Josh

Well done Josh. A few good fish. Blimey though, don’t you have long arms, that wrasse looks mahoosive. 

nice - the effort paid off in the end!

Hey Josh - sounds like a decent session with some good fish. Lovely wrasse and a very nice tope. Well done 👍
 

Hi All
been a while, as there’s been nothing my end to report ha!
apart from 3 tow n backs from Kent to Cornwall and 4 days after the porgies in the spring, all with not the intended result. One good run that didn’t hook up but still. You gotta be in it to win it.
 
anyway Iv been trying to get out on more local ( but still a 2hr tow) ..the weather reads have been crap when Iv been free, and me and my mate Ash said even in the force 4 easterly read that we was concerned about for Monday we would do what we can and get out regardless.
well for starters the biggest win was the read was totally wrong and it was flat calm all day and we was in the water from
6am -8pm (sunburnt)
hunting around for bait fish a couple of stray mackerel came aboard to top up our frozen.
then we began drifting with worm on the banks for a bit till the tide was right for putting the anchor down for tope.
well no flatties on the drift and then 3hrs of dogs whilst trying for tope.
So a quick move and the spinners n slo-jigs come out and we soon found some decent Ballan wrasse after loosing one.
a pb for me 4lb.13oz I don’t know how it didn’t weigh up more it looked bloody enormous. 
 
another move on to a bank for flatties and no flatties but a nice eating size bass for the table a bonus
then one last stop on the way in for fresh mackerel then drift with live bait and boom a solid tope run she weighed just over 30. Good bit of sport and a lovely day on the water worked hard for the fish we had.
 
Josh

Hi All
been a while, as there’s been nothing my end to report ha!
apart from 3 tow n backs from Kent to Cornwall and 4 days after the porgies in the spring, all with not the intended result. One good run that didn’t hook up but still. You gotta be in it to win it.
 
anyway Iv been trying to get out on more local ( but still a 2hr tow) ..the weather reads have been crap when Iv been free, and me and my mate Ash said even in the force 4 easterly read that we was concerned about for Monday we would do what we can and get out regardless.
well for starters the biggest win was the read was totally wrong and it was flat calm all day and we was in the water from
6am -8pm (sunburnt)
hunting around for bait fish a couple of stray mackerel came aboard to top up our frozen.
then we began drifting with worm on the banks for a bit till the tide was right for putting the anchor down for tope.
well no flatties on the drift and then 3hrs of dogs whilst trying for tope.
So a quick move and the spinners n slo-jigs come out and we soon found some decent Ballan wrasse after loosing one.
a pb for me 4lb.13oz I don’t know how it didn’t weigh up more it looked bloody enormous. 
 
another move on to a bank for flatties and no flatties but a nice eating size bass for the table a bonus
then one last stop on the way in for fresh mackerel then drift with live bait and boom a solid tope run she weighed just over 30. Good bit of sport and a lovely day on the water worked hard for the fish we had.
 
Josh

Hi All
been a while, as there’s been nothing my end to report ha!
apart from 3 tow n backs from Kent to Cornwall and 4 days after the porgies in the spring, all with not the intended result. One good run that didn’t hook up but still. You gotta be in it to win it.
 
anyway Iv been trying to get out on more local ( but still a 2hr tow) ..the weather reads have been crap when Iv been free, and me and my mate Ash said even in the force 4 easterly read that we was concerned about for Monday we would do what we can and get out regardless.
well for starters the biggest win was the read was totally wrong and it was flat calm all day and we was in the water from
6am -8pm (sunburnt)
hunting around for bait fish a couple of stray mackerel came aboard to top up our frozen.
then we began drifting with worm on the banks for a bit till the tide was right for putting the anchor down for tope.
well no flatties on the drift and then 3hrs of dogs whilst trying for tope.
So a quick move and the spinners n slo-jigs come out and we soon found some decent Ballan wrasse after loosing one.
a pb for me 4lb.13oz I don’t know how it didn’t weigh up more it looked bloody enormous. 
 
another move on to a bank for flatties and no flatties but a nice eating size bass for the table a bonus
then one last stop on the way in for fresh mackerel then drift with live bait and boom a solid tope run she weighed just over 30. Good bit of sport and a lovely day on the water worked hard for the fish we had.
 
Josh

The marlin are going well again for my daughter with another 4 caught and released today.

Whiting don't seem to like floodwater, at least I couldn't find any when I returned in 'Piranha' to a favourite Tamar mark off Torpoint today. I was greeted by filthy water and a small tide; this mark seems to fish best when the ebb is really pushing through. On one uptider I alternated whole calamari and whole joey mackerel, caught yesterday on the float from West Hoe pier. On the second uptider was a two-hook flapper baited with bits of squid and mackerel. The downtider sent down a live pout on a 6/0. It soon became obvious that the whiting were absent, with only pout bothering the smaller baits. An ambitious strap conger of a pound tackled a squid on a pulley pennell with two 6/0s. I was beginning to wonder if nothing bigger was biting when the big rod dropped yards of slack and I wound into a good eel which gave me a great scrap, including much surface thrashing, spinning and powerful dives. I guesstimated 20lb-plus and T-barred it off. It took the mackerel, but two subsequent smaller eels took squid. All four eels were lip-hooked and went back unscathed. Despite the lack of whiting- and cod - I felt I'd had a pretty good day in unpromising conditions. PH

Caught the usual 7.30 AM lock out and made a short 15min steam up to a mark I wanted to try just off the Cardiff north buoy
With all the other boats (all 3 locks full) seemingly heading straight out, or west, just a couple ended up nearby
With only 2 hrs ish left of the flood, the pick was dug in and baits hastily cast out, where straight away one started nodding
Target species on the first cast, albeit no monster at 4lb 4, but achieved nonetheless
While I was waiting for MY rod to twitch, Mark was in again with a smaller Codling of just over 3lb
Next to pull a Cod over the gunnels was mike, with a fish of bang on 5lb, to say he was pleased is like saying Hitler was a bit of a bugger
Really pleased for Mike as he's into his 70's, can only drop off the back due to shoulder injuries (old ones) but still comes out whenever he can and loves fishing
Slack water produced the Congers and as soon as we had a bit of tide, upped anchor and moved a couple of 100 yds to a mark that looked really fishy (gradual bank with a deep hole behind it
This gave Mark his 3rd Codling of 2.5lb and absolutely nothing (not even a bite) for me or Mike in the 2 hrs we stayed there
Made a move a bit closer to home for the final anchor drop, off Cardiff foreshore
Here I finally caught a Codling, all of about 4 inches, so sent it back down to get a bit fatter
All 4 Codling were full of crab, making a change from sprat and sandeel
Decided to come in earlier than planned due to the sheer amount of boats out there, so caught the 2.45 lock back in, where we stopped and had a chat with a charter boat we know
He had been out since 6 am and had dropped off his first party of anglers and had his second on board ready to go back out through the locks
His first trip yielded 6 Codling between the 10 on board and within 2 hrs of going back out, had 10 with 4 or 5 between 7.5 and 9.5lb and finished the night with 14 in total
I had planned on a trip out this teatime to the same mark the charter had been on, but woke up this morning feeling like I'd been runover, so gave it a miss
Speaking to some others in the lock back in and not all boats are finding them just yet
But, there are some good signs

Apologies its a couple of days late... 
Decided on a trip in the Solent on Sunday, toyed with heading outside but had a feeling it wouldn't be too pleasant,  I got a call from a mate who had ventured out mid morning to the spoils and said it had quite a bit of swell.  Glad I decided to stay inside. 
Anyway motored over towards Ryde middle but was toying with Lepe or Ryde up until I heard 23 boats were sat around Lepe, decision made Ryde middle it was. 
Couldn't get on my normal spot as it already had some boats on it so dropped the hook on a set of numbers I pinched from a charter for just such circumstances. 
Opened up my mackerel, defrosted one pack, cut it open into an awful smell,  one of them I had frozen and vac packed had split it guts and I hadn't noticed, my god did it smell. Wasn't going to waste it and with Whiting in mind I poured the bait on the hooks and down it went. 
What followed were a steady stream of small whiting for the rest of the day, guess they didn't mind the stench. 
I had a second rod down with something different in mind, baited with half a small cuttle and a couple of Squid, this rod produced straps throughout the day.  
Think the boat anchored next to us managed a small unicorn given by the cheer that went up when they netted it.  Heard of a few Cod caught but given there were nearly 60 boats inside the Solent I didn't think the success ratio was very good. 
Decided to sack it at around 3pm and true to form had a nice bite on the squid and cuttle.  Didn't feel very big but when reeling it in gave a few small thumps and stayed straight under the boat.  I started to think maybe we had finally found a small codling, but it turned out to be the biggest Pout I've had in the Solent.  Took a 6/0 Pennel with ease.  I didn't bother with a picture as I'm not one for pictures of Pout 😁
Starting to get bored chasing the Unicorns and hope that the Spurs really make a comeback round here as I'd rather spend a day fishing for them. 

A really small weather window of 3 hours this morning was worth a shot .............. however, this type of window is not without its risks, as the wind was set to gust to F5 at roughly 11:00am and the sea was also forecast to change at the same time, together with heavy rain ................. I would have preferred the weather yesterday afternoon, but that also coincided with low tide at the wrong time to make launching an impossibility on the slip I use, there is another slip 5 mins away that is all states of the tide, but parking is difficult ..............
Launched at 1st light (07:45) this morning with Brother in law James as crew (very experienced and has a 36ft yacht), and the plan was to get out to a 9 mile wreck. The wind was stronger than forecast and the sea a little confused, but a steady 26knts soon had us on the wreck.
This was more of a 'look see' exercise to see if the Bass had left the wreck, and  had the winter Pollock taken up residence ? .................. well, point 1 is that the Bass were gone, and point 2 is the Pollock have not yet arrived in any numbers ................ the wreck was Pout city and between us, we had 9 Pout, all of about 2lb a piece, but they are still bloody Pout !
At about 11:00am the weather began to change as forecast, but it happened very quickly, and, as many of you know, once you are more than 5 or 6 miles from the shore the wind is more severe as you have lost the lee of the land ...................... we quickly packed up, and as we were getting thrown around a bit, I knocked it into gear and let the boat idle into the waves .......
The journey back was not actually too bad, Bluefin was happy at 18 - 20 knts into a very rough head sea, and I lowered the bow by using the Mercury Active Trim profiles to cut through the short waves .......... the active GPS controlled trim is an impressive bit of kit and I could see it altering the trim every now and again to keep the bow down.
 
So, all in all, a pretty uneventful day, but nice to be back out on the water with a round trip of 22.5 Nm................. at the next opportunity I want to try a line of 20 mile wrecks that have held good cod in the past
 
 
 

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

I have this issue as well. The way I get round it is to very slightly edit the photo before uploading it to the site. Just click edit , then bring the side of the photo or the top in by a mm. Click done then it will be fine . 

Today's challenge for the technical admin is to write a script that ensure photos are correctly orientated when posting from an Iphone .............it must be something about the way apple pictures are formatted because I have had the same thing happen when transferring for iphone 11pro max to a PC ............

Well done Josh, some decent fish there , but congers are not fish .............. they are the spawn of satin !

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

Cheers gents ! 
let’s hope for some more weather 💪

So far the weekends looking promising. 🤞🏻

Good one Josh. You had our cod last time remember. 

Quality fishing Josh, as usual! Well done 👍

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

First trip out the mouth of the west side
after the last trip being improvised becuase of a bung plug situation.
newly done we headed out this Sunday out the needles
a First for me and a little nervy. was grateful to have a quicksilver  gunning its way behind then past me to steam through which gave me added confidence as the swell was quite up going through there. Which I did fail to account for with the previous days wind. 
 
anyway once we were through we anchored up knowing there wasn’t much tide left before slack then instantly into congers and then when we finally went slack we upped anchor and moved a little further west for the flood and continued with congers all day great sport best going 34lb. Live pouting or flappers as the ground was littered with them.
All in all a great day out came in the Solent to try for a cod for the last hour but not to be ! Always next time.

It's true, there are no cod in England. @Josh caught the last one... 🤣