davehux

I was over there about 5 years ago. Shore fishing is banned from the tourist islands. I tried a sneaky spinning session with a telescopic rod I took with me, and got dobbed in to the island manager by some German tourists. Caught a couple of 'shiny' fish before they dragged me out We did 2 boat trips from the island (Meeru) One was a 2 hour night session. Most others were given handlines, I used my rod. We all caught a few wrasse type species. We then had an early morning 'big game', trolling lures. Caught a couple of wahoo around 5-6lb, but the staff on the boat were a pain in the arse and insisted on pulling the line in for you, while you just reeled in the slack - they had no idea about what proper anglers might want. My advice would be to buy a snorkel and mask and go out on one of the swimming trips at the far edge of the reef. To fin off from 3ft of water and look down as the reef drops vertically into hundreds or thousands of feet of dark blue water was quite an experience.

Sorry to be a party-pooper on this thread, but drink driving for boaters is a serious issue. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6744567.stm

Hi Andy I took a telescopic rod and some lures over there about 5 years ago. I'd managed about 5 casts and caught a couple of small unidentified fish, before I got reported to the resort manager by some Germans!!! Shore fishing is most certainly banned from the tourist islands. We did a couple of boat fishing trips and had wahoo to 15lb, but the crew members insisted on pulling the fish in for you, so it was a total waste of time for even a slightly serious angler. Dave

You may laugh - but it sold for £402,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6214952.stm

Hi Glenn Here's my list Falmouth - public toilets, car park near by, pontoon boarding Exmouth - toilets in cafe, car park near by, pontoon boarding Dartmouth (Kingsweir) - toilets in Royal Dart hotel, car park near by, pontoon boarding Salcombe - public toilets, car park near by, board from edge of slipway Weymouth - no toilets nearby, car parking a nightmare in summer, pontoon boarding Minehead - public toilets nearby, car park 200m away, steps down harbour wall - often have to climb across 2 boats to yours Clovelly - pub toilets, car park 500m away up steep hill, steps down harbour wall All the best Dave

Try it with pollack - makes a fantastic 'smoked haddock' substitute in fish pies etc. We've got a couple of apple trees and I've had a large branch in my garage for a couple of years now. Whenever I need some chippings, I run an electric planer over it and fire the chippings into a carrier bag stuck over the outlet nozzle - bingo!!! Give a less harsh smoked flavour than oak

My mate has a Shetland 536 (17ft) which has the same hull design as the Raider (gullwing) It's a good compromise between comfort and speed. Doesn't slam like a Warrior but it's not as fast. More of a seagoing cabin cruiser than a hairy-arsed fishing boat. Good freeboard on it, so you feel safe in a lumpy sea. I have a Maritime 21 with a Yanmar 30hp diesel. Only does 6.5kts but will handle a lot of sea and is a very comfortable ride as it's a displacement hull. Also costs me less than a tenner in fuel for a full day's fishing Like everything, yer pays yer money and makes yer choice - speed, comfort, economy, size? Dave

Hi Do you mean trailerable in that you'll take it to somewhere and then put it on a mooring, or are you planning to trail it to a location and recover each time? None of those boats you've quoted are really suitable for constant launching. It takes 2 people and a rollercoaster trailer to launch something like a Warrior and they are much smaller and lighter than these. Trying to get a Seaworker on and off a trailer would be a nightmare - they weigh over 2 tons!!!!! You should get 10-12 knots out of an 80hp Seaworker as they are a semi-displacement hull. People claim 20kts with a 130hp Dave

Hi Elton Don't waste your money on cheap crap like that. They'd be OK for a rowing boat on a lake or sheltered water, but a 17ft'er could easily snap a fluke off it in bouncy conditions. As others have said, a Bruce (or copy) is a very good anchor that works well in lots of situations. I have a 5kg Bruce on my 21ft displacement hull boat that weighs almost 2 tons and it holds no problem at all. The main holding power of an anchor is in the chain. A bruce needs plenty of it to keep the shank horizontal to the seabed. You should have a minimum of 3 metres of 8mm for a 17ft'er, and really 4m would be better. Also rig the anchor as a trip, with the chain linked to the anchor near the blade, and attached to the end of the shank with a cable tie. This will get you out of a snagged anchor situation 99.9% of the time by snapping the tie and dragging the anchor out backwards Hope this helps Dave

Went out last night for a couple of hours - a bit rough, but still loads of mackerel showing on the sounder. Could drop a set of feathers right on their noses. Not much else apart from a small pollack and a dog

Anglers are more than welcome at Chapel View Farm, situated within a 20 minute drive of both North and South Cornish coasts. Plenty of secure dry storage for your gear, room available for a boat if you want to bring one, and freezer space available for the catch, mean that we are definately 'fishermen friendly' If I'm going fishing myself, join me on my 21ft boat for a day out around Falmouth and south Cornwall coast. With high class accommodation for 2 persons, Chapel View Farm gives you the chance to fish in the clean Cornish sea, while enjoying all the comforts of home. See all the details and book on-line at www.chapel-view-farm.co.uk

Plenty of mackerel around from Porthkerris. We've been struggling to get much else from the boats recently - mainly dogs