Malc

Yeah, used him for lots of stuff and he was very helpful identifying the age of my ABU 6000C as I replaced the frame yonks ago when I needed new drag washers. I can thoroughly recommend carbontex when you need to replace your washers.

Tip ring for one rod, intermediate for another and full re ring for two others. I have plenty of time at weekends and evenings to do it. Good to hear about varnish on whipping the intermediate and hot melt glue for the tips. I shouldn't have to do it as I always wash/wipe the kayak rods down but the rings are useless.

I have two GX2 rods, both kayak that need new rings because the original were absolutely not fit for purpose and I have two GX2 boat rods and both have one damaged ring. Way back in the dim and distant past I did this on my beach and boat rods but I used epoxy glue for the tip rings and varnish for the whipping. I see that has changed and thermo setting glue is used on tips and epoxy instead of varnish. Before I bodge it, any top tips? I don't want a stunning finish just something that will last and doesn't require too much faff, my wife has a glue gun and I will get the right rings and some decent thread.

I'm hoping that the forecast stays as is, Friday and Saturday are looking good for the kayak and hopefully the weather is kind the following weekend as I've been invited to go out with friends on their boat 😃🎣

Interesting POV's, there is no way that I could have a chart etc on my kayak but I do have a minimum of three independent devices so unless there is a catastrophe I should be OK. I have a plotter which is the main navigation aid but I also have a HH radio with compass and a smartphone but I haven't tried using the latter two at sea so that's something I need to address. It might seem to be overkill but I am under my own power and although I tend to fish 1-1/2 miles out they come into their own if a fret comes in or I'm fishing into the dark. Re fog. I have gone out in fog, once with 3 others in close proximity and once alone knowing that the fog was going to lift, both were in an area I knew well and had just pot boats working in the area. During a general conversation in the former the "know-it-all" said that you don't need the navigation aids on a kayak as you can hear the noise from traffic and the beach was "that way". I said OK let's have a short paddle "that way" and I will show you on the plotter. Off we went 100m, and then stopped. Next stop would have been Norway! However I am not immune, on the second time it was going to be a hot sunny day and the beach would be packed so we were there early as my wife enjoys sunbathing and wanted a good spot. Off I went from a rapidly filling beach and just off the beach was a pot boat setting a line, so I avoided him by going a little to stbd and heading off into the fog. The voices were echoing about as was the engine noise and after a 1/4 mile I saw a blurry few figures in the fog and I thought it was 3 paddle boarders. Nope, I hadn't been looking at the plotter just thinking I would check after the l cleared the inshore reefs and had done a 180' curve back to the beach and the figures were paddling in the shallows 🥴

Looking great

@GPSguru it was you then that sparked this conversation, thank you and thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is what I think I've experienced, although I have no real evidence, but I think that there will be times when they are feeding hard, feeding frenzy perhaps, when that will negate any spooking but of course that will happen less often.

Good point, I wasn't specific was I, sorry. As SF says there is hull and other noise and in seal areas I would imagine that a large dark silhouette above would make older fish wary. Good disturbance is something we hope to take advantage on in the future by catching mackerel in an area we expect tope and then anchor and groundbait the same area. I have had double and triple hook ups when fish are feeding hard on sandeel shoals and no scare. I have also had good catches after a creel boat has lifted and dropped in the same area, small crab and old bait being thrown back and new scent from the set line perhaps the cod are waiting for, or are used to it happening? I just wondered what others opinions were.

It was in another thread on something else and I can't remember which thread, so I thought I'd start the conversation here. To give a bit of perspective I fish lures from a kayak 95% of the time on the drift and I have noticed, on some occasions, that fish don't like it when a few friends have either disappeared abruptly for ever or for a short time and return a bit out of sorts. Mostly this is over reefs in 30-50ft and the usual way it starts is you get a fish fairly quickly on the first few drifts and then it goes quiet. I had watched a video of a guy who kayak fishes out of Falmouth for bass and he said he found it better to cast over reefs that sit in 30' or less as the fish don't seem to spook as much. I try this when it gets sticky or I'm not catching and it has worked well on a few occasions especially for pollock. You just check your tracks on the plotter and sit parallel to them casting over different parts of the reef. Anyone else try changing tactics in similar circumstances or do you just move on? Any other dodges for when the fish don't play ball?

I'm not in the first photo, not 100% on the Churchill looky likey but he appears to have done good and got a commission. The waistcoat was auctioned for the South Atlantic Medal Association (iirc) and was made by one of the volunteers from scarves for Falklands veterans. The group make scarves and a few hats in the colours of the SAM ribbon as appreciation of the people of the Falkland islands. We wore them on the day to further help the SAMA cause and because we are gnarly old gits and liable to catch colds 😁

Nah, I'm skin and essence mate 😉

Really, you want me to get a scurry on? I was in Baghdad while you were still in your dad's bag, I remember when the dead Sea first went sick, I've got socks that have seen more action than you sonny Jim, it will be done in my time not the queen's time cos I'm an old retired salty Sea dog and I have earned the right to do what I like when I like.

Many thanks for all the advice given about my trip dahn sarf. I had a great time from late Friday evening until Sunday. Trying to get lots of old semi sloshed matelots to face the same direction for a photo was a nightmare, this was the best (so far) from across the road. We asked the barmaid/manager to try from upstairs but she got less than half of us in. When she opened the window and leaned out people were shouting, "Don't do it, you have so much to live for!" and "I've got the number for Samaritans!" Again thanks for the information I look forward to coming back again next year.

Just about to post about my travel dahn sarf

Nice report, I was sat in the sunshine at Gunwharf quays in Portsmif and it looked lovely out in the solent. It was however pretty busy out there, I watched the port patrol shepherd a SIB out of the way of the IOW ferry and others dodging it and each other and an absolute plonker think that their yacht had right of way to the ferry just because they had left the quay. The patrol were pretty busy in the 90 minutes I was watching the comings and going. I was however seriously impressed by the way the ferry skipper handbrake turns it into the terminal at a good speed!

Meh, I have bargained with gully-gully men on the suez canal and got many many bargains! 😁

Depends on how long I'm in the airport bar as I have to leave home earlier due to delays on the metro trains.

No idea, I was having difficulty seeing by this time.

As I have time to burn before my flight and I have been raking through some old photos I thought it time to tell the tale of the feeding the pig bacardi incident. Our ship, HMS Glasgow was first into, first out of, and first back into the Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) around the Falklands. Steaming around them from August to December of 82 was dire, not much going on but we had two chances to go ashore at Port Stanley. The locals were known as Bennies, and if you remember Emmerdale Farm from way back then you get the idea. There was a shop, a pub and lots of abandoned Argentinian armaments and we could go to explore all 3 but had to turn around at the "Danger land mines" signs. We headed for the shop to buy booze as the pub wasn't open and bought bottles of rum vodka etc and headed around the town. 15 minutes and half a bottle later we had covered the town and spoke about going out and raking about the Argentinian defence positions just outside the town. The houses were small shacks with large gardens that were cultivated and in one was a small pig which Jock (not his real name or nationality) was speaking to fondly and then proceeded to feed bacardi, which it didn't like. If it had then we would have spent the time laughing at a drunken pig and possibly annoying the owner. Instead another guy said "Jock let's bump start the land rover and go to check out the sights!" So Jock and Jim (again not his real name) jump into the rag top landy and the rest of us bump start them and off over horizon they sped...slowly (it is a LR after all). We all kick about the Argentinian defence positions until the pub opens and then get poured back onboard ship, tired emotional and socially confused. Next day we find out that they went tear arsing around the roads and nearly into a mine field, and when trying to turn it quickly rolled it down a gully. Jim ended up in hospital with a large gash across his head and when I went to visit him I didn't think he would get better as he looked like he had been lobotomised. Fortunately I will be seeing him tomorrow and will buy him a drink and extract the urine, heavily. So the moral of the story is don't feed pigs bacardi, try beer instead!

I hope so or I will have to learn to use a parachute!

That's where I put my hands

That's why I mentioned waga earlier. Brilliant idea, sell dirt cheap noodles at high prices quickly.

Depends on the blood alcohol level

I'm getting the train to the airport and have to change at Southampton anyway so it looks like a good idea to eat there with it being just 5 minutes by taxi from the station.

Thanks, that looks great 👍