SPECIES CAUGHT IN 2006:

 

Ling, Pollack, Pouting, Dogfish, Smoothhound, Mackerel, Black Bream, Conger Eel, Cod, King Salmon, Bull Huss, Red Gurnard, Bass, Sand-eel. (14 No.)

Saturday 11 February  - Tiger Lily

Club trip out of Weymouth aboard Tiger Lily wreck fishing. Left Weymouth 8.00 am, clear, sunny, frosty morning and a light southwest breeze. Headed southwest to a recently discovered wreck with high hopes of Ling and Pollack. After two hours sailing, 28 miles out, we started drifting over the wreck and within minutes we were into Ling. We stayed on the wreck for about one and a half hours until everybody had caught at least two Ling each, and not to needlessly over-fish the wreck we moved on to another wreck further west.  We arrived at slack water and started fishing for Pollack using shads and jelly-worms, we were soon rewarded with large Pollack to 17 lbs, Bull Huss, Ling and Pouting. We drifted all afternoon and late on we set the anchor and changed to fishing for Ling and Conger Eel. We packed up at 4 pm and arrived back at 6.00 pm.  The total catch for the day consisted of 28 Ling best at 28 lbs 12oz, 23 Pollack best at 17 lbs, 1 Bull Huss, 8 Pouting and 1 Mackerel. My tally was 4 Ling, best at 18 lbs 4oz, 6 Pollack, best at 15 lbs 5oz, 3 Pouting and only 3 traces lost - not bad for early February.

 

Saturday 11 March - Offshore Rebel

Trip with our ‘Young & Old Codgers’ from Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel intent on wreck fishing. Left Weymouth at 7.30 am weather set fair with a light northerly breeze and pleasant  sunshine. Sailed south for about 2 hrs (25 miles out) and started drifting over a large wreck. We set our gear for Ling fishing (Mackerel strips and squid) and  were soon into catching them, ranging from 8 lbs to 17 lbs. Highlight of the day was our youngest angler, Ben Peach landed his first ever Ling of 15 lbs to match his age, his grandad was really proud of him and was outfished by him on the day. We moved to another wreck when the tide turned and changed our gear for Pollack fishing (coloured shads on 8-10 foot traces).  After several drifts, with the tide beginning to flow, we were soon catching some decent sized ‘double figure’ Pollack, the best being to yours truly at 15 lbs. We moved to several other wrecks during the day, but the they didn’t live up to the first two. As the day progressed the sun began to warm up and  everyone was throwing off their coats. We eventually packed up at 4.00 pm for the 2 hour sail back and everyone got stuck into cleaning and filleting their fish. In all it was a good day with 18 Ling, 48 Pollack, numerous Pouting and a Dogfish.

 

Saturday 25 March  - Tiger Lily  - Club Trip Wrecking - Cancelled                       

 

Saturday 8 April  - Offshore Rebel

Trip with 8 ‘YOGS’ out of Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel targeting Ling and Pollack (change of plan due to the sparse dispersal of Plaice).  Left Weymouth at 8.00 am with a moderate southwest swell as we headed to our first wreck about 15 miles out.  Unfortunately when we reached the wreck a net had been strung along the entire length of the wreck and with the southwest swell we were unable to get a decent drift over the wreck.  We sailed a further 8 miles south and soon got into landing an abundance of Pollack, drifting over a large wreck with live sand-eels as bait.  As the tide turned and with the wind easing under a nice warm, clear blue sky we decided to move back to the original wreck and try again with good results as we all succeeded in landing some decent sized Ling.  Soon time caught up with us and we had to set sail for home arriving back at 6.00 pm loaded up with fish and all with glowing suntans (not the fish).  We had landed over 400 lbs of Pollack ranging 6 - 15 lbs and 80 lbs of Ling ranging 7 - 25 lbs.  My labours resulted in 4 good Pollack to 12 lbs, 3 Ling, best at 25 lbs 6 oz, 1 Dogfish and 1 Pouting.  Everyone agreed that it was a good decision to change from Plaice fishing as the results on other boats today were poor.

 

Saturday 22 April  - Valkyrie - Club Trip Wrecking - Cancelled                       

 

Saturday 6 May  - Valkyrie

Club trip out of Langstone aboard Valkyrie competing in the Tope and Smoothhound competition.  Left Langstone at 8.00 am and headed out past the Nab Tower for about 15 miles. Weather quite bright with light easterly wind when we started fishing, but by 11 am a light drizzle set in and continued off and on all day.  The Smoothhound were targeted first, but they were very hit and miss with only about six being landed by lunchtime.  As the tide slackened off the skipper decided to move further offshore to try for Tope, but after about two hours only one had been landed at 12 lbs, by this time most of us had changed back to targeting Smoothhound and by the end of the day approx 64 had been landed ranging from 4 - 14 lbs.  Other species landed were Dogfish and Bream.  My tally for the day was 7 Smoothhounds, best being 8 lbs and all were released to try for another day.  Highlight of the day was our sighting of the cruise liner ‘Calypso’ being towed into Southampton Water after the extensive fire in the engine room.

 

Saturday 13 May  - Offshore Rebel

Group trip out of Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel targeting Bream and inshore Pollack.  Left Weymouth at 8.00 am with only 7 anglers due to late cancellation and headed east across Weymouth Bay to fish a reef just off Lulworth Cove.  Tide was on the ebb and running quite fast when we began fishing for Pollack and it wasn’t long before we realised this was going to be quite difficult as the bottom was very snaggy and the reef rose quite quickly making it difficult to retrieve your weight off the bottom before it became snagged and the end gear lost.  Several Pollack were landed the best being at 12 lbs, but on average the number of fish was outweighed by the amount of gear lost (on average 3 - 4 sets lost per angler in about 2 hours)  We then moved further east and began fishing for Bream, again this was hard work and by the end of the day the tally on the boat was about 18 at approx 1 1/2 lbs average weight.  However the weather compensated for the poor fishing with clear blue skies and hot sun.

 

Sunday 28 May  - Tiger Lily

Private  trip out of Weymouth aboard Tiger Lily (Saturday trip cancelled), targeting Bream and inshore Pollack.  Left Weymouth at 8.00 am with a group of 4 anglers plus myself and with a clear sunny morning we headed east across Weymouth Bay to fish a reef just off Lulworth Cove.  The tide was on the ebb and running quite fast when we began fishing for Black Bream and it wasn’t long before the first Bream was landed as well as several Ballan and Cuckoo Wrasse. As the tide slackened off we moved further east to the ‘ledge’ and tried for Pollack, but fishing was poor and yours truly landed the only Pollack at 4 lbs. After an hour when the tide began to  pick up we moved further east to the a spot called the ‘hole’ and set our gear for Black Bream again.  The fishing was spasmodic and by the end of the day we had landed 23 Bream – best at 3 lbs 10 oz, 5 Wrasse and 2 Dogfish, the sunshine had become hazy and a northwest stiff breeze had set in.

 

Saturday 3 June  - Private Venture

Club trip out of Lymington aboard Private Venture competing in the Conger Eel competition. Left Lymington at 7.00 am and headed southwest for a wreck lying 40 miles out.  Weather was bright and sunny with a light southwest breeze and the sea was calm.  After crossing the busy main shipping lanes we arrived at the wreck at 9.15 am and set about catching Mackerel for bait.  The tide was running at a gentle 2 knots when we dropped our gear for the Congers and it wasn’t long before the first one was hooked.  The eels are not landed on board, but are de-hooked alongside the boat after the skipper has estimated the weight, this lets them live to fight another day.  The best one taken was a massive 62 lbs, with a few between 30 and 40 lbs.  As the tide eased off there were fewer takes so the skipper decided to move to a deep hole area 6 miles north where he had landed some Cod to 27 lbs the day before.  On the first drift several Pollack and a Cod of 7 lbs were taken, followed by another three Cod and 6 Pollack with the best Cod being landed by ‘yours truly’ at a massive 20 lbs, my first for the club and my personal best.  We then moved to another wreck further north to continue with the Conger competition, but they were not as plentiful as the first wreck.  By the end of the competition about 25 Congers had been caught and the overall winner had an aggregate weight of 99.5 lbs, my contribution was a solitary 22 lb Eel, but my Cod made me feel like a winner!  We arrived back at 6.30 pm tired and sunburnt, but all well pleased with our efforts.

 

Saturday 10 June  - Offshore Rebel

Group trip out of Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel wrecking for Pollack, Cod and Ling.  Left Weymouth at 8.00 am with the promise of a hot sunny day ahead and headed south to a wreck 25 miles out.  As we headed south under the clear blue sky the onshore sea breeze eased away and we began fishing at 10.15 am.  We were soon into medium sized Pollack to 13 lbs and Cod to 5 lbs began to appear.  We remained here for a couple of hours using a selection of bait and lures incl. shads, jelly-worms, artificial squid and live sand-eels, but the most successful were the shads.  As the tide eased away we moved to another wreck and were soon rewarded with small Cod to 6 lbs and after about an hour we headed west to a large wreck reaching 50 feet off the seabed.  This wreck gave us a good variety of Cod to 13 lbs, Pollack to 15 lbs, a solitary Ling of 11 lbs and numerous Pouting and Mackerel.  Time eventually caught up with us and at 4.30 pm we headed back, picking up the onshore breeze at 5 miles out and eventually docked at 6.30 pm.  Another enjoyable day with my catch of numerous Pollack and Pouting and 3 Cod to 7 lbs.

 

Monday 26 June  - Riptide

Holiday trip out of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, California trolling for Salmon aboard Riptide with Capt Smitty at the helm.  Left Half Moon Bay with 7 anglers at 6.00 am, with the unique micro - climate of sea mist shrouding the coastline, this usually burns back to 5 miles out by lunchtime.  On the way out at approx 7 miles we saw hump-back whales blowing and rising out of the water - a sure sign that there is krill around which also attracts the Salmon.  We had only just started our first troll, using anchovies as bait, when a 7 lb salmon was hooked.  The Salmon were quite active for the early part of the day and I landed a 24 lb Silver Salmon, but unfortunately these are a protected species in California and must be returned to the water.  However I did not have to wait long for my next one, which after about 20 mins of fighting I landed a massive 32 lb ‘King’ Salmon which I could keep.  As the day progressed everyone onboard landed two Salmon each, which is the California limit for this species.  Several were lost on the reel in and I lost one to a Sea-lion which tossed it into the air twice before eating it all bar the head.  We packed up at 2.30 pm and headed back to port, all pleased with our catches, and yours truly even more so, as I picked up the kitty of $30.00 for the largest fish, (my other one was just over 20 lbs).  Trolling was new to me , but I would love to try it again sometime.

 

24 - 28 July  Alderney Trip - See Alderney 2006 Page

 

Saturday 12 August  - Offshore Rebel

Group trip out of Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel wrecking for Bass.  Due to bad weather forecast of strong winds to Force 6 offshore it was decided to stay inshore and drift for Bass and Bream.  We left Weymouth at 8.00 am and after collecting some sand-eels from the end of the pier we headed out with 9 anglers on board.  The weather was better than forecast with only a light wind from the north and the sky was clear and sunny.  We started our drifting with about another 8 Charter boats and several commercial boats, along the edge of the Race and with the tide ebbing and we were soon into our first Bass at about 4 lbs.  We continued drifting along the Race until the tide eased away and as usual the fish disappeared.  We had over 30 Bass for our efforts the best being to yours truly with a 7 lbs 8 oz and a 6 lbs Bass out of my 5 caught.  We then changed our location, moving to the west of Portland and changed our gear for Bream.. There were none to be had and as the tide strengthened we moved back and changed to Bass fishing, where picked up about another 10 fish, but not as good as earlier.  The wind swung around to the west and freshened as forecasted to a force 3 - 4, but by this time we were beginning to pack up for our short sail home.  We were fortunate to have had a reasonably warm sunny day and our total catch was over 45 Bass, but no Bream.

 

Saturday 9 September  - Offshore Rebel

Group trip out of Weymouth aboard Offshore Rebel targeting Bass and Bream. Left  harbour at 8.00 am with an extremely high tide and a force 3 to 4 blowing from the east.  After picking up Sandeels at the pier we slowly nudged our way south towards the western end of the Shambles Bank and started our first drift at 9.00 am.  We were soon into small bass and I landed  a 4 lb Cod.  The tide began to ebb and ease away so we moved further west to try for some Bream, but as has happened on previous trips there were none to be had.  We persevered for about an hour until the tide picked up and then moved back to Bassing.  This was even slower than before with about 20 being landed in total for the day with the best being a mere 5 lbs to yours truly.  Once the tide started running hard (up to 7 knots) it was time to move back to Bream fishing, but although we tried drifting and anchoring to the west of Portland only a solitary Bream was landed … not one of the good days. We packed up at 4.30 pm, the sea was still choppy and the wind was freshening to a force 5.   Several of the lads stayed overnight and went out the next day, the sea was calm , the sky was blue and the sun hot and they caught over 50 Bass and numerous Bream from the Lulworth Cove area … what a difference a day makes.

 

Saturday 23 September  - Tiger Lily - Club Bass Competition - Cancelled

 

Saturday 7 October  - Offshore Rebel - Group Trip for Bass - Cancelled

 

Sunday 15 October  - Tiger Lily - Private Trip for Congers - Cancelled

 

Saturday 4 November  - Valkyrie 

Club trip out of Langstone aboard Valkyrie competing in the Cod and Whiting Competition. Left Langstone at 8.00 am with 10 anglers on board.  The weather was cold and frosty, but with a clear blue sky and flat calm conditions we headed due south past the Nab Tower to an area approx 7 miles out where we dropped anchor and set up our gear for hopefully some Cod.  Things started off slow, but eventually the rods started to bend, not with Cod, but Dogfish, Pouting, Conger Eel and a Bull Huss.  After about 2 hours the first Cod was landed at 2 lbs 2 oz followed shortly after with a 6 lb Cod and a 1 lb 7 oz Whiting.  The tide was now starting to ebb fiercely and it was becoming impossible to hold the bottom even with 2 lbs of lead on the end.  It was decided to move further out and try for Bass until the tide turned.  We set our gear for Bass on the drift, but things were very slow with only a solitary 2 lb Bass to yours truly and 3.5 lbs Bass to another angler.  As the tide dropped off we moved back to our original location for Cod at 1.30 pm and spent the rest of the day here, but no more Cod were landed.  The competition was won with the 6 lb Cod, but this seems to be common these years as the Cod are not around at this time of year.  We arrived back at 16.45 pm with a beautiful sunset to the west and full moon rising in the east.

 

Saturday 18 November  - Tiger Lily - Club Trip for Wrasse - Cancelled

 

Saturday 16 December  - Tiger Lily

Club trip out of Weymouth aboard Tiger Lily, skippered by Lyle Cairns. Left Weymouth with 10 anglers aboard at 7.45 am with the weather pleasantly calm after the recent week after week of gales and rain.  We set our course due south to fish the wrecks mid-channel hoping for Pollack and Ling. We arrived at the first wreck at 10.00 am after two hours sailing. We were disappointed at the lack of fish and after about 5 drifts over this wreck we moved eastwards to try another, but again the fish were not to be had. We finally got into the fish after the fourth wreck and were soon landing decent sized Pollack to 9 lbs as well as the customary Pouting. We persevered and by the time packed up at 3.15 pm we had landed over 35 Pollack, the best being 9 lbs, numerous Pouting and a solitary mackerel. We had hoped for better results, but compared to the other boats that were out we did very well. Sad note to end this year on was that two deckhands had drowned earlier this week in two separate incidents, one of which included the sinking of one of the commercial fishing fleet in the Race.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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