Josh

Yeah the leader was too long that’s how long I thought I wanted it JDP, but next time I’d go shorter.
Bites  haven’t been like the mackerel fishing so if their was any doubt in spooking tackle I wanted to increase the fluro length..
I know people who use
wind ons 
short hook lengths 
long hook lengths 
 
The Post already says that the long leader went around my rod eyes and very nearly got into the prop.
already said about needing two people but in this case wasn't possible.
fact its done the fish swam off 
And Im alive so untill next time 
🎣 

Yeah the leader was too long that’s how long I thought I wanted it JDP, but next time I’d go shorter.
Bites  haven’t been like the mackerel fishing so if their was any doubt in spooking tackle I wanted to increase the fluro length..
I know people who use
wind ons 
short hook lengths 
long hook lengths 
 
The Post already says that the long leader went around my rod eyes and very nearly got into the prop.
already said about needing two people but in this case wasn't possible.
fact its done the fish swam off 
And Im alive so untill next time 
🎣 

Yeah the leader was too long that’s how long I thought I wanted it JDP, but next time I’d go shorter.
Bites  haven’t been like the mackerel fishing so if their was any doubt in spooking tackle I wanted to increase the fluro length..
I know people who use
wind ons 
short hook lengths 
long hook lengths 
 
The Post already says that the long leader went around my rod eyes and very nearly got into the prop.
already said about needing two people but in this case wasn't possible.
fact its done the fish swam off 
And Im alive so untill next time 
🎣 

Yes that’s right GPS
I assumed by my post that ‘gaff’ would of been seen as lip hooked in the chin where the fish doesn’t suffer. 
that is what I did managed to do all but not for very long … 
certainly not gaffed to kill .
 

Yes that’s right GPS
I assumed by my post that ‘gaff’ would of been seen as lip hooked in the chin where the fish doesn’t suffer. 
that is what I did managed to do all but not for very long … 
certainly not gaffed to kill .
 

After @Andy135 decided that looking after his daughter was more interesting than fishing with me (what's that all about 🤷🏻‍♂️), I decided to head out solo and find the last Solent cod. 
I set off at 07.45 from Hamble and was greeted by a nice slight sea and a great sunrise. 

I aimed east and 20 mins later I dropped anchor off browndown beach, a good 13lb cod had been landed from this exact spot just two weeks ago so it was worth a shot. 
The pout we're home 

And too were the whiting....

 

 
But no cod unfortunately. Also, not one strap was seen today which is weird. 
Or not as it happens, especially when these two bastards spent the whole day going up and down and up and down hoovering up what was left. 
 

 

 
And to add insult to injury, the fresh NE breeze decided to liberate my bait bucket complete with my last squid. 
 

 
So the tally was 3 pout and 6 decent whiting which all swam back well.
 
Oh well, still better than working!! 

 
 

After a long few frustrating weeks of fishing hard, a trip out this evening finally paid dividends only a handful of dogs and good few species including conger to 15lb blondes to 18lb bull Huss and finally a cod to 9lb hopefully this is the start lol 

The fish wasn't gaffed, probably a ‘loose’ description by Josh.
The proper name of the tool we use is a lip hook. It looks like a gaff, but is carefully inserted under the chin from the lower gill flap, or in the mouth and out of the chin gill flap. It is a safe and recognised way of holding the fish at the side of the boat for recovery whilst motoring forward at 3  - 4 knts to ensure oxygenated water is flowing over the gills.
Mine is made from 12mm stainless with a T bar handle so it can be roped if required. For the rope I use a long 24mm soft  multiplatt. i know that Josh uses the same tool.
 

Angling trust are on the case now, they are putting together some information to lobby the government too…. 
 
Im not sure what we as individuals can do but I’ll do some digging and see what I find 

A centre consol boat is a lot easier !

So single handed trip this time.
heading west ! Two clear days of weather I just could not pass up even at the difficulties of being single handed with what might crop up..
day 1,
No hook ups other than
loads of 6inch mackerel constantly pretty much whenever I tried.
(always nice when this happens)
Stunning weather and displays of tuna literally every 30minutes  or so but not fields of them just one full breach but there obviously was numbers you could tell.

Managed to catch a good breach shot.
I had one do this between my floats and no takes .
….
day 2 ;
Arrival harbour 6.30am
bacon buttys on

exit harbour 7am
Day due for the same weather but it wasn’t. Was quite a northerly chop going fortunately I was in pretty close which helped but it weren’t ideal… anyway
 
no birds
no bait fish 
not one tuna bust sight
this was looking like a different place to yesterday…
so I carried on eventually found the mackerel and tons of it all small.
after about 4 hrs of getting pushed offshore I saw the birds working In close again and thought I’ll go in for another 2 hrs drift back again from there… so I’m not too far off to finish.
 
well I arrived at the birds put one bait out sent it back on the ballon.
put my second one down bent down to pick  something up got up and the float was gone !
F*****!!!
Wer on and at a rate of knots !!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A run that was frightening literally makes u question wether this is for fun !
Engine on and into battle getting stuck in with a lot more confidence in my ability now .. although it was bloody hard work driving the boat and fishing this way. I had to be on the wheel continuously. Or it would of been gone !

anyway I had it on the leader but (lesson learnt ) my traces are still way too long pulling his head up without ditching the rod was almost impossible this was about an hour in. Then the fight was very nearly over as that extra long trace wrapped round one eyes and I actually said ‘that’s a lost fish’

somehow I managed to unwrap it with the prop going how I didn’t loose it I don’t know!
anyway so another 40 mins the fish changed tactics now and was gunning for depth trying to keep me straight so I kept driving forward and around to avoid this .
it was helping but getting hard and tiring obviously …. Every time I wanted to get stuck into the rod I need to go back to the wheel to manoeuvre…
so back on the leader gloves on same thing I can either stay looking at the fish 10foot under or Unclip and go for it.
so I did and YES I got her up monumental size what a sight ! I stuck the gaff in and felt a wave of relief but to be fair the only negative was that he shook his head so much so that he actually slipped off the gaff turned and popped the hook himself .
 
i was gutted from a glory photo point of view but I knew i caught this fish unlike last year. Not a bad job on my own i thought … I wouldn’t recommend it though no matter how many people do it.
Sorry I haven’t got more photos you’ll have to use imagination and take my word for it this time !
back to Kent!
 
Josh

Epic! Glad you got one 🙂 
I’ll drop a PM about the sharks and stuff…. This is a public forum and I’m concious that no ammo is goven out to stalkers 😬😬😬

So single handed trip this time.
heading west ! Two clear days of weather I just could not pass up even at the difficulties of being single handed with what might crop up..
day 1,
No hook ups other than
loads of 6inch mackerel constantly pretty much whenever I tried.
(always nice when this happens)
Stunning weather and displays of tuna literally every 30minutes  or so but not fields of them just one full breach but there obviously was numbers you could tell.

Managed to catch a good breach shot.
I had one do this between my floats and no takes .
….
day 2 ;
Arrival harbour 6.30am
bacon buttys on

exit harbour 7am
Day due for the same weather but it wasn’t. Was quite a northerly chop going fortunately I was in pretty close which helped but it weren’t ideal… anyway
 
no birds
no bait fish 
not one tuna bust sight
this was looking like a different place to yesterday…
so I carried on eventually found the mackerel and tons of it all small.
after about 4 hrs of getting pushed offshore I saw the birds working In close again and thought I’ll go in for another 2 hrs drift back again from there… so I’m not too far off to finish.
 
well I arrived at the birds put one bait out sent it back on the ballon.
put my second one down bent down to pick  something up got up and the float was gone !
F*****!!!
Wer on and at a rate of knots !!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A run that was frightening literally makes u question wether this is for fun !
Engine on and into battle getting stuck in with a lot more confidence in my ability now .. although it was bloody hard work driving the boat and fishing this way. I had to be on the wheel continuously. Or it would of been gone !

anyway I had it on the leader but (lesson learnt ) my traces are still way too long pulling his head up without ditching the rod was almost impossible this was about an hour in. Then the fight was very nearly over as that extra long trace wrapped round one eyes and I actually said ‘that’s a lost fish’

somehow I managed to unwrap it with the prop going how I didn’t loose it I don’t know!
anyway so another 40 mins the fish changed tactics now and was gunning for depth trying to keep me straight so I kept driving forward and around to avoid this .
it was helping but getting hard and tiring obviously …. Every time I wanted to get stuck into the rod I need to go back to the wheel to manoeuvre…
so back on the leader gloves on same thing I can either stay looking at the fish 10foot under or Unclip and go for it.
so I did and YES I got her up monumental size what a sight ! I stuck the gaff in and felt a wave of relief but to be fair the only negative was that he shook his head so much so that he actually slipped off the gaff turned and popped the hook himself .
 
i was gutted from a glory photo point of view but I knew i caught this fish unlike last year. Not a bad job on my own i thought … I wouldn’t recommend it though no matter how many people do it.
Sorry I haven’t got more photos you’ll have to use imagination and take my word for it this time !
back to Kent!
 
Josh

Some weeks ago a plan was hatched for @JonC to venture south to dangle a line with @Saintly Fish and I, aboard Tarlach Too.

The target was the ever elusive cod. We had lucked out massively with the weather; flat calm with no swell at all. Hopes were high that we'd see a bearded unicorn grace the decks. We had enough bait on board to sink a small battleship and we were double-patting with spare rigs baited and ready to go to maximise our chances and keep the scent flowing.
Jon opened his account with a succession of pout on his uptider.

While Neil and I persevered with our downtiders, pondering a blank, Jon pulls another unique and rarely seen Solent species out of the bag. A lesser spotted glove-fish!

Neil and I were really feeling the heat now, with no catches to our names after the first several hours of hard fishing. But just as the tide started to turn, my downtider gave a hard rattle that turned into my first fish of the session.

As you can see I was delighted to have dodged a blank, and clearly Neil was just as pleased for me as he minced over with T-bar in hand. 🤣
A few more eels followed, and a couple of table-sized whiting, before we made a move further east and settled in to fish the next tide into dusk.

Still no cod, but another decent whiting for Neil and congers all round after dark. Before long the skipper called time and we headed back to the Hamble in the dark.

So no cod but plenty of action (and laughs) nonetheless. Big thanks to Neil for hosting us and to Jon for making the long, early drive south from deepest Essex to the Solent. 👍

Yes, but it is a long way off yet. I was talking to the chairman of the ATA ( Angling Trades Association) who is also tied up with CEFAS. Also they are concerned about the pollock stocks and may bring in similar rules like we have for the Bass. 

Like we would...... really!! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Lol , I think I’ll take my chances at trying to catch another , rather that let you guys maul my drawing efforts😝

So single handed trip this time.
heading west ! Two clear days of weather I just could not pass up even at the difficulties of being single handed with what might crop up..
day 1,
No hook ups other than
loads of 6inch mackerel constantly pretty much whenever I tried.
(always nice when this happens)
Stunning weather and displays of tuna literally every 30minutes  or so but not fields of them just one full breach but there obviously was numbers you could tell.

Managed to catch a good breach shot.
I had one do this between my floats and no takes .
….
day 2 ;
Arrival harbour 6.30am
bacon buttys on

exit harbour 7am
Day due for the same weather but it wasn’t. Was quite a northerly chop going fortunately I was in pretty close which helped but it weren’t ideal… anyway
 
no birds
no bait fish 
not one tuna bust sight
this was looking like a different place to yesterday…
so I carried on eventually found the mackerel and tons of it all small.
after about 4 hrs of getting pushed offshore I saw the birds working In close again and thought I’ll go in for another 2 hrs drift back again from there… so I’m not too far off to finish.
 
well I arrived at the birds put one bait out sent it back on the ballon.
put my second one down bent down to pick  something up got up and the float was gone !
F*****!!!
Wer on and at a rate of knots !!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A run that was frightening literally makes u question wether this is for fun !
Engine on and into battle getting stuck in with a lot more confidence in my ability now .. although it was bloody hard work driving the boat and fishing this way. I had to be on the wheel continuously. Or it would of been gone !

anyway I had it on the leader but (lesson learnt ) my traces are still way too long pulling his head up without ditching the rod was almost impossible this was about an hour in. Then the fight was very nearly over as that extra long trace wrapped round one eyes and I actually said ‘that’s a lost fish’

somehow I managed to unwrap it with the prop going how I didn’t loose it I don’t know!
anyway so another 40 mins the fish changed tactics now and was gunning for depth trying to keep me straight so I kept driving forward and around to avoid this .
it was helping but getting hard and tiring obviously …. Every time I wanted to get stuck into the rod I need to go back to the wheel to manoeuvre…
so back on the leader gloves on same thing I can either stay looking at the fish 10foot under or Unclip and go for it.
so I did and YES I got her up monumental size what a sight ! I stuck the gaff in and felt a wave of relief but to be fair the only negative was that he shook his head so much so that he actually slipped off the gaff turned and popped the hook himself .
 
i was gutted from a glory photo point of view but I knew i caught this fish unlike last year. Not a bad job on my own i thought … I wouldn’t recommend it though no matter how many people do it.
Sorry I haven’t got more photos you’ll have to use imagination and take my word for it this time !
back to Kent!
 
Josh

I'll take that as a no then! 

I'm sure the image of the fish by the boat is etched into your mind? 
So, with this, could you not do a sketch ??

Good report @Josh, sounds like fun. But, we have a rule here, no photo = no catch. Sorry better luck next time 🤣
Great breach shot btw! 

Well done again mate, cracking fish. There seem to be more tuna around now than there was all summer. The tagging skippers catches were getting better and better just as the program was coming to an end.
With regards to the banning of beagle fishing is this in general or just when they are breeding as i know there has been pressure to stop fishing for them when in pup for a while. 

Exactly. Life's too short and the weather too nice to miss this time 👍

So single handed trip this time.
heading west ! Two clear days of weather I just could not pass up even at the difficulties of being single handed with what might crop up..
day 1,
No hook ups other than
loads of 6inch mackerel constantly pretty much whenever I tried.
(always nice when this happens)
Stunning weather and displays of tuna literally every 30minutes  or so but not fields of them just one full breach but there obviously was numbers you could tell.

Managed to catch a good breach shot.
I had one do this between my floats and no takes .
….
day 2 ;
Arrival harbour 6.30am
bacon buttys on

exit harbour 7am
Day due for the same weather but it wasn’t. Was quite a northerly chop going fortunately I was in pretty close which helped but it weren’t ideal… anyway
 
no birds
no bait fish 
not one tuna bust sight
this was looking like a different place to yesterday…
so I carried on eventually found the mackerel and tons of it all small.
after about 4 hrs of getting pushed offshore I saw the birds working In close again and thought I’ll go in for another 2 hrs drift back again from there… so I’m not too far off to finish.
 
well I arrived at the birds put one bait out sent it back on the ballon.
put my second one down bent down to pick  something up got up and the float was gone !
F*****!!!
Wer on and at a rate of knots !!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A run that was frightening literally makes u question wether this is for fun !
Engine on and into battle getting stuck in with a lot more confidence in my ability now .. although it was bloody hard work driving the boat and fishing this way. I had to be on the wheel continuously. Or it would of been gone !

anyway I had it on the leader but (lesson learnt ) my traces are still way too long pulling his head up without ditching the rod was almost impossible this was about an hour in. Then the fight was very nearly over as that extra long trace wrapped round one eyes and I actually said ‘that’s a lost fish’

somehow I managed to unwrap it with the prop going how I didn’t loose it I don’t know!
anyway so another 40 mins the fish changed tactics now and was gunning for depth trying to keep me straight so I kept driving forward and around to avoid this .
it was helping but getting hard and tiring obviously …. Every time I wanted to get stuck into the rod I need to go back to the wheel to manoeuvre…
so back on the leader gloves on same thing I can either stay looking at the fish 10foot under or Unclip and go for it.
so I did and YES I got her up monumental size what a sight ! I stuck the gaff in and felt a wave of relief but to be fair the only negative was that he shook his head so much so that he actually slipped off the gaff turned and popped the hook himself .
 
i was gutted from a glory photo point of view but I knew i caught this fish unlike last year. Not a bad job on my own i thought … I wouldn’t recommend it though no matter how many people do it.
Sorry I haven’t got more photos you’ll have to use imagination and take my word for it this time !
back to Kent!
 
Josh

Thanks Andy 
yeah why not mate ,I will do 
Most of all safety, your clipping in to serious fish one wrong move and it’s all over. 
 
what amazing fishing we have here..
 
on another note that might be worth a seperate post ,,, have you guys heard about ‘somehting about banning porbeagle fishing ‘
Not official but doesn’t sound nice…I mean obviously we would just say we are fishing for something else but how long before they say you then can’t fish for that ..