Scotch_Egg2012

What reel have you got?

I'm currently using a pair of Penn Squadron 2's they are rated upto 10oz, they are quite a cheap rod got them to see if I'd get on with uptiding. I've heard good things about the new kenzaki uptiders but I'm no fan of kenzaki because of their rings, seen to many liners come out and break. When I upgrade to a better pair of rods they'll likely be a pair of Daiwa Tournaments, I can't source Greys ones anywhere and Century don't do them much to my annoyance

On my Go9 I create a WiFi hotspot on my phone and connect the plotter to it, go into the system settings and check for updates, if available they will show up. Then it's just allowing it to complete.

Is your plotter software the latest version? I've had random intermittent issues with my Simrad unit. The cure was to update the software. Not missed a beat since

Sounds like we use very similar methods 30lb mono for me no leader, 8oz fixed wire leads, I like a big bait out on the uptider usually 4-6 squid and a large chunk of cuttle if Cod fishing and the other usually with a live bait. I space my casts to stop the tangles, one up towards the anchor, the other across the tide. Bow of line ends up looking like I'm downtiding and often is past my downtider.

You'd be suprised how much noise the anchor rode makes in a strong tide, it also allows you to fish a lighter lead and as you said covers more ground. There will be other differences, I can only speak from my own findings that on most days my uptiders will out fish my downtiders setup with the same rigs / baits

My marks on the Nab Spoils are between 80 & 100ft, uptide there no problem

I've found uptiding can make a large difference in your catch rate, I like to stick one out with a live bait on and fish a second with normal dead baits. I've had quite a few winter trips where the uptide rods have massively out fished my own downtider and others on my boat solely using downtiders. I'd recommend persevering with it and getting the practice in.

That Pout looked perfect live bait size, do you uptide or just down tide?

Sorry I've not replied earlier, pretty well summed up in Luke's Post. Head for marks 80ft and over, now til mid Feb is the time round here. Needles end did a lot better than Nab end last season. I don't know many marks Needles end but I liked the look of the Hockey stick and the gulley just to the north. There were some proper ones caught last season that end, 25lb'ers showed up quite frequently. I'll be chasing them Nab end this year, Spoils, Cuba, Overfalls will be where I head if the damned wind allows. Wanted to get to the Spoils Saturday but the forecast was to iffy

We passed you coming back from Browndown, wondered how you got on.

Where do you store the rod? I have had this with my Century beachcasters because they were stored in my garage. I took them into the house and stored in airing cupboard for a few days and the joints were back to normal Almost as if the spigot swelled up

He wasn't far from us

Sakuma 80lb shock leader round here due to the stupid amount of Eels. It's quite a supple line so doesn't twist up quite so easy. I usually have 15 hook lengths pre tied so if one ends up like that I unclip and use a new one. If it gets stupid for Eels (the spoils can be like that) I go over to nylon coated wire which strangely doesn't suffer twisting up so much and means you aren't replacing hook length every cast

Great to see Leo bag one, still holding my fingers crossed this is the start of the up cycle I've heard of a few reported over the last 2 weekends.

Good to hear you got one, there was another caught near where we were that was a double. Fingers crossed this turns out a better year for them

First trip out targeting the elusive Solent Unicorns for me, Ray had a go yesterday but his chosen mark was very quiet. A slight change of plan and we decided to stick the boat on a mark we knew would have more tide. Our theory was find the tide, find the fish. It kind of worked, it wasn't a fish filled day but 4th cast with my uptider resulted in an interesting looking bite. Reeled down to break the lead out, felt some weight but no nods at first. About halfway in and we got a kick so knew definitely a fish on. Started to get the hopes up as it was staying deep off the back of the boat. Finally a small Cod broke the surface so mission accomplished. Weighed in just over 6lb no monster but the first one out of the way. Hopefully a sign that there might be a turn around and more numbers may show this year

Out tomorrow with Ray after a Unicorn. Will try and remember to take pictures if successful

My drystack licence is due in December (same marina as Andy) I got a call this week to see if was renewing and what my future intentions were. Never had them call me before but they said unprecedented demand is forcing them to ask owners if they plan to stay. Sounds like high demand all round

Crikey that sounds like lady luck to a disliking that day. Spooky I was talking to Dave Stenson who runs Dointhedo out of our marina last week and we got onto the subject of Cuba Bank/wreck. Its one Mark he used to fish quite a bit but has stopped as it just doesn't fish as well anymore. He did say the bank can fish for Bass and drift a fair off the bank as the fish can be a distance off if it. I have a suspicion its a Spurdog spot and will probably be giving it a go this autumn, although I see the Cod are starting to show up, so maybe just maybe we might see better numbers this year. Not holding my breath though

Also take a look at Reed Chillcheater, I got the bib & brace plus the jacket last year.

Good luck, shame flounder numbers have taken a massive dive on the south coast over the last 10 or so years

Good to see you get a nice fish for your efforts

July/August are my favourite months Hamble wise. It can fish up to November but numbers drop dramatically, especially if the temps drop. There is much more to show but you need the fish present for that

Met up with Andy, Neil and Leo on Sunday for a spot of mulleting. Idea was to share some methods and tricks that work for me when targeting them. First rule with mullet is there are no rules 😁 A lot of people over complicate mullet fishing, personally I keep things as simple as possible, my sole aim is to make a rig that allows me to present the bait in a manner of different ways that is very quickly adaptable, this is my key as very often a quick change in the way you present the bait will result in a take and this would prove the case today. First stop was to nose into a marina that I always check when I'm fishing the area. Good choice today as when we turned up there were fish right in the margins, first tip was showing how hard it can be even when you can see the fish to ID it as a thick or thin. My usual method is to try and get a good look but it wasn't easy today so the next thing to do is ping some bread in front of it and see what happens. Bingo it proved to be a thick as it quickly took a liking to the surface flakes. We all popped some surface flakes in which resulted in a couple of nudges but nothing serious. So I shallowed up my float rig, pinched the flake harder and dipped it for a slow sinker. First trot with the sinker saw the fish head for it but not commit, I pulled the float back which raised the flake up and I let it float through again slowly sinking, this gained a bit more interest and I saw the fish take the flake in and spit back out, nothing wrong with my presentation so I left it and the fish sucked it back in that's when I set the hook. Bang fish on, good little scrap and the first mullet was landed not bad considering it was 1/2 hr into the session. 3lb 5oz was the weight, couple of pics taken before it was released. Sadly that was it on the mullet front, we moved onto the sedge where I was trotting baits through with a bread mash mix thrown over the top resulting in lots of unhittable bites, a few bass fell to the bread but sadly that was it for the mullet, we are heading to the end of the season round here so not too disappointed as we managed one. Everyone had a fish be it Bass or Mullet