Mullet

[Angry Boat Owner]

I have read most of the posts here and would like to clarify as follows :-

 

Threats

I have confirmed that I hope I dont bump into Matt at the marina. This does not mean I am about to put him into a crab pot and be done with him - as many of you would like to believe.

Reading thru the earlier posts by Matt he intimates that he will show others where to catch them. Clearly in a no fishing marina this will cause problems. As Matt does not have a boat, does not pay any form of membership and the marina is locked and secured I stand by my statement " I hope I dont bump into you at the Marina". I gave Matt the 30 day pass code to come in and work on my boat - I did not want any further abuse of my trust.

 

Payment for boat work

I asked Matt if he wanted a days work cleaning and polishing my boat. As I know Matt is a keen angler I did say that the ONE proviso is that he did not take a rod and did not fish as I would not be present. I did say that once the boat was all cleaned and polished I would come down and pay him AND we might be able to have a crafty half hour with the rods out. Matt WAS invited into the Marina - but under that strict proviso.

 

Matt did not do a very good job - the boat WAS left in a state and I DID have to pay for it to be professionally cleaned. I have the receipts to prove this !

 

I am a KEEN angler - I have caught MANY mullet. Everybody on this forum will therefore know that wet bread goes off like Araldite if left. Even if you are fastidiously clean when fishing for mullet, wet bread WILL fall off the hook etc. My boat was left in a mess. It's only a few months old - therefore even a "small mess" is going to stand out like a sore thumb.

 

Matt himself emailed me to apologies after the event and confirmed that he DID NOT want paying as he had not done a very good job and had left me boat in a state.

 

Clearly Matt's young mind was more focussed on the fish/mullet which clearly proved to be far too tempting to him.

I TRUSTED Matt with my £250k new boat as he is NOT a bad fella thru and thru - but he has demonstrated naivity beyond his years. I have worked with plenty of youths who CAN be trusted - they have undertaken work experience in my Company over many years. With Matt it was misplaced trust - my fault entirely.

 

The capture

Matt did call me several times during the day when he was meant to be working - I was caught up at work. Upon reflection I would imagine Matt called me regularly to find out where I was as I suspect the calling of the mullet was simply too much for him and he did not want to be caught inflagrante, rod in hand.

 

Whilst at the marina, there was no sign of a rod onboard my boat, I would imagine that if he had one it was hidden ? There are plenty of lockers / storage onboard my boat I did not check these but it goes some way into explaining my mis-placed trust. In his pictures there is a rod - but it appears to be unmade up ? Either it has appeared after I was there or indeed Matt did have a rod "hidden up" - either way there is an element of deceipt here...

 

I left the Marina and asked Matt to clear up and leave as he clearly had NOT been working and he seemed totally fazed - I have no idea what was wrong with him that day but he was not the usual Matt. Again, I suspect perhaps seeing untold mullet all around the boat and not being allowed to fish had made him unwell. At no point was Matts Dad around - who I have also met before and he's a MORE than decent chap !

 

About half an hour after I had let the marina, MY father called me on my mobile. He too has a boat moored in the Marina and had just come thru the lock gates and into the marina with several people onboard only to find Matt with a large fish in MY landing net. When my father asked him what he was doing (he was meant to be clearing up and leaving) Matt said to him and the other two witness's onboard my father's boat that he had just scooped up a big mullet. There was nobody else onboard my boat - Matt was on his mobile phone. My father asked him politely to put the fish back, put my landing net back and to leave as he too did not want ang grief from the Marina staff. My father then moored up his boat.

 

I can only guess that Matt was on the phone to his father and his Dad drove down with a camera etc. But Matt's Dad was NOT there when it was caught. I imagine that he did see it and did help weigh it - I have no doubts in this respect.

 

With regards to the net / the rod - who knows ? Only ONE person does. For sure I do not know and Matts Dad will not know - but there is a LOT of evidence to make that dsomewhat dubious - including three witness's who all concur that Matt did say he scooped it up in a net !

 

Aftermath

I was pretty pooped off that I had trusted Matt down there, unsupervised, and I will never fall into that trap again. I had to clean up my boat - there were several large scales (well they would not be small ones with a 10lb mullet !) and I tried to clean off the rock hard bread-glue, but it was all over my teak gunwhales, handrails and seats and the sun had set it rock solid.

Matt never called me to say he had landed a GIANT fish - I guess he knew that my 1st reaction would not be too complimentary. He did email me to say sorry about the mess and not working and also for getting caught with my landing net and a fish after I had left him. He also did say he did not want paying - which I accepted.

 

Green Eye Monster

I had all but forgotten the incident, until my father went into a tackle shop and there was a picture of Matt holding a HUGE mullet claiming the boat caught record and winning lots of prizes, a reel etc.

 

First and foremost - the fish is UNDENIABLY HUGE - but there are MONSTER MULLET in this marina that make that one look small by comparison. I have had quite a few 6 and 7 pounders - but larger ones have evaded me - although I only have the odd 15 mins here and there to try for them.

 

HOWEVER - at this point, I did get the hump. Purely and simply because not only had my trust been broken, but also this fish was being paraded as the new boat caught record and the Captor was being heralded as the Lord of Mullet.....

 

I am a keen angler - perhaps almost a good angler - but I have fished with MANY anglers who are much better and infinitely more dedicated to their sport/pastime than I ever will be. Yet they will NEVER catch a 10lb mullet unless they have the "opportunity" to wangle a rod in this marina, other marina's.

 

I therefore sent a message to the Mullet Club to advise that it was NOT quite as straightforwards a catch as it may have appeared. I then learned that it was being treated as a SERIOUS Boat Caught record. I have spoken to and have emailed the BRFC and have advised them of the circumstances of this capture.

WHY ? Because I simply do not think that it is fair that the genuine boat caught record ought to be held by a fish caught in a "pond". It's not fair on the countless dozens of Mullet anglers I know VERY well who will fish their entire lives and never have the opportunity of catching such a fish.

 

 

Conclusion

There are many on here who have "rallied" to the cause and there are also a few who have remained unswayed by any comments, but who have looked at the facts and they have some concerns. I have no real grievance with young Matt - he want's to be a hero and I'm sure if he sticks at his football he will be - he probably will become a squillionaire and buy a HUGE boat and moor it up next to mine ! And I wish him well.

However, in this instance I put pen to paper - and YES I do agree that my initial comments were indeed borne out of frustration - afterall, I typed "matt baldwin mullet" into google to find out if a record claim had been made and promptly found this forum ! (which is why I never reporte it earlier)

 

My father DID ring Matt at home and yes he too was pooped off. Not green eyed jealousy or the rantings of a mad-man, but he too did not want ANY more grief from the marina as Matt had told a few others that he would try and get them in and do another spot of fishing.

 

So - there you have it. Mafia / death-threats / record mullet / sunk boats / the works...

 

I wish all forum members all the very best - good luck with your fishing and Tight Lines - I am unlikely to post any future replies etc as I am not a very dedicated angler, unlike you fella's !

[Angry Boat Owner]

Here's a picture of a 6 1/4lb mullet I caught recently in the marina.

 

I put my bread bag out and there were around 30 mullet knocking the granny out of the bag to try and disloge the flakes.

 

(I reckon I could have got one in a net if I had tried - they were totally pre-occupied with the bread bag).

 

This fish is NOWHERE near the size of the 10lb'er - but it also looks smaller as I'm 5' 11 and 21 stone...

 

I didn't put the picture in any papers / magazines or let the mullet club know - it took me 5 mins to catch with some free-lined flake. Anybody could have caught it (mind you it was a b*gger to land - due to the proximity of all the other boats / pontoons - how you would land a 10lb'er on a rod with all those snags around I don't know...)

[Newt]

Angry person - you have surely taken a lot of time and expended a lot of typing energy beating up on a 17 y/o lad, trashing his catch, and fussing at any who have dared to side with him.

 

He can never work on your expensive boat again and you can easily duplicate what he did but don't want to brag. OK, we get it.

 

The phrase "It's a done deed so get over it and move on" comes to mind somehow.

[Angry Boat Owner]

Angry person - you have surely taken a lot of time and expended a lot of typing energy beating up on a 17 y/o lad, trashing his catch, and fussing at any who have dared to side with him.

 

He can never work on your expensive boat again and you can easily duplicate what he did but don't want to brag. OK, we get it.

 

The phrase "It's a done deed so get over it and move on" comes to mind somehow.

 

 

Sure - will do. I just thought I'd clear up a few matters and clarify that there was not a "contract" out on young Matt :-)

 

I did try to upload that pic of the mullet - above, but as a new / inexperienced forum member I think I fluffed it up..

 

I will also come to the next Mullet club meeting at the usual pub to buy Matt a drink - to show there is no REAL hard feelings.

[Guest muttley]

Funny that on the B.A.S.S forum Dave Rigden says that Mat is sure to walk away with

quote:'A van full of trophys'. Yet on here he says different. Make your mind up Dave.

[barry luxton]

Funny that on the B.A.S.S forum Dave Rigden says that Mat is sure to walk away with

quote:'A van full of trophys'. Yet on here he says different. Make your mind up Dave.

 

 

Equally so, one minute theres scales all over the boat, the next it's a few? Correction, several.

Edited August 14, 2007 by barry luxton

[five bellies]

Can we all kiss and make up now

[ColinW]

I think Angry Boat Owner has been astonishingly polite. If that isn't abuse of trust I don't know what is. When I had my tiny little old boat I didn't allow food onto the thing, so I imagine finding his pride and joy covered in bread and fish scales would cause him a great deal of distress.

It seems we have reached a point when we have to accept any behaviour from teenage lads on the grounds that it's better than kicking a 47 year old father to death somewhere.

 

As to the record claim. I can't believe that the BRFC would even consider a claim for a boat record when the boat is tied up in a marina. It is just beyond ridiculous.

[Cranfield]

Angry person - you have surely taken a lot of time and expended a lot of typing energy beating up on a 17 y/o lad, trashing his catch, and fussing at any who have dared to side with him.

 

He can never work on your expensive boat again and you can easily duplicate what he did but don't want to brag. OK, we get it.

 

The phrase "It's a done deed so get over it and move on" comes to mind somehow.

 

Isn't it strange how we all interpret things differently.

 

I thought the long explanation from Angry Boat Owner, was calm and reasoned.

He even apologised about going OTT before and explained why, in a fair manner.

The laying out of all the "facts" as he knows them throughout the day, was also properly done.

He also made many conciliatory comments to Matt.

 

No reasonable person could consider it, "beating up on a 17 y/o lad".

I suggest you read it again Newt, this time very carefully.

I'm not sure all of us would get away with your, sometimes acerbic, comments to new posters.

 

 

Edited for spelling error.

Edited August 14, 2007 by Cranfield

[Guest muttley]

Wise words Cranfield....not the first time Newt has got it wrong. Wont be the last either. It must be the American gene pool...Just look at Iraq