22/5/13 Pollox!

I've done quite a bit of fishing recently and have been a bit slack with writing up the blog-it's almost a week since this short outing and I can't actually remember that much about it which seems to suggest that it was pretty uneventful.
I do however remember picking up some moderate sized Pollack on a mackerel feather string-at one stage three at once which gave me some fun, but apart from an odd small bream on bait and naturally, a dogfish or two , as far as I can recall, that was that.
My memory is shot!! Must be an age thing.

21/5/13 The Hunt For Stingray

I don't do a great deal of beach fishing nowadays, which is a shame, as I actually really enjoy being out on the shingle but, I suppose running a sea angling boat kinda 'spoils ya' and anyway, beach fishing can be quite hard going. I'll still have a crack at surf bassing, and when the hounds arrive locally, i'll also have a go at them too, especially as It's been a long standing 'mission' of mine to get my mate Dave a decent beach hound. One other specie that fascinates me,and continues to elude me despite having a deep yearning to tangle with, is the sting ray.
Our local beaches do have some heritage with 'stingers' so I joined seasoned beach buddies Andy and Simon this evening for a session in flat calm conditions and with a healthy wrap of ragworm-classic stinger food.
Naturally ..........................we didn't hit the target-perhaps like so many other species this year, they are a little late in appearing and they are quite a rarity in any case but it was enjoyable just 'being out there' and, although my rod tips didn't move all evening, Andy and Si scratched out a few species-dogs, pout and a flattie on peeler crab.
It might take a few years to finally trap a sting ray but I'll get there in the end.

19/5/13 A Grand Day Out

A few months ago Neil and Mick of Littlehampton charter boat 'Spirit Of Arun' fame organised an on line auction for places on a boat trip to raise money for St. Winfred's Hospice in Chichester. The event was also held in honour of Dave Roberts-a keen tope angler and regular on 'Spirit' who lost his battle with cancer as the auction was running, and spent his last days in the hospice.
I was extremely lucky to win a place on the day, and a chance to sample some of the tope fishing that 'Spirit' is famous for.I haven't actually been out on a charter boat trip for thirty years,so the whole experience was quite new to me.My fellow 'winners' included Lucas (The Doc),Martin(Hoges on WSF), Big Paul (who's all of five feet tall in his heels) and his partner in crime, and comedy, Barry (Bazza) O'leary, and the day began with a breakfast kindly supplied by the proprietor of the 'Dinky Doo Diner'-a greasy spoon of some considerable renown, and regular haunt of L.A's, that's LittlehAmpton to the uninitiated, finest charter skippers and crews.
Once aboard  the big 'Lochin' , we travelled a considerable distance to a mark that isn't even on my paper chart for the area we usually fish, and settled the anchor in a gully approximately seventy feet in depth.To begin with the fishing was lively. I took the first tope-a fish of around 40lb, quickly followed by a smaller tope to Martin, and subsequently a second, and bigger tope again to my bait. Unfortunately, the action subsided after that and the fishing became extremely difficult with just the odd dogfish taking a shine to our mackerel baits, although Mick did manage to boat a really nice smoothound of about 15lb.
Although I was naturally, thrilled with my captures, I was a little disappointed, as were Neil and Mick, that the other members of the party couldn't have shared more in the experience. That's fishing I guess.
Mid morning and we sent off a wreath, and held a minutes silence to honour Dave- a particularly poignant moment as we watched it slowly disappear on the tide.
A short move to a nearby bank in an attempt to improve the fishing was carried out in the afternoon but, to no avail. I did however,briefly connect with something sizable that 'ran' with the bait. Another tope probably but, having felt a slightly familiar 'head banging' through the braid i felt it could have just as easily been a decent bass-who knows.
Back at the port and I was awarded a terrific prize indeed for best catch of a boat rod and reel to add to my armoury, donated to the cause by Snowbee, and the day finished with a pint in the Nelson to celebrate and toast Dave.
The day,  for me, was a fascinating insight into the running of a charter angling boat with lots learned about the tope fishing potential of the area and a revisit in Jupiter is a must.
Neil and Mick both worked extremely hard to successfully give us all a thoroughly enjoyable day afloat , the banter and humour was non-stop , the company brilliant,the boat and crew mightily impressive, and we managed to raise over £1100 on the day for a very worthy cause-Dave would no doubt have wholeheartedly approved.

 

 

16/5/13 Too Soon.....

after a prolonged spell of rough weather to score on the reefs with lures. However, I had to find that out for myself really.
I took Andy along for the ride on this one , an afternoon experimental session, and his first run out in 'Jupiter'.
Starting off with jigged soft plastic lures on my newly found and favourite reef mark, there was a bit of 'fishy' presence on the finder and Andy immediately picked up a bass on the first drop which served to increase my confidence levels.
However, after that, things got more difficult.
Water clarity wasn't brilliant,and  although a couple more bass showed,along with some wrasse(ballan and cuckoo) and pollack on lures , it was hard going.
Moving to an alternative mark which i'd been kindly donated and was in need of investigation and again, it was obvious that fish were present but not interested in our plastic. I suspected bream so we anchored up and this indeed proved to be the case with three reasonably sized fish to 2lb hitting my squid baits on consecutive drops.It wasn't set to last and as the tide slowed to nothing the bites turned from bream to dogs and didn't improve when i repositioned the boat and the tide started to run off. However it was a useful exercise to scan the mark and make a few notes for future trips.
We finished up with another spot of drifting and a few more small ballans to end a pleasent afternoon in the sunshine.Not exactly blistering fishing but crew was happy with his first reasonable bass of the year which put a smile on my face.
One of the bass had regurgitated what appeared to be ragworm and i was to later find out from Neil that during periods of rough weather the bass move off the reefs and feed on open ground on ragworm and that they will return to the reef  after two or three calm days.I was a bit premature!!

15/5/13 Terrific Tench Fishing.

I decided to have another run up to the pits for a  trip this evening after work to see if i could make some progress with the tench fishing.I'd been tipped off by a youngster,  on the previous outing, that the tench fed keenly, during the lower light levels of evening, and that his Mum,a pit regular, had once taken a nine pounder from the water.
Armed with only a pint of red maggots the usual two rod feeder tactics were employed targetting  seperate emerging lily pads about fifteen yards apart in the swim.
Within minutes of the first cast settling I'd had a run and a (4-13) was in the net.Shortly after, another run followed and ,whilst fish number two(5-08) was still in the net awaiting unhooking , the other rod almost leapt of the pod caused by another blistering run(4-08).This gave me the rare opportunity to get the 'double' shot in the photograph.
The action was hectic for a couple of hours with ten takes in all, eight landed, and two that managed to slip the hook.The bailiff's ticket was used as the scorecard to put together my most impressive tench haul ever including two more 'fives'.
Prize of the evening however was the biggest at 7lb 15oz accurately weighed on my new set of digital scales. A lovely fish that smashed my previous Burton Mill personal best fish by almost two pounds and managed ,during the fight, to temporarily snag me in both lily pads in the swim.As the temperature dropped the feeding spell  abated a little but, by then, i used up my pint of reds anyway.
According to Owen the bailiff, several of the pits in the complex have produced double figure tench  so, you never know, that p.b might have a limited shelf life.
Actually my previous P.B was a fish of 6-03 from Burton Mill but caught in January 2008 on a sardine!!!!! whilst pike fishing.It wasn't alone either as another similar fish took a liking to my pike deadbait on the same day. Centre pic below.

10/5/13 tinca tinca

Although my angling career started in coarse fishing, mostly on the River Thames and Surrey lakes, I rarely, pike fishing excepted, fish in freshwater nowadays. But with strong winds preventing me from getting afloat and wanting to wet a line, it was the right time of year to have a tench 'bash'.
Chichester Lakeside complex is a very old collection of gravel pits that i visited for the first time in the mid 1970's as a spotty teenager.  It's changed character somewhat over the years from its heyday as a very pleasant coarse and trout fishing venue, descending in the late nineties and 'noughties' to a litter strewn dump and finally coming full circle in recent years and recovering something of its former status as a quality coarse fishery.
Nowadays the spring fed pits are sympathetically managed and bear little resemblance to the heavily stocked 'commercial' fisheries that have become so popular in the coarse angling world.
The trout lake-'Peckham's Copse', is long gone and most of the waters are now inhabited throughout the year by bivvy dwelling carp anglers however, some of the pits, those left alone by carpers and relatively lightly fished, are now recognised as some of the best tench waters in the south of England, particularly with the 'Tenchfishers' society, and have double figure plus specimens present.
Whatever, they are very pleasant lakes to fish and for me,  as 'natural' a still water environment to be found in this part of the country.
Last year i had some success on Deep Lake so decided to return again for a few hours this afternoon to commence this year's spring campaign .It still feels strange , after all these years, to be fishing for coarse fish outside of the traditional season but, those in the know tell me that spring is the best time for these tench and once they start to spawn, usually sometime in June, the prime sport has passed by.
Tactics were simply semi-bolt maggot feeders with a short hook length, size 12 hook with two red or whites as hook bait and an imitation maggot to make the hook rig neutrally buoyant.  Scientific stuff but, its actually very simple and works a treat especially as there appears to be few small silver fish present. Emerging lily beds were targeted with the feeders, refills going out every twenty or so minutes.

Things were quiet at first but as the afternoon light faded slightly, the swims switched on, though with very few 'liners' to give away fishes' presence. I landed three tench, 4-00,4-06, and 5-08.A couple more slipped the hook, one broke a hook!, and a scale perfect common carp of about 10lb also let go at the net, but not after I'd got a good look at him in the gin clear water.
I chose to use a 15lb fine braid mainline and this proved to be a wise choice as , modest in size these tench may be, they still have the ability to fight hard, and all took me straight into nearby snags-hence the multiple losses. A double figure fish would be interesting.

7/5/13..Lure Only

I took my mate 'Bass Junkie' Pete out with me in Jupiter this evening for a long talked about, but never before realised 'lure only' run .
Pete's currently 'boatless' having recently sold his trusty Regis, he is awaiting delivery of a newly designed Orkney which should broaden his horizons on the fishing front.I've had a sneaky look at it behiond the Orkney factory gates and it certainly looks the part.
Pete's a plastic guru, very skilled in their use and does very well with catches on his own local patch which he knows like the back of his hand.
However, I wanted to see what he thought of one of my own recent finds so called the shots when it came to choice of venue.
The river bar has recently been dredged causing a considerable drop in water level at low tide and providing the marina staff with plenty of dredging to get the inner pontoons floating again at a safe angle.My boat has been moved to an outer pontoon in the process which I'm not complaining about.
It'll take a bit of getting used to the new river level and this evening I gingerly crawled across the 'bar' at a snails pace despite our chosen departure being well within the time limits.
I needn't have worried, there was enough water but i had to be sure.
On reaching the mark it didn't take long to find fishy movement on the screen, and it was reassuring to hear Pete's interpretation of the information was similar to my own. Confirmation that I'm beginning to learn how to use the equipment properly.Pete's sounder is identical to mine.A couple of 'new' lumps revealed themselves during the session and i was rather flattered when Pete excitedly copied the numbers into his mobile phone.
Jigged soft plastic baits was the chosen method and it was very interesting to see how delicately Pete works his lures.I picked up some really useful information on patterns and rigging and on an evening like this, when you had to work for your fish, it paid dividends,
As well as plenty of attention from cuckoo wrasse, some of which were boated, we had good sport with about a dozen plus ballan wrasse around the 2lb mark including a nice 4-04 to my Fiiish Minnow.Pete also pulled up a small pollack .
We're both convinced bass were present, although nothing like the numbers as on my previous trips. A mass of 'green' momentarily showed but perhaps they just didn't want to know . As darkness approached we had to call it a night as there were more than enough pot lines out on the route home to be an issue.
An excellent couple of hours fishing.
A day later I was to learn that on both these last two trips I had very likely been within yards of  that same bass shoal that gave me such great sport last week.Of course, I'll never really know as the sea is not a small place. The learning process continues but MASSIVE thanks must go out to Pete and others(you know who you are) who are helping me build up an intricate picture of the reef marks that we fish.I WILL find those bass again.

6/5/13 The Pig Farm

 New P.B at 5lb 8oz on S.P lure.

Another run out with Dave and brimming with confidence from the last bass trip I headed straight for the same mark and disappointingly there wasn't a bass to be found, in fact there was very little at all showing on the sounder in the vicinity.Despite persevering for some considerable time with the drifts, i felt i needed to get some fish for Dave so taking another gamble, we anchored up just off the mark and sent baits down.........................................................one solitary dogfish!!!

Brian meanwhile, had been picking up a few bream on the Kingmere amongst probably every other boat from the port that was out on the bank holiday.I decided on a move to join in, just to pick up a fish or two but , couldn't resist a final scan back on the reef before we left.

Bits and pieces of 'green 'were showing and before long a 2lb ballan had taken a shine to my Fiiish Black Minnow. Two more quickly followed on the same lure including the above stunner at 5-08 which is a p.b for me .

Hindsight has taught me that i should have remained on the mark and continued with my search but instead we motored over to the rest of the fleet and at anchor, picked up a bream for Dave to take home for tea,dogs,and a couple of spotted rays to save the day.

I've now decided that i rather enjoy the vertical soft plastic fishing and that the ballans are a worthy fish to target and there are some fine specimens on our local reefs.Interesting fish these.They are hermaphrodites born as females, changing sex after about seven years and very long lived indeed. Mine could well have been in his early twenties.

1.  



2/5/13 Hitting The Bass..........Hard.............On Soft.

I managed to get away from work at ten past five, and by six my Fiiish Black Minnow lure was sinking through the depths- the Warrior speeding me to the mark very quickly.Although the tide was still flooding at the pontoon, 'out there' it had already begun its ebb.
With water temperatures over the magic 10 celcius(check out the sounder) there just had to be bass about.Last year I had a double in early April.
Some gannets were milling around the locality so, thinking they must be there for a reason, i decided to use them as a target.
The first few drifts were quiet and then suddenly a mass of green with squiggly bits around the edges, appeared on the sounder and the action began-the first bass of the year-the modestly sized one in the middle pic.......and then along came another.......and another......and another....almost a fish a drop.
Drift speed was no more than half a knot and the shoal showed up for only a few minutes I assume being extremely tightly packed.Once the 'green had gone, the bites stopped immediately.
By altering the drifts laterally and giving the shoal what i judged to be a wide berth on each return run,i managed to stay in touch with them but it all took a bit of tweaking.A couple of times I lost them and it would be very easy to be deceived into thinking that no fish were about.Luckily i was the only boat for miles and i'm convinced this helped as there was minimal disturbance.
Each time the 'green ' was relocated it was hectic fishing with sometimes two or three fish per run through.
In the end i had 28 bass in exactly two hours,most sub 3lb but with half a dozen in the 5lb range and three exceptional fish of 7-02, 8-04, 8-06.I think these better fish were caught on the edge of the shoal and they certainly gave a terrific scrap on the light baitcaster outfit which is perfect for this kind of fishing. I didn't want to waste time setting up self take photos so the deck shots had to do and ALL the bass went back safe and sound.
In one of the bass' mouth I spied a 4 inch sprat so the Minnow certainly matched the hatch and was very effective with its shrouded hook. That said i did try out a white stinger and , although it worked, i felt the Minnow was better.
Two very plump mackerel (also with sprat inside)took the lures and these were taken for the evening meal.
I still had the shoal within range when I had to call it a day at 8pm and could have carried on. The minnow body was mullered with all the action and had lost its tail-probably to a wrasse.
Fantastic fishing and probably the best inshore boat session i've had so far.Will i be able to find them again I wonder.

30/4/13 .Boating With Dave.

Once again , taking advantage of an, all too rare of late,window in the weather,I took Dave out in the boat with me today.
We could have tried for the plaice and there have been a few, very few,bream showing on the reefs but i wanted to try for something a bit more exiting....bass on livebaits.
We started at #6 feathering and sabikiing for bait.First take was for me,a garfish -a welcome spring sight. Apart from that we only managed to attract small pout but, in the bait tank they went.
I then proceeded to show Dave how the float livebait method worked.........or indeed,didn't work.We failed to attract any bass at all. If they were there, then i'm sure we'd have made contact.
we thoroughly drifted the whole reef but to no avail and i decided that a run to the 'smoothound bank'with baits at anchor would be worth a go.
Doggies, some of a reasonable size were the only willing takers so it may be a little too early for the hounds to show.
Finally we visited #9 to try drifting with soft plastic baits.A very plump and hard tugging wrasse of a couple of pounds saved the day for me and Dave nicked a small pollack before we decided that the sea was bumpy enough to call it a day.
Running home in the building sea we heard Dick on Lynander telling Steve over the radio that his battery had gone flat and that his jump pack was in his truck back at port. I stepped in to offer some assistance by running home and picking up Dick's jump pack, though it was a very bumpy return ride out. Nice to be able to return a favour though!

March/April....Lean times.

Apologies to regular readers (who am i kidding) but i've rather neglected the blog of late.Actually, my fishing has not been  particularly successful and not for the want of trying.
On the pike scene, i had two or three more trips to one of my regular spots(one in March snow!) and , apart from a couple of smallish pike, caught very little of note.
Piking buddy Dave had better results on seperate trips with a new p.b from our favourite stretch of 27lb-a superb pike.Still on to the subject of coarse fishing i had a totally unproductive day trying to catch perch from a local commercial fishery-bit too crowded for comfort for me this one but at least i was fishing.
On the boat fishing front, I had a couple of trips east  to Shoreham marks chasing plaice,one of which produced a few fish but could have been better had i moved slightly further south where one of our local charters was doing better.The other outing, in a horrible easterly wind actually resulted in a complete blank and the consumption of a full tank of fuel for about an hours fishing.Thankfully, complete blanks are rare in the boat.
I took my mate Brian, a neighbour at the marina, on a wrecking trip on a day when the weather co-operated and, although it was extremely enjoyable and interesting scanning and drifting various medium distance wrecks, apart from a few plump pouting only one fairly decent pollack turned up to Brian's lure.
A few boats , mostly charter, were having some success with local plaice and, when i eventually stumbled across the mark discovered it was an old favourite of mine at #13. I had no idea of the marks heritage as a plaice venue and learned later that it had been trawled in recent years and only just returned to its former potential.I had one fairly successful outing,but generally missed most of the action due to being unable to get out on the better weather days . My biggest mistake was turning back one day due to a bumpy sea, which soon turned to a flat calm. By then i was back home in my living room,watching the conditions improve by the minute.
Generally the weather conditions have been 'difficult' and with lower than average sea temperatures, the species are turning. up a little later than usual this year.
So although the fishing has been rather lacklustre, i haven't been idol.As well as being allowed by SWMBO to convert the spare bedroom into my fishing room, I've been furthering my research into the possibility of catching a shark from my own boat.
I had a very productive meet with Wayne Comben-captor of probably the biggest ever porbeagle shark caught from British waters , and taken last year from a 17ft Wilson Flyer belonging to Graeme Pullen. Wayne and I have agreed to do some fishing together this season, possibly an attempt at some local shark.
I also had a short trip out from Ilfracombe in a 27ft boat owned by mate Nick (Mr. Pix on WSF) . Nick was kind enough to show me some local marks and we also looked at the prospects of a run down the coast to some shark marks in North Cornwall.
One minor glitch with 'Jupiter' has been a split fuel line caused by some pretty bad design and routing under the Suzuki engine cowling. Luckily i spotted the problem at the pontoon but had to drag her out on to dry land to remedy the situation safely with a completely new, and more robust fuel line fitted. I could have kicked up a fuss with Suzuki or indeed Warrior as its all warrantied but to be honest, i couldn't be bothered and just wanted the boat back in and working as soon as possible.
At least it gave me the valuable opportunity to familiarise myself with my engine.It was an easy fix but I'll be keeping a close eye on that fuel line in the future.

6/3/13 Jon's Twenty

Jon Cook is a devoted, and expert pike angler who puts a huge amount of effort into his fishing and scores as a result. His tally of big pike is very impressive but, until today, he hadn't managed a river '20'.
Jon has spent a considerable amount of time on my second favourite tidal river this season but for very little return. No one said it would be easy though, on meeting up with him on the bank for this session , i could sense a certain air of despondancy.
I was armed with big trout baits whilst Jon graced his hooks with some outsized bream.We searched a supposed 'hot' area all day without a sniff of a pike and by mid afternoon I was forced to pack up and go to work.
Rather than waste my trout I donated them to Jon's cause, one of which he proceeded to trot under a float downstream in the ebbing, and by now, slowing tide.
I'd just finished packing up when I noticed that finally, my mate was into something, and offered to stay and help with the landing.It was a good job that i did because, although initial impressions were that the short stocky fish, laden with spawn, was a good double, on weighing, she turned out to be just over the magic twenty pound mark.A beautifully coloured pike typical of this river and who's build, again typical, Jon says is apparently due to an initial stocking of reservior fish.
A cracking fish, and well deserved with all the effort that was put in leading to her capture.

You owe me a quid for that trout mate!

4/3/13 Too Much Piking?

Probably yes!
A short session with newly acquired trout baits at upper river H1 reminded me how difficult this stretch is to fish, due to its steep banks and general lack of swim access.Dave has scored the occsional spectacular pike from the area, and i've had some doubles but generally, It disappoints and today was little different to the norm.
With just one other stretch available on my current club ticket , I think it may be time for a complete change of venue for winter piking next season, and some different club waters.My river is controlled by so many clubs that there is plenty of choice and it would take a lifetime (or two) to explore them all.It's times like this that make me wish I'd continued fishing through my twenties, and thirties.

3/3/13 Last Minute Double

I joined Dave today for an all too rare piking session , for this season,on our favourite stretch and spent the majority of the day staring at motionless floats whilst we worked our deadbaits along the river.Conditions were again, perfect but the pike just did not seem to want to feed,or we just didn't come across any pike.
Dave, having had a much earlier start than me (he can get up in the morning)decided , due to lack of action, to call it a day about 4 p.m. Whether it was because I just couldn't summon the energy to pack up my kit, or through just pure stubborness, I elected to stay on until dark and this move did eventually pay off with this nice double of 12-04 on sardine at the top of the tide, and just as I was thinking of finishing.

2/3/13 Eastern Plaice

Continuing with the 'eastern' theme, today I took the Warrior on an exploratory trip to a mark off Shoreham in search of plaice.Fishing was generally slow even though there were plenty of other boats in attendance in the general vicinity including Littlehapton's very own 'Jennifer's Pride'.
I caught a few small plaice on the drift but nothing of any note and really, it was just an excuse to get out in the boat and burn fuel.
In the flat seas I ran her up to about 26kts and then decided that i was going a little too fast for comfort, and throttled back.Nice to know what she's capable of though.

1/3/13 Tiddler pike

'When the wind's in the east,the fish bite least'.

Absolutely true because, despite having two very healthy, and lively roach baits out all day long,and the river in the best shape i've seen it all winter, only one small jack pike of about 4lb decided to show an interest to save a blank session.
The trip was to a rarely visited section of the river tidal reaches, but one that certainly requires much more attention next winter.
I have had a few good pike from here, and Dave's had more, but we've neglected this part of the river in recent seasons, in favour of more reliable options.It will take a whole season to explore the whole length thoroughly but, until we do, we're not going to know what surprises it may hold.
With the most difficult pike season i've had for many years  drawing to a close,plans are already being made for next year's campaign.

21/2/13 Testing Times

One run  from, what I believe was probably a small pike was the only action  on a day when it was so cold that it was a necessity to huddle down behind an umbrella to remain comfortable.Big roach baits were used and this was probably why the run didn't result in a hooked pike.
The river was clear, but i don't think the low temperatures helped. However, the way the weather has been this year, I cannot afford to be too choosy about when i'm on the river bank chasing pike .I'll keep trying -time is running out.
If you're reading this blog don't be afraid to get involved, join as a member, and leave a comment or two, or even tell me about your own fishing experiences. I'd like to know who is reading this.

19/2/13 Brill...iant

I've been hoping to take my mate Alex out in the Warrior for some time especially as I've had so many great days out in his boat-Samax.
Tiny 4.3m tide meant that another run west in search of blonde rays was on the cards but unfortunately today's fishing, wasn't a patch on what I experienced here in January.
Five rays came up and the fishing was quite slow but, Alex was over the moon with this brill-a first for my boat, of about 3 1/2 lb which took a smaller than usual mackerel fillet. we did try scaling down more baits but no more of these stunning looking flat fish turned up.
Still, a fine day to be out and Alex was more than complimentary about the boat.

8/2/13 Not A Sniff.

I went back to the river today for another crack at the pike but did not get a sniff at all despite the river conditions gradually improving.
Jupiter has been out of the river for her first oil change service having completed 20hrs of running. Jack helped me get her out at the slipway and the van retrieved her not inconsiderable bulk with no issues.Good news, beacuse trips to Devon are in the planning stages as I write this.
Unusually for me, and in order to maintain the warranty on her main engine, I'm actually having to open my wallet and pay an approved mechanic to service her!!Perish the thought.
 Adrian , in his defence, tried to get me involved as much as possible which i'm grateful for, and he also furnished me with some valuable tips on how to look after both my motors.I've not yet received the bill!
At the same time I gave her hull another full coat of polish to keep her protected and gleaming and she's now back on the mooring awaiting a window of opportunity in the weather.

7/2/13 Piking With Neil and Mick

My good friends Neil and Mick wanted to go pike fishing neither having caught a pike before. Neil is skipper of 'Spirit Of Arun'-probably the most successful charter boat in the Littlehampton fleet, and his partner, Mick-an extremely successful angler in her own right, usually crews on the boat.
It's always a tall order to provide a 'guiding' service especially for two such experienced anglers but, there is also the fact that these two fully understand angling, and it's foibles.
Unfortunately although both managed to tangle with a pike each on the day, Mick's almost certainly a double, neither fish was landed. To be honest, the river wasn't in the best of shape still being a little bit coloured from recent rainfall, so I was actually quite pleased that two fish decided to take our baits.
Conversation was lively and entertaining and a tremendous insight for me into the workings of a charter boat-they certainly earn their money.
Mick and Neil are off to  Mexico on a fishing holiday(naturally) at the end of the month so, whether another opportunity to visit the river with them again will arise before the end of the season is uncertain. I hope we manage it.

21/1/13 Gentlemen Prefer (Big) Blondes

I nearly didn't go sea fishing today. In fact it was very much a last minute decision once i'd got myself out of bed whether to endure a run out in the boat or,go pike fishing up the river.
Windguru reported  low single figure wind speeds and that, coupled with a very small 4.4 m tide gave an ideal, and rare for winter, combination of conditions to target a specie which i've been wanting to have a crack at for some time-blonde ray.With the recent cold and snowy weather , I will admit that i did stumble a bit, but soon talked myself into it, bit the bullet and decided that I could fish for pike on any day............................well, almost.
Apart from Rusty who had gone wrecking, i was the only boat out from the marina, and indeed the port. All the charters had elected to stay at home today.
Having done my research,mark 21 was the selected venue and, in the flat sea, the boat skimmed out there at just under 20kts sipping the fuel-a pleasure in itself.The view of the snow covered downs in the distance was quite spectacular.
By the time i arrived , the tide was still ebbing and, after a quick scout around to see what lay beneath, I settled down bang in the centre of the mark. Conscious of  recent problems with my anchor slipping, and the fact that , despite fishing over a bank, i was still in 75ft of water, I took my time to lay out the anchor and chain very carefully.This indeed paid dividends , because although i'm still using the 5 kilo bruce,and am reluctant to go any bigger, I didn't slip an inch all day.
However, this could indeed be because of the nature of the sea bed on this mark which is predominently sand, and therefore easy for the anchor to get a secure grip.
Rigging two rods, 20 and 30lb with 6/0 pennels on 40lb Amnesia traces around the 4ft length, bait was my favourite, whole unwashed squid from Malcolm at Tropicana. I have to say that this recent batch of squid are very impressive with some huge specimens up to 8 or 9 inches long.
Rays tend to show very delicate bites sometimes merely settling on the bait without moving off at all and munching it in the process. Hence the need for the relatively short trace to facilitate decent bite indication and avoid deep hooking where possible.
I have experimented with circle hooks when fishing undulates but am not entirely convinced they provide any advantage especially when using such big baits.
8oz of lead seemed to pin the baits down nicely in the flow and first drop down produced small 2-3lb spotted , and blonde ray to each outfit. As different species of ray tend to gather on the same mark this indicated a good start. At least I felt fairly confident that I was in the right place.
Next drop down and after a few minutes the 30lb rod tip rattled a little and i tightened up to something a bit larger-in fact it felt huge and proved quite a handful to get to the boat.Unfortunately the fight was quite subdued and , on reaching the surface, it became apparent why this was the case. I'd indeed hooked into a big blonde, but the trace had wrapped around the fish's tail causing a good deal of resistance in the tide, and also restricting his ability to scrap- he being a fully claspered male weighing 22lb 08oz.-a p.b
Whilst slipping him back, and before i even had a chance to rebait, the 20lb outfit kicked off and this time, the fight was far more lively especially on the lighter rod.Up came a female this time and, at the similar weight of 22lb-04oz these first two fish could have been brother and sister.
Sport continued for the remainder the ebb with a couple of smaller blondes at 18 and 19lb, then a 15lb fish followed by a small single figure thornback ray as the tide slowed down.
A solitary dogfish also showed up-the smallest and only 'fodder' fish of the trip.
Things went a little bit quiet over the slack water which, on the small tide seemed to last for ages but i did manage to let go of  a decent fish whilst answering the bloody phone, followed by a really nice fish of 24lb 08oz-another p.b.
As the tide 'got away' on the flood it became apparent that i was going to need more lead to hold bottom effectively. The 20lb rod was soon dispensed with a the 30lb outfit rigged with the biggest weight on board- i think about 1 1/2lb. I'm really not used to, nor equipped with big weights which is something i must now address especially as I have the capability, with the new boat, of fishing much deeper marks.
I would be glad of the 30lb outfit for the next take as it was again a big ray, and again had become 'tail wrapped'. In the now not inconsiderable flow, i just managed to get the fish to the surface before the trace let go and this was my signal to up the strength of hooklength to 60lb-you live and learn.
Finally, after the initial tide surge had subsided somewhat, a fourth biggun at 23lb-08oz came to the boat, successfully this time, but it was time to call it a day and head back before dark.
What was initially perceived as an engine problem on the return journey, when the dash board oil warning light began to flash,turned out to be nothing more than a first service reminder. How quickly that ten hour running-in period has passed, and it's now time to get the boat out on the trailer for a swift oil change, and possibly a second coat of polish to protect her gelcoat.
The run home was equally smooth and rapid with a noticable reduction in fuel consumption over the flat water. I reckon i've done well over the one Nautical Mile per litre of fuel this time around which is really good news.
.Blonde rays certainly are very impressive creatures and, the word on the street is, that there is a possible record fish to be caught in our local waters. I dont know about that but, more seasoned 'blonde' enthusiasts have recently taken local fish to 34lb.
 All of today's fish were successfully unhooked and returned and with 7 big blondes, four over 20lb on board, probably one of the best boat trips I've had so far.
0900-1500
4.4m tide LW 1233


KIT CHECK: I'll only review good stuff. Bad kit, and there has been plenty, just gets binned or flogged on ebay and forgotten.

Sundridge Crossflow Pro two piece floatation suit.
With the amount of winter boat fishing i'm doing I thought it would be a good idea to get a 'proper' floatation suit.I've used Sundridge kit before-a two piece minus ten suit for winter piking that's survived eight seasons of hard use and , although i 'm on the second pair of salopettes, the first pair are still usable.I'll probably still have it in another eight years time.
I'm a firm believer in buying the best kit you can afford especially if that kit gets 'used'.Cheap kit has never done well for me in the past, the rare exception being a thirty quid , four piece spinning rod of no particular pedigree.
The top of the range Sundridge is still good value for money, particularly when you consider that I paid the same sort of money ,about £150,for a pair of motor bike trousers, or a ski jacket.Fishing kit is still relatively cheap.
In short it's properly breathable, incredibly warm and, does exactly what it says on the tin.I travelled to Poindestres In Southampton for mine which was worth it as they had every size in stock and I got exactly the right fit which is essential with this sort of kit.
With a heavy fleece underneath the whole package does become a little too bulky but still light in weight. Today I swapped between heavy duty fleece and top coat with only a T shirt underneath and stayed extremely comfortable-A light fleece underneath would be perfect and as i tend to feel the heat anyway , the two piece version is essential for me so i can simply slip off the jacket when doing strenuous boat duties-anchoring, mooring etc.
Although it provides extra buoyancy,It is still meant to be worn with a life jacket and my Crewsaver 150 fits well and remains unrestricting.
There's enough good sized pockets with 'fleecy 'handwarmer' options on both jacket and trousers and the knee area is reinforced which is essential for boat use.Oh and there's a whistle included.
'Nuff said really. Its so well made that I'll bet i've still got it in ten years time.

17/1/13 One More Go............

for a cod and a trip out to 'Martin's mark' curiously enough, a set of numbers given to me by pontoon neighbour Martin. a.k.a 'Adventurous' on WSF.
Despite the marks' heritage, once again, i failed to see a cod take my huge cuttle and squid offerings and, as usual, i was plagued by dogs, whiting and pouting some of which actually got themselves hooked on the 6/0 pennel and came to the boat.
I had considered a run out west in search of blondes but was advised by 'those in the know' that the 5.5m tide may be just a little too much to handle on this mark,so i will save that for another day.
I do have one more untried 'ace' up my sleeve. A mark some considerable distance to the east where they do catch cod in better numbers than in our locale.Logged for the future.
Rusty was also about today on the tail and suffered similar results-the general ground fishing becoming quite a challenge at this time of year.
There have been a very small number of bass taken on  inshore marks to lures-possibly too few for me to show an interest and , the airwaves gave away similarly lacklustre efforts by the small number of charters out today trying a bit of drifting on the reefs.The water is still quite warm but visibility could be better.
Personally, i'd still rather try for something that's only available in the winter months, especially as chances to get out are so limited by the weather.

8/1/12 Jupiter Gets Cod.

My good mate Dave has started his own blog.
http://ahookinmytrousers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/jupiters-moon_8.html

I have a theory about sea sickness in that I'm sure it's a psychological matter. I only get sea sick on other people's boats and, it can be a regular occurance.On my own boat, I'm absolutely fine whatever the sea conditions. I put this down to being in total control of my destiny and my subconcious is telling me that, if i feel a bit 'iffy',I can just head home anytime I want. Its my decision.I would never do this when crewing on other's boats.
I also believe that it may be because, on my own boat, i'm always busy and my mind is kept occupied. I've been keen to get my good mate Dave out boat fishing for some time.Dave formerly ran the Sussex Police boat angling club until, about 15 years ago, he suddenly developed sea sickness.I did get him out bream fishing the season before last but,although he was reluctant to admit it at the time(I'd be the same),he turned a bit of a funny colour when it bumped up a bit. Recently however, I've been pestering him to see a hypnotherapist friend of his who claimed she could possibly cure him.
Today , in perfect sea conditions(look at the picture),we headed out in search of cod, initially trying mark 3 where we were plagued by pout dogs and channels, then after a short and encouraging radio conversation with my mate Brian, relocating five miles further on mark 11.
Here, in addition to the usual suspects up came a couple of small conger until finally this rather nice looking 12lb cod( Jupiter's first) took a fancy to Dave's whole squid-mission accomplished...............
and the sea sickness? O'k it was a flat calm day and the fishing 'busy' with virtually a bite a drop but, I do believe my mate has been cured.
His enthusiasm is certainly regained with talk of buying his own boat gear and more trips out in the future.

4/1/13 A Trick Of The Tail

All of my trips in 'Jupiter' so far have been solo for various reasons. I wanted to spend some time getting acquainted with the boat before taking anyone with me and also, the opportunity to bring someone along , despite a long list of requests which is flattering,hasn't really presented itself.
Today however, Russ came along for the ride and it was immediately apparent how much better the boat was balanced laterally, with 'two up'. The extra weight was barely noticeable, and i would imagine that three could fish quite comfortably with a little bit of discipline.
Neil has got 'Spirit' on dry ground whilst he fits his boat with a matching pair of new, and quite impressively huge and equally impressively named,Ford 'Sabre' diesel engines.I'd met up with him yesterday at the marina and of course the conversation turned to fishing.
We concluded that the 'best bet' for today's outing was, once again, to persevere with the 'tail' as there have been several good cod taken from the mark recently, although the 'going' has been tough.
Today wasn't any different.
Yes, we got a steady stream of dogs, pout, strap conger and channels but as usual, no 'greenbacks' although Russ did haul up a small spotted ray.The sea state wasn't that kind either and , in the relatively deep water the 'pick' repeatedly slipped .It's possible that I might need to up an anchor size to 7.5kg which i'm researching at the moment however, I'm not the only boat to experience this problem on this mark.Today Alex's ex ride,a Fastliner now owned by Juan-'Two Chances' failed to get a grip at all and left for shallower waters, and on my next trip out, Brian on 'Marruig' will also suffer from the same problem.
In the end and,feeling rather disappointed that i hadn't been able to give the mark a fair crack, I decided to give up and bump our way 'inside' skimming the chop at about 17kts, something I'd never be able to do in my little Orkney.
Settling at #23, we had similar results until slack tide produced a take from something with a bit of 'weight', which turned out to be the thornback above, to finish off the day.
Back on the pontoons and most of the other boats had fared similarly, with the exception of  one,who had rather caned some impressive blonde rays-more of which later.

21/12/12 Missed Again

Wind conditions were marginal today with Windguru reporting knots speeds of just under double figures, and much stronger gusts.I'd contacted Neil 'Spirit Of Arun's skipper the night before, seeking advice, and he encouraged me to brave it as chances to get out were few and far between for the near future.
Target mark was,once again, the '*' with cod in mind. I left the harbour and 0715 and was the first boat on the mark.'Spirit' and 'Lynander' followed shortly and 'Sarah Louise' crept in around mid morning so I was in the right place.
Despite clear sunny weather , the sea was bumpy and the fishing was generally slow, especially on the flood,with the usual channels and dogs showing up. However, I did  have a brief moment of excitement when something bigger hit my cuttle bait and put up a good fight. Rather disappointingly, it turned out to be a small conger and not the hoped for, cod.
By mid afternoon I was getting fidgety and although John's crew (S-L)had caught a cod, i decided to head 'inside' and try one of Phil's marks for an hour or so.
Neil on 'Spirit' left for home unfortunately 'codless' ,but the 'big' news was from Dick on 'Lynander' who's patience had indeed paid off when his crew hauled up a cod of close to 30lb. Dick's own words..'the best fish I've had aboard my boat' .
Sticking with big baits myself, the last cast on 'Phil's' produced this nice spotted ray but i was once again slightly disappointed that I missed out on a cod.
I will crack these fish.
Today's sea was at times, quite rough. conditions that would have been quite uncomfortable in my little Orkney and , especially bearing in mind the distance i travelled (probably over 20 N.Ms) slow going.The Warrior however, took it all in it's stride and i was able to maintain quite high speeds over the chop and still feel very safe.I'm liking this boat a lot.

18/12/12 Cod Quest

My last trip out saw some serious cod activity for John on 'Sarah Louise' with two big fish, in the upper twenties,caught from the '*'.
I'd been advised that today's 5.6m tide might be a little too much for the mark as it's around 70-80 ft deep but, having started out near 'black ledge' and been plagued by channels and dogs, i chose to up anchor and head out there over the slack water period.
Having reached the mark John, was again in attendance and picking up a few of the intended target-big ones too.

Naturally, I just managed to catch more whiting(nicer ones this time to about 2lb) and dogs but another piece of the jigsaw falls into place and , with the extended range available with 'Jupiter', its now feesable to fish these 'far off' places.

13/12/12 No Pike Here.

A very slow days piking indeed, in typical Arun river piking fashion, with not a single take despite having top quality baits and covering quite a bit of ground.

The river was in reasonable condition, although most of the session was on the flooding tide, which I'm not particularly fond of. I can only assume that I didn't put a bait near a pike.Nice day to be out and about though.

8/12/12 Dogs and Pins

 

My second run out in the boat and another attempt to tease a cod out of our generally, cod free waters. I joined mates Brian and Allan in the general area of the mud hole, not wishing to venture out too far, and succeeded in catching probably every dogfish and whiting in the sea.
Brian did latch on to a small cod but,it was the same story pretty much everywhere.Even 'Spirit' failed to latch on to a 'greenback' although some neighbours on the 'fishtail' did pick up one or two big cod. It would seem i may need to venture further afield next time.

4/12/12 A Twenty

It's too windy to go and play with boats so , with dog in tow,I decided to investigate the state of the river following the recent rainfall, and whether it was feesable to have a crack at some pike. Stopping off at a convenient bridge on the journey up, it didn't actually look too bad. It was quite high, but the colour was dropping out so, i decided it was worth a try.
Although a crisp N.W wind was blowing in my face, it made a pleasant change for it not to be raining, and i settled back into the routine that is winter pike fishing on the rivers-not expecting too much, but always anticipating.
I chose to ignore the productive stretch from last season and , having had the luxury of finding a new access point afforded by some rather convenient parking, headed instead for the centre of the stretch.
The first take came on a sardine but unfortunately didn't stay attached for long enough for me to get a look- I suspect an upper single was the culprit and, at least it was an indication that they were feeding.
Very little else happened, as I hopped the rods along, until about lunch time, when the float with a big roach underneath it,  began to fidget.A proper run didn't really materialise, but i quickly tightened up anyway, and immedieately knew that I'd connected with something a bit special.
The pike chose to fight very close to the bank and proved quite lively and difficult to control initially.However, after a couple of aborted attempts to get her netted(one of which was thwarted by the dog wanting to play in the net himself)she slid in and was mine.
Definitely big enough to 'tube' and set up a self take shot with the camera, i weighed her in the net and she went 23lb 2oz .
A truly beautiful pike in tip top condition-my fourth '20' from this river and my biggest for quite a while.( I didn't get a twenty last season)
The dog stayed well clear during the quick photo ceremony, and the pike was duly slipped back successfully, and chose not to hang around in the shallows.
I stayed on for a couple more hours but, the temperature started to drop significantly and anyway, It was 'job done'.A few more like this wouldn't go amiss.

2/12/12 The Christening

With Jupiter safely ensconced on her mooring it was time to take advantage of a window in the weather, and take her out fishing.I still hadn't figured out how to work out how to use her chartplotter but, knowing that my mate Alan was out and about with his fishing club taking part in a comp on a due south bearing from the harbour, i headed out to meet them and get some idea of where i was. Once i'd found them on 'Black Ledge' it was a simple task to find my own spot-the general area where i'd caught last week's cod.
Actually I quickly sussed the GPS and although I didn't have the numbers, it was easy to estimate where to drop the pick down. Rather predictably it was a 'dog fest'on this mark, but i couldn't have cared less. The boat felt secure and had handled well-i was pleased.
Having got bored of the dogs, i decided to head over to #5 and drift for a bass on a shad.First drop down and up came this one of about 5-6lb on a 6inch 'manns and home poured jig head,to christen the new boat with a proper fish.
Shortly afterwards, my bass fishing buddy Clive turned up, reporting little success with spikey ones on distant marks. He too found one fish of a similar size on #5 but,  despite drifting together for a while in search of more fish-none were forthcoming and it was time to head home.
Indulging myself a little on the journey, with some playful showing off (because now i can) I 'buzzed'  'Spirit's' stern as we sailed in together through the harbour entrance-boy can this boat motor!