Scotch_Egg2012

4 hours ago, Malc said:

That was the type of thing I was thinking about but using plastic drain pipe, one for my friends boat and a smaller one for my kayak.

It is a failsafe release I've never not had it deploy the contents. 

Made a huge difference when Bream fishing last year

I use this successfully in an around the Solent, 316 stainless.  

There has been a few landed from the Dolphin Bank over the last couple of weeks, not heard of any coming from our side yet but it won't be long

Had the weather played ball this weekend we would have had a go for them.

Been quite a good showing of them Brighton way

10 hours ago, mike farrants said:

nice couple of rays and a good sized tope - the one in my profile pic was around 40lb, and was a right struggle to get in - we went for the rope round the tail method but in a 6knot tide that wasn't easy - pushing the rope up-tide around the tail was near impossible - it took us 20mins from the side of the boat to get it in the boat!

 

We faffed for a similar amount of time, tried the net. Did think rope but we were in 4kts of tide so scrapped that idea. I think the dog grabber type tool is likely the way I'll go if I want to boat them. 

6 hours ago, Odyssey said:

Best to T Bar off in the water, it’s safer for you and the fish…

If you’ve got a water level door or swim platform you can drag onto that but an angry tope can cause a surprising amount of damage…

We only try to weigh the bigger ones as they're likely to be a PB or boat record,  anything below 35 estimated gets T barred off.

I was trying to land exactly like that onto the swim platform and then through the stern door, the rig must of had a nick or been rubbed as I got it out up to it pectorals before the 80lb rig body parted just off from the wire. I hate leaving tackle in fish so wasn't best pleased with that. 

10 hours ago, suzook12 said:

We generally tail them over with a rope

 

That's the route I'm looking at

47 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Nice going Scott. 👍🏻 
Shame about the tope however!! 

That's the 3rd bigger one we've lost boat side going to find a different way of landing them

On 1/26/2022 at 10:28 AM, Andy135 said:

When I head out past the Isle of Wight I often find myself wondering how many marks and fish I'm passing over on my way, and when I think about how kayakers must clearly catch good fish close inshore, assuming they probably wouldn't keep fishing from their yaks if they blank, I wonder whether boat anglers are missing a trick by heading to the horizon.

Thoughts or experience one way or another? Are we guilty of thinking that all the good fish are over the horizon when in fact they could be on our doorstep?

I think it depends on your chosen quarry,  some species are lovers of deeper marks other not so much.  I go searching for a particular feature that will likely produce my quarry rather than go for depth.  Blonde rays being a good example,  I have caught them on shallower grounds but also deeper ones, the key I look for is a series of sandbanks with a good run of tide.

A tactic I use which has come with me from shore fishing is to research the most consistent marks for your chosen quarry, one that produces them year after year.  Then put the time in to learn whether they fish better on the Ebb or Flood, Big or Small tides.  Yes fish can turn up anywhere but you cut your chances on a mark with little history of producing what you want.

Well done for getting out,  we had very much the same on Saturday,  6 miles off St Catherine's and it was lumpy, should have been 5-6mph NW but was more Westerly and well over 10mph 

11 hours ago, GPSguru said:

 

Was that with a circle hook ?

I normally find circles work a whole lot better on hit & run fish. Very unlucky to get a circle deep hooked.

No just standard J hooks, we found the Spurs didn't hit hard and fast, very gentle tugs and a few pull downs but didn't break the lead out,  maybe different with a bit of tide run though

50 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Nice one Scott. Sounds like a great day out. So spurs are a pack hunter that hit and run. I'd love to tick them off the list!  

Very much pack hunters & fast moving so once you hit the first one time is of the essence before they move on

Spurs clearly visible in the image when you zoom in

35 minutes ago, suzook12 said:

Where's his spur?

 

On the front of each dorsal fin

21 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

Nice work. Throw up a report when you get a chance 👍

I would but I'm rubbish at remembering to take photos, I didn't take any today and don't normally like to report without some photo's 

Glad you managed some fish on the numbers,   we headed there today in hope of a Spurdog or 2,  sounds like a rinse and repeat.  We stopped counting the Eels after passing the 40 mark.  Also had a Thornie, pout, whiting and either a very late or very early Smoothound.  Eels were hitting the uptiders as soon as the bait hit the bottom not giving any thing else a chance to home in

5 hours ago, LostPiker said:

Yes please

As a very general tip for Nab end,  on the big tides stay on the marks inside of the Nab tower excluding Pullar as that runs hard on springs, small tides the outer marks come into play, so Utopia, Spoils, Kelp beds etc there is a lot more to the marks than that but that will generally see you able to fish on any tides without heading out and then finding out you need 5lb to hold bottom

I've got a mark on the inner Nab that has been an absolute whiting fest recently with a few in the 2.5lb range,  the odd conger and Ray and always a chance of a Cod. I can PM the numbers if you want,  it's 9 miles from Pompey Harbour entrance so shorter from Langston or Chichester

That's a shot of the Over falls as you can see many many banks, take your pick, spurs will move all over them

2 hours ago, JonC said:

What sort of ground are you looking for in your area for spurdog? 

More important is depth,  we look for the marks over 70ft and then we're looking for the banks in those depths,  we have quite a few. 

The Overfalls, Cuba plus Utopia (which is a long gulley known for Hounds and Tope) all of those produce Spurs, the problem this time of year is getting the small tides you need coupled with a weather window calm enough to get on them, I've been trying since end of October but it hasn't happened yet. 

Ray got out Boxing day near Cuba and had 2 very good takes on his Cod baits resulting in 2 clean bite offs, typically I couldn't get out with him else I'd have been on a wire biting trace

22 hours ago, Andy135 said:

Anyone else eyeing up the settled spell coming through? Back half of next week looks mint on the south coast 🤞

Yep,  Spurdogs will be the target,  been itching to get out since xmas

I've sen them used on Spurdogs to great effect

Haha,  put the reel in free spool as if casting.  Hold the spool in thumb and forefinger and move the spool sideways.  There should be a very small amount of side to side play, if there is none the reel can be snatchy and cause birds-nests when casting

So those numbers are for setting the end float on the spool. Allow a little bit of sideways play on the spool and she will run fine