mike farrants

Saturday on my boat - trying for mackerel in the entrances to Portland harbour - no joy so we headed to a mark and anchored up - i had 2x doggies, a small conger and a spotted ray. my mate had a mackerel off the bottom on squid - perfect for sunday's Turbot hunt, doggies, and his son had a baby smoothound. the other boat we were with also had a mixture of dogs and rays. Sunday on mates boat - couple of drifts on the shambles produced nothing - was far too lumpy to be comfortable, so we anchored on the adamant shoal, I had 5 doggies, and another spotted ray, he had a dog fest and 1 whiting, his son caught a much improved smoothound. Full report when all pics are in!

im planning on going out on Saturday in my boat - see if there's any mackerel about then try for early bream on ringstead or lulworth ledges, heding to the adamant bank if not. then sunday out on a friends boat to hit the shambles for turbot/brill. i'll keep you posted!

nothing last night = 4 of down there with soft plastics - will try again tonight!

my mate is pulling in Turbot on the shambles right now - i'm stuck working - tomorrow looks too rough - so might try for some gar/mackerel on the float on the pier - not sure yet!

good effort - i'm going to chuck a lure tonight form the shore - high tide around 5.30 - ill fish the ebb out of the fleet at ferry bridge and see if there's any early bass about!

great idea for windy days - im in the marina so nice and calm, and when the mullet are back in - i'll be targeting them from the comfort of the boat on the day I cant go out! kettle on, bread flakes, feet up - happy days!

I know! bad huh! lots of casting practice though and better than 14 hours in front of the TV! my day will come!

didn't get out on the boat this weekend - too snotty in weymouth bay on the days I could go out - friend pulled in a nice turbot off the shambles on sunday though! I did fish from the shore instead Friday Weymouth stone pier - nothing Friday Preston beach - nothing Friday Weymouth pleasure pier - nothing Saturday Chesil Beach (ferrybridge) - nothing Monday Newtons cove - nothing 14hours, 5 locations, over 3 days - my greatest blank of all time!

£10 worth of rag collected, freezer full of joeys, squid, lug and 5 sandeels. out on the boat tomorrow from weymouth - hopefully for turbot, plaice, rays, smoothouds, especially doggies! see how the wind is - shambles if we can, adamant if not, and if the wind is bad shelter under white nothe or ringstead - if its really bad drift the bay for plaice, or try inside portland harbour for early bream.. then might try stone pier or chesil on Saturday and Monday, depending on the wind.

i have frozen blacks as an option too!!

if all else fails i'll dig my own rag/lug

im heading out from weymouth in search of plaice - done think the weather will be good enough for the turbot on the shambles so will stay inshore for plaice! now to find some rag!

love this! and you cant argue with Attenborough!

its a colvic 20 so quite deep gunwales - I did think about soil pipe or guttering thanks - I thought it might have been a silly question!

might be a silly question, but Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to protect my gunwale from the anchor chain - if dropping and lifting on my own I don't want to roll the chain over the wooden gunwale - and lifting at arms length is tough... I was thinking a plastic sheet bent over the side, and then i could lift and lower slowly and more controlled? maybe a 5 gal drum cut? any good ideas? TIA

welcome Tony! looking forward to hearing what you hook into out the back of the island!

sorry I should have straightened my arms more, lots to learn.

ok 12 hours afloat inc pontoon time! 🤪

well yes but disregard the 1 hr faffing and getting to the mark, and the 1hr back.....

6am start at the marina, 6pm returned to the marina! we had all day so we used all day- i only live 2 mins form marina so why not lol - it was awesome!

try now guys!

for those that cant see the pic - its a world record contender blonde ray and a massive scotch egg! (i copied and pasted it so I will now go an upload it properly)

Andy could see it - youre not missing much its just me holding an average sized blonde ray.......

I went out on Sunday on my friends boat (a very nice bennetau anteres)- tried for fresh mackerel but nothing doing (except for a good pollock on feathers!) so we went to the shambles with frozen mackerel to target turbot, drift was slow, and only produced doggies, and it was uncomfortable and freezing - so we moved to the adamant bank and anchored and I had Blonde ray and a few more doggies, friend had dogs, whiting, and an eel. we then moved further into the bay and anchored again with another friend who had come out on his boat - more dogs for both boats!cracking 10hour day!