Another wrecking trip..............

[GPSguru]

 

Today was very big spring tides and not really a day for heading to the wrecks, but we went anyway. Generally it is best to avoid the wrecks on big springs as the fish tend to congregate very close into the wreck to avoid using energy swimming is the strong currents associated with big tides. Normally I would try and make my trip coincide with slack water, but it is not always that easy. Wrecking is better on neaps and up to mid springs where the fish tend to be spread out over the wreck.

The slip I use is at right angles to the estuary flow, so big springs are an issue as the flow is 6knts at right angle to the slip. The crew today was the wife and myself, and we launched at 7:30am which was a couple of hours before high tide. The bottom of the slip looked very angry with water rushing across it, so I took no chances and attached a rope to the slip mooring ring and the boat painter. I have seen many an adult dragged into the water there as the tide flow takes the boat. Once in the water the boat settled on the up tide side of the slip against the flood stones and the rope was drum tight!  With the trim set to 6.5% the engine was started and the rope released which allowed the boat to be taken out into the channel by  the incoming tide flow, so we were safely away.

The sea forecast was 0.3m @ 4secs, but the reality was 0.2m @ 10secs, effectively like glass, however, the met office got the sunshine bit really wrong and visibility was about 500yards to 1 mile.

The first wreck was at 9 miles, and we found a Wilson Flyer already fishing the wreck. I tried several drifts but didn’t get a knock, also I noted that the Wilson flyer was also not catching. Drift speed was about 1.2knt with no wind, so not too bad.

The next wreck was at 12 miles out, and we joined a Quicksilver 905 that was already fishing the wreck. I pulled up along side and the guy told me it was very slow with nothing to show after a good many drifts.

This wreck is very broken so I lined up on the wreck using the panoptix and the traditional sonar. The first drift produced a kingsize pout of about 3lb, but it was very slow going. Later I had a Pollock of a little over 2lb which I was tempted to use for livebait !

A poor pic of the pout ...... as a size comparison that is a 250g jig !

Low tide was the middle of the afternoon and normally I need the tide to be at about 1.2m to safely land on the slip. A normal spring here has a low of about 0.9, but todays monster tide had a forecast low of 0.2m above CD, so my timing was critical !

We left the wreck in the late morning and due to the limited visibility, kept the speed at 20knts for the 12 mile steam. Nothing untoward on the return trip, just the usual tree trunks and other debris floating around up to a mile offshore, which is normal for very high springs.

A round trip of 29nm, and although time limited and cold, it was again a pleasure to be out. TBH, I didn’t expect much action on such a high spring, however, the wife was keen to get out so we gave it a go. Today I lost 3 jigs trying to fish tight to the wreck, but those sort of losses were to be expected.

The next decent day is Sunday, but being Easter the slipway will attract every feck’in idiot on the planet, so I will give that a miss !

Edited March 31, 2021 by GPSguru

[Andy135]

Good write up Ian and well done for getting out there in less than ideal conditions. Amazing that the pout took on a jig that size!

Out of curiosity how many jigs would you expect to lose on a wreck?

[Geoff]

Nice to see that you managed the tide and I am sure that you were really glad to be able to get out at last. Geoff.☺️

[GPSguru]

1 minute ago, Andy135 said:

Good write up Ian and well done for getting out there in less than ideal conditions. Amazing that the pout took on a jig that size!

Out of curiosity how many jigs would you expect to lose on a wreck?

Depends on the wreck. Broken wrecks tend to be tackle graveyards and I would expect to lose a couple, intact wrecks are usually Ok and I wouldn't anticipate losing any, by dropping before the wreck and then coming up 4 or 5 turns. When fishing Subs, it is very unusual to get snagged.

Today I was trying to fish almost into the wreck !

[Saintly Fish]

6.5 deg ?? Do you have a protractor or digital gauge? 
Well done on giving it a go, even if the fruit didn't fall. 

[GPSguru]

5 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

6.5 deg ?? Do you have a protractor or digital gauge? 
Well done on giving it a go, even if the fruit didn't fall. 

Mercury SmartCraft digital gauge ......... It uses the first 10 percent of movement as trim and the rest is tilt ............. once on the water the 'Mercury active trim' automatically controls the trim until I override it .............

Edited March 31, 2021 by GPSguru

[mick]

12 hours ago, GPSguru said:

Mercury SmartCraft digital gauge ......... It uses the first 10 percent of movement as trim and the rest is tilt ............. once on the water the 'Mercury active trim' automatically controls the trim until I override it .............

I have a 2020 60hp Mercury on my rib would I be able to fit smartcraft as aftrmarket.

Well done on persevering,at least you didn`t blank.

[GPSguru]

Just now, mick said:

I have a 2020 60hp Mercury on my rib would I be able to fit smartcraft as aftrmarket.

Well done on persevering,at least you didn`t blank.

You should already have the smartcraft SC1000 rev counter with the smartcraft LCD display in the bottom of it for oil pressure/ fuel used / engine temp/ batt voltage etc. 
 

different models have differing smartcraft options and I cant remember whether the 60 has a trim option or not. I will have a look later. 

 

[GPSguru]

1 hour ago, mick said:

I have a 2020 60hp Mercury on my rib would I be able to fit smartcraft as aftrmarket.

Well done on persevering,at least you didn`t blank.

 

I have had a look and active trim is available for any smart craft enabled engine, so that will be 40hp and above ................ once setup it works extremely well, especially when going into a turn as it automatically trims in  to go into the turn and then trims out as you come out of the turn.

Setting up can be a little confusing as you need to get your head around the 5 major profiles, which each have 5 minor profiles. so once you have set it to the correct major profile, then you end up with the 5 minor profiles on the control panel. Setting up requires getting the boat up to max speed or above 30knts if the max speed is massive, and then cycle through the major profiles until the correct trim is found, which is usually bow up and the boat is just below porpoising. Then hit the buttons to lock in that profile and away you go. Generally RIBS do not require huge amounts of trim. At 20knts yesterday I was showing about 1.9% of trim on a flat sea. At 30kns my trim is somewhere around 2.5%

[mick]

Ours came from XS fitted with analogue gauges.

Will have to speak to our local sv engineer.

[GPSguru]

8 hours ago, mick said:

Ours came from XS fitted with analogue gauges.

Will have to speak to our local sv engineer.

Your engine is definitely smartcraft enabled, all engines over 40hp have been SC enabled since 2014. For easy functionality you will need a SC1000 rev counter and cables which is about £400.  All the connecting is done in the console to the engine loom Junction  box.

The SC 1000 speedo is a waste of time as you already have GPS speed on the plotter.

Edited April 1, 2021 by GPSguru

[Tony smith]

Good write up mate 

Love it that you say you went because the wife wanted to go.

Must be great both having an interest in fishing ( some blokes will be growling at me now haha )

Love my wife to come along got more chance of shitting in the Queen's hand bad  than my wife coming fishing.😂

Nice pout mate 👍

 

 

[Andy135]

Just now, Tony smith said:

Got more chance of shitting in the Queen's hand bad  than my wife coming fishing.

🤣🤣🤣

Mine's exactly the same... and actually, that's just the way I like it 😉👍