Dave B

Small halibut 'chickens' can be pack hunters, but most large halibut are solitary fish. They will chase a baitfish up through 100 metres of water and hit it on the surface no problem - I've seen a 350-pounder (est) smacking hell out of a 20lb coalfish on the surface in Norway - I even managed to cast a livebait at it cos it was on the surface for so long, but I didn't hook the bugger! One thing I have learned about the halibut is that they hate metal - so use a soft bait like squid or a live coalie, or a shad if you want to catch one - throw away your pirks! You'll find that most of the halibut caught on 'pirks' in Norway are actually hooked on the soft Gummi Mac lure fished at the top end of the pirk. A soon as they taste metal they spit the lure. I'm up this week Paul, and I wanna talk o you about dates next summer for a proper look for the big butts! Speak soon

I've got a pair of MTI 15lb Offshores and I've been using them for uptiding with no problems at all, even with 8oz of lead and a decent bait. In fact, I've been using the rods pretty much exclusively all summer and I've caught tope over 40lb, conger over 45lb and a whole host of other species like blonde rays, pollack and cod on them - I love 'em, they're great!

I take it that picture shown isn't of the 58lb cod he caught on the rod! There's no way he could hold it out like that with an outstretched arm - plus it looks way smaller than the 40-pounder I caught a few months back - I'm 6ft 5ins tall and it's tail went down past my knees when I held the head up level with mine. Greys Excursion rods are really good though - I've got a 20/30lb and the 30/50lb and have used them all over the world - they're good for playing striped marlin on!

Let us know how you get on - I'd be interested to find out!

I've caught bass, by accident, in over 240ft of water on a wreck off Brixham. They were black as a piece of coal, but it just goes to show that they can frequent really deep water too. My biggest bass, 9lb 15oz, was caught in a hole about 75ft deep in the Thames. In fact, a lot of big bass are caught in the Thames in around 70ft of water, mostly when guys are targeting the tope.

Hi Paul, any chance myself and Tugboat Jim can jump on board on the Sunday to fish the comp and cover it in the mag? D B

I got 'escorted' out of the marina shortly after hooking and losing a double-figure bass! I can't remember if I was more gutted about losing a double-figure bass, or about not being able to try and catch the even bigger bass that I could see swimming around! Anyway, my 'Mee no speaka di inglish' routine didn't wash with the local police, but they were really good about it and simply told me to go and fish the beach and not in the marina! There are some really massive bass to be caught at Vilamoura, and you can catch them off the beaches at night. Depending on where you stay, you'll see the locals fishing at dawn and dusk with bubble float rigs (for casting distance) and white Redgills. Work an artificial eel from any beach or pier and you stand a really good chance of a bass first thing in the morning or last at night. I'd quite fancy lobbing a whole squid or two out at night too - I bet that would work. There are also loads of huge mullet to be caught too - but why fish for mullet when there are loads of double-figure bass about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've caught mackerel from various locations around the UK all through the year - the most memorable was out of Littlehampton late December when the river had started to freeze! Ada's right about the optimum temperature that brings the mackerel in to feed - it's all to do with zooplankton and phytoplankton and loads more sciency stuff! Of course there is also the fact that warmer water speeds up digestion in pelagic species such as the mackerel, so they will naturally move inshore to shallower, warmer water to grow bigger, quicker!

'Ere Murph, what happened to the tarpaulin and rope idea then? LOL I'm sure you'll be able to make a hatch easy enough mate - it's not that hard. Just don't go sniffing the resin or you'll fall off the boat!

I used to go through the whole rigmarole of peeling, drying, wrapping and freezing peelers. That was until I got home late some 15 years ago and couldn't be bothered and just lobbed a small plastic bag with about 20 crabs in the freezer. I took them out for a spring shore session some 6 months later and they were spot on. Ever since then I've simply bagged them up, whole, and frozen them - they come out far better than when you spend hours peeling and preparing them!

I can remember seeing the first ever Stella in the UK, some 10 or so years ago. The reel was originally developed for casting with really light lines by the Japanese - it only came with a very shallow spool that you'd be hard pushed to get 100 yards of 15lb mono on! I've since seen the newer models, and they are superb. But - who the hell would want to spend that amount of dosh on a fixed spool reel? I'd be too scared to use it!

Those small mullet make superb livebaits for bass - especially in marinas! I think a cast net is the most effective method for catching them.

Try using a 70mm redgill about two feet up from the plug on a blood loop - that always works for me!

Hi Ada, sorry mate, I've been flying around like a nutter the past week or so. I'll buzz ya when I get back mate. Had a great day today, myself and one of the Welsh lads both hooked into fish at the same time, and they both weighed exactly 28lb 8oz a piece! Top sport. Loads of pics up in the Gallery on the BFM site.

Today's weather was great - but the fishing harder. We still had great sport with coalies up to 14/15lb on light spinning gear though, plus a load of cod to 16lb. I lost a pig yesterday - I reckon over the 40lb mark! It took a coalfish that i'd hooked as I was winding up. Had it on for about fifteen seconds before it parted company - gutted! Maybe tomorrow? There's a few more pics uploaded from todays exploits on the BFM site. Hey Murph... wish you were here!

Hi all, I received this press release yesterday while I was on a day off fishing at Grafham water. Recreational anglers wriggle out of EU quotas plans Conservative pressure and amendments pay off Brussels, 31st March 2009 -- Plans to bring recreational anglers into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) have been watered down significantly by the European Parliament‚s fisheries committee in a vote this afternoon. Article 47 of the proposed regulation would have required recreational fishermen to register their boats and whatever they catch would be counted against the fisheries quota for that country. Each country will also be required to allocate what share of its quota for each fish species will be available for commercial and recreational fisheries use. Struan Stevenson MEP, Conservative fisheries spokesman in the European Parliament, has led opposition to Article 47 in Brussels and while his amendment to delete it altogether was rejected, he was able to reword the proposal so that national governments could decide whether they would include recreational fishermen in the regulation. Earlier today, in an answer to a written question posed to the commission by Mr Stevenson, EU Fisheries Commissioner, Joe Borg, confirmed: „The normal hobby angler who catches an insignificant number of fish when he goes out fishing and uses it exclusively for his private consumption will not be covered by the control regulation, even if he catches fish like cod which is under a recovery plan.„ After the vote, Mr Stevenson said: „I am sorry that my amendment to delete article 47 was defeated in the Fisheries Committee. However, the fallback amendment which won majority support, together with the written answer I have received from Commissioner Borg, reassures me that recreational anglers have nothing to fear from the revised article 47. „Only fishermen who target recovery stocks such as cod, hake, eel and bluefin tuna and seek to sell their catch, will come under the jurisdiction of the CFP. Recreational anglers who are simply catching fish, even cod or other recovery stock fish, for their own consumption, will not be affected.„ Richard Benyon MP, Shadow Fisheries Minister said: „I really sense we are making progress. Recreational fishermen and the communities that benefit from the tourism they bring can have confidence that the vast majority will be excluded from this regulation. It is disappointing that despite all their rhetoric there were no amendments from UKIP opposing or seeking to change this measure. British anglers need politicians who will be effective in reining in some of the EU‚s more bizarre proposals.„ Jimmy Buchan, star of BBC TV‚s ‚Trawlermen‚ series and Chairman of the Scottish Fishermen‚s Organisation (SFO) said: „I am delighted that the majority of recreational anglers are now taken out of the equation. However I am alarmed that for those who seek to sell their catch, quota will be deducted from hard-pressed commercial skippers to provide them with an allocation. I have voiced my concerns about this to Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg in person.„ ENDS

Arfter wotchin dat rubsome green on tha telly, Oi iz gowin darn tha rivvar to spearz sum poikes fur moi dinnars, yum yums!

I should imagine that every live bait we use feels 'pain', but we choose to ignore it. Who'd be a ragworm eh! Anyway, I doubt that crabs feel anywhere near the amount of pain the Murph is gonna feel tonight! Apparently he's thinking of fishing The Wall in a Force 6 and torrential rain!

If I were you Kev, I'd take a crash helmet along with you if you're gonna be casting or fishing with Murph - he's bloomin' deadly!

Yeah, it is a bit out of the way, but then again a lot of the best fishing destinations are. I've done a couple of trips where there is 24 hours or more travelling involved - International flight, chartered light aircraft flight, ferry then a private speedboat to get to an island in the Bahamas! Needless to say the fishing was totally awesome, but getting there was a real adventure in itself! I think 300k in a jeep sounds okay considering what's at the other end. You certainly wouldn't want to go for any less than 10 days though - all that travelling really takes it out of you!

I know - If I wasn't so busy I'd be down there now! Let me know if you go fella.

Mozambique is one of the best places in the world to go for a big Giant Trevally! I can remember seeing a video about eight years ago where three guys camped out on the beach and caught over 100 sharks and loads of massive GTs on huge white surface popper plugs. They ended the week-long stay by landing a 50lb GT head! Yes, just the head weighed around 50lb, a monster of a shark took the fish after an hour of playing it. They estimated the GT to weigh well in excess of 200lb - they'd already caught loads over 120lb. If you're sure that the boats you'll be fishing on don't have any gear, then I would definitely take a 30lb/ 50lb boat rod and reel with you. It's all well and good fishing for 20lb fish on a spinning rod, but I think you'll find that there are a lot of VERY BIG fish at Mozambique. I'd hate for you to go all the way there, get smashed to smithereens and be left without any suitable gear to catch the brutes that are there! There are some really big black marlin caught there, but you'll be too late for them unless you're going at the end of the year. However, if you're there from April onwards it's prime time for sailfish! If I were going I'd take a 20/30lb boat rod, 30/50lb boat rod and a heavy spinning rod. That would cover me for everything. (I'd also take a couple of fly rods cos there's some fantastic flats fishing for bonefish too). The other essential is of course wire! Everything has teeth, so you'll need plenty of single strand - especially for the wahoo and kings. I use Malin Stealth Wire to rig all my lures. If ya want any more info I'll do my best.

They may have been big bass and not cod at all. There have been some real beasts caught in the past couple of weeks - a lot of double figure fish (mainly along the south coast).

Yeah Maaan, it was real grooovy. Hey Ade, you haven't got rid of that lovely old black bucket and bought a shiny new orange one have you?

I'm not having a dig at Mark personally, from what I have read on here the poor chap is up to his eyeballs. And yes I agree that time will tell as far as how the AT is concerned. The thing that I am annoyed about is the fact that we have Article 47 looming over our heads as we speak and we do not have 'time'. When the AT was 'officially' launched in January, they should have had things in place and ready to go - especially on the sea angling side of things. It's like Nissan launching a new range of cars - but oh, you'll have to wait six months because we haven't got any doors or headlights sorted for them yet! Why announce that you are the new voice of UK sea angling when you're clearly not! That is where the AT has accrued a lot of bad feeling from the sea angling public. We've know about AT since November 2007, and I forget exactly when it was that the NFSA threw their ten grand into the pot, I think it was mid October 2008. So what was happening during the months in-between? Why didn't they appoint a sea fishing representative? Did they know that Aritcle 47 was looming? We need the support now, not in six month's time, and none of us can see where this help is going to come from. It certainly isn't going to come from one poor fella who already has far too much work to do. I just feel that if the AT were at all serious about sea anglers they would have got their act together before, or at least as soon as, the new 'supergroup' was launched. I, like many others, am frustrated and worried that we may not even need an angling voice in 12 month's time if things pan out as the loons in Brussels desire.