A SLOW START TO THE YEAR

After fishing the January Boat and Shore match by myself I was starting to get a little worried. A lot of the Brigade were deployed in Norway and occasionally I would get a text message that would go something like this...

"Andy still freezing my nuts off in Norway, can't make the trip. Catching loads of small Cod around 5 - 8lb mark from the shore, can't get through them to the big stuff."

What do people want sympathy?????????

Most of the Bristol Channel Cod this year was also in the 5 - 8 range; 5 - 8 Inches. It pleased me though to get one text from a member, who might remain nameless, almost, explaining that he had found the only Fjord in Norway without any fish in it. Never mind there's always next year, eh Col?

The weather continued to scupper plans over here also, and the February boat match was called off due to poor met. This was a shame, as this trip was aboard Sharker from Plymouth, and Chris Wildman is an excellent skipper. He will feature in next year's dates, so look out for that. The February Shore match was only fished by Robbie Robson and I and I beat him on this occasion, although I wont say by how much.

For March we ventured to West Bexington, Chesil Beach where we welcomed Gibbo and John Slater to the club as new members. Despite a good surf running catches were limited to a few small slugs. Gibbo caught an undersize Rockling, and I won the match with a sized, 3 bearded Rockling. John and Marcus Batt also took points in this match for just being there. Marcus taking second place as the existing member, with Gibbo, then John picking up 6 then 4 points respectively.

Mid March brought welcome relief to us all, as the lads got back from Norway and it got slightly easier to fill the boat trips. The weather eased slightly also, enough to fish the March Boat match aboard Shande III from Exmouth on the 11th. We pushed well offshore for this trip and landed a boat full of fish as you can see from the pictures overleaf. The competition was fierce; well it was between me and Jim Lamb. Well when I say competition, I mean the banter. Chooch Barks from CTC came out eventual winner with 8 good fish, with me a close second with 7. Marcus Batt on his first boat trip ever for the club was amazed as he almost got himself pulled over the side of the boat by the best fish of the day. As it /poke the surface his first words were "Can I eat it."

Congratulations Marcus, hope to see you again. Although next time just remember it's traditional to get the fish ashore and cooked before you start eating it.

Marcus's 1st wreck Pollock which almost pulled him in, weighing in at 18lbs

ROUND 4 BOAT MATCH REPORT

Saturday 8th April saw the RM Command's Round 4 Boat Match. Despite lots of anglers expressing interest only 5 serving members booked the trip with one not turning up on the day. Associate members of whom one of them didn't turn up took the remaining 4 places. These anglers who failed to attend will be charged for the places they booked. Once you book, turn up, pay up or find a replacement before the day.

Rumours about the skipper being miserable and demanding in his approach to how to fish proved to be unfounded. Once again I urge all anglers to ignore rumours and give these people a chance, the charter boat business is a cutthroat one and a lot depends on reputation. I will always see the best in everyone until they let me or us down and then they will lose my/our custom.

One thing to be aware of if you ever intend to fish aboard Saltwind of Dart, is the skipper will sell you bits of tackle. Bearing that in mind he was quite shy in informing us of traces to build prior to the match and so hoping we buy his bits while aboard.

Catches were limited as a strong southwesterly wind did its best to dampen spirits and make life as uncomfortable as possible for the /pave souls who turned up for this match. It was pre-arranged that in the interests of conservation any sized but small fish would be released immediately and the angler given a nominal flat rate weight of 1/2lb for each of these fish. Weight became academic as the end results showed a clear pattern of results anyway.

Something that worked well for me on the day, was the modular approach to my traces. My 6 to 8 inch clear fluorocarbon hook lengths were attached via a snap link. After the first bite I free spooled my reel to let the fish take the bait properly. Rather than attempt to disgorge the hook I clipped on another hook length and dropped back down immediately to get a second drop on that drift in the hot spot. The fish can be dealt with at a later time.

The final results for the day were as follows:

Other associate catches included Roger Smale 2 Plaice, Mike Callaway's mate Gerald 2 Plaice.

ROUND 4 SHORE

Unfortunately the Shore matches continue to suffer from a lack of support at the moment and round 4 Shore was no exception. Robbie Robson went to the trouble of organising the match which was fished by one angler, himself. Needless to say he won it with a Codling and a Whiting. The rest of the points went begging on this occasion like so many others.

Hopefully as the weather picks up a bit it will draw out some of those fair weather fishermen amongst us. All of the dates for the rest of the year are now on the timetable so there are no excuses for not getting time off, especially as most of the dates are outside working hours or on weekends.

If the location doesn't suit you then suggest your home ground for next year and we'll come to you.

MINEHEAD SUPPLEMENTAL TRIP

As well as official match dates for both boat and shore I also get invited to fill up other charter trips organised by civvy mates and clubs. One such trip occurred on the 15th April when I got a call to fill as many places as possible on a Minehead trip. This is one of the regular charters I indulge in with an Ex Matelot mate of mine Roger.

Of the 9 places on the trip we filled 6 of them and had a good day out. The main catches here will inevitably include several thousand doggies as well as the occasional good species. One of the catches to note was a nice Smooth Hound caught on whole squid by Lee Green and Gav Hendry did well also for his first trip out with us. A warm welcome to him as an Associate Member, and we look forward to fishing with you again. Gav is a Pongo so can only fish as an Associate but we won't hold that against him. Rumour has it that Jim Lamb /brought him along so he could out fish someone, but as usual that backfired on him.

Speaking of Jim, he claimed a small strap Conger on this trip but as no one actually saw him touch the trace, and as the fish spat the bait before anyone else saw him with the fish, well, what can we say, the jury is still out on this one Jim. We believe you mate......No really we do....NOT!

These Minehead trips are an ideal way to cut your teeth into boat angling and they are considerably cheaper than South Coast Wrecking trips which generally cost £40 - 50. By comparison Minehead generally costs around £25 per head and the skipper provides Mackerel and Squid bait free of charge and prepares your fish for you at the end of the day. Bargain.

I was going to put a picture of Jim in here with one of his recent good catches but as he hadn't had any at the time of going to press, it will have to wait till the next issue. Hard lines mate, get the internet and send me pictures of your catches. The same goes for anyone else. Most people have camera phones now. Take a picture and send me good pictures of your catches and I will forward them to the RNRM web site and also this newsletter. Try and present your catch well with limited blood and guts.

RIGHT NOW....TIS THE SEASON TO GET A LITTLE THORNY

BOAT MATCH BOOKING PROCEDURE AND A GYPSIES WARNING

Gents, those of us that have had to book trips in the past are only too aware of the problems of filling all the spaces. Once a boat is booked all the places are there to be filled or paid for. With this in mind all RM Boat Match Dates will be given exclusively to RM ranks up to and including one month before the match date. Once the one month threshold has been /breached any remaining places will be made available to RN ranks and associate members of the club and civilians, on a first come first served basis. With that in mind please book early to avoid disappointment. As a precautionary tale please do not book unless you can make the trip for definite as once you have booked you are liable to pay for that place unless I, or the skipper can fill it last minute.

CURRENT LEAGUE POSITIONS & POINTS

2006 Match Results Scores

FORTHCOMING DATES

Royal Marines Sea Angling Hon Secretary Contact Details

All members please note that as I have gone to the dark side, my contact details have changed while I'm on course then draft. I will let command reps know where I get drafted to at the earliest opportunity. In the interim period membership forms can be sent to the addresses listed below:

Tight Lines

Andy Bridson