jonnyswamp

Myself and 2 others managed to get a few places out of Weymouth on a Bream/Bass trip in the morning Pulled my back in work this morning and I'm walking about like a half opened pen knife The one trip I could do with being called off...... And it's on

You both got yourselves a few quids worth of bait if nothing else 👍

Not going now, skipper double booked us and a strong easterly forecast which, said the skipper, he wouldn't go out in and would've cancelled anyway

A solid 6

Christ !

That's what happens when you book time off work, the weather is shite Just throw a couple of sickies whenever the weather is good 😁

Not this weekend, the tides are massive But next Sat we have a trip out of Aberearon, 4 hr steam out apparently into the deeper water wrecks that not many others go to 🤞

Yes, just the one of around 7/8lb IIRC, it was on the other boat Very scarce over there apparently, Stiener (the owner of the resort and charter boat) thought the picture was photo shopped and I don't think he really believed it The same lad also caught one last year

I think it'll make most places look a bit tame now 😢 The Plaice was a middle of the road size for over there, the boys had some right lumps last year of just under 8lb

Around 40m depth, don't know about specific studies re survival rates

The owner of the resort also has a 12m cat he charters out to the better, further away marks where the small, self drive boats aren't allowed to go Its around 30 miles and apparently you aren't insured that far out, so charter is the only way and was highly recommended A late start at 12.30 due to offshore winds early on and after a near 2 hr steam, we're dropping onto a huge reef system that can be drifted for a few hrs at a time with the right winds A couple of winds up on my first drop produced this Deck hand Dave estimated at low 20's, who am I to argue This was the stamp of fish that we were all catching on pretty much every drop, fair play they go like a train when they take the lure After half a dozen of these, I sent a dead bait down, hoping for a big Cod or a Halibut After about an hour and 3 bait changes, all I had caught was a Torsk (bastard fish) because that's what you call them when you see they're not a Cod or Coalie, had a few decent tugs, but couldn't connect and watching the rest of the boys pulling in fish in the mid 20's I was getting a bit tetchy, so went back to lures In the mean time, Will had hooked and landed a Cod of 52lb, which unfortunately didn't go back, but would be given to some locals as is the case if they're too damaged and not wanted by the angler I haven't got a pic of him holding it, so this will have to do I had a couple of high teens and early 20lb Cod on a 9" lead headed lure (similar to a Sidewinder in design) so thought I'd try the biggest in the box and just target Cod This was what the Norway veterans called "cut baits" mine was an imitation Puffin around a foot long !!! Sent it down and they were hitting it as soon as it hit the bottom, plenty of the same size as earlier (huge for over here, just run of the mill over there) I was hit by another 20lb + (or so I thought) and when the lunges became a bit more severe and line was being stripped off my reel, I was hoping this was something a bit better It was, it was a 50 + 56lb 6oz and my PB ( a never to be beaten PB unless I go back out in 2026) Because all fish are pulled up slowly and allowed to expel air as soon as you can see them (farting them) about 5/10 meters down, the majority go back unharmed like torpedos, This one also went back, seemingly none the worse for seeing my ugly mug, which is nearly as satisfying as catching it Though, when I saw the size of it under the water, my arse was twitching a bit thinking that at any second i was going to loose it 2 drops later using the same method, I was hit by something bigger/stronger that I got up off the bottom by a few meters, only to watch my reel release a few more Played tug of war for a few minutes and started gaining, then watched my reel give out more line than I had initially reeled in So started the battle again and managed to get it, probably, 30m up after another 10 mins or so Then I just went light and the expletives were ringing out Whatever it was ( Cod or Halibut) was certainly a good fish Got the lure to the surface and could see that my line had wrapped around the gape of the hook, probably disgorging the fish it fought Ah well, there's always next time...... A pic of the lures we were using, with a 6" sidewinder for scale I also caught a small, 5/6 lber on the Puffin lure, greedy buggers A few other photos from the charter day and earlier Had this view from our lodge a few mornings To sum up my view, not as busy as I was told it would be, high water temps probably didn't help, the charter boat is a must if you go out there But still very good fishing compared to what we have here I will probably go back in 2026, 2025 fully booked

I won't bore you with the travel details because, well they're boring Two flights and a ferry ride later, we arrived at Sandland Brygge at around 8pm last Wednesday 14th August 2024 The 7 of us were met by the owners/hosts Steiner and Stina who loaded our luggage and gear into their van for the very short 2 min drive to the digs, far easier than trying to drag a weeks worth of food, drink, clothes, tackle ourselves We had one of the 2, 8 birth lodges which are clean, comfortable and full of all the appliances you will need Anyway, we unpacked and 2 of us had a safety briefing on the self drive boats (6.5m all aluminium with 150 suzuki 4 strokes which you can see towards the end of the first video, there are also a couple of 7.5m boats with 200 suzukis on the back) Briefing done, it was time for supper and an early night Day 1, Thursday Luckily, a few of the lads had been here last year, so knew a few marks that we went straight out to This threw up some nice Cod (not massive I know, but Cod) and smaller Coalies, there must litterally be hundreds of thousand of them, as this was the scene on pretty much every mark we went to Despite the abundance of bait fish, it wasn't as frantic as I expected/was assured, there was no wind and a very little tide which I decided was the reason Not a disaster Day 2, Friday High wind and heavy, prolonged showers Spent most of the day looking for shelter out of the wind (which you can always find somewhere in one of the fjords) getting wet and pulling the odd few fish up Did try for Plaice, but drift was all over the place and horizontal rain, though I did manage a Dab of over a 300mm No pictures as too wet Not a good day Day 3, Saturday Good weather Thought we would try some deeper water (150m +) very difficult to get 2 drifts the same even when starting at the exact same point (not just today, pretty much every day) Had fish on every mark when the lines weren't kiting too much As well as the Cod and Coalies, we also had their equivalent of dogfish, Torsk, which can be a nuisance A bit of a cross between a Ling, a cod and a Rockling We also picked up a few Wolf fish, they call them Catfish up there Ugly critters with razer teeth and a jaw like a hydraulic crusher, but nice eating apparently Finished the day off trying for Plaice I think we had between 15 and 20 between the 3 of us, with this being the best of the day 5lb 6oz Had a couple of double hook ups with 3.5/4lb fish which initially I though was a double figure fish, ashamed to say I was a bit disappointed when I saw 2 fish coming up 🫣 This was my most enjoyable day up to now Day 4 Sunday Carbon copy of Friday, blustery winds and heavy showers with much the same results Managed a few Plaice towards the end of the day as the wind turned and made the drift the right direction This was around 4lb IIRC Day 5 Monday Great forecast so we set off for the "pig farm" some reefs and drop offs around 6/7 miles off the NE of Loppa Very quiet for both boats all morning, though the few fish that were caught were worth the wait First in were the lads on the other boats, one of them (Smurf) dropped a dead bait down and as soon as it hit the bottom, his rod went bananas This was the result Took the treble deep, so wouldn't go back, went 66lb when weighed some 6 hrs later Was very probably 70lb when caught, he was over the moon, could hear the cheers (from his boat and one close by) a mile away Smurfs mate will copied his tactics and was rewarded with it's smaller sibling 20 mins or so later Will's (on right) went 34lb, looks like a minnow next to the monster Will also caught the only Red fish of the trip Our boat wasn't faring so well, until Paul also dropped a deadbait down and was rewarded with the best Halibut of the trip Scales were bouncing between 38 and 42lb, so we generously gave him 39lb 😁 Will also picked up a halibut earlier on in the week of around 20lb To be continued on next post

I've heard similar stories, no guesses on who the culprits are

Going to Sandland Brygge next week with 6 others from our fishing club Heading up to a Travelodge type place somewhere near Heathrow Tuesday evening, ready for an early morning 2hr + flight to Oslo, then a 2hr+ flight to Alta, then a 3hr wait for the near 4hr ferry ride to Sandland 🙄 4 of them have been a couple of times previously, so know the ropes.......so to speak The reports from the last week haven't been brilliant, high pressure and temps and not too many fish, but forecasted to drop on both counts so fingers crossed I will take plenty of pics, so expect a long boring catch report in a week or so This has been a bucket list thing for 30 odd years, hope it lives up to expectations

I agree with all of the above, take the course Even if you google all the relevant info and study it, it's a poor second for actually using a VHF (which you will on a day course)

Nice Mike, well done to Tim too ! I'm going to have to book a trip or two down there now

Sounds like a great trip 👍 A good stamp of fish too, certainly not small Do you find certain areas hold better fish, with others just mainly smaller/juvenile fish ?

Ah no, they're too cool I did try and educate them

I actually had factor 50 on 🤣

Cracking forecast and good tide, be a fool not to go The future sons in law mentioned a week or so ago that none of them had ever been boat fishing before (2 had never been sea fishing at all) so I said anytime you all want to go, we'll get something sorted, also I never asked you as I never thought they were interested Jeez, we've been waiting years for you to ask us, they said in unison So today was the day Got the 8am lock out to a flat sea and sunshine, didn't want to punch the tide and head West (would've preferred Aberthaw area, but hey ho they were happy to be out) so settled into a mark out on the coral Can usually guarantee fish here (except for 3 trips earlier in the hear when not even a bite was found on all 3 days) Anchor down and set them all up with a downtide rod each, did a short baiting up and dropping off the back demonstration (the trotting back in the tide would be lesson 2) I set up 3 uptiders and got them in the water, nominating 1 for myself and the other 2 being pool rods which would be taken in turn whenever a bite materialised Bait was a 5lb box of Calamari and some frozen local caught mackerel from a few weeks ago 2 Metre Jack was first in with a small dog, followed by a small Spotted Ray on his next drop, both on his own rod To say he was buzzing would be the understatement of the year, 1 for actually catching a fish and 2 for beating the other 2 for the first fish, not necessarily in that order either Next up was Owen with a small dog, also on his own rod After couple of missed bites, Justin got his first, a strap Conger that he thought was huge I had a dog or 2 in between baiting up, netting and casting out (none of them fancied casting, as they were getting the odd nest just dropping down) Mission accomplished as they'd all caught and had turned into excited 7 yr olds 🤣 It went a bit quiet and as the tide had eased a bit, I thought I'd try and get them on a some Blondes Anchor up (from inside the cabin I might add, as my invention is still doing the business) and we moved up to the top end of a large sandbank a mile or so off Cardiff that usually produces some good Rays Good move, as no sooner were the baits down, Jack was into what was obviously a nice Ray It was indeed a Ray, but only around 8lb and it came in tail wrapped This was the story for the rest of the morning/early afternoon, with the size of them getting steadily bigger Ran out of bait and got the 2.45 inbound lock to make it home before 4 👍 Having 2 and 3 fish on at a time kept me busy and even my rod turned into a pool rod as they were just loving it Watching them get the bug absolutely made my day and they're all good blokes as well, which is a massive bonus these days Don't think I'll ever be short of crew now A couple of pics of a great day Owen with his first Shark Justin, Jack and Owen with 3 decent doubles Jack and Owen in sync In amongst baiting up, casting, netting and making tea I did manage a few

Was booked for a Skerries trip tomorrow on "Spot on" out of Brixham, but crap weather etc decided otherwise Just read a report from a guy who was on the Skerries today and he had 10 Plaice with only 2 keepers, 12 various Rays to 13lb, Gurnard, mackerel and a Spide crab I'll maybe leave it a few more weeks so they can fatten up a bit May try and get out on my own boat Sunday 🤞

Christ, haven't smashed a mirror have you ?

Nice mate, I've got the same one our of Cardiff, where abouts are you based

The further West we went, the fish became scarcer Another waste of fuel 😪

A look at the tides and weather Thursday swayed me towards a trip heading West towards Nash for a crack at some Bass Just myself and Nipper onboard and was through the lock with hardly time to tie up as it coincided with high water The forecast was chance of a bit of drizzle and 6/7 knot winds early on, dropping off in the afternoon The sea started off choppy and by the time we got to Barry we were down to around 12 knots as the swells were getting worse The wind was supposed to be N Westerly and light, they were closer to 20 and from the West, which wasn't pleasant and against the now ebbing tide We got as far as Fontygary and gave up on Nash as it would've been pretty much unfishable We tucked in out of the wind and drifted for a while, picking up half a dozen small Scad and a few Mackerel After about half an hour or so, the wind buggered off and the sea flattened, so back to plan A We tried in tight, out wide and every where inbetween, nothing, not even bait fish there Made our way back up the coast, stopping for a drift here and there without much success, then saw a small Wilson type in close pulling up a string of mackerel We picked up some Macks here for the bait freezer, then headed up to the Coral to anchor up for the last hour Here we had 3 Blondes to 14lb and a shed load of dogs, Nipper had the Blondes and I had the dogs (pretty much the story of my teens) and got the 3.15 lock back in So no luck with the Bass, have they followed the bat fish out to deeper waters ? Coming back up past the Knap I spotted what may have been @daio web ? I did give a toot of the horn, but only one trumpet works and it aint very loud