Shambles - 10th April

[Adam F]

Ahhh! - It feels good to be back in this forum posting catch reports again!

 

We had our first proper trail-a-way yesterday, when 5 club boats ventured West to Weymouth. Loyal Royal, Maverick, Neo, Enticer and Blue Warrior all made the trip, laiden with at least 2 crew per boat.

 

The weather was kind (makes a change!) and light northly winds and overcast conditions made for a flat sea and warmish climate.

 

We met at 7am and had all the boats in and off to the mark by 8pm. On arriving at the Shambles we joined approx. 15 other boats - a mixture of charter and small / medium private boats - all after 1 thing - PLAICE!!

 

I wont post catch deatils as I dont know them for definate and Im sure the others will want to do this - but for Blue Warrior (her Maiden Voyage!!! ) we had 2 Plaice, 6 Pollock and 4 Wrasse. The fishing begun well with my crew catching plaice 1st drop - but quickly became hard as the tide increased to about 5 knots.

 

We finished the day by having an hour drifting the HMS Hood in the South Harbour for Pollcok and Wrasse - a nice change as not something us smaller boats get to do very often.

 

The fishing was pretty good overall with several nice Plaice and Turbot being taken - personally I needed a bit more experinace fishing the venue for rigs and methods.

 

For me the trip was fantastic. Great Venue, Great Company, Reasonable fishing, and over the moon with my new boat.

 

Here's to many more trips in 2004!

 

Adam

[Maverick Martin]

Bob H & Peter R were my crew for the day.

 

The weather and conditions were excellent. The plaice on the Shambles unfortunately didnt think so, we never had one. Peter R had a small but pan sized turbot on worm only!. Later in the day as the tide eased we started feathering Launce, Peter and I had about 30 apiece to freeze down for use later in the year. Does anyone know marks out of Poole that hold these eels? The last hour was spent catching pollock on and around the hood, great fun.

 

Overal it was a great day afloat. My van towed the boat effortlessly but could not get traction at the bottom of the very slippy slip. Thanks guys for the push, saved me roping the trailer out.

 

Looking forward to the next day out (18th April first species hunt)

 

Martin

[great white]

Nice to see that the trip went well.

 

It sounds as if the fishing was a bit below Par which is a shame.

 

At least all the boats went well, Nice to hear that Adam's and Mark's new boats had good weather to play in.

And the wreck of the hood must be the easiest to find on the south coast. So they are good to test out the electronics.

 

I was working on the boat again so you had better day than I did.

 

an exact report of what was caught would be nice.

 

There were some Plaice reported from the Swash yesterday and Rays up to 24lb from the deeper banks, plus masses of LSD from Old Harry area.

 

Charlie

[Paul J]

Great day out in Weymouth!

 

Really good to get out at a different venue as adds a little extra excitement and anticipation.

 

Launch went really smoothly and so did the retrieve, I was a little dubious about how practical it would be to trail boat the size of Loyal Royal but so far it's been a breeze. I don't think theres any problem as long as it's a decent slip, Mark is very good at towing and manovering being a hgv licence holder. so no problem there.

 

Anyway, we were fortunate to have Billy Boy aboard who was a local and knew a lot about how to fish the area which we put to good use.

 

We fished the opposite end of the bank to most of the boats and for ages it seemed to be a bad move- no Fish for about 2 hours. We did catch Launce from the start which was fun and helped keep us busy while our Plaice rigs lay dormant.

 

I tried a new rig which incorperated bathplug chain and served as an extra attractor and helped keep the bait on the bottom- It seemed to work!

 

First fish of the day went to me and turned out to be a pan sized Turbot ( 3lb 40z) only a baby but i was delighted as it was my first and i can now tick that off my species list.

 

Mark the got a plaice of approx 1.5 lbs and billy got a couple of smaller ones.

 

I then got a plaice of 2lb 8oz followed by a baby one.

 

Fishing was slow even for the charter boats but everything considered we didn't do too badly.

 

I got 3 plaice and a Turbot and the boat total was 6 plaice and a Turbot.

 

We should do this more often!

 

 

 

[Paul D]

The trip was well enjoyable, catch report for Neo is one small plaice and 10-15 Launce.

The slipway and facilities at Weymouth are superb and I too need to learn tactics - catching the plaice on a rig with beads only ( no spoon ).

 

Elaine ( my daughter ) was fishing with a rig made from her necklace beads and I was really hoping that she would catch something on it just for the fun - however, it was not to be, although she had a superb bite which she failed to hook.

She then went onto launce feathering.

 

On the way back we also tried drifting the wreck but I didn;t have the right gear onboard having got everthing ready for plaice/turbot fishing.

 

 

[Maverick Martin]

I agree with your last comments Paul J Weymouth is certainly a nice venue and we should do it more regular

 

Im up for it

 

Martin

[Paul D]

Some pictures from launch of boats at weymouth attached ( unfortunately the colour balance wasnt quite correct ) - I have higher res pics if wanted.

 

 

 

[Adam F]

I also agree we should do it again.

 

When do the Plaice run to?. How long is it worth fishing the Shambles for? How about some of the close range deep water wrecks from Wemouth?

 

Can we fit in another trail-a-way in the next month or so?

[Bob F]

Boy, do I look forward to this trip each year!! It never seems to disappoint.

 

It was an early start getting up at 5am to allow me time to "drop a couple of kids off at the pool". I got the shock of my life as I came out of the loo to find Mark Adams standing in my kitchen!!! "How the hell did you get in!!", "Through the back door" was his smart reply. My eldest son had been on the raz the night before and had forgot to lock the back door. Bloody teenagers!!

 

Anyway, Mark was obviously eager to get going, and outside I found Enticer looking the business hooked up to his Suzuki Grand Vitara. A nice looking package. He also came armed with a 6kg sash window lead which would be ideal for dragging behind the boat to slow our drift.

 

So, off we set and 40mins later we were at the slip at Weymouth for 7am. Marverick, Neo and Blue Warrior were already there and getting setup. Also waiting for us was BoyBilly, a local expert that we had met on the Lounge Forum. Billy was to crew for Royal Loyale who was running late. Billy had also brought along a couple of the Spanish made Grauvell rods set up with super soft tips that he had kindly allowed Adam and I to try out for the day.

 

Pete Russell (snr) took the opportunity to give Enticer her safety check which she passed with flying colours.

 

Anyway, by 8am we were all ready for the off after being urged and proded by an ever impatient Bob Horne who was eager to get out and hit the plaice.

 

Out at the Shambles we found the tide was running at slightly over a knot so no need to drag a weight yet. Mark was first into the water with his rig which was a no frills basic patternoster baited with rag tipped with squid. First drop and 30 secs later he was into his first fish, a small plaice of about a pound which he returned. I hadn't even got my line in the water, yet!!

 

My rig was made up with a zip slider and bead which was slid onto 20lb braid and tied off with a swivel. I then clipped on my modified shop-bought plaice rig which I'd purchased from the Bournemouth Fishing Lodge. This consisted of a medium sized delta spoon attached to a 12" length of mono adourned with a series of brightly coloured tubes and micro-beads. I replaced the small, fitted hook with a larger and sharper 1/0 Kamazan Aberdeen incase there were any Turbot about. The modification was to add a 2 ft length of mono between the swivel and the main line onto which I put a small ball lead, in an attempt to keep the end rig firmly on the bottom and away from the zip slider. Bait was king rag tipped with squid.

 

I also set up another rod with a pennel rig and whole squid. Mark set up his second rod with a flowing trace baited with a slither of smelly mackerel fillet.

 

The next hour was slow with no bites.

 

The tide started to pick up to 2knts so we rigged up the 6kg sash weight to slow the drift, This worked beautifully all day, keeping our drifts at an ideal 1-1.5knts. Drift speed can be slowed or increased by letting out or bringing in rope, respectively.

 

Just before noon we were on a drift close to the rough water on the northern edge of the bank when Mark's second rod baited with the mackerel took a couple of sharp nods. He waited a short time then lifted into the fish. There was some weight to this one. I called Turbot and sure enough it was a Turbot that came to the surface. It was soon nettted and in the boat (phew!) followed by a deep grunted "YES" and much punching of the air by Mark.

 

It was a nice fish too, weighting 4lb 4oz. Not huge by Turbot standards but it was a first for Mark.

 

So, I had still not had so much as a bite and Mark was already two fish up on me. I was beginning to think Mark really was the jinx that we had kiddingly previously said he was. He always catches fish but his boat buddies don't!!

 

But encouraged by the Turbot I switched my squid bait to smelly mackerel on a single hook and set out with renewed enthusiasm. An hour later I was rewarded with a similar double nod of the rod. I lifted the rod and felt the tap, tap of an interested party of the end of the line. A short wait and I struck. Fish on!! And a bit of weight, too. A short fight followed and up to the surface came a similar sized Turbot. Mark did the biz with the net and the fish was safely in the boat. My first ever boat caught Turbot!

 

Poor old Mark had to suffer the now typical Bob Fuller reaction of a cuddle a kiss on the cheak, followed by many whooping!!!. But what the heck, we're 6 miles out and no ones looking.

 

But still no bites on the plaice rig, so I decided to try a modification to the rig. I moved the ball weight to the hook side of the spinner about 6 ins from the bait, so that I was sure the bait was on the bottom.

 

10 mins later and the light tip on the Grauvell rod indicated some interest followed by a change in the line direction against the tide. I lifted the rod and sure enough a fish was on. It felt light at first but at mid water is started fighting hard. After a short battle the fish appeared from the depths. It was a beautiful brightly spotted plaice of exactly 2lb. I was dead chuffed.

 

It was now a turbot and a plaice each for Mark and I.

 

30 mins later and I had another bite. It was another plaice of about 1lb 8oz which I let go. I wasn't happy that the hooks were being taken deep by the plaice. Was I waiting too long before striking? I decided to change the Aberdeen pattern to a small circle hook.

 

It wasn't long before I had another plaice on. The rig change to move the ball weight nearer the hook was obviously working, and this time the plaice was also beautifully hooked in the corner of the mouth and it was easy to return the fish completely unharmed. The circle hooks seem to do the trick.

 

It was now 2:30 and Adam was getting impatient on Blue Warrior and wanted to dift the Hood for the last hour before going back to the slip, so off we went to the Hood. As Charlie said, this is the easiest wreck to find in the south being positioned right in the middle of the southern entrance to Portland Harbour. HMS Hood was deliberately scuttled here during WWII to prevent U-Boats entering the harbour. You are not allowed to anchor in the entrance, so the technique is to drift using a patternoster or light flowing trace rig, baited with rag.

 

Neo and Maverick joined us and it wasn't long before we were hitting the pollack. They were only small, ranging from 1/2lb to 1 1/2lb but great fun.

 

At 4pm we called it a day.

 

Back at the slip Mark's Suzuki Grand Vitara made short work of getting Neo, Blue Warrior and Enticer out of the water.

 

A fantastic day.

 

The final tally on Enticer was:

 

Mark Adams- 1 Turbot 4lb 4oz, 1 plaice 1lb 4oz, 1 pollack 1/2lb.

 

Bob Fuller - 1 Turbot 4lb 4oz, 3 plaice 2lb, 1 1/2lb and 1lb 4oz, 1 pollack 1/2lb.

 

Adam and I will post another report on the Grauvell rods that we used.

 

cheers

 

Bob F

[Guest boybilly]

I would just like to say a huge thanks to all the lads that came to Weymouth for the trail-a-way. What a bunch of diamonds. That was a tremendous days fishing l;ads. I know that the fish did not show in any great numbers but to see anglers get there first Turbot having stuck to the plan was a real buzz. Big thanks to Gaffer for arranging the trip, what did you and fishy franklin think of the rods mate? The biggest thanks goes to Paul J and Loyal Royal for a superb day, fun, fish and a couple of beers. Lovely boat Mark, can,t wait for the Bream to come in then you will be in heaven mate. Got some cracking marks mate. All the best to you all and look forward to seeing you at the Poole Species hunt. Regards,

 

BB

[shytalk]

should have been there sunday 2 6lb + plaice and turbot to 16lb were caught. on monday thw wrecks fished well i had 10 pollack to double figures a ling and a personal best coalfish of 9lb all on storm shads on 15lb class tackle without loseing any gear pretty good !!!!!