Malc

Tried that for bass when I lived in Cornwall but never worked, got more on peeler.

My springer pegged one of half a dozen white hens that the keeper put down and the guns would be fined £25 for shooting them. He was a bit hacked off but knew he couldn't get angry with me. Apparently the old keepers used to have them so that they knew when someone had been poaching and would keep an eye out for signs of white feathers near people's houses.

There is a movement towards this in the UK but less of the faff. A length of thick line with knots on it, wrap the bait(s) to it and the line is attached by hooking or tying it to the hook hair rig style. The reason I found it interesting was the guy said it was better for fish that take the bait down and run like tope etc not like TBR or LSD's so if you just get a nod, nod, nod you can lift into it and retrieve, recast/drop back down.

What's people's thoughts on a dingle/dongle/dangle? And also like they do it waaaay dahn sarf as in this video https://youtu.be/ViTLWgbunF0

Good point, we get some real snakes off the mouth of the Tyne but it might be a bit early for them when we are going, but perhaps I can get them from next year 🤔

That was how mine was, unfortunately there was no ice box back then and it was roasting hot or I would have taken it home

They can be at Drummore/Sandend but we missed them last year thankfully on both days.

Nice! I hooked one off Plymouth by a wreck, apparently you can disturb them with your lead and they squirt away from it by quickly opening and closing their shell. I was using a 10' flying collar rig, not sure if that's a standard rig for them though 😂

Interesting, last year we got more of the other species than doggies but didn't use much squid, thanks for sharing. We were using them whole about 10" long as I had read that tope and blue shark are caught on them. Personally I hauled in 3 or 4 big dog whelk on the one I used.

Reading the recent reports of catches and as my friends and I are about to prepare for a weekend on the tope, spurs, doggies, huss and TBR, I thought I would ask how you use mackerel, flats, whiting etc for the above and more. Last year we split the way we set up the baits, predominantly mackerel, but using whole, flapper and fillets. We didn't see any difference between them except for a couple of dropped screaming runs when using hermit crab. I was surprised at how big a bait a thornie can swallow, most of the mackerel were large joeys. So for those of you who fish more regularly for the above and other species howdjadoit?

Nice to see into the future !😉

I presume that it will be rutting time at the moment?

Also illegal to use on game iirc

Indeed, I was at a few trials as gun and I saw how clique like it was but she was up to the job but unfortunately she had been flanking and picking up on partridge and grouse as well as beating and I would have had to do a lot of remedial work.

We use our slow cooker for duck leg confit and it works a treat and next winter we will have the log burner to cook slowly on too.

Mine had a few and the sire was from a gamekeepers wife who I knew well as we went to the same shoots and I should have trialled her as she was fantastic in the field, from the grouse moors to the seashore.

For goodness sake, I thought that the last springer I bought was expensive at £350 (18 years ago admittedly) 💸

Points taken but it grinds my gears when you see an accident waiting to happen and you know that to Joe Public and his wife that you are thought of as the same kind of muppet. Anyhoo are the mackerel in yet? 😁

As the fishing was quiet on Saturday I had a bit of a think. When I was up in Scotland there was not much chatter on the radio apart from safety messages for the area and creel men swearing and chattering on ch 12. Now I am fishing off Northumbria and Durham it's a different ballgame, boats needing a tow, paddle boarders in the middle of the Tyne shipping channel, engine failure and on Saturday Humber were speaking to a vessel on Ch 16 and I couldn't pick up the vessel as it later transpired that they were just south of Holy Island. They couldn't give a positional lat and long there may have been a medical problem and eventually Humber said that if someone had a phone to dial 999 and speak to the coastguard. I'm not having a go at boat owners as jetskiers, paddle boarders, kayakers, creel boats etc can be just as bad when they go out without the right equipment or knowledge or generally lax attitudes. Yes accidents happen and we have emergency services for them in life but sometimes I wonder if things are getting out of hand. So do we need to tighten up on the likes of kayaks, SIBs, paddle boarders, jetskiers and boats? Or do we need to thin the herd through Darwinism?

Managed a tiny dab but couldn't connect with any bites as I suspect they were tiny and I was just lucky with the first one. Got bored so I peddled another mile out and got a 4lb codling that was a bit thin on the first drop and eventually another slightly smaller. I also think that there was an octopus grabbing my lure for a minute or so, just a heavy pull then as I wound into it the lure was let go and it happened several times. Stunning sunny day and negligible swell, lots of 3 inch sandeel in the shallows and a few baitfish shoals about. Hope the summer has plenty of calm days like that! EDIT! All fish returned!

Been doing that through the week so I have a free pass 😁 It is usually a quiet time from the end of February to May so not many codling about but what are about are usually feasting on sprats and herring and any pollock will either be spawning or ready to so I won't target them. I will try for herring and might see if there is an early plaice about. If I do then it will probably mean I am going to get lots of whiting 😅

Me, that's who is out this weekend! Weather-window-tastic

Forgot to explain, tape wrapped hand grenades were used as booby traps. The pins pulled and placed in among the Heather and rocks, eventually the tape failed and bang! Mostly a PITA but it just takes one.

Can't find the pig incident photo ATM, but during our time off we had a wee wander about and among the landies, merc 4wds, tanks and helicopters there were thousands of these. The hand grenades were wrapped in tape and in this case had the pins in them. However after a few scoops a couple of numpties decided to return to the ship with a couple in their pockets to make safe and take home!!! Nice little motor mate, very little mileage, starts every time.

...and apologies to the op for the digression.