Neil

You will ready for them big boulders on the beach now Colin.......... Neil.

Sorry Dingle I missed that question the first time I read through the post, yes we were and anywhere in that area should produce as long as the tides not to big. We found that out on Sunday, as the sport was pegged back a bit with the bigger tide. We still conected with a few fish though. Plaice, dab, flounder and codling. Simon ticked one off on his wish list as well. Neil

Just to bring this one to the top, if any one is going on Sunday let me know and I will PM a time and some directions. Weather at the moment looks fine with an 8mph Northerly forecast. Neil.

I just wondered if anyone has used a down rigger from there Yak for trawling yet ? I was out at the weekend and had a go at trawling jellies for Pollock but had problems with the lures rising up in the tide as I picked up speed. I use this technique with good results from my boat, but I use 4oz leads and uptide gear then. The obvious answer on the Yak is to increase the weight, slowing the trawl speed is not an option. I like to fish as light as possible so I thought about fixing up a down rigger with a depth counter. Has anybody had any experience on this? I know it's used a lot in the Lakes for ferrox etc. Neil.

Nice report Speciman, good point on the re- entry. It's something we forget but should all practice on a fine day so that it becomes second nature in an emergency situation. Neil.

Superb..... Well done that man, and another two species as well, things are at last picking up. summer is on it's way.......... Neil.

http://www.anglersafloat.co.uk/Prowler_AnchorTrolley.htm Neil

The plaice bashing date is now set for Sunday the 30th April, so that might suit suit you as well David. It will be easier as the tide is a wee bit later that day and not quite so big. Just pray for some decent weather. Neil

Might be an early start that one Simon, It's a big tide and LW is around 8am. It would be ideal if we were on the water for 8.30 ish. It fishes throughout the flood but at it's best for the first three hours.If the weather is kind you will have had your fill by lunch time. Fingers crossed......... Neil.

I have PM'd you with some info Simon. I think a trip is on the cards very soon, will just have to see if there is any more interested parties... The fish will be there for a few months yet. If it does drop off a bit theres still a good chance if you can get afloat you will get a fish. Neil.

Location X.... A secret fishing location......

Poddler............. North East name for a Coalfish.

The salt water beckons now no doubt. Well done on the first dip. I find the same water ingress through the hatch after the boat has been righted after a capsize. Neil.

Sellafield is a wee bit off from where we were today. Yes you can eat them but most of the ones we had today went back, I kept the two biggest, they are still a bit thin after spawning. They will feed up now for a couple of months then they will make good eating. If you are going for a shot I will PM you exact locations. Neil.

Just 8' , the deepest mark I fished all day was just 15' Neil.

Spent a few hours today looking back at the hills in the Lake District. On our first Plaice outing of the year I managed 14 Plaice and one whopping Dab. Had a few double shots and a few nicer fish, knocking on the two pound mark. Lake district in the background. A double whammy... A better sized one.... Neil.

That's a bummer, Makes you wonder though about the testing. What does pressurising it with air and submerging tell you......that it does not have a hole in it at that time. But it doesn't tell you if there is a thin or weak spot that will fail once you stress the hull a bit like shipping it around the world will do I brought this up with Andy in an earlier thread, I have my doubts. I can't see how they can pressure test the finished article. The front hatch is not water tight let alone air tight. I have a new model that is water tight but if you shine a light up through the scuppers you can see pin point areas where the plastic is very thin. I hope you get some resolve soon. Neil.

There's lots of good info in that article Bill. The best way to learn is practice in a small sea, you can have fun in a swell of less than 2'. The best advice in that article is lean into the wave if you start surfing. You can see from this pic that the boat is leant into the wave and the paddle is kept in the water away from the direction of travel for support. You can see the rear scuppers working well on that one. Remember to take care and don't do this alone. A friend of mine broke his back in the surf years ago. He was pinned upside down against his kayak when a wave smashed down on him. Neil.

It was good fun, had a few wipe outs. This one is a dodgy manouvre, surfing backwards then being splatted by another wave in the process. You can see the stern starting to submarine.

Had a quick shot out from Thorntonloch today with the prospect of chucking some fluff at the Bass, we were met by a decent swell that put the reef out of bounds for us. After punching through it we went off shore for a bit and then turned North and headed up to Skateraw beach. Chucked a few lures about on the way back down but never seen a fish all afternoon. Ended up on the beach with gear offloaded playing in the surf....

Hi Colin It looks a bit like a Uni knot or grinner. Have a look here. http://www.animatedknots.com/uniknot/index...imatedknots.com Neil.

Test pilot 3 reporting for duty ! Got the Hovis flies in the post this morning Snatcher, many thanks, just need some settled weather to get them tried out. The weed flies look just the job as well. I will keep you up dated with the trials. Neil...

Snatcher, I tried to PM you but it said your mailbox was full so I e-mailed you my address. Cheers Neil..........

PM me if your going to Thorntonloch I will tag a long for a bit of support if yer going on yer tod. I have a P13, but Alans not got his yet, . He was trying the P13 out today and I think he's going for the same, plus one for his son Steven. Going to need a bigger roof rack. Neil.

Hi Colin Have you had the P13 out in the sea yet ? It's been a bit rough for me so far this year. I braved the weather today and went to Yetholm Loch, it was baltic. It's been frozen over and not long thawed out. My brother Alan had the fly rod out but I stuck to the spinning rod, too cold for stripping line.... I landed one Pike and lost another one at the side of the boat. Neil.