Ok, believe it or not, this was not a set up. This racing Pidgeon seemed to be knackered and decided (much to the amusement of my anglers on the day) to take a well earned rest by flying into Lily's wheelhouse and perching itself firmly on my head. Luckily, my feathered friend left by the same route before doing a Number 2 on my bonce....
Ok thats enough....
The heaviest storm since 1989 battered the Dorset coastline on 14th November 2009. Damage was been caused to roofs and other property and needless to say all fishing activity came to an abrupt halt! Winds reached 73 knots at around 13.30hrs... why not take a look at this short film called
November Storm which I shot from my house which overlooks Chesil Beach...surf's up or what!
First: Steve Nash 80lb Fishing from Cobra
Second: Maurice Wheeler 76lb Fishing from Al's Spirit
Third: Jules Brown 74lb Fishing from Al's Spirit
Here's an interesting shot of Ian Goff's Shande from Exmouth in close proximity with the massive container ship MSC Orianne. Ian and his group were fishing a wreck in the mid channel traffic separation scheme when the Panama registered 72,900 ton monster passed his stern recently.
At this time of year we seem to concentrate on the Bass fishing around the Portland Race. The ground is snaggy especially when the drift is under 3 knots and it's easy for the angler to loose gear on the bottom. This is often because we tend to let too much line go in an effort to 'feel' the bottom. A good tip is to use the lightest main line (say 15-20lb braid) and employ the lightest weight you can...it's all about feel!
A great rig thats cheap if you loose it and effective over the mussel beds is The Portland Rig. It was developed by the commercial Bass anglers in the race and is still used widely by the 'top rods'.
Above is an illustration so you can tie some on those wet and windy nights in front of the fire!
Another Balearic Shearwater Study has been conducted this season aboard Tiger Lily. Expert, Martin Gillingham from Portsmouth captured this fantastic shot of one of the rare Shearwater's whilst aboard on a field study.
The species have been classified as critically endangered and recent studies have revealed that only 2000 breeding pairs exist in the world!
The Balearic (Puffinus mauretanicus) is different from the the more common Manx Shearwater because of it's darker belly feathers. Also the Balearic will scavenge from Fishing boats unlike the Manx.
More info can be found here: www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=30026&m=0
Many of the Weymouth Skippers and indeed skippers throughout the country, have signed up to a deal where fish are the winners. We recognise that we need to make a difference so soon you will see this logo on all the participating boats.
In brief, it simply means that we will encourage the returning of fish alive to the sea if they are not needed for the table by operating a 'responsible take' policy. We have also been to meetings where many new conservation issues are underway where competitions are concerned.
Recycle Fish is a campaign to show governing authorities and the general public that we as charter skippers, small boat owners an anglers care about our future fish stocks and we want it known. Recycle fish has no catch and release rules, no minimum landing sizes - it is a campaign to emphasise that whoever supports us and uses our logo, be it a skipper on his boat, or an angler on his tackle box that, they understand that fish conservation is paramount and that they understand catch &release/minimum fish sizes relative to the area in which they fish. Instead of writing rules for this and that, we’d rather leave it down to the conviction of each and every angler and skipper to do what they know is right, because in this day and age most do. If they wear the Recycle Fish logo, we know, and the general public know, that in simple terms they know what is right and they know and support what has to be done to see the future of our sport grow! End of story! We hope then that people will see that we are serious. Hopefully the tackle trade will support us too! If we don’t all group together now – what will be next…?”
We realy want to make a difference, and as the leading angling port in the UK, what better place to start. The Deepsea website is sponsoring the whole thing and pages within Deepsea will be made available to explain and run the initiative. Printing is underway and details will be posted on Deepsea soon of how you can get your stickers. Keep an eye on these pages for lots more info soon.
If you would like a Recycle Fish sticker for your box or boat, please send a sae to: Mr Dave Gibson, 10 Portwey Close, Weymouth, DT4 8RF
Last Updated: Mon Jun 28 2010