*screams in frustration*

[Jim Roper]

Kragen:

thanks jim that half hour walk you mention - is that from ferry bridge car park?

 

Yep! JR

 

when you mention spinning at ferry bridge do you mean inside portland harbour or the fleet?

 

Either, but be prepared for a lot of weed in the current. JR

 

I usually take two rods would you suggest just taking one and using the rest?

 

Whatever you fancy, just don't miss a bite! JR

 

---

 

[ 10. May 2004, 02:51 AM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]

[Jim Roper]

Kragen, are you fishing tonight?

[Jim Roper]

I made the long walk up the beach last night!

 

6 Mackerell

3 Pout, frying pan size.

21 Dogfish up to about 3lb.

1 Smoothound about 4lb just before daylight.

 

Kragen, you should have come!

 

[ 17. May 2004, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]

[Kragen]

hi jim sorry not replied sooner did go but didnt make the walk tho I prob should have...

 

heres what happened...

 

Location - Chesil Ferrybridge

Time - Friday 22:30 - Sat 17:30

Tides - Low Fri 23:15 Sat 11:00 (ish) High Sat 06:00 & 17:30 ish

Sea State - Smooth

Wind - Non-existant

 

Catch

2 Lesser Spotted Dogfish

9 mackerel

 

Okies here we go finished work about 19:30 on friday and thought sod it I gonna chesil now (bearing in mind I been up since 05:00 ) so as no bait shops open and I got no bait stored (idiot that I am) I stopped off at ASDA and picked up some "fresh" headless mackerel (in one o them blue boxes with the cellophane top - fishmonger bit was shut)

 

Took it easy on the way to chesil as was in no hurry and enjoying the drive arrived around 22:00. Paid for me ticket and went up onto the beach.

 

Set up and after about an hour I had my first 1/2 lb doggie this was follwed a couple of hours later by another of similar size. I missed lots of other strong bites though - possibly coz me size 4/0 hooks were too big. There was a group of guys next to me and they pulled in half a dozen small pout (which they were trying to use as live bait for bass) and 4 or 5 doggies. However when they were packing up one of them must have crossed my line or something cos my rod started going frantic as he was pulling his in - i couldn't get to my rod in time as was half way through changing a trace and despite all my shouts he just kept reeling till my rod was pulled over along with my rod rest

 

anyway after they left the bites seemed to quieten off a bit and I fell asleep under me rods at about 4ish, woke up at 7.

 

once fully awake and realising I was low on bait I nearly went home then I thought sod it and nipped up to Denning Tackle for some more bait - Also got me a rucksack with built in stool and a new reel for me main rod - which was kindly loaded for me with 12lb main line and tapered shock leader. Went back to chesil and me rods were still there fished until lunch time with no result when the macky bashers started to appear. At about 14:00 I saw the first mackerel come in at which point I asked for an idea of the distance they were at - was a little dissapointed when I was told that I would need 80-100yd casts.

However I decided to give it a go and set up some feathers on my 12ft rod (with the new reel) and it wasn't long before I was actually gaining credible distance on my casts I think I was getting around 80yds. To give those who've fished ferry bridge an idea I was reaching about 2/3rds of the distance between the beach and the location of the divers who were I presume over the wrecks. In the end I bagged 9 mackerel before going home.

 

Also when I left I found I had been given a parking fine it seems that cos them damn tickets you get from the machine are not adhesive it has blown down between the windscreen and dash and I cant get to it so I now gotta write to Weymouth and portland council telling them why I refuse to pay

 

I spoke to a couple of divers around midday and one reckoned he had seen an undulate ray around the wrecks - would have loved to add that to my catch list

 

 

ps any info on retrieving my ticket from between dashboard and engine bulkhead would be appreciated else I gotta pray this letter works

quote:

---

Weymouth & Portland Borough Council,

Revenue Collections Department,

PO BOX 5283,

Weymouth,

DT4 8XN

 

Your Ref: PCN# XXXXXXXXXX Dated Saturday 15/05/2004

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

I am writing this letter to inform you of my refusal to pay the above fine (attatched) and to detail to you my reasons for said refusal.

 

I arrived at Chesil Beach Ferry bridge car park somewhere between 22:00 and 23:00 hours on Friday 14/05/2004 and paid the sum of £6 for a 24hour ticket. However the tickets issued by the machines in the car park are not adhesive so I had to leave the ticket on display loose on the dashboard of my car. When I returned to my car at approximately 17:30 hours on Saturday 15/05/2004 I found to my dismay that my ticket had been blown in between the windscreen and the dashboard and as such was out of sight. And because of this I had been issued with a penalty charge notice. When I attempted to retrieve the ticket so that I could prove I had parked legally, it fell even further behind the dashboard and is now unreachable.

 

Whilst I understand that you will want to see proof of my payment for parking, I feel that as the ticket was issued with no means of securing it to the car I should not have to pay a mechanic to take my car to pieces just to retrieve the ticket. I also feel that since I have paid and parked legally that I am not liable to pay the said fine and am refusing to do so.

 

If you still wish to see evidence of payment I can offer you two suggestions.

First – If the ticket machine holds a record of every transaction (which for accurate accounting I believe it should) then you may be able to check those records (I paid into the machine furthest away from the Public Conveniences) and was to my knowledge the only person in the car park to have bought a 24 hour ticket at that time of night.

Second - If the above is not acceptable then you are more than welcome to come and inspect my car for proof of the ticket. If you require any work to remove/replace parts of my car to access the ticket you may do so at your expense but I will expect a replacement vehicle for the duration of any works to be carried out.

 

Please be aware that I generally work from 05:30 – 18:00 Monday – Friday. You may contact me by phone on either of the above numbers if you wish to discuss this any further, or if you require information on how to get to my place of work.

---

 

[ 17. May 2004, 08:18 PM: Message edited by: Kragen ]

[Kragen]

PS dunno what I doing next sat yet but may go again if ya wanna meet up

[Jim Roper]

If those people fishing next to you stayed until daylight, one of them was probably a workmate of mine. He texted a chap at about 5.00 am Saturday to say they had had about 7 doggies but didn't mention any Pout.

I got back to my vehicle at about 05.30, before the gestapo arrived!

 

If you are fishing Chesil this coming weekend, it would be even more important to make the long walk with low water in the middle of the night. I took 2 rods and only one rest, but coiuldn't keep up with the bites so fished with one for most of the time. There was something breaking the surface about 20 ft off shore but a spinner wouldn't tempt it.

I too, cat-napped for a few hours. After one nap, I pulled in doggies on both hooks and another time I had the smoothound.

The weather and wind look good for this coming weekend!

Anybody else want to come?

 

You might be OK the the council, especially if they have a record of a £6 ticket being sold at that time.

 

[ 22. May 2004, 07:08 AM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]

[Jim Roper]

Just got in from another night up the beach.

Almost exactly the same as last week.

20 doggies including a Bull Huss of about 5lb, 2 big pout and a baby Smoothound and a dozen or so poorcod.

Now I can't find the address of the chap at work who said he likes eating dogfish!

[gonefishing]

did the first 1/2 of the night at abbostbury...plagued by the pout, few mackeral around...everyone got doggies...not a bad night, but a long walk was needed to find a space to fish.

 

Jim what size hooks do you use down there, just out of interest?

[Jim Roper]

I caught stuff on #4 barbless in a cod liver oil capsule and also on worm, mackerel and fishbites on 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 6/0 and 8/0 hooks on Saturday night. The smallest doggy took the 8/0 hook right to the back of it's throat.

Pout took 6/0 hooks. Porcod took up to 4/0 hooks.

There were about 8-9 beach shelters with sleeping anglers in them as I walked back down the beach as it got light, but I didn't see much sign of fish. The long walk is really worth it. I could have done with walking about another 400 yrds but I was knackered getting as far as I did.

Got to get another boat for crossing the Fleet!

 

Just another thought. I hold my rod most of the time!

 

[ 25. May 2004, 08:00 AM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]