new boat

[plugger]

hi chaps,
after years of umming and ahring have finally done it, i have bought a boat.
21 foot shetland 610 powered by suzuki 90 hp 4 stroke.havent boat fished
a number of years was wondering if anyone could tell me what type of rigs used ie downtiding uptiding etc.was hoping to go out this weekend but as most of you in the cardiff area will know it is blowing a hooley. any tips you can pass on will be gratefully appreiciated.
cheers
plugger

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Lucky git you must be well made up I know I would be on cloud 9

The guys who fish there much more often than me will chip in later

But Uptiding is the way to go with grip leads 8 - 10 oz

Rigs are simple pennel with 4/0s and about 3 foot trace so that is nailed to the floor

Bait - well whole squid / all the worms work as a back bone and then the good old crab

but fish have been caught goldfish

Have you done much boat handling ?? As the bristol channel is a very dangous place to start to learn so do not go out with out some lessons as just anchoring is a skill in its self with tides 14 meters plus on some days

[plugger]

hi richard
thanks for reply,ive bought the boat with 2 friends one of which has just done the safety course with cardiff bay yacht club and is waiting to do the radio course. we are all busting a gut to get out in the channel but realise that safty must always be first considerration.do people still use french booms these days or is that only for wreck fishing.hope to come back with some nice reports soon maybe some cod .all the best for your own trip tommorrow.
plugger

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Well the thing to remember is the the bristol channel as a big current therefore the least there is to catch the tide the better

So french booms are not recommended and best left for wreck IMO

Tomms weather not looking the clever but if I do get out I will try and remember to take some pictures of a rig or two and maybe a fish as well

[Tibbsieporthcawl]

Good luck with your new boat. Just a couple of things, remember the current around this area can turn very quickly. I would recomend using the heaver bell type weights. As when the tide starts to turn you will notice that the bait will lift lighter ones. Take into account that the wind can place you against the tide and cause all sorts of problems. Make sure you have flares and a back up seagull type outboard in case your 90hp gives up. A radio is a must as well as a mobile phone. You could also errect a metal plate or some folks use tin foil to reflect radar off the big ships. I have been out on the wreck the Slava in the summer and seen the tide turn lifting 13mtrs and blowing a gale. the boat we had was a good one, a Shetland 535 called the Topaz skippered by Ray Jones. Just remember the biggest risk is confidence. You sound level headed and would not take risks. But do remember that once you boat fish it can spoil the fun when you fish on shore. Try fishing for different types of fish it makes it more fun and you will never get board as most of the time on a boat you nearly allways catch something. Regards Tibbsie

[plugger]

hi tibbsie,
thanks for reply i take on board what you say, we have a radio and also
a 9hp back up engine.i see what yoy mean about the weight ,as soon as
soon as the tide turned struggled to hold bottom. what size weight do you
recommend. we were using 8oz grip leads.
thanks for tips i appreciate any advice i can get.
cheers.
plugger

pete

[jazzyjaz]

i think u could use a 8oz wait for tide going out have found a good spot for fishing in barry. have a good one plugger

[Charter Skipper]

8oz geminis are all you need to hold bottom uptiding.

What you need to consider are the sizes of the tide,the bigger springs have a huge run 4 knots plus so you need to plan where youre going to fish at what state of the tide. On the "biggies" you have to stay inshore for the first 3 hours of the flood/ebb as the tide will be screaming thro. Once the tide slackens you can move off shore.On the small tides you can go offshore straight away to get some tide .......

Keep your end tackle real simple ,as richard said less to cause drag in the tide run.....and you`ll have no probs holding with just 8oz Geminis





It will all come with experiance.....Good Luck

[plugger]

hi mike
thanks for reply and pic, as i i said earlier got alot to learn but any tips will be
gratefully appreiciated. i see what you mean about tide rip couldnt believe how fast it went through and yhe amount of debris that went with it. will go out again next sat weather permitting. once again thanks for tips.
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pete

[Portland Pirate]

Nice boat. I really miss my boat. I am hoping to get another one again this year but it will certainly not be as nice as my last one (arvor 25) but it would be great to have a little boat for Portland harbour.