Scotch_Egg2012

21 hours ago, Saintly Fish said:

So, now I've got the rod sorted, read the "Bob Cox" book, I need help with the reel. 
Ive never really done casting with a multi, so what does the little numbered dial on the side do? 
If I'm casting, do I have it set higher or lower?? 

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

19 minutes ago, JonC said:

How do you go about updating the software? 

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. 

On 12/20/2021 at 2:35 PM, Odyssey said:

Hi all, 

I lost position on my plotter the other day. It’s a Simrad NSE 12 so the GPS is an integrated heading sensor on a NEMA2K bus. 
 

This is currently providing GPS to the MFD. I can probably select the GPS input from my AIS transponder which should also be on the bus…. 
 

My question is what else maybe they issue outside of: 

- NEMA2k bus crash

- Dodgy gps signal 

- Dodgy connection from GPS

Any further suggestions? 
 

If it’s the GPS I can use the AIS GPS until I get a new one… if it’s the NEMA2K bus dropping maybe more of an issue to fix…

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

10 hours ago, suzook12 said:

That was the point tho Jon, it's the bow of line that sets the lead, so as long as you feed enough line out, you can effectively cast it anywhere at a suitable angle.

Generally on uptide, we use 25-35lb mono straight through, no leader. Mostly because we're not trying to bang it into the horizon as you would on the beach, although we often use 10oz+ leads

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. 

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

Ok, so if it's that deep what advantage does uprising make apart from covering more ground? It's not like you get too much of a noise area in those depths. I understood that uprising is for getting a bait away from the noise?

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

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

What depths do you uptide in though? 

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

23 hours ago, Saintly Fish said:

90% down tide Scott. I've tried up tiding but I'm not great at it. 

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? 

On 11/30/2021 at 6:54 AM, Saintly Fish said:

So with winter well and truly here, and cod short on the ground I suppose spurs will be the next target species?? 
So if I remember correctly @Scotch_Egg2012 is a well informed member who knows how and when to catch them. This is a species I've never seen, so come on Scott, spill the beans!! 

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

Just now, Saintly Fish said:

A nice double from the bramble bank came out on Saturday. 

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. 

14 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

We got one today too Scott. Probably the son of the one you caught but still....

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

Out tomorrow with Ray after a Unicorn. 

Will try and remember to take pictures if successful

On 10/14/2021 at 12:45 PM, Odyssey said:

Just off the phone from various marinas in Cardiff…

- CBYC full with waiting list 

- Cardiff Marina full, waiting list or fine is you’re under 8m

- Small Marina up river, got room but due to high demand charging extra 

- Penarth Marina will move a few boats around to squeeze me in 

- Neyland full

- Milford Haven full 

- Portishead has room

- Watchet nearly full

- Burry port loads of room but you get 45 mins either side of high tide to get In or out….

 

Whats it like on the south coast? Just wondering what is driving demand at the moment? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Last shark trip tomorrow. Time to get back on the cod and commence operation Odyssey Refit…. (Further posts to be added…. Basically deep clean of interior, improve sleeping, heating, new lighting, new sounds, polish, new spots, nav lights, bilge pumps, rod holders, fridge maybe even redo some upholstery…..) 

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.

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

Floating for flounder is the next thing I'm going to give a bash to! 
 

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