Near Shore cod fishing

oGaryo

oGaryo

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Hiya.. I'm really looking forward to an Autumn / Winter fishing experience but recognise my boat isn't great in rough seas... so long as I watch the weather and tides and make sure I inform the coastguard etc etc, just how far offshore should I venture out to pick up some decent cod/haddock shouls in a Bayliner Bowrider (17ft)... had a chat with a guy two weeks back who picked up a cracking fish about 5 miles off Mudeford. is 5 miles risking it too much? I've done Lymington to Christchurch but 5 miles out to sea is a differenct prospect especially in winter where I guess squals can flare up unexpectedly.

Hoping you'll say go for it but also want to listen to those voices of experience to the contrary.

cheers Gary
 
Five miles is no problem provided the weather is settled; at 25 knots it's only about 12 minutes back to shore. When we're out fishing towards the Nab and further south we regularly see sub 20ft boats. When I was at Eastbourne I regularly took the 24 footer I then had 6-7 miles out to the Sovereign shoals - no problems; just use common sense. i.e. if the weather is at all uncertain DON'T GO; if you're out and it starts to deteriorate head for home. Make sure you have a chart, GPS, VHF, and a passage plan plus working compass to get you back in case vis disappears. Also, wrap up well!

As to my success at catching cod and haddock, well that's a different story. All you need is the right water colour, bait and tide and then all you have to do is find the fish. Easy really. Tight lines :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
. Make sure you have a chart, GPS, VHF, and a passage plan plus working compass to get you back in case vis disappears. Also, wrap up well!

some flares might come in handy just in case.
 
dsw said:
. Make sure you have a chart, GPS, VHF, and a passage plan plus working compass to get you back in case vis disappears. Also, wrap up well!

some flares might come in handy just in case.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have most of that list apart from the GPS but am awaiting receipt of a Garmin Etrex Vista CX with Bluechart loaded for the area and will use the GPS on the phone as a backup. I'm intending to plot a course on the pc and upload it + I have the paper charts and a Iris 50 compass that Wiggo put me on to.

Regarding the clothes, I'm intending to use some danner winter hunting boots (very warm), a pair of Gill deckhand gloves, a high viz gortex jacket with hood and a thermal bib and brace that I use for carp fishing.. also have some thermal underwear (socks, long johns and vest). all good quality gear but a bit cobbled together, would it be better to invest in clothing specifically made for the job, presuming it exists?

I guess the question still stands on the risk of taking a small bowrider 5 miles out... only in flat calm seas and leg it back inshore if it starts to get a bit rough?... also, daft question, but how do I keep an eye on the offshore weather forcast.. is there a VHF channel that broadcasts regular updates?

thanks again for the advice
 
AdeOlly said:
Five miles is no problem provided the weather is settled; at 25 knots it's only about 12 minutes back to shore. When we're out fishing towards the Nab and further south we regularly see sub 20ft boats. When I was at Eastbourne I regularly took the 24 footer I then had 6-7 miles out to the Sovereign shoals - no problems; just use common sense. i.e. if the weather is at all uncertain DON'T GO; if you're out and it starts to deteriorate head for home. Make sure you have a chart, GPS, VHF, and a passage plan plus working compass to get you back in case vis disappears. Also, wrap up well!

As to my success at catching cod and haddock, well that's a different story. All you need is the right water colour, bait and tide and then all you have to do is find the fish. Easy really. Tight lines :rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...

oops sorry, didn't read this before posting the last one... sounds like it's well doable then so long as common sense prevails... can you tell me where I can buy some please? LOL :-)
 
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A bow rider isn't good, but distance out is not the problem, worse seas are usually closer to home. Informing the coast guards is a waste of time, they will not do anything. Anyway you'll be sunk in five seconds, if it's going to happen.

What you need is a safe harbour and not go round head lands, a bit complicated to answer here.
 
oGaryo said:
also, daft question, but how do I keep an eye on the offshore weather forcast.. is there a VHF channel that broadcasts regular updates?
Click to expand...

Keep your VHF on ch16 and you'll hear the CG issuing weather forecasts. I think it's every 4 hours. If you've not heard them before they give you a different channel to listen into depending upon where you are for the latest weather forecast. Before you go I find Windguru to be one of the best for wind forecasts, but use the WRF 9km model not the useless GFS. You do need to pay the subscription to get up to date forecasts, but they charge very little.

In terms of fishing comfort, wind strength is everything. Even in our 31' boat we will only fish in open waters in a max of F3, any more and it's just too uncomfortable.
 
If Christchurch is your bolt-hole and you don't know it very well can I suggest you actually go to the entrance and put one or two waypoints in for it? It's not a channel you want to try to find in bad vis or dodgy weather on a falling tide as you'll know if you've been there once or twice...

The only other thing is to watch out for the effect of Hengistbury Head, which can funnel wind or provide a lee depending on where you are in relation to the wind, either of which can catch you out a bit. You may think it's a nice F3-4 and a reasonable sea and get round the corner and find it's a F5 with a fair bit of chop. It's not that dramatic compared to some headlands but it could be enough to cause a problem getting across Christchurch or Poole Bay in a bow-rider meaning it's Christchurch or nothing.

I'd be very comfortable doing it with the right kit and preparation though. If you've got an iPhone with Navionics you've got a back-up plotter and web access for forecasts probably. If in doubt spend a few quid with Simon Keeling and get a customised forecast - it is very re-assuring to be able to talk to the metman and ask him questions.
 
excellent, thanks guys... the phone I have is a Nokia E71 with built in GPS and I also have my previous E61 with an external GPS receiver that runs off the 12v socket on the boat... will use the Etrex as primary and the phones as backup and of course, I have the paper charts and compass if visibility is good.

I normally launch from Lymington but I was presuming it'd be better to launch from Christchurch to avoid the need to go past Hurst Point and the shingles. The Etrex arrived this morning so I'm having a play setting up waypoints and understanding the back track function... SWMBO is in the "get a life saddo" frame of mind.. gadgets are definitely not her thing ;-)
 
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AdeOlly said:
Keep your VHF on ch16 and you'll hear the CG issuing weather forecasts. I think it's every 4 hours. If you've not heard them before they give you a different channel to listen into depending upon where you are for the latest weather forecast. Before you go I find Windguru to be one of the best for wind forecasts, but use the WRF 9km model not the useless GFS. You do need to pay the subscription to get up to date forecasts, but they charge very little.

In terms of fishing comfort, wind strength is everything. Even in our 31' boat we will only fish in open waters in a max of F3, any more and it's just too uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

sounds like more reading for me :-) thanks for the info to get me started. I subscribed to Metcheck Premium last month and they had technical difficulties for most of the month so I've ditched them.. hopefully the other's are more reliable.
 
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hlb said:
Anyway you'll be sunk in five seconds, if it's going to happen.

What you need is a safe harbour and not go round head lands, a bit complicated to answer here.
Click to expand...

would that include avoiding the needles?.. I presume it does. I was thinking launching from Christchurch but maybe another way is to take the North run past Hurst Point and the motor out to sea once I've gone a couple of mile down the coast, midway between Christchurch and the IOW.. as you say, I'm guessing it'll not be as simple as that and I'd need to take wind strength, direction, tide details etc in to consideration before deciding where best to launch from....

p.s. I've been taking a Seago 270 and little suzi 2.2 outboard with me during the summer.. I put the inflatable in the bow (fits nicely) and tuck the outboard in under the shelf on the port side of the boat .. I can inflate the thing within minutes with a battery powered inflator, so even thoigh I lose a bit of space up front, I think I'll continue to take it as I don't like to idea of bobbing about in the ogin waiting for a lifeboat that'd get there far too late.

sorry for all the dumb questions by the way... I want to try and ensure I and my boys are safe as possible but I think I may be being overly cautious
 
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oGaryo said:
Thanks, I have most of that list apart from the GPS but am awaiting receipt of a Garmin Etrex Vista CX with Bluechart loaded for the area and will use the GPS on the phone as a backup. I'm intending to plot a course on the pc and upload it + I have the paper charts and a Iris 50 compass that Wiggo put me on to.

Regarding the clothes, I'm intending to use some danner winter hunting boots (very warm), a pair of Gill deckhand gloves, a high viz gortex jacket with hood and a thermal bib and brace that I use for carp fishing.. also have some thermal underwear (socks, long johns and vest). all good quality gear but a bit cobbled together, would it be better to invest in clothing specifically made for the job, presuming it exists?

I guess the question still stands on the risk of taking a small bowrider 5 miles out... only in flat calm seas and leg it back inshore if it starts to get a bit rough?... also, daft question, but how do I keep an eye on the offshore weather forcast.. is there a VHF channel that broadcasts regular updates?

thanks again for the advice
Click to expand...
hello gary...one thing i would advise you on, bearing in mind all the clothes you have listed, is that, in the event of a touch of "man overboard" all those clothes will make you wieght about 45st when water logged !!!!!!!!!....so it might be in your own interest to go for the largest capacity lifejacket. ..it will also give your crew that little bit more help when trying to recover you..yonks ago i did a MBM liferaft and MOB drill at reading swimming pool. we had to wear shirt n trousers. you cant imagine how much extra wieght that is untill you do it for yourself...coastguard anounce on ch16 when and what channel weather forecasts will be on and for what area......ps. cod n chips please......regards..steve
 
Launch from Mudeford - apart from all the boring stuff like being nearer the fishing grounds, you can just go to the fish stall on the Quay and buy the fish - tell them not to gut it and no-one will be any the wiser. You can then head upriver into calm and tranquillity and avail yourselves of one or more of the many fine hostelries in the area.

This saves all the palava of poking each other in eye with fishing rods, stabbing yourselves with hooks, getting bitten by ragworm, creating a single homogeneous mass of mono-filament fishing line with no beginning or end on your first cast and all the other great things fishing entails....
 
like it... sounds very much like your past fishing adventures have been as productive as mine ;-)

hlb.. I need to make do with my current boat for the moment to be honest, it's been purchased primarily for blatting around in the summer but if I can use it to do a bit of winter fishing too, then that's a bonus. I'll take on board your cautionary advice
 
STEVEDUNSTABLE said:
hello gary...one thing i would advise you on, bearing in mind all the clothes you have listed, is that, in the event of a touch of "man overboard" all those clothes will make you wieght about 45st when water logged !!!!!!!!!....so it might be in your own interest to go for the largest capacity lifejacket. ..it will also give your crew that little bit more help when trying to recover you..yonks ago i did a MBM liferaft and MOB drill at reading swimming pool. we had to wear shirt n trousers. you cant imagine how much extra wieght that is untill you do it for yourself...coastguard anounce on ch16 when and what channel weather forecasts will be on and for what area......ps. cod n chips please......regards..steve
Click to expand...


thanks Steve, I'm using crewsaver 150n auto inflate jobbies at present... should I get higher rated ones?
 
sounds like you could do with another mobo owner in your neck of the woods , safety in numbers thing . i am in north devon and have wanted to travel to lundy , no joy so far , weather , tides , etc i personally wish i had a mate with a boat so we could go out in tandom or radio contact at least , sometimes when your out at sea on your own with no other boats visable it does get your imagination running ,,,,,,,,, what if !!!!!!!!!!!!
 
It seems apparent from your original post that you are seeking reassurance from the forum and are unhappy about making the trip.

Until you are reassured and confident you should not undertake this, certainly not with your family.

We on this forum have differing levels of experience and we cannot know your mindset.

Do gain experience with others and know exactly what you are taking on and are happy and confident doing it before actually undertaking the trip.

I know I have a view as to whether such a trip is possible but I have no intention of trying to persuade you one way or another and I would caution others to be very careful also.

Asking about equipment levels is surely a red herring - it is mainly about your confidence in untertaking the trip. This must be addressed before bothering about equipment, that will be obvious when you have the inner assurance that you are happy.

Tom

Tom
 
thanks Tom Tom... I've this weird subliminal message sort of feeling going on, that's telling me the investment in a GPS navigation system was of sound judgement. LOL :-)
 
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