Popular Post thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2023 Having fixed up my aux motor to a reliable state again I took my first trip to the Skerries with my mate from work. We got to the mooring at 5:15am, loaded the dinghy and were off on the boat by 6:10. Woj drove the boat whilst I set about getting all the kit ready for the day’s fishing. We averaged about 18kts at 5000rpm and got to the start of the first drift position 65 minutes later. @GPSguru had very kindly helped out with some good information for me about positioning on the banks and drift patterns I could expect throughout the day which was really helpful. Thank you Ian 😊 First drift I had a plaice so target species acquired albeit a quite small one so it went back. We were using long strips of squid, my rig being something I’d bodged up 25 years ago with a cutlery spoon end, some plastic tubing and orange beads. Woj was using a shop bought rig with two hooks and loads of green and black beads with sparkly things. My rig outfished his by 2:1 🤷♂️ we also used some light rods for a bit of jigging with shrimp rigs and caught a handful of mackerel. Anyway, on the second drift I decided to drop some big mackerel strips down on a couple of other rods so we had four baits in. The drift was nice and slow when suddenly the ratchet went on my Mack bait. I picked it up was instantly rewarded with a heavy pull back. There was a good bend in the rod and some serious thumping going on. After a few minutes a beautiful blonde ray appeared which went to a credible 15lb when weighed at a calmer point in the day. I was chuffed to bits with that. We carried on as the breeze got stronger and on more than one occasion I used a small drogue to correct the angle of the boat to keep the lines in a good position. At slack water I went in to investigate a small bank and reef off Beesands beach front only to find a large commercial working with a speed boat. The speedy boat was laying out a net and the commercial was ringing it around. Difficult to tell what they were actually doing but it looked iffy 😐 moved to another smaller reef off Torcross for another handful of mackerel then went back out for the flood stream back north. It was quite slow but we persevered. In total we had 7 or eight plaice of which I took four. Can’t say I’m proud but they were bigger than some in the shops and made a meal for four. Tasted nice they did. A pod of dolphins appeared just as we decided to head back which swam all around us, a great sight to see. We got going, packing stuff away as we went but kept the jigging rods out. Stopped at Berry Head and were straight into mackerel. They dried up after 3 drifts so we went again and stopped at Hope’s Nose for more mackerel and 3 herring. I thought they were sardines at first but have since confirmed that they were indeed herring. Got back to the mooring at 19:45 and home by 21:30. A very long and tiring day but very enjoyable, even got burnt… face is now peeling off 🤣 A total of 23 Mackerel, the plaice, herring and the blonde and I caught the bulk of it, very happy bunny 😊 One thing was a problem with my solar panel charge controller: no lights on it for half the day, then a green for the panel working and a red to say battery fault (which didn’t seem feasible as the indicator is still present with a strong visual presence). Going down today at low with some testing equipment. Saintly Fish, Geoff, GPSguru and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 What a cracking day out! Very well dangled 👍. You worked hard for your fish but it shows they're there if you know where to look. Well done. Shame you didn't find any dogfish though... suppose you can't win 'em all! 🤣 thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike farrants Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 nice one! thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Mmm, herring! Top day out too. thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Great report and fishing. Well done. You mentioned weighing the blonde later in the day, how did you keep it alive, or did you dispatch it and eat? thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Andy135 said: What a cracking day out! Very well dangled 👍. You worked hard for your fish but it shows they're there if you know where to look. Well done. Shame you didn't find any dogfish though... suppose you can't win 'em all! 🤣 Made a pleasant change to not catch one 😜 Andy135 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 38 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said: Great report and fishing. Well done. You mentioned weighing the blonde later in the day, how did you keep it alive, or did you dispatch it and eat? Ta very much 😊 killed it and kept it in a big flexi bucket with fresh water over and over until the swell died down. It’s currently in my digestive system I think 🤔 ate a large portion last night, bloody lovely it was too 😋😋😋 Malc and Andy135 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 9 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: Ta very much 😊 killed it and kept it in a big flexi bucket with fresh water over and over until the swell died down. It’s currently in my digestive system I think 🤔 ate a large portion last night, bloody lovely it was too 😋😋😋 I had skate wings before in a pub, it was fucking horrible 🤢 Andy135, thejollysinker and GPSguru 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Never tried ray/skate before but I believe you need to get it off the cartilage ASAP to make the best of it, is this true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Saintly Fish said: I had skate wings before in a pub, it was fucking horrible 🤢 hadn't been done properly then from catch to plate. It's actually quite bland (but then again my taste buds are getting worn out.....) but, the flesh is silky soft in lovely long strands. The batter I did was banging, no special recipe and fried really hot for about 4 mins.... came out like chippie standard fish, nom nom nom! Get one yourself and try it. Gotta get that slime out with lots of soaking. The water I was pouring away was like syrup... then scrape it well and dry as best you can, nail it to a board and skin it (I used a knife but some people pull with pliers). Leave in the fridge to rest a couple of days, dry as you can then make that batter. Fry it hot and serve up, guarantee you'll like it. 😉 Edited May 5, 2023 by thejollysinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 2 hours ago, Malc said: Never tried ray/skate before but I believe you need to get it off the cartilage ASAP to make the best of it, is this true? No, not true. Read my reply to Neil. Gotta keep it cold though whilst messing around with it 🙂 Malc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 9 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: guarantee you'll like it Maybe you can cook for the SLT, and we will review!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 A slightly off topic comment but not bad for me is that you should never wing a skate while fishing as it will wipe the fishing out. I’ve been told this by a few Essex skippers in the past. thejollysinker and GPSguru 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 13 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said: Maybe you can cook for the SLT, and we will review!! God I'm fick... what's the SLT? 😬 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 17 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: God I'm fick... what's the SLT? 😬 Senior Leadership Team. aka @Saintly Fish@JonC and @ginge. thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 18 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: God I'm fick... what's the SLT? 😬 The Slimy Lazy Twats.. Geoff and thejollysinker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 19 minutes ago, GPSguru said: The Slimy Lazy Twats.. Try harder. Lazy? Who does that refer to? We spend hours each night making this thing work for you so that when you remember where you are and what you’re doing there’s something for you to read. And as for calling @Andy135 slimy, well that’s just not nice. thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 22 minutes ago, GPSguru said: The Slimy Lazy Twats.. much better 🤣 Saintly Fish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 12 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: much better 🤣 And you were getting on so well 😡 thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 (edited) 28 minutes ago, JonC said: Try harder. Lazy? Who does that refer to? We spend hours each night making this thing work for you so that when you remember where you are and what you’re doing there’s something for you to read. Well tbh to get one out of 3 aint bad 😉😇🤣🖕 Edited May 5, 2023 by GPSguru thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejollysinker Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 34 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said: And you were getting on so well 😡 oh no, I'm in trouble now 😏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 3 minutes ago, thejollysinker said: oh no, I'm in trouble now 😏 Let's just say your in the corner, but soon to be on the naughty step! thejollysinker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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