With Orca now back in the water at Sparkes Marina, Ian and I have now completed three Friday trips out in the eastern Solent – with mixed results.

Our first trip was a bit of a loosener on 7th April – for the boat and us (boat handling a bit rusty!), out into Hayling Bay for Plaice. This resulted in two fish hooked and one small Plaice in the boat. We tried natural and artificial rag with one fish hooked on each while drifting. Not a great return – but a start.

Our second trip on 13th April over to Selsey was a disaster in that we had no bites or fish despite drifting a large area for Plaice. This was a bit of an ordeal with stronger winds than forecast and a tide/wind combination drifting us side on to the swell – rock and roll. Many folks seem to be struggling to find Plaice at the moment and complaining about water clarity. Maybe that’s true – who knows?

Our latest trip out on the 21st was much better. This time we were after Bream and headed over to the Isle of Wight to find some rough ground and ledges. We fished light gear and small squid strips (one on the bottom and one just off). We were kept busy with Dogfish and Pouting but also landed 4 nice Bream. The biggest was a female of 3lb 2oz for Ian – which went back. We took one male as a tasty supper that night. Had we not lost another 3 Bream it would have been a better day. The tide was very benign so fishing the Isle of Wight was easier than it can be in a faster tide. That probably explains why all our fish were taken on the bottom droppers.

Great to be back out on the water. Roll on those warm summer days – and more fish!

By the way, Ian bought some artificial worms (Isome) through your site and hooked a Plaice on one – so they seem to work.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Southsea Angling Show next week.

plaice