Salar

Any around the Solent or Isle of Wight area?

I prefer to fish only for edible species anyway, I have a moral dilemma about catching a fish, fighting it then putting it back...for my own pleasure. Even though I enjoy it! I will try any species that is of table size, and you can make a tasty meal out of most, with care. I don't like using live bait but make an exception for sand eels for some reason. Best table species I have caught are cod, pollack, whiting, bream, guarnard, bass, plaice in that order. I expect turbot, brill etc are nice but never been that lucky. Edible but not wonderful include rockling, garfish, wrasse, dogfish. Ray wings are good when prepared properly. Mackeral I enjoy smoked. We never buy fish, and eat fish once a week. Seems a good balance to me!

Yes, what's left of D-Day preparations. It was "dispersed" by the Navy, which means they wanted some fun with high explosives as it wasn't actually bothering anyone. Bits are still there but not much sticking up from the sea-bed. I've caught a few bass there in the past.

Go to http://www.go-fishing.org/upload/ , upload your photo (make sure its not more than about 700 wide), no spaces in the file name, then cut and past the line it comes back with starting "[img..." into your message. Peasy when you know how.

Night fishing for the first time is very scary. I can still remember my first trip, after conger. A mate and I went round to the edge of Sandown Bay (IoW) near the cliffs over a nice patch of rock, dead calm, very peaceful. As the sun went down we thought it was idyllic. After we had been fishing for a couple of hours the mist started to drop and the shore lights dissapeared one by one. Then our ears started to play tricks. Was the sound of waves on rocks getting nearer? We spend the whole night with our eyes on stalks, waiting for the crunch. No bites either. When the dawn broke we were exactly where we were anchored, obviously, but viz was still poor. We decided to head in, but as we rounded Bembridge we ran into a pea-souper and could see about 30 metres ahead. I piloted by GPS, mate hung out of the side to watch for pot floats and to scream if he saw the ferry. Just as I was wondering if I could find the entrance to Langstone Harbour between the lethal sandbank and the lethal sewer outfall, we came out of the fog bank into brilliant sunshine. Memorable, but not for the fishing!

Thats good news, nice to hear of them turning up. Did he have his big brothers with him I wonder?

It was a cold NNW today and many of the charter boats stayed in. Not may other boat anglers out either, judging by the quietness on Ch 10. Rather than miss a trip, I stayed close inshore sheltered from the worst of the wind, and had a 5lb bass, scad, schoolie, mackeral and pout, all on baited hokkai. Anyone who knows Spinnaker Tower will know exactly where I was..... Two weeks ago I had a 34lb tope within a mile of the shore, which goes to prove that its not just tiddlers this side of the Nab!

That's a bit unkind! You are what you are. Maybe Jane Hopkins from Lymington is more your type http://www.harvey-mayson.co.uk/reports.html

Lovely. Nice bass too.

I suspect the fish like the salt rather than the squid, as blood is salty, apparently.

I have just seen one at the Southampton boat show, and I am totally smitten. It would be a dream to fish from. There is now a UK importer - contact Steven Newton mobile 07834 666696 or admin@oasispromotions.fsnet.co.uk. He is a keen angler and has been using one to good effect from Dartmouth out towards the Skerries. True, they are expensive but the pedal propulsion is just brilliant. Imagine always having two hands free for fishing! If you call him, say you heard about it from that idiot who sat in his kayak on Tuesday, pedalling, smiling and looking vacant for half an hour. You can convert it back to a paddling kayak with a twist of a knob. You can also pop a sail in and sail it like a dinghy. I'm saving up already....

Propbably gone because out of the hundreds that go fishing and regularly visit AN, you'd get one or two posts a week. And if the few did post with a picture of a good catch, they were slagged off for keeping a few fish. So its hardly surprising reports are not there any more.

We saw one of those in Croatia on holiday this year. No big deal there but it was an amazing sight. The kids were absolutely convinced it was a real hummingbird. Nature is truly wonderful.

A bench would be a great idea, particularly if we can come up with a fitting plaque for it. Preferably with one of Alan's fishing jokes or an angling ditty. Someone will have to keep an eye on it though to make sure the brainless ones don't wreck it or nick it.

You can get casting floats from Europe mail order no problem. Askari among others do them.

King Henry VIII's favourite snack was lampreys. Ever tried one?

And Jaybee and Norrie and Spasor and Vagabond and Norma..... Alan posted a great report, a pity the pictures have been taken down now but his words are still there (search for Electric Blue in the title).

Alan, I know you are up there looking on - here's that picture again, you were so proud of Sonja that day. I am so glad I was able to contribute to that happy moment.

Are jelly worms as good as or better than redgills?

Those pics are very "Alan". Thank you Emz. Signed.

Norrie, I've sent 2 PMs asking for your address, did you get them or is your mailbox full?

Norrie, you wuz first by three minutes, if you mean it let me know because there is another bidder in the wings

Hi All, My Portable Huminbird fishfinder is on the For Sale/Wanted Forum, as it is battery driven it would suit a Yak. Also does side views as well as downards. Cheap as chips too. Nuff advertising, go see it.

I have upgraded my fishfinder so my trusty Humminbird must find a new home. Its the original Wide View model with Side View option, black on green display with very clear pixels, although pixels are larger than modern models. It is in first class condition, used inside the wheelhouse only. There is a permanent transom mount tranducer and cable, all undamaged. Mounting bracket and manual included also. In addition, I bought the portable kit that includes carry case, battery box (takes 2 square 6v batteries) and a portable (sucker type) transducer that also has a side view option for looking to one side or both sides. I used that for lake fishing from a hire boat. I have only had one problem with it, and I think it may be a problem with my hull rather than the unit, but it loses signal at high speeds. As soon as you drop down to 10knots or less the signal returns, so its never been a problem when locating marks. It might be due to turbulence under the hull, as there is a spray chine forward of where I mounted it. Its not the latest model, but cost me in total £225. Similar portable setups today will cost the same. I'm looking for £40 plus carriage (or can arrange local delivery)as a contribution to its replacement. Anyone interested?

Our FPO's came from the same mould - that's exactly how I got my smoker. I bought the dust from an angling shop that also sold smokers - the extra bags are bigger than the one supplied with the smoker. Can't remember which one, sorry. Chips are bigger, used more for BBQ and kettle-style BBQ/Smokers. Askari do a huge range of smokers, dust, accessories and brines mail order.