Hi from Hayling Island

[Minters]

Hi my name is Ian and I have been fishing all my life - mainly coarse and game fishing.

5 years ago I bought a Merry Fisher MF755 Marlin with my mate Gordon and we started boat fishing out of Sparkes Marina Hayling Island.It is a tremendous fishing boat although it can be entertaining trying to berth it in any wind!

I rapidly discovered Im a much more successful coarse and game angler than sea fisherman - but I love being out on the boat. We don't generally venture that far - the overfalls is about as far as we will go , but mostly we tend to fish over towards Selsey , over Isle of Wight way or out in the Nab region
 

Ironically the better we have got at sea fishing the worse the results have been - maybe reflecting the continued pressure on fish in our region.

Anyway Im always happy to share my experiences and what little knowledge I have acquired.

[Andy135]

Welcome Ian!

What a great catch photo to kick off your Intro post with! I take it that's an east Wight cod? If so, then I'm highly envious - all the cod in our neck of the woods seem to give my hooks a very wide berth! 🤣

Post up some pics of your MF on the Show us yer Boat thread if you haven't already - we love a good boat pic or three 👍

[Saintly Fish]

Welcome Ian. I hope you find the site useful and entertaining. Ask what ever you want, generally there is an answer somewhere. 
Oh and check out the boat meet thread. As your a solent dangler it would be good to get you on board for that! Hopefully you’ll have plucked up a bit more courage to stretch further west by the summer.