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Me after day one in isolation

After two days of isolation harrowing and rolling fields I noticed a commotion in this double trough, a bit of sheep’s blood ruby dubby and I hooked into this Porgie. Had two big runs but broke me😳

Having an hour spare yesterday whilst the family was out I seized the opportunity to make up a batch of jellyworms and sandeel bodies in preparation for the Alderney trip in May. I reckon they turned out quite well. Let's hope the fish like rhubarb & custard flavour...

I thought I'd post up here my experience of the Lowrance Active Imaging sidescan transducer in case it helps anyone in the market for a new FF. I was out on a group of four wrecks off the SW corner of the IoW back in the summer, and I wanted to test out the new HDS Live 9 and Active Imaging transducer side scan capabilities. Below is a screen shot of the bow of the Kurland (details here: https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/uploads/documents/FWFWW_Site report_Kurland.pdf) compared with the Marine Archaeology Trust's professional sidescan view from the Forgotten Wrecks report. HDS Live Active Imaging side scan Marine Archaeology Trust side scan Pretty good correlation between the two I think, and decent resolution. The HDS side scan was taken at 455khz for the wider cone angle. Next time I'm there I'll try the same drift using 800khz so that I can get a better resolution image. Incidentally, the Forgotten Wrecks Map https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/ is a great resource for wreck hunting on the south coast . Well worth a browse for the history too.

Hi Colin In response to your request for a heads up on fishing the Thames Estuary and Essex coast I'll cast my mind back and see what I can come up with ,bearing in mind I've been here for nearly 4 years. There were a few slipways that are open to the public.The most westerley that I would deem to be OK is at two Tree Island which is council owned. It is in Leigh on Sea (Southend Borough) right behind Leigh Station. As I recall this one doesn't dry out but its a good 10 miles upstream of the general fishing areas. There are others to the east of that but they do dry out for a few hours. I never used slipways so I cannot talk from my own experiences. Once you are out there you can go for Plaice (near record ones taken off of East Beach in Shoeburyness during the winter times). Problem there is you will get plagued with flounders. Bit further east from there are the firing ranges. There are some superb Bass to be had there if you fish in the gutways especially at low tide when there is only a couple of feet under the boat and all around you are dried out sandbanks (3 miles out from the shoreline). The downside of that is you are on MoD ground and officially you have to ask permission but seeing as they never answered the radio you never got permission. If you were unlucky you could expect a visit from the bright orange hovercraft where the nice men on board, using good old fashioned english would leave you in no doubt as to how welcome you were! On one red hot summers day my mate took a 13lb Bass in no more than 2 feet of water. Like hitting the back of the London To Edinburgh Express. Only time I've ever seen a Bass tail walk. If you were brave enough to cross the shipping channel there were some good Roker to be had off of Margate. Go a little further out and north toward Clacton and that was a well know summer fishery for Tope and Doggies. Winter was mainly restricted to Cod, Whiting and Flatfish. You may or may not know that Essex has to longest coastline of any county due to all the small islands and inlets. There are three other main rivers available to you namely The Roach, The Crouch and the Blackwater. They all have slipways available either Public or some of the Yachtclubs are ameanable for a small consideration. The one thing to always bear in mind is that the east coast is flat and the sea is not deep therefore the majority, but not all, of the slips dry out. This in turn leads to some fast running tides. Do your research first and if the fishing gods are with you good days are possible. As far as bait goes I would always favour Rag, Lug and for the Bass it would be peeler crab. The Roker seemed to come better on fresh herring. Like all fishing a bait will work one day and they wont touch it the next! If you have a choice I would go for weekdays, especially during the warmer months as 'The Romford Navy' as they are locally known decend on the coast with their 3 metre inflatables with twin 150 Mercs on the back. Gives the local RNLI something to do! If you do venture to the east coast let me know how you get on.

Why'd you think I made so many... 😉

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Explain that to your boss!!!

Cobbs club is closed, been in contact with Dave and Julia today and they are clearing things out that could be targeted to get stolen. Could be hard times for a lot of people for a while. Stay safe and need to look out for each other for sure.

Thanks all for your input - appreciated. Just ordered the ACR ResQLink. Turns out Force4 are offering a free strobe light with each purchase. Here's hoping I never, ever need to use it...

Bloody cheek ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just start constantly coughing if they come near to tell you off.

Hello Brian, I have a friend that was introduced to me by Professor Van Helsing that may take them off your hands: I will speak to buffet the vampire slayer later. (you may need to be 30 to 60 to get that)

Hi Colin, As Maverick says, no need for buoys these days. To see the likely drift line I cut the motor somewhere near to but not over the wreck, and I turn on the Track function on my plotter. This traces the path of my boat onto the map; it looks like there's a line coming out of my boat showing where I've drifted. I use this to show me the drift angle that my boat will take when I'm over the wreck. Once I know the drift angle I can use this knowledge to position myself uptide of the wreck and start the first proper drift. When you get a drift right, you can use the track line to simply motor back to the start of that drift track on your plotter and repeat.

Hi Colin, good luck with your wrecking. In case it helps, here's a tip for you. I find it helpful to plot the bow and stern of the wreck onto the plotter beforehand, so I know how the wreck lies in relation to the drift. It also means I can drift each part of the wreck from bow to stern to find where the fish are congregating. The DORIS site is good for noting the bow and stern co-ords of each wreck. If you only have a single set of numbers for a wreck it's worth spending time drifting it to plot the bow and stern so it becomes easier to drift each bit of it next time.

Bit below the belt Chris, 🤣🤣it was a member of the Witheford family who lost the monster of the deep🥴🥴

My response would be, having been down the same road as most on here, is to don't spend all your money on the first boat you see. Try to crew for as many members as possible, most look for willing helpers from time to time, to see how you feel about the boat you are on. Talk to the owners and see what the querks are on a particular model. Decide if you want to moor or trail the boat, cost on this point can make a difference to your budget! Most owners get their first boat then often quickly upgrade to something else more suitable for their needs so as I say don't be in too much of a hurry. When buying a boat take someone with you who knows about boats/engines Don't let your heart rule your wallet, good luck

Bog roll Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Guys, pubs , clubs, restaurants, etc seem to have been targeted today, plus no gatherings above five people, so how is the position at cobbs quay,? and yacht club Charlie? this is all starting to look very frustrating and may be more prolonged than has been reported up till tonight . The job looks like dragging on a long time. Who ordered easterlies Jerry? well not my new born lambs, they would like it warmer, but at least its a bit drier on average, thats a start!

Brian, You missed Chris W post of the same, don’t worry it’s an age thing 😳😳 Come on guys Monday Thursday looks good, the salt air will kill most things I hope to do both, any one else out there?

The last time I was in the office a little while ago, I could not help overhearing the Manager speaking with someone with regards to a high demand for births. I have been at Cobbs since 1992 and have suffered many frustrations since, but experience has taught me that Cobbs is one of the cheapest Marinas around. You simply get what you pay for !!! I would also like to say that Cobbs has improved significantly over the years and as Charlie says it is a tough one these days running a Marina with various liabilities being thrown at you. I would not be surprised if their Insurance company have requested this due to the recent incident and possible claim. The parking has always been a bind but I personally am happy to stay at Cobbs.

Jerry you obviously don't know my boys, if I went out with them I would be off work for a week