, viz the stuff normally hidden and deep to the working line, was deeply fangled and tangled through this digging in phenomenon, I had to abandon fishing with that reel and spend a considerable time sorting it out ashore. I have a friend who swears that braid has a life of its own and cannot but tangle other lines as it yearns for company and friendship, since it suffers nothing but abuse from anglers! He swears he saw loose coils lying on the water beside the boat purposefully move across to entangle the lines of other rods. Whatever the attraction braid can cause some memorable fankles! Rocky