19th July 2006

Hi all, I haven't done a report for a while now as there hasn't been much to report on!

Our trip to the western approaches to the Bristol Channel as mentioned in the last entry was a mixed affair with us only being able to get as far as Swansea due to the wind and swell that was following the end of a low pressure system.

During our stay in Swansea marina we had a couple of sessions with not much more than doggies to show for our troubles despite fresh mackerel that we had feathered.

As I say there was a wicked swell that made anchoring offshore a non-starter so we were restricted as to our venues.

I was amazed at the amount of trawlers operating out of Swansea that were working the Gower coast closer inshore than we were fishing; is this legitimate? I was under the impression commercials had to be a certain distance offshore.

After two nights we went into Penarth marina to try out for the smoothhounds off Aberthaw but again we were beaten by the swell. Inshore we managed a couple of congers of about 12lb but not much else.
Highlight of the stay in Penarth was getting to have a nose around a Navel training vessel which was great, especially the engine room.

Not a great trip fishing wise but an enjoyable couple of days away anyway.

I will be on more familiar ground this weekend coming near Weston so I'll have more news soon. Simon

Saturday 1st July 2006

Hi all,

I was asked to fill a vacant place on a charter out of Minehead on Saturday and thought to myself ' why not?"
A good day was had by all in a gentle breeze and unbroken sunshine aboard the "Fulmar" with Steve the skipper doing the business in tricky tidal conditions as a 11.2 meter was predicted.
We had to stay inshore for the majority of the day with plenty of doggie's along with a few small Thornbacks plus the odd strap Conger coming aboard.
As the tide slackened off we were able to move into deeper water of 40 odd meters for the chance of Tope and the bigger Congers, and sure enough within half an hour I was into a good Tope of 35-40lb. We didn't weigh the fish as I was eager to get back amongst the beasties lurking below.

Second cast and another fish was on ( I was using my trusty ABU uptider ) leading me all over the place with good strong runs stripping line in the usual Tope fashion. After the first fish I had flattened the barb on the 8/0 and this came to be my undoing, as the fish came back toward me I was unable to keep in sufficient contact and the hook was thrown. To say that I was annoyed with myself is an understatement. Another factor in losing this fish was using braid, which gave me no room for error as the Tope run so fast without the stretch of monofilament you have to be on your toes!
After this the fishing went slack with a few straps and the inevitable dogs for the last hour.

We returned to port a happy and slightly burnt party after a cracking day out with many thanks to Steve the skipper.

Next weekend is the beginning of nine days potential fishing with a week off work, weather permitting, as we hope to be heading for Milford Haven.
The plan is to steam down then spend a few days looking for the Tope's bigger brother; the Blue Shark.
Hopefully I will have a report with some good pics for you then, so for now farewell... Simon

Saturday 18th / Sunday 25th June 2006

Hi All,

I'm sorry that there was no report last week as we had a trip down channel to Lynmouth and didn't get back to port until late and I've been busy with work since.
Saturday 18th saw us lock out at 11.30am to head for Foreland point in perfect conditions, with a flat calm sea and a light south westerly breeze.

The aim of this trip was to see if there were any Tope close inshore as I had heard of a few coming aboard charters off the north Devon coast.
By 2.00pm we were fishing with mackerel and squid baits but the tide was beginning to strengthen which made holding bottom a little tricky even with 1.5lb of lead as we were in 30 meters of water.
Obviously uptiding was out of the question so we struggled for a while with a few dogfish and small strap conger before moving inshore, into shallower water and out of the deep trenches where the Tope congregate. I should have realised that there would be a fierce tide rip in the area as just off Foreland point there is a hydro electric installation, that combined with a 12 meter tide made life difficult!

We fished a couple of hours tucked into Lynmouth bay with some success; we landed a Bullhuss of 12lb and more small congers before deciding to head for home.

By now a keen breeze had sprang up from nowhere which made the trip back a little slower than the 20 odd knots we had on the way down, but we made good time and locked in at 8.30pm about the same journey time, but a more direct route than outbound.
All in all a good day afloat but next time we shall choose the smaller tides to enable us to fish further offshore.

This Sunday the 25th we stayed fairly local anchoring in the shadow of the Second Severn Crossing after locking out at 9.30am.
Fishing with squid and worm baits we were soon into conger with Nick boating a 13lb fish and a lot of smaller straps.

Later on we had more eels and thornbacks but nothing of any particular note so decided to call it a day around 4pm.
I hope to have a more interesting report next weekend as we intend to either get back down to the Tope marks or go for the Smoothhounds.

I'll be in touch with more chat soon, cheers Simon

Saturday 3rd / Sunday 4th June 2006

Hello again to everyone,
it seems like an age since we last cast off Carlotta II from her mooring when in fact it has been four weeks, but this weekend gave us our best chance to push a little further down the channel as the weather starts to improve.

Come saturday morning we were eager to lock out at nine thirty and were soon heading for Aberthaw power station with a cool box full of peeler crab and squid.
The conditions were near perfect as we motored down to our mark which was located easily from our trips last summer, thanks to modern electronics!

After about thirty odd doggy's we mooved to a different mark but it seemed as if it was going to be a dog day as they barely let the bait touch the sea bed before munching it down.
We upped anchor again and travelled a little further offshore by now wondering what it was going to take to get away from the dogfish, but our results began to improve instantly with the first smooth hound of the season falling to my peeler. He wasn't a big fish but very welcome at 10lb.

Soon Nick was into a conger which he fought to the surface only to have the beast dive across the stern and part the mainline. We were both dissapointed at the loss of this eel as he looked to be upward of 25lb, though it's always tricky estimating size in the water.
After this came more dogs untill we headed for home after a good day afloat with a beautiful sunset following us back up the channel.

Sunday saw the sun rise in a promising fashion so off to go again though not too far this time as the breeze seemed to be picking up as we reached our first mark.
Within an hour of dropping anchor we had four sizeable thornbacks boated and released with some smaller ones coming later.

As the wind was keen by now and the tide ebbing we headed for home as the conditions can get a little wild around Portishead point with the wind over tide.

I can't wait untill next weekend as the forcasters are saying more settled weather which means more fishing!

bye for now, I'll be in touch soon, cheers Simon.

Saturday 27th May 2006

Hi All,
the wind has kept us in for the last couple of weeks so a beach sesion was in order and what results we had ! We decided to fish local so we invested in some peeler crab and a pound of squid.

First few casts gave us a couple of knocks then the serious fishing began with a mad rod -out- of- the- rest- bite that gave us a heart attack but no fish, then a rod-dragged-into-water bite that produced a 5lb bass.

After this we landed two small codling but nothing to write home about,
we missed a few fish after this but were chuffed to bits with the bass.

I will send a report in to you soon .... as long as the weather lets us out, cheers Simon

Sunday 7th May 2006

Hi All,
We had a few hours out on Sunday over high water looking for Bass.

Not bad fishing though a little slow, with four Bass coming aboard to 4lb plus a couple of Thornbacks.

We had worms and fish baits but all the fish fell to squid.

The weather was kind to us again

....until four in the afternoon when the heavens opened for a spell.

We hope to be heading to Aberthaw this weekend as I heard that the Smoothhounds are beginning to show, I hope that we can get our hands on some peelers otherwise our plans may be to look for Congers.

Whilst we were out on Sunday we thought we were going to have trouble with the infamous Bristol Channel pirates, but they took no intereest in us ( see pics ).

I will be in touch soon with more chat. Cheers, Simon

Saturday 29th April 2006

We had a lovely start to the day on Saturday, with a 9.00am lock out time the sun was just starting to make an appearance as we rounded the Steamer Pier, heading for Brean Down to see if there were any early Conger about.

We decided to stop off in Sand Bay for an hour as the tide was pushing hard on the ebb, with it being a 13.7 meter tide.

Soon we were into Doggies and Thornbacks but no eels showing to our Squid, Mackerel or Rag. Biggest ray was about 8lb, I try to estimate most of our catch as the sooner back in the water the better. We keep only a few Cod each season with the rest going back.

After a couple of hours we upped anchor to head further down channel to Brean Down in search of the snakes. First cast and we were in, with a hectic last hour of the ebb five eels came aboard on all baits with the biggest around the 10lb mark, with a couple of small codling and more rays as the tide slackened off.

As the tide began to flood we headed to a mark that had produced some Bass last week but it wasn't to be, with a few more small rays and green eels.

All in all a good day afloat in near perfect conditions and a touch of sunburn to take home.

I'm hoping to get out again on Friday so I'll let you know how we get on, cheers, Simon

Saturday 22nd April 2006

Hi All, well we finally got down to some serious fishing this weekend and if these results are anything to go by things are looking pretty ok for the summer.

We stayed local as I wasn't sure that travelling warranted the potential catch as it has been patchy as of late.
There were good fishing tides all week, averaging around the 10 meter mark which is great as long as the wind isn't too keen as this can move the boat around a fair bit at anchor creating some wicked knitting!

Friday was spent fishing the enormous sand bank that runs east from Newport to the Second Severn Crossing. We picked up some larger Thornbacks on squid and mackerel up to 13lb and some small codling, with two strap Conger falling to the fish baits.

Having some proof that the Congers were moving back up channel we decided to have a go for the larger fish on Saturday, so with a flat calm sea we headed for Sand Point.

Anchoring in the smaller tides is straight forward so we were soon set for whatever came our way - a nice plump cod was first to the boat with many smaller fish and some good rays nudging double figures but no eels.

As soon as the tide had finished flooding we moved back to the spot we fished Friday looking for early Bass.
We were soon into rays, then I had a tremendous run on my uptided squid bait. Thinking this was maybe a good holding spot for the Bass, I had scaled down on end tackle - big mistake as we soon realised this was a decent Conger. The fish ran up then down tide as I hung on then bit through the 30lb hook length not far off the stern in a big swirl and splash. I changed back to heavier gear after this but we never saw another eel all day. Moral; be prepared!
We did pick up some Bass though, late on in the day we boated three around the 1lb mark which is a good sign.

I'll be in touch as soon as we can get out again, with any luck that will be soon,

cheers Simon

So where has Simon been ... why have the Bristol Channel Reports stopped for the past month or more .... well ......

Sunday 16th April 2006

Hi All, sorry for the lack of reports but ... we've only just taken delivery of Carlotta II on Thursday!!!!

All went well and we've been putting her through her paces over the last couple of days.

Here are some pics of her launching and in the lock.

We had a trip down to Aberthaw yesterday which was a bit lumpy and she handled it fine, the only problem being lack of fish!!!

We had a pack of dogs following us I think, and a few small rays and a couple of small codling.

Apparently we missed the main sport by travelling so far as the other boats out of Portishead fished locally and done well with codling to 5lb and Thornbacks to 12lb.

Simon

Saturday 18th Feb 2006

We had a more rewarding day of it this Saturday which was a relief after last weeks escapade!!!!
We locked out of Portishead around 7.30am.

As we left, the morning looked very promising with the fog clearing and the sun rising along with virtually no wind.
We headed for a usual mark about half an hour away and were straight into fish as soon as the anchor was down. :-)
We had a lot of small stuff as well as some decent fish which all fell to worms, and had five cod to six pounds on board by 930am.

We fished with fish bait (mackerel) too with not a bite between the two rods, where as the week before last, it was squid that wasn't touched.
As the tide reached near high, the fishing went dead, all being caught on the flood.
As last lock in was due for 1.15pm, we took a leisurely cruise home to port rather chuffed with our results from a morning afloat.
In the lock, we chatted to some other crews who had been in sight of our fishing spot and they seemed to have done ok too.
I think that next week the tides will allow us to venture further down the channel with 'Carlotta' toward Flat Holm and Steep Holm to see if there are any bigger fish in the deeper water.

Talking of deep water, apparently a 26lber was taken from near Clevedon in no more than three feet of water. There are plenty of fish coming to Woodspring Priory around the 2-3lb region also, so my friends tell me, this also being a low water mark. Simon.

Sunday 12th Feb 2006
Not too much to tell you this week, more like tales of woe than an actual report!
According to the word on the beach there are codling showing from Portishead's Battery Point down to Woodspring Priory at Sand Point.
No tales of big fish but definitely worth a go, more so on the evening floods so it seems.
Meanwhile we had an awful day aboard "Carlotta" on Sunday, having locked out at 8.00am we were straight into a force 4-5 southerly as we headed for sand point. the forecast was for strengthening breeze so we decided to head back up channel rather than get caught out too far from home.
We got as far as Denny Island which is level with Portishead when we tried to anchor unsuccessfully.
By now we were taking a bit of a pounding (21ft not too pleasant!).
The main problem with berthing at Portishead is the tidal access which restricts entry/exit to 3.5 hours either side of high water. By now, we were out for the next four hours like it or not. We tried two other spots to anchor where I thought we may get some shelter … but to no avail. Either the anchor would bite temporarily before being dislodged by the boat movement as we were over rock, or the water was too bloody rough!
Eventually we hit on the splendid idea of tying "Carlotta" to the pier entrance to the marina and going for a pint. The hotel is near by so keeping an eye on the boat as the tide flooded was not a problem.
I forgot my new camera as well. Some of the photos we could have taken would have been memorable, bit like being in a washing machine really.
Never mind, all that was lost was £35 worms and a few wasted hours-will be watching all the forecasts like a hawk next weekend, but that's something we do every weekend. Ultimately it was our decision to put to sea, a choice that was not quite correct this time.
At no time were we in any real danger, "Carlotta" is a thoroughly seaworthy vessel carrying the appropriate certification.
Cheers phil, will be in touch next weekend with more chat and gossip, Simon.

Had a good day Sunday 5/2/06, … here is my report. No photos as yet.

My fishing partner (Steve) and myself had the 8.30am lock booked out on Sunday morning, so we were a touch concerned to see the misty sunrise as we made our way to "Carlotta" from home. Crossing the Severn Bridge things looked a bit iffy but as we neared Portishead, it began to clear with the fog thinning enough for us to relax (not keen on fog!)
We picked our bait up from "Reel Fun", the tackle shop, a pound each of rag and lug and a box of squid. Steve the proprietor told us that only smallish fish had been coming all week, but we were optimistic.
We loaded up "Carlotta" and made our way into the lock which was full of the other boats heading out to sea.
As the tide was on the flood we headed for a mark near the second Severn Crossing which had produced codling the week before last.
Visibility was at about 1-2 miles so we were able to make good progress outside of the shipping lane to our mark putting the anchor down at 9.15am.
There was little action until around 11am, just a few tiddlers about six ounces, then the fun began with the next two hours being hectic bringing six codling between three and six pounds aboard with another ten or so smaller fish returned.
It seemed that our best spell was over high water with the boat slowly swinging to the tide, which is not at all typical with the squid being ignored totally in favour of the worms.
Having enough fish for the table and the lack of bites we headed for port at 2.00pm, catching the 2.45pm lock back in to the marina.
Talking to other crews in the lock, which takes about 15-20 minutes, it seemed that the best catches were coming from the Welsh side of the channel, with some boats drawing a blank toward Clevedon and Weston.

We will be heading down channel next weekend toward Cardiff, weather permitting, as the tides are favourable.
Hope to include some photos in next weeks report, cheers, Simon.

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