Author: Neville Merritt (Page 17 of 44)

Owner of www.boat-angling.co.uk and
www.arfordbooks.co.uk
Author of "Angling Boats"
Director of Pure Potential Development Ltd www.pure-potential.co.uk

SMAC Annual BBQ 2022

30/08/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

By John Wearn, SMDAC

Southsea Marina Angling Club held their Annual BBQ on Sunday 28th August , with the weather holding out favorably making 2022 a resoundingly successful event. But only achieved by the hard work put in by Steve Kelly doing all the organizing aided by Bill Arnold, with Neville Merritt once again committing his good self to barbecuing all the succulent deliciously cooked and plentiful food, including separately cooking his specialty in marinating deliciously smoked mackerel, all freshly caught by fishing members, especially for the day.

Thanks must go for the lovely scones cooked to perfection by the loving hands of Eleanor Atkins Jim’s wife. Steve Andrews made up for it by winning most of the prizes, but give him his due he was just as busy giving them back to be re-raffled, that goes to show the character of members throughout the club.

There may have been others behind the scenes who helped in making the afternoon so enjoyable, if so thank you all for making the bbq such a pleasant occasion you did us proud. This is shown by the fun little Eira Scott SMAC’s youngest member ( as pictured with her dad Luke ) was having, as she helped Steve and Bill when the raffle ticket winners’ prizes were being presented. Our thanks for a great day from SMDACs attending members.

PS
Steve did a brilliant job, neatly filleting 30 mackerel for the smoker from fish supplied by members. You would think 30 mackerel equals 60 fillets, but not quite. Steve confided that as he was at the back of the boat getting into the rhythm of fillet-fillet-head over the side, something distracted him and it was fillet-fillet-fillet over the side. Oops. Still, there was plenty for all and we even sent a doggy bag of smoked mackerel to our good friend Rupert in the Marina Office.
Neville Merritt

SMAC Open Species Competition August 2022

15/08/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

After being postponed from 31st July due to adverse wind conditions we were all delighted that the reserve date of 14th August held good, and the competition was ON! With executive direction from last year’s winner Bill Arnold, and ably organised by Steve Kelly, the competition attracted entries from SMAC, surrounding clubs and others.

The objective of the competition was to catch as many different fish species between 8am and 6pm, and proof of catch was a photograph before the fish were returned to the sea. As you might expect, several anglers vying for a prize position caught the same number of species and in anticipation of that Steve had devised a clever scoring system which weighted the most likely species to be caught according to rarity. Mackerel, dogfish and pout for example scored zero as they pretty much give themselves up. Turbot on the other hand scored 10. We’d all like to catch more turbot!

Fishing ended at 6pm, the final count was closed at 6:30pm and the winners were announced at 7pm.

In reverse order, the overall winners were:

12th Steve Kelly 3 species 0 points
11th Eleanor Atkins 3 species 0 points ( Ladies Trophy winner)
10th Ken Farmer 3 species 5 points
9th Steve Andrews 3 species 7 points
8th Ray Plomer 3 species 7 points
7th Chris Ellis 4 species 0 points
6th Luke Scott 5 species 0 points
5th Lloyd Jones 6 species 0 points
4th Dan Lumsden 11 species 12 points
3rd Bill Arnold 11 species 22 points
2nd Pete Churchill 12 species 12 points
1st Wayne Comben 13 species 20 points

One of Wayne’s species was a 20lb stingray, a personal best and not a fish anyone expected to see on the list! Congratulations to Wayne Comben, Competition Trophy winner and also to Eleanor Atkins, the Ladies Trophy winner. There were no Junior entries.

It was a great day in glorious weather. We would like to thank all our sponsors for their generous donations of prizes: Victory Gas & Heating; Normark UK; Baits R Us; Fishon Bait and Tackle; SMDAC; British Big Game Fishing; Newnham Builders; Cosham Angling; Sportsmans Knight; Anglers Edge; Marina Bar.

Photos from Steve Andrews and Steve Kelly.

Book Review: The Forgotten Shipwreck

08/08/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

Author Martin Woodward MBE is probably the most qualified person in the entire world to write this particular book. Not only was he on the crew of the Bembridge lifeboat on the fateful night of the Flag Theofano sinking, he was also the professional diver called in subsequently to investigate the wreck. He has taken a lifelong interest in the circumstances surrounding the wreck and in honouring all those who perished. He lives in Bembridge, Isle of Wight on the seafront and he can see the wreck site every day.

This short book is a fascinating account of what most probably happened that night and resolves much of the uncertainty surrounding the cause of the sinking. Of course, we will never know for certain, but Martin’s assessment is highly plausible and dispels many of the myths surrounding the sinking.

I won’t spoil the story by revealing the ending, but it is worrying that there is a hint of a cover-up immediately following the sinking. This is strange because the missing evidence would not have implicated any party at the time and could have given some closure to the families of those lost.

The book contains many photographs, incredibly detailed sonar images from as recent as 2022, and excellent sketches drawn by the author to illustrate his findings and theories.

If you are local to Portsmouth, the headstone for Ibrahim Hussain (the last of the five crew members to be found) will be unveiled at 10:00 on the 2nd September. Ibrahim’s grave is at Kingston Cemetery and he is the only crew member to be buried in the UK. The grave has been unmarked for over 30 years, but now thanks to the interest created by Martin’s campaigning there will be a headstone on the grave. The unveiling will be followed by a book launch at Southsea castle.

For the price it is well worth a read and gives a lot more meaning to those two cardinal buoys and the lump on the fishfinder.

You can buy a copy here:

SMAC Monthly Meeting August 2022

06/08/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

The monthly meeting was held in the usual place – the Marina Bar – on 2nd August with a great turnout from the members. Many thanks for your support! Many thanks also to Steve Andrews for sending me the notes because I wasn’t able to attend.

Fish of the Month was awarded to Dave Newnham with his bass of 9lb 12oz (pictured – it’s definitely Dave and it’s definitely a bass but I’m not 100% sure it’s the actual bass – but near enough anyway).

Current club competition standings are as below:

The Open Species Competition was postponed from 31st July to 14th August, same arrangements as before. Sign in at the Marina office, fishing from 8am to 6pm and prize-giving in the Marina Bar afterwards.

Our next club event is the annual barbeque which will be held on Sunday 28th August from 2pm. Food is free for members, please bring your own drinks. There will also be a free raffle. Neville will be Chef de Cuisine and will also be providing an amuse bouche of his famous brined and smoked mackerel, as long as there is a supply of mackerel fillets on the day! It would be very helpful for our catering order if members could indicate whether they are coming with a Yes/No/Maybe to Steve Kelly before the 28th.

Please can anyone who has any catch photos, news or gossip they would like to share with members send them to me (Neville) by email, Messenger, Text or WhatsApp. Thank you!

Eleanor Atkins gave attendees a great presentation on the planned protest about the water quality around Southsea. This is caused by Southern Water discharging raw sewage into the sea whenever their treatment plants can’t cope – which seems to be often. On 10th September there will be a Protestival: Stop The Sewage Southsea event. In their words “There will be lots of amazing organisations, artists and more to raise awareness of the need to look after our sea and to keep the spotlight on Southern Water.” More details to follow

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 6th September, 7pm in the Marina Bar advertised although we usually start proceedings at 7:30!

Neville Merritt

Catch Report July 2022

31/07/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

We have had some remarkably warm and mostly calm weather throughout July, which has meant many local boat anglers have been out probably more than usual. Calm, settled weather in summer tempts us to head out 15 miles and more to the banks that hold bass. Although we can only bring home two fish per angler, there is still great sport to be had (see gallery below).

Mackerel have as usual continued to tease us with shoals in the usual places one day, then a blank fish-finder screen on other days. The other summer frustration is floating weed. This tends to affect fishing within a few miles of shore which includes all of the Solent. Neap tides aren’t so bad, but some tides can be unfishable unless you drift or head offshore beyond the worst of it.

Species competitions, whether one-day or annual club competitions have become increasingly popular. Our area is well served with probably one of the widest range of species available across the seasons. As the water warms up at the end of summer, some very exotic species can appear. Unfortunately the SMAC Open Species Competition has had to be postponed until 14th August so we hope to bring news of that in the next report.

Harbour Speed Limits

18/07/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

Hampshire Constabulary Marine Unit have produced a useful leaflet sumarising all the speed limits in the harbours and rivers around the Solent. This is helpful because they differ, and signage is often small or obscured. You can download a copy of the leaflet here.

COLREGS Rule 6 – Safe Speed

Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within the distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions.

The following factors should be among those taken into account:

The state of visibility
The traffic density including concentrations of fishing vessels or any other vessels
The manoeuvrability of the vessel with special reference to stopping distance and turning ability in the prevailing conditions
The state of wind, sea and current, and the proximity of navigational hazards
At night the presence of background light such as from shore lights or other back scatter
In instances where radar is being used, the limitations associated with your radar device and general radar navigation must be considered

Catch Report June 2022

17/07/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

June provide plenty of fishing opportunities and the summer species have been very obliging. Highlight of the month was the national Sea Angling Classic competition based from Portsmouth. Please see our separate report here. The catches were very representative of what has been around this month: a lot of hard fighting smoothhound, big tope, plenty of bream, rays and bass. There were fewer big bass boated during the competition than you would expect at this time of year but that was because the best bass marks were beyond the limits of the competition grounds.

From personal experience, this year has shown a significant improvement in bream catches both in number and size. Hopefully this is linked to the conservation efforts over the breeding grounds of Kingmere Reef in West Sussex, and improvements will continue.

We had a flurry of early mackerel, then they became rather difficult to locate reliably. As the summer progresses they should shoal up again. There are plenty of baitfish in the water to attract them in.

Some very good pollack came from the more distant wrecks – see gallery.

Mullet are well established in the harbours and give good sport when conditions are unfavourable outside.

Future dates to be aware of:

Sunday 31st July – SMAC Open Species Competition with a great prize table

Monday 8th August – Southsea Marina Fuel Bay out of action for maintenance work

SMAC Monthly Meeting July 2022

14/07/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

The monthly meeting was held as usual in the Marina Bar on Tuesday 5th July at 7pm.

Fish Of The Month was awarded to Chris Satow for his 16lb Undulate Ray caught from Lady Elsa.

Competition standings are as detailed below (updated since the meeting):

The SMAC anglers who took part in the Sea Angling Classic were warmly congratulated for their efforts, partularly the teams from Stuart Newell’s Harvest Moon who topped the Charter section. See the separate report on the SAC here.

The next competition will be the Open Species Competition on 31st July, organised by Bill Arnold. We now have an impressive prize table thanks to our various local sponsors. In addition, Stuart Newell has donated seven reels, two sets of scales and other loot for the prize table. Dave Newenham has donated two bottles of whisky.

Finaly, Stuart also announced that he is one of the select few charter skippers authorised to catch Blue Fin Tuna on a catch, tag and release basis. He will be operating out of Fowey in Cornwall, and has a special offer for SMAC members – please contact him for details. Trips will be for 10 hours duration.

Next meeting will be Tuesday 2nd August, usual time, usual place.

June Report from “Harvest Moon”

28/06/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

As we approach the end of June and losing a few days to the weather, we take a look back at an incredible month. June started with amazing fishing, with plentiful packs of Tope, Smooth hounds and mackerel still fairly easy to find.

Every trip bar the last one produced Tope to 40lb + and one amazing day producing 30+ Tope in 4 hrs crazy fishing only to be cut short by the weather which arrived earlier than expected. A day out on the overfalls and French banks produced bass on most drifts with the majority being in the 3-5lb bracket.

Our first Sharking trips have taken place, sadly no hook ups yet only lots of small Tope, but we have seen one free jumping Thresher which is always a awesome sight.

Towards the end June we had the Sea Angling Classic in which we had entered the Charter Boat section. There was some stiff competition with the likes of Glen and Zac Cairns running their Valkyrie charters and the Wetwheel boats from Portsmouth and Hamble. Our 2 teams consisted of Steve Batchelor and Colin Searles both England international anglers and myself with our secret weapon in the one and only Mr Peter Churchill aka (Mr Tope).

The plan was to use Peters 30+ years of knowledge about the tides, marks and fish behaviour. After an exciting start with over 60 boats racing from the start line, we managed to secure our first mark without to much hassle, although I didn’t get the anchoring spot on as got pointed out! We all fished our socks off and by the end of day 1 Peter and I finished in 1st position.

Day 2 was going to be more tricky as we knew we had a target painted on our backs. But we managed to get on our marks, again my anchoring wasn’t quite up to the standard of Mr Churchill although close enough for us to catch our intended species. By lunchtime the fishing had slowed up, more to do with the amount of boats flying around than the tides I think, but this is where Steve and Colin really showed us why they fish for England. Constantly changing baits and rigs for the different target species and to be pulling out fish while I was lifting the anchor made the difference.

At the presentation event held in Portsmouth historic dockyard, the excitement of everyone involved was electric. Harvest Moon won 1st in the charter boat section with Steve and Colin getting 1st place and Peter and I coming in 2nd spot. Plans for next year’s event are already in place.

The only thing that made the result of the Sea Angling Classic better was receiving a email from CEFAS to inform me that I had been picked from the application process to be one of only 25 boats legally allowed to target Bluefin Tuna in the UK. This is something I have been working towards for the past few years and can’t wait to give people the chance to catch these amazing fish. More details to follow if you fancy booking a trip of a lifetime!

Stuart Newell, “Harvest Moon”

(Contact Stuart on 07919 001400 or British Big Game Charter on Facebook)

SMAC Boat tops Sea Angling Classic Charter Boat Category

21/06/2022 / Neville Merritt / 0 Comments

Well what an amazing fishing event the 2022 Sea Angling Classic turned out to be. After a trial run last year, Spirit of Angling run by Ross Honey launched the UK’s biggest and most glamorous sea angling competition we have ever seen – from Portsmouth! Ross has been very supportive of SMAC and has donated a number of the £250 SAC entry tickets as prizes for our own competitions.

The event was run along similar lines to the big USA fishing tournaments with lots of promotion, sponsorship, road trips, media coverage and entertainment – in fact it was almost a festival around the competition itself. Activities ran from Wednesday 15th June to Sunday 19th June with the two-day competition running on Friday and Saturday.

The event was run in two team categories: Charter Boat and Recreational Boat to give everyone a fair chance. Top prize in the Recreational category was a £150,000 fishing boat package so this competition attracted anglers from all over the UK. The Charter Boat category was a pairs event; the Recreational category was run as a boat team with two to four anglers participating.

The theme of the programme was to support recreational angling with a strong conservation message. All competitors had to take part in a Beach Clean. There were side-line activities to encourage young people to try angling. The main competition was strictly catch-and-release, with a slightly complicated scoring system made simpler by the use of a dedicated phone app. Simply explained, five species groups counted: rays, bass, bream, tope and smoothhound. All catches had to be measured and photographed, and the aggregate length of the longest three fish in each species on each day became the team score.

SMAC members competing in the Recreational Category were :

Ray Plomer and Bill Arnold (Ruthless)
Clive Newnham and Dave Newnham (Pedro)
Dan Lumsden, Steve Tambling and Ben Lumsdem (Sea Jay)
Tony Dickson and Steve Andrews (Big G)
Nick Wallis fished on a non-club boat Bad Boyz

Charter Boat Category:

Stuart Newell and Pete Churchill (Harvest Moon)

The overall results from the two days was spectacular. A total of 1.067 fish were caught, with locations and sizes recorded and the data shared with marine biologists monitoring fish stocks in the area. This included 128 Tope, 505 Smooth Hound; 300 Bream; 120 Skates and rays; 14 Bass. This was a combined length of 763.29 metres! The low number of bass caught was because the better bass marks were outside the limits of the competition fishing area.

Both teams from Stuart Newell’s boat Harvest Moon were placed at the top of the Charter Boat category; Steve Batchelor and Colin Searles coming first with 1,601cm and Stuart Newell and Pete Churchill coming second with 1,406cm, putting Harvest Moon firmly at the top of the league! Stuart Newell also won Biggest Fish with his tope of 161cm.

The Recreational Boat category was won by the team on Smartfish, but it was interesting to see that only 16cm separated them from second place Tequila, and only 1cm separated them from third place Paintball. At 4pm on Friday, the provisional placings put the SMAC team on Sea Jay in first position! The standings at the end of Day One put Tequila leading Smartfish and Paintball so the competition was close fought to the end.

The Recreational Boat category trophy was a spectacular model of the Spinnaker Tower, made by apprentices at BAE Systems Maritime. It was constructed from timber from HMS Victory and steel from the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Overall, this was a hugely successful event attracting a lot of attention and much enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike. There was plenty of entertainment for those ashore from the opening parade on Wednesday to the final reception on Sunday. On the water, we could easily spot the competitors’ boats by the large flags they were flying.