I am busy building a special rod for inshore floatfishing, plugging, live baiting and all the odds and ends fishing that we do. Took an old 12 pound class blank re-modelled the handle to take a fixed spool reel and am in the process of whipping on some light but larger rings. I am going to get a 6:1 retrieve speed fixed spool reel so that I can rip popping plugs back at a fast popping speed as well as using the same rod for light jigging on the reefs... hey this is a fun piece of kit and I can't wait for the summer sunshine to have the opportunity to get out and try it. Happy New Year... tight lines for 2008..

.

The two main political parties spoke up for recreational sea angling (RSA) in the House of Commons annual fisheries debate.

In the midst of the debate on December 6, Robert Goodwill (Cons. Scarborough and Whitby) reminded MPs that recreational sea angling was “not merely a hobby: people earn their living from [it], and it is very important that they are supported.”

Many former fishermen, he said, now take recreational anglers out to sea. He warned against conservation areas being no-fishing zones or restricting sea angling from the shore “an activity that many people enjoy”.

Significantly, sea angling came up in the first five minutes of the three hour debate which centred mainly on commercial fishing. 

Not just once, twice or thrice but four times in his opening remarks the new fisheries minister, Jonathan Shaw, seemed anxious to launch his sea angling credentials because he is regarded by anglers with some coolness since reversing his predecessor’s undertaking to increase the minimum landing size for bass.

A shared plan - Fisheries 2027 - was being developed, he said, with “fishermen, anglers, processors, retailers, customers and environmental groups” so that “we can achieve sustainability together.”

Sustainable fishing meant rebuilding stocks and the right regulations “to enable the fishing industry, sea angling businesses and others who depend on this vital resource to operate efficiently, profitably and in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Then on the need for everyone to have access to fishing, he said it again.   “We must make sure that the economic and social benefits from fishing, whether commercial or recreational, are shared fairly,” he declared.

Just in case any anglers were still fishing from the public gallery for further indication that he really was their friend, he tugged their lines a fourth time. 

“Our seas…sustain extensive fishing industries as well as tourism, angling, diving, boating and other activities. We need to conserve these ecosystems to provide rich resources today and for future generations.”

Bill Wiggin, the Conservative shadow fisheries minister, swiftly confirmed his party’s support for the £1 billion sea angling industry and the 19,000 jobs it brought to the UK economy.

“We want anglers to be given greater representation on sea fisheries committees, and most of all we want effective management that will deliver more and bigger fish.”

A marine Bill was, Mr. Wiggin said, key to the sustainable management of the seas.  “We were supposed to get a marine Bill in draft form two years ago…Now we know that there is only a draft Bill pencilled in for the coming spring.”

Could the minister give a commitment it would be on the statute book before the next general election?   The minister didn’t take the bait.

The Bill, Mr. Wiggin continued, must deliver real reform of sea fisheries committees to ensure a million recreational sea anglers were involved in fisheries and marine management.

Labour, he said, had let sea anglers down. The "Net Benefits" report (of 2004) recommended developing the inshore sector including managing recreational sea angling interests. A recreational sea angling strategy was promised last year, but it was published only on the day of the debate.

Little progress had been made with the “Net Benefits” recommendations and little was likely to be made with the new strategy.

It would, he said, be difficult for Britain's sea anglers to trust Labour when they had already been let down over bass, or when plans to introduce sea angling licences, bag limits and no-take zones could reduce RSA by 60 per cent, as happened when similar measures were introduced in Portugal.

Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, noting there was “clearly a strong bandwagon campaigning in favour of sea anglers” asked if Mr. Wiggin could reassure MPs about what the Conservatives did to support sea anglers during their 18 years of custodianship - by giving them a seat at sea fisheries committees, for example?

Mr. Wiggin regretted he could not for he was not in the House ten years ago but “we have called for strengthening of those sea fisheries committees.”


 

OK!! I give up!!!! the weather again this weekend is horrid... rain, 70 mph wind from the north west, temperature dropping to less than 10c. Seems like a weekend to re-build a rod or maybe even sort my tackle bag out. I am seriously thinking about getting one of those bright orange tackle boxes with a waterproof seal from UK Hooks. Something to sit on, big enough to dump a camera in when I am working and still have room for a bit of tackle. I think I have just made my mind up, just got to be done....

Some might be wondering about all the politix that I have cluttered my site with recently. I have to say that sometimes I wonder myself why I get so involved with it all. Then I go to sea and watch the Dolphins and Whales, catch some fish, enjoy the deep ocean, then come inside of twenty miles and see the acres of gillnets boxing the reefs and wrecks. The grubby little trawlers ripping their scallop dredges and beams across the sea bed, some of them digging trenches several feet deep according to the divers. Listen to the commercials crowing about the fact that the Bass minimum size has been retained at a size where the fish has yet to breed and I know that I cannot sit idly by.

I have read about all the political shenanigans going on in the Houses of Parliament, and about the Common Market Fisheries Policy and quite honestly it does not sit well with me that political capital is being made out of my life, my fishing. It bothers me that we do not have a politically astute and unified organisation representing the views of Recreational Sea Anglers like myself.
I support the National Federation of Sea Anglers because without them we would have nothing and the commercials would run riot. It goes without saying that I encourage every sea angler to join and add to the weight of numbers that the NFSA can bring to the table when facing Government. Just belonging to an affiliated club is not the same, because that brings very little revenue to the NFSA and without a substantial fund to fight this cause we are wasting our time.
Over the past couple of years the National Governing bodies of angling united to form FACT (Fisheries and Conservation Trust) because the Government just want to talk to one overall body. All the Governing Bodies that is, except the NFSA. They are not part of this new body because they could not afford to join, they did not have the five thousand pounds seed money to be a part of FACT. Some might say, without much thought "so what!" why do we need to be a part of an organisation that will represent nearly five million anglers. Five million anglers my friends are a lot of people. Five million anglers are capable of influencing a General Election. Five million anglers talking with one voice would scare the living daylights out of any political party. Do you think the commercials would have won the right to carry on catching 36cm Bass if five million anglers spoke with one voice.
The NFSA have said that they will consult with their members and then try to raise the money to join, if the membership want to.
OK... that is the democratic process, I can live with that. Meanwhile in the real world sea anglers will be missing at the main negotiating table, so who is going to suffer???? Is it possible that if the Government only want to talk to one body that they will talk to the NFSA... I don't think so!! In time it will be possible to join FACT as an individual member and if the NFSA does not join sometime soon they will be hastening their own demise...   so come on chaps, lets get this show on the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Information from
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF SEA ANGLERS
CONTACT:  Alan Brothers, hon. public relations officer.
Tel 01273 471 496, mobile 07957 870 616,  abrothers1037395@aol.com
Promoting and protecting the interests of sea anglers nationwide

Date: November 30 2007 

Government plans “more and and bigger fish” to catch

New measures to maintain and grow the £1 billion recreational sea angling (RSA) industry and provide “more and bigger fish” in the sea to support it, are revealed by the government today (Friday).

It follows a four-year campaign by anglers to put recreational angling high up on Whitehall’s problem agenda for the fishing industry.

The twin objectives of Defra’s Recreational Sea Angling Strategy for England are to “provide more and bigger fish within a healthy and sustainable ecosystem and environment” and “maintain and increase participation in RSA on a sustainable basis…across all groups in society to provide socio-economic benefits.”

It is seen as a positive move to assuage anglers who were outraged last month when the fisheries minister (Jonathan Shaw) dumped his  his predecessor’s commitment to increase the minimum legal landing size for sea bass to conserve the species.

Instead the minister consigned this valuable stock to continued and almost unrestricted commercial predation allowing the slaughter of huge numbers of immature fish before they were even big enough to spawn.

Today’s strategy is intended as a guideline, primarily for the 12 sea fisheries committees which regulate the marine environment, including fishing, for six miles out around the coast of England and Wales.

Defra says it wants to “realise real improvements” for anglers before any control of their activities, such as licensing.  It concedes that “large and sustainable fish stocks and a healthy marine environment are the primary elements which affect the angling experience.”

Defra says there should be better access to angling sites, more boat launching facilities, artificial reefs to attract fish and areas of the sea  reserved for angling or where only limited commercial fishing was allowed.

The strategy admits that angling is under-represented in sea fisheries management despite its increasingly significant social and economic contribution to the nation. Managements at national, regional and local levels should recognise the needs of RSA alongside other stakeholders.

The strategy idea came from the conservation group of the National Federation of Sea Anglers in 2004 and a wide group of sea anglers helped draft it.

”Ministers and civil servants had no idea then what a sea angler looked like, what they did or how valuable their activities were,” said Richard Ferré, chairman of the National Federation of Sea Anglers.  “They have little doubt about that now.”

The anglers’ strategy was taken up by Defra’s coastal waters policy group and presented in detail to all the main stakeholders including commercial fishing, sea fisheries committees and environmental organisations.

“Discussions were vigourous but professional and a document with real positives for anglers has now emerged,” said Mr. Ferré.

“It calls for management plans at a local level for the species of fish most important to RSA, makes a strong case for better control of trawling and gill netting close to the shore and anglers’ desire for the “golden mile” concept of no netting within a mile of the shore.”

He said the strategy calls for sea fisheries committees to be given the objective of developing sea angling, a duty they do not have today, and to make decisions based on socio-economic factors not just on concerns for commercial fishing.

The strategy contains some potential threats to angling, notably licensing and limits on the number of fish anglers could take home.  However, these, can only happen under the Marine Bill due to be published next year.

It also calls for co-operation between anglers, sea fisheries committees, local authorities and others in developing voluntary sea angling codes of conduct and best practice.

Mr. Ferré urged all sea anglers to support the NFSA in its continuing engagement with government to achieve its goal of improving sea angling mostly through “more and bigger fish”.

END

    
National Federation of Sea Anglers
Hamlyn House, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon  TQ11 0NS
Chief Executive:  David Rowe
Tel: 01364 644 643   Fax 01364 644 486   e-mail: ho@nfsa.org.uk

www.nfsa.org.uk

Promoting and protecting the interests of sea anglers nationwide

 

Went over to Mountbatten shed this morning with CR to see how Sushi was progressing with her annual refit. Richard was there under the boat still applying the new Copper Coat anti foul that is being applied for the 2008 season. Being water based it is having some difficulty in setting off during these wet and windy days that we are having to endure this winter. But once it is done all it will need is touching up over the next few years and will help us maintain the speed to get out to the deep wrecks that have been so productive for us over the past few seasons.

What was so interesting was that in the same shed a couple of boats over was Gypsy Moth 3. Sir Francis Chichester's previous boat to the one he sailed around the world in. She is being refitted to a very high standard by a new owner. I suspect she will be a lovely showpiece boat when she is finished. I am not a yotty but I suspect I could enjoy myself on such a lovely old boat.

Been busy this week shooting and processing pix for the 2008 Snowbee catalogue. Lots of new products, the new fly rods and Prestige Plus fly lines are exceptional, as are the new waterproofs done in a lovely country colour reminiscent of the old Barbour wax finish. I am going to have one of four pocket jackets myself, just the job for fishing in the cooler part of the season and for those manky days that seem to be haunting the months when the sun should be shining when shorts and shirt should be rig of the day.

We have been trying to find out what the NFSA are going to be offering for the substantial increase in subs next year. From the answers received so far, not much more than we had before, seems to be the answer.
 

My own thoughts on these points are :

1. That the question of recruitment is the one which will determine whether or not the NFSA (National Federation of Sea Anglers) will survive. This I feel is the most important issue of all of them, because without recruitment and the consequent cash flow the organisation will wither and die. RSA’s (Recreational Sea Anglers) are just like any other member of the public, they respond to marketing and promotion. What are the plans for a membership marketing and promotion campaign?
2. The arguments about the MPA’s (Marine Protected Areas) will be dominated by the conservation organisations. We as sea anglers will be pushed to the back and largely ignored unless we have an organisation which is up to speed, determined and with sufficient scientific and if necessary legal backup to press our case. Without (1) we cannot have (2).
3. The decision needs to be made and soon about what the NFSA’s role is going to be in the future. Is it going to be an organisation which distributes medals, certificates and nothing much else…. Or…. Is it going to be the campaigning, conservation minded RSA organisation that the anglers of this country need. What is it to be?????????????????? Without the answer to (3) you cannot have (1) or (2), it is make your mind up time, and the time is now!!!

The problem is that they seem to think that time is not important on these issues. They are wrong, decisions are being made every day which will have a life long effect on what, where and when we can fish and as anglers we need, desperately need, to have a decisive input into these deliberations. I am 64 now, it doesn't matter a fishes tit to me. I have had my share, truth be told, more than my share, of the best fishing that Europe ever had to offer. But I cannot sit idly by  fiddling whilst Rome burns around our ears. What is the saying " for evil to triumph, all good men have to do is sit on their backside and do nothing" or words to that effect. My G,rrrr factor is pretty high at the moment!!!!

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/VideoPlayer.aspx?meetingId=309&st=MjIvMTEvMjAwNyAxNjo1MzowNg==&rel=ok

Had Dinner with a couple of friends from the Czech Republic last evening. They were over viewing and ordering next years tackle stock from Snowbee. We fished with Jan and Lucas last year in the Giant mountains. Jan took us for a hike up through the mountains, fishing all the way into Poland. We ended up walking miles to the "Schoolhouse" which is something of an institution amongst long distance walkers in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. If you ever get there look high on the centre post and you will find a gilt Snowbee badge hammered into the wood. Proof that we did actually get there. We started walking before eight in the morning and got back a little before midnight. Jan said it was over 20k each way, what he didn't tell us was how steep the mountain tracks were!
Anyway over dinner he regaled us with his latest exploits in Mongolia. Apparently after he had run with the Bulls in Pamplona this year, they went fishing in Mongolia. Arriving in the fishing camp in a Russian built, ex Afghanistan helicopter which had been lovingly restored for the Mongolian President. Lucas went fishing while Jan took his Long Bow hunting for a Mongolian Bear, which apparently grow big, fast and nasty. He rafted 20k downriver from the fishing camp to a mountainous area and staked out a site which the bears used. He waited five days with his bow and arrows without sighting a bear before he walked the 20k back to the fishing camp. I am glad that there are still some people left in this world who enjoy adventure outside of the box without the benefit of Welfare State or Health and Safety Regulation. Something that has gone seriously missing in the UK!
Anyway they caught Huchen to 1m 40cm and some huge Grayling to 45cm on fly which is of a size enough to make the trip worthwhile.....

Just checking some sounder recordings yesterday and I found a couple from earlier in the year that are very interesting. I have long held the view that fish are the last truly wild creatures on this planet of ours. Finding where they are and taking a few to eat is I suppose, only loosely Politically Correct in this somewhat whimsical world that the tree huggers would impose upon us. But when Attila the Hun rides again they will find out how wrong they all are, but I don't suppose that will worry me too much!

This sounding is of a wreck off Plymouth that the commercial netters know nothing about. If they did there would be gillnets all around it and the fish that you see would be long gone. This is what it was like in the days before these evil nets were invented. This is what it was like when Plymouth had 28 full time charter boats and anglers came to town by the coach load. But hey ho, those days are gone and wrecks like this are only visited with radar reflectors stowed below decks and its a three in the morning start.  Enough!!

Finding wrecks is a detective job in itself and many have been the days when my friend CR and myself in his boat Sushi have discovered a set of numbers, maybe even converted them from the old Decca numbers and spent many hours looking with the sounder set on 50MHz to get the widest beam angle. Occasionally picking up bits of wreckage which on a sounder like the top of the range Lowrance will show up very clearly and using that as a datum looking up and down the tide. The problem we have is that many of the WW1 wrecks are now breaking up and blending with the bottom, but even so the area is still worth fishing for Cod and ling.

Before Lowrance was recently taken over by Navico when Darryl Lowrance retired, I was a Pro Staffer for Lowrance, meaning that I had particular access to tuition and information regarding their product. Which was brilliant, if I had a problem, a phone call or email to Bertrand Picarda who was their Southern Europe and Africa Sales Manager would soon have it sorted. Bertrand became a real friend and one who I respected a great deal as an angler in his own right.   Just recently he has taken up a new job as the Sales Manager for Europe and Africa with Airmar, the manufacturer of transducers for a number of premier marine electronic companies.
In a conversation with him yesterday he told me of some of the new technology that Airmar are bringing to the sounder market. Such a simple thing as a Tilted Element transducer which enables a transducer to be virtually flush mounted on the boats bottom and for boats that have to be trailered there is no problem with the trailer rollers because of the minimal protrusion, it's brilliantly simple.

Then there is the wide beam transducers which combine the Tilted Element with a new concept where the 200MHZ and the 50Mhz both have a 25 degree beam to aid the search for wrecks and structure delivering a combined sounder image which will give superb detailed images of fish and where they live. This is the sort of technology which those of us who remember the wet paper and spark to burn the sounders paper will rejoice in.

I wait to see how this will work on the Western Approaches wrecks and reefs and when I do I will report and show you some traces.   Take a good look at the picture. Bertrand in a suit and tie. I am more used to seeing him in shorts and fishing shirt. Good luck in the new job my friend, I am sure you will do well.

When we got there we had trouble finding the wreck, the GPS wasn't its usual spot on self. At one time we were plodding around for another drift and the track jumped fifty yards to the South. Thursdays is War Day for the Royal Navy who were charging around ten miles to the east of us and I could not help but wonder if their electronic countermeasures gear was playing silly B's with our GPS.
Anyway we came back inside where it was a little smoother, found an inshore wreck where we took several good whiting and an eating size Ling before we got back in for a Guinness just on dark. Met a couple of skippers in the bar who had just got in and surprise, surprise, they had a frustrating day of scratching for fish as well. Hopefully things will improve. New Years resolution!!! I must thin out the gear in my tackle bag.... it's getting a bit heavy again...

Sally Pizzi did her usual excellent job of organising everything, Mike Maslin(MoorFishing 07841448747) got us through the first aid and Thanks to Chris Hall for organising the Facility at Roadford.

Returned from the Fly Fair at late o'clock last night. An excellent show, met a lot of old friends and watched some extremely expert fly dressers from all over the world. Had a long talk with Ted Patlen from New Jersey about my flies for Striped Bass, Bluefish and Albacore. His easy expertise and straight talking set me right to spend the next few months tying some flies that should work, when hopefully we cross the pond to try and achieve a North East Grand Slam. That is a Striped Bass, an Albacore and a Bluefish on fly. Just got to be done!!

Might not sound a big deal for someone who lives there, but  believe me, it will mean a lot to me. A private objective is a 20 pound Striped Bass, if its on fly that would be great, if its on plug that would be fine..... I don't even care if its on bait. I just want a fish that size to touch and release in memory of the finest British Bass angler who ever lived. I was fishing with him when he lost a UK Bass in excess of that size. I was holding the net  to land it, despite doing myself a damage trying to net it... the dang fish still got away!! One day.......... sometime soon I hope.

Snowbee were showing their very impressive new range of rods for 2008, as well as an innovative waistcoat which as well as holding all the bits and bobs that today's fly angler cannot live without, will also inflate via a gas cylinder, should you be unfortunate enough to go for an involuntary swim. A great idea!!

Went out Saturday morning to drift the shallows looking for a big end of season Bass. Had one quite violent take but that was it. The conditions were nothing like the Met Office forecast. The day before the wind was 2 knots and they said it would freshen during the day to 12 knots on Saturday. Actually it was a four when we got outside the Breakwater and was going a goodly five to six by mid-day with tremendous swells from the South West which were topping out at 10 to 12 feet. Needless to say we didn't stop too long in those conditions. Problem was that last year on just such a day RW and myself each took a double figure Bass from this drift, so we stayed a little longer than we should have.

Not quite "The Perfect Wave" but lumpy enough!!!

Dear DEFRA,

                          I read what you have said in the newsletter about the Recreation Sea Angling Licence. Perhaps the person who wrote the newsletter had not considered all the facts, which are…

Recreational Sea Anglers(RSA) catch 1.4 % of the total amount caught by the Commercial Fishing Industry. To catch this relatively minor amount of fish they generate £1.4 billion pounds(Drew report) which is nearly twice the amount  generated by the Commercial Fishing Industry. Of that 1.4% a considerable amount of fish is returned alive to the sea, whereas commercial bycatch amounts to 64% which is shovelled back dead. Recreational Sea Angling employs 19,000 people and the commercial fishing industry employs 12,500.

We are not averse to a Sea Angling Licence provided we can see what we are going to get in return and that our money is going to be spent on ensuring more and larger fish for RSA. It makes a lot of commercial sense, RSA has potential for enormous growth, the commercial fishing industry is on its last legs, they have killed the golden goose with their profligate profiteering.

RSA by virtue of the sums of money generated and the low impact on fish stocks, should have a dominant position within Defra, with at the very least half of its efforts directed to ensuring good fish stocks for RSA and its revenue generating growth.

The question being asked by many anglers is why are we being punished by the imposition of a licence when the Government already makes more money from us without investing millions in new fish markets, grants and what have you as they do with the Commercial Sector.

I would value your comments and will publish them.....

Still waiting for a reply...........

The Bass Betrayal......Yet Another Labour U-Turn.

Government dumps its fishy problem overboard.          

A decision 14 months ago to ban the sale of immature sea bass caught by British fishermen around the English coast, was abandoned by the government today.
The fisheries minister (Jonathan Shaw) refused to implement a decision to raise the minimum landing size for the fish made by his predecessor (Ben Bradshaw) in August 2006.

The move followed objections to the ban by the commercial fishing industry but strong support for the ban by recreational sea anglers.
The previous minister’s decision was to raise the minimum size for bass from 36cm (weighing about 500gr or just over 1lb) to 40cm (weighing about 685gr or 11/2lb).  The move was to have been the first step in taking the minimum size up to 45cm by which time a female bass would have had the opportunity to spawn.

Sea anglers have campaigned for three years to persuade the government  that killing fish not big enough to spawn was futile. (It was also the wishes of the Fisheries Scientists who warned that killing fish that have not had the opportunity to spawn at least once was unsound practice for the long term survival of the species).

The anglers’ aim is to increase the breeding stock, protect young fish and develop fisheries containing more and bigger bass.  They say this will develop valuable recreational sea fisheries around the English coast and increase the £1 billion a year which sea angling already makes to the national economy.

They say the breeding stock of bass needs to be increased if the species is to recover from the decimation of 30 years’ of commercial overfishing which will now be allowed to continue. 

In a joint statement John Leballeur and Richard Ferré chairmen respectively of the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society Restoration Project and the National Federation of Sea Anglers, said: “Our members will be deeply disappointed by this decision." (There are over 1 million Sea Anglers, 4 million recreational anglers, only 20,000 people involved in the commercial fishing industry. Be warned Minister, this decision will come back to bite the Labour party).
 

“The minister has failed by a huge margin to achieve the maximum socio-economic benefits from the country’s wild bass resources.  We regret he did not accept biological and economic advice which clearly showed overwhelming benefits for commercial fishing and sea angling if the sale of baby fish was banned.

“The public is well aware that overfishing has ruined the breeding stocks of other fish.  They will now be wary of buying small bass for the same ethical reason.”
They said that putting up the minimum size would have increased the value of bass caught commercially as well as encouraging the growth of sea angling.
A 36cm four-year-old bass was worth about £3 to commercial fishermen but a 48cm seven-year-old more than £9. “It is like drawing capital out of a bank which is paying 50 per cent interest.”
Mr. Ferré said the argument for raising the minimum landing size for Bass applied equally to many other species.
He added: “We will continue to press the government to prohibit the taking of any fish before they have spawned.”
END

A Thresher Shark weighing 880lb was caught in tangle nets off Gribben head near Fowey this week. This is probably the largest Thresher Shark ever caught in British waters. It was sold and exported to France. That would have made your ears pop if it had been caught on rod and line!!

Shakespeare were showing their new range of sea rods which looked to be a vast improvement over the last lot.
Snowbee had some exciting new fly rods which I spent more time than I should have done casting on the pool and I have say that rods of that quality and casting ability would have cost a fortune just a couple of years ago. they have certainly raised the bar on what constitutes an affordable fly rod. Can't wait to see their new range of top end rods..

Saw some of the solid carbon boat rods for the first time, nicely finished, well presented and lighter than I thought they would be. But how can you have a 12/30 lb class rod, its a joke. If you put 12lb line on you will break it and if you use 30lb line the rod is not capable of using the proper drag setting, what a waste of space that is!! Why don't they call it a 20lb class rod which it probably is and sell it as such, then we would know what line to use, the optimum drag setting and be able to play a decent fish with absolute confidence.

Monday 15th, yesterday, went out of Dartmouth with MC and a crew, fishing inshore looking for some Couches Bream which inhabit these waters on the odd occasion, it was unfortunately, not an odd occasion. A few wrasse, pollack, reef conger and the inevitable doggy put in special guest appearances but nothing of any consequence to get the camera clicking. It was a sloppy old day and I was very surprised at how well Dave Harrison's 33ft Blyth catamaran handled the sloppy weather. From mid-day it was going a goodly five with some nasty groundswell bouncing over the inshore area that we were fishing, yet it was still fishable.....  uncomfortable, but fishable.

We had a natter about the vessel and Dave remarked on how fuel economical the hull was even with a full load. She is a well kept tidy boat with a very competent skipper. The Winter fishing will soon be in full swing with Pollack in evidence on the wrecks, so if you want a good day out with plenty of tea and coffee, give Dave a call on 01803 851766 or boat 07837345995. Website www.geminifishing.co.uk

The Friday trip started off the East end of the Breakwater on the ebb tide.... we caught some squid and cuttle but the Bass were nowhere to be seen. It occurred to me that they might be obsessed with feeding on the squid.... so we are going to try floatfishing some calamari, the fresh stuff hits RW's frying pan in very short order.

Shifting to the Penlee drift we took a couple of Bass with GH scoring first with his first ever Bass. RW followed within a half hour and I missed a good fish when it ran back under the boat and I wasn't quick enough to realise what it was doing... such is life!!

Saturday I was all set to see a chum of mine who was very poorly... unfortunately I wasn't quick enough. So I went to sea with DB instead. We fished a wreck out near the French/English median line and sorted a few goodly Pollack on jigs and Redgill's. Just after slack water the tide turned and an easterly breeze picked up which turned an easy drift into a nightmare, so we decided to start making our way inshore ducking and weaving on some wrecks to break the journey up.  Just before we started in, we saw two Minky whales sliding through the surface. We saw both whales porpoise through the single decker bus high, long slow swells  that we had all day, that incredible sighting of the Minky whales put the topping on the days fishing... or so we thought!

We finished the last drift and turned north east, to start heading in when a mile or so off the port side we all saw a great cloud of water blown into the air... another whale we said. Then a whale cleared the water and DB said "that is no Minky, that is a Fin Whale breaching!" then to our amazement another Fin whale with its distinctive white belly leapt and leapt again. Then another, whale much closer breached, that was enough for me. I reeled in and dived for my Camera, 200mm lens was as much glass as I had with me, it wasn't nearly enough for the distance the whales were from us, they would have been pinheads in the frame, but it was enough to make out all three Fin whales breaching at the same time on one occasion. They must have had a monstrous shoal of mackerel or pilchard that they were predating upon to make them breach and clear the water the way they did. What a joy and a priviledge to have seen such a sight in UK waters.

We hit another three wrecks on the way in taking a few fish from each, but the East wind made life difficult. Arriving back on the moorings in the dark for the first time this season with the thought that in two weeks time we lose another hour of good daylight. We don't stand a chance of altering this annual debacle of messing around with the clocks with a Scottish parliament ruling the UK. Hopefully the next lot will see some sense and keep us on Summer time the year round.

I'm working at the Tackle and Guns show at Stoneleigh on the Snowbee stand next week, if any of you will be there.