Steve S

Good one Trev. Try it with just holes first or make it a big pipe or it will block! On mine I just have holes on both sides that drain out over back of the gunnels onto the swim platform. A quick hose down along with the rest of boat does the job (except on an oxidised cover over a manual bilge pump that stains). I've never had a problem with blow back onto the deck.

Oh boo

This time of year anchoring and getting a good scent trail going is the usual method. Cod are very thin on the ground so don't get your hopes up too much even if you do everything right.

My traces are pretty short Terry. To keep the beads near the worm I use some elastic gum above the beads that can slide up and down the line, it's slid up before unhooking, I'm not sure it's 100% needed but it's what I do currently.

For deep hooked flatfish like plaice I strongly recommend using forceps up through the fishes gill cover (on the outside of the gills) to grab the line (even if covered with ragworm/lugworm) and pull the hook round and the hook end out the gill cover then use the forceps on the hook to push it back out through the fishes mouth. This works even on hand sized plaice, nearly 100% of the time there is no bleeding. I do this and with some practice it's quick, the plaice seem to lay still enough, I start with them upside down. For people who use short traces with lots of beads just allow enough trace length to get the hook end poking out with the beads outsize of the mouth. For the bigger plaice the beads will fit in the mouth ok but won't really on the small ones that we surely all want to return to the water with as little damage as possible. I did use the twizel stick for a while, it works but damages the fish as the hook is ripped out sideways, i don't use it anymore. Poking the forceps down the plaices mouth does not work well, there is not enough room to work with, unlike say a bass. Using freshwater style disgorgers could work but it does rely on sliding down the line which is hard when it covered with worm so that needs removing first, not great as i want much of that worm to stay on the hook for the next fish just tipping off with fresh worm on the end. As for the gemini disgorger, I have one, it works the same as a T bar only more fiddly to use, they are not suitable for deep hooked flatties.

Cod / Whiting comp - Steve, Alun - we will be texting our results in with photos.

Yes it was a great day afloat. The bust ups with tuna, dolphins, diving gannets and all manner of sea birds are spectacular, think Blue Planet. Many are at a distance but some were right by the boat. It was a slow day for strikes, none the less a great day. Steve and his crew could not have worked harder to get among the fish, no wonder he has had 119 this year! The 'young boys' drove both ways on the day, too much for me I stayed over night and drove back on the day (4 hours) that was a long enough!

Starlings on lobster pots Mudeford Quay

Wow, great fish well done Dave.

Alun and I had a very similar day to the others, lots of bass but nothing big. Made an early start to catch the tide before Christchurch Harbour completely emptied. Some jumbo mackerel put in a welcome appearance. The best bass 3lb 9oz to Steve. Great day to be out on the water.

Great photo skills Diane [emoji846]

Gastronaught: Alun, Steve on Sunday

Nice one Steve, bit of a struggle, well done.

4lb 9oz, it was a bit windy so tried my luck off the mooring. This was the best of them, in superb condition it put up a hell of fight on light gear.