Anyone out fishing in the Solent this Friday or Saturday?

[TerryW]

Weather permitting I'll be taking "Possibilities" out for another fishing trip (stupid name that) but unlucky to change boat names. . .

Will anyone else be out there?

I'm planning to pump Bells @ Hythe for the active fishing spot to try. They always come up trumps plus their rag isn't bad at all.

[fishypaul]

hope you have a good day terry

[TerryW]

Originally Posted by fishypaul

hope you have a good day terry

Thanks very much. I'll file a catch report with locations . . .

Terry

[TerryW]

Catch report. . . . .I did the Friday. Bad choice. Very windy, force 4 to 5 gusting higher. Choppy as hell and varied direction. I was all over the place on the anchor.

The day went like this. . .

After talking to the chap in Bell's and getting loadsa advice, including a knot tying lesson (this guy really knows his fishing knots) I ended up fishing the westerley end of Lepe right near the entrance to the Beaulieu river. Apparently, there are quite a few cod coming out. I was told to find a hole and fish in that, which I duly did.

I didn't see any cod but had two very nice Thornback Rays (2Lb and 5Lb). I kept the 5 pounder for Saturday night's dinner. Anyone know a recipe?

Unfortunately, it was one of those days when things just keep mucking up. I had a nightmare time with my anchor. It kept tripping for some god-only-knows reason and I had to keep repositioning. I think it was the cheap hypa-value tie-wraps I was using. I'll invest in some better ones.

Repositioning is a real pain single handed with a 7lb bruce, 30 ft of chain and a heavy old boat. I usually, put the motor in gear and drive up the rode to relieve the weight of the boat as I take in the line. You can't really do this single handed as if you fall in you can't get back in the boat with the "blender" running at the back.

The real "buggerance" was when I went down into the cabin to fetch my anchoring gloves and my new rod shot over the side. I think was the boat dragging. . . .

If anyone dredges up an ugly-stick with an abu multiplier on it, it is mine. And yes I know, I should have known better. I'll be kicking myself for months to come . . . . I had only used it once before.


Terry

[the boss]

well done on the thornies mate, sorry to hear about your rod........what a bummer

[TerryW]

Still crying into my beer . . . .

[TerryW]

Catch report part 3:

THe skate was absolutely delicious. I paired the skin off with a sharp knife. It is quite easy when you get the knack of it.

The wife did the cooking. She did no further preparation other than sprinkle lots of salted flour over it and stick it in the oven on an oiled roasting plate. It had about 20 minutes at 160 degrees (fan oven).

It came out fantastic. Hardly any of the sliminess you can get with chip-shop skate.

Terry

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Well done on the rays mate and unlucky on the rod

[Lookfar]

Hi Terry,
Shame about the rod. Under your circumstances, the Alderney method would be pretty useful. If you've contact with any experienced boaters, ask them to show you how it is done.

Skate - cut a slash in the skin along the inner edge of each wing where it joins the body, then cut slashes radiating out from that cut to the outer edges of the wing, maybe two inch apart. Tease up a flap of skin, get a good grip with sout pliers and peel it off in strips. Doing this with the body in place gives you plenty of grip. Once both sides are done, its easy enough to cut away the skinned wings. Look for the cheek muscles as well (also known as the nob ). Awkward to cut away but delicious.

Steve

[TerryW]

Good one.

Thanks for that.

In the end I paired the skin off with a sharp (very sharp) knife. Once I got the hang of it it was quite easy. I slipped the knife between the meat and the skin and slid the knife in arcs whilst holding the skin away from the meat.

The trick was to stand the fish on a wooden chopping board so it didn't slide around.

I found that if I pulled the skin off it tore the meat off with it. Maybe the fish was just too fresh.

It was absolutely delicious. I would recommend it to anyone.

I'll be out this Friday trying the same spot and hoping to snag my last rod and reel.

I have built myself a rod-rest now. I fabricated it out of 1/4" plastic. It is in the form of a 90 degree angle so I can rest rods over the side or backwards without having to move the rest. It attaches to the gunwhale using B&Q snap-clamps and has a rubber backing to avoid it slipping. Plus, of course, it feature a couple of straps (very important).