GPSguru

Excellent dangling Dicky 👍 No giant macks when sharking ? There are a few about now. I saw some on Friday morning in lyme bay feeding with a pod or two of dolphins. Those Pollock look tidy, that big one in the foreground must be close to a double.

It comes down to the simple fact that it is not worth all the hassle knowing that you are not going to win. Best to keep your sanity and walk away. 😉

Yes, because Galv (zinc) is higher on the periodic table, so electrolysis over time could be an issue, but with mild steel bolts where the galv wears off will most likely rust a lot quicker than the dissimilar metal issue. However, electrolysis can be limited to an acceptable amount by the use of anti seize compounds (copper grease) or waterproof grease. On the trailer I always use Fuchs Aqua 2 grease which is highly resistant to sea water as it contains a lot of calcium. A bigger problem is that SS bolts are not as strong, but the forces on this application are purely shear force, so I am thinking it will be ok. Edit: I have just checked and A4 SS 8mm bolts have a shear capacity of about 850kg. The boat weighs about 1200kg but is supported by 16 wobble roller pivot points, so if we consider the weight distribution to be one third at the bow and two thirds at the stern the average weight on each pivot bolt on the stern wobble rollers (8 pairs) will be roughly 100 kg , I am happy to go with a safety factor of 8 to 1.

A quick catch up report from last week. I went out twice for two short morning sessions, and unfortunately there is not a great deal to report. The boat engine was serviced on Monday, although expensive, the Mercury main dealer's head grease monkey is very thorough and generally does an excellent job. So, Weds morning was nice (ish) weather and a good opportunity to check out the engine service and also the boat electronics as I had updated all the software and charts. I was intending to launch at 8:00am, but the traffic was again horrendous due to major road works, and it was 9:00am before I was able to slip Bluefin into the water. There was quite a thick mist, which I assumed would clear once I was out of the harbour, but I assumed wrong and even at 8 miles out the visibility was only about a quarter of a mile, which my crew (the wife) was not best pleased with ! I had decided to visit a wreck that I don’t often fish and the 8 mile trip was ok at 20kts with just enough visibility to make it a safe passage. Once we got there we joined Matt Forrester with Silver Halo who was already drifting the wreck. The fishing was slow, and my jigs were being hammered by jumbo sized Mackerel that were coughing up fingerling mackerel when being unhooked. Also, on the wreck were Scad and Pout, but no Bass or Pollock were at home. Unfortunately it was a tide limited trip as I had to be back on the slip for 12:30. The total haul for the trip was 7 Jumbo Mack, 2 scad, and 2 Pout. However, the trip proved that the engine was perfect after the service and the electronics were all working fine. Friday morning was also a time limited trip as I had the school run to do in the afternoon. Launched solo at 8:30 and headed out to a 12 mile wreck that produced Bass the last time I was there. The weather was bright sunshine and the sea was OK allowing me to cruise at 27knts, so quite a quick passage to the wreck. Already drifting the wreck was an Arvor that was identical to @JonC, I thought he had taken a wrong turn as the both crew were fungus faced and very rotund in stature 🤣 I drifted the far end of the wreck and using SPJ, and ended up with 4 Bass which were all in the 4 lb (ish) size range, I kept the 2 largest and the others went back to fight another day. Again, later in the morning I was joined by Silver Halo out of Torquay, and Matt and myself had a quick chat before I left at 12:00 midday. The haul from this trip was 4 Bass and 7 Pout, all fell to a 150g Osoi jig in Mackerel colours. Back on the slip, I had a minor incident that could have been a disaster. I winched the boat onto the trailer and although it didn’t feel right, I didn’t take much notice, however, I soon discovered that the rearmost wobble roller had turned vertical and was jammed against the hull. I quickly reversed the trailer in deeper, as the tide was rapidly ebbing, but was left with a situation where the boat was jammed on the trailer and would not roll off so that I could correct the issue. Luckily, another local boater saw my predicament and lent a hand to help me get the boat off. I was rocking the stern (and he pushed from the bow. Slowly the boat slid off. I found that the wobble roller had locked solid (I guess corrosion on the pivot bolt) and it took two of us to force it to its normal position, where I was able to load the boat with no issue. Fortunately, the hull damage is very minor, with just a 10mm gel coat chip on the lifting strake at the stern, which will be an easy fix. I feel so very lucky as I have seen this issue a few times in the past and a vertical roller normally takes out a long deep gouge in the side of the hull. The trailer is 2.5 years old and in that time I have made 89 trips, so the trailer has been dunked 178 times. The only maintenance required has been adjusting of the brakes back in the summer. Washing the trailer after each trip and using the hub wash really does work. I checked all the other wobble rollers (16 pairs in total) and they are all fine, however, I think I will replace all the pivot bolts with SS hardware. This coming week the weather is rubbish, so I will get the trailer rollers sorted out and repair the very minor gel coat chip (easy on a white hull). So, a few fish and a little excitement for the 2 trips, with a total distance of 54Nm

I was panic buying bacon today and I thought Tesco had made it just for you, but when I put my glasses on it said ‘thick cut’ 🤣🤣🤣

So do I……. The ‘bucket and chuck it’ club.

The slip I use has no pontoon and I always wear waders to launch and recover. Once on the boat I take the chesties off, and put them on again as we come up the estuary.

I catch my own cuttle. They come into Torbay and Lymebay to spawn. One of the Brixham boats landed a record haul last year which was worth £220k. They call cuttle ‘black gold’ here.

You need to put that at the top as a sticky, exactly as is ................🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

No chance, I am collecting it right now ! 🤣👍

The stinger was an excellent result. I have caught plenty in Oz but never in the uk. Weather is looking good for all week, my boat is in for engine service today.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you Steve, here's hoping 👍

Got the results yet Steve ???

Excellent, for your fuel use the thirds rule, a third to get there, a third to get back, and a third in reserve. As an example, if the sea changes you use more fuel in a wind over tide chop.

A very decent fish, I am guessing 2-3lb ?

Let us hope you are OK Steve, personally, being immunosuppressed at the moment, I am terrified of it ! At least I got called to the docs this morning for my Flu Jab 👍

With a LFT apparently the result is often negative if you test when you have symptoms. I guess you have booked him in for a PCR now.

It sort of confirms his intelligence level 🙄🤣🤣🤣🤣😇

The slip we use shallows off and I have seen many boats bounce the transom keel on the concrete as they come off. It is worse with roller coaster trailers due to the angle of departure on the rear swinging beam. A controlled launch works best. I launch quickly but control the boat speed with the winch brake.

Well done on getting out 👍, there are certainly plenty of Mack about at the moment. It is probably a little early for the rough ground Cod

The Bass on the wrecks here are feeding up ready to move out to the spawning grounds in the western approaches, We always get 2 to 6 weeks of 'easy' bass on the wrecks at this time of the year, although it is a few weeks earlier than normal. I have a good feeling about the wreck cod for this winter 👍

I use a winch with a 'hand brake' system, and it works really well. Fitted as standard on the Ribcraft Rapide trailers. One of these ............... https://www.maypoleltd.com/product/mp1432-1454kg-3200lb-professional-hand-winch/

It is ready for tomorrow evening meal 👍

This was just a quick morning session as I had to be back for the school run in the early afternoon. I was hoping to launch at 8:00am, but the traffic was horrendous on my 5 mile trip to the slip and I ended up launching at 9:00am. Today it was just me as Billy no mates.🤣 Even at 9:00am the estuary was covered in a thick mist, but I knew that once I was clear of the navigation channel the mist would clear. Due to lack of time my plan was to visit a wreck at 6miles, but once I got onto the open water the sea was flat which enabled me to travel at 30kts+, so the plan quickly changed to a 12 mile wreck. I decided that today would be an SPJ day and I would resist the temptation to reach for the Red Gills ! Once on the wreck the first drop resulted in snagging on the wreck and losing the last of my leaf jigs which are no longer available. After re tying the leader using the PR bobbin tool, I attached a 150g Osoi jig as the wreck is in 140ft but it was neaps, so very little tide flow. The Bass were at home today and the first fish was a 5lb’er which put up a magnificent scrap on the SPJ rod. Over the next 2 hours this was followed by a further 4 bass which were slightly smaller at about 3 – 4lb. 12:00 midday soon arrived and it was time to head in, and after an effortless 12.5mile trip I was back on the slipway at 12:25 ish. A good day, with a round trip of 28Nm ……… A misty start, Fish on ! 5lb Bass Smaller Bass Going back in at 35knts

Yes, he certainly did. I took one look at the weather and stayed in bed !