Boat Angling

The web site for eastern Solent boat fishing

Author: Neville Merritt (Page 2 of 43)

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

Catch Report May 2025

06/06/2025 /

May is Bream month although they stay around our section of coast for a lot longer than they once did. The larger fish come inshore to breed and there have been plenty of them caught right through the month. The SMAC Open Bream Competition  was won by a 3lb fish and all in the top 15 were 2lb plus.

Harbours and marinas are full of mullet. When they first appear they are very difficult to catch because they are feeding on small natural items like weed and micro organisms. As the season progresses their diet extends to scavenging from things we drop in the water and are much easier to catch on bread for example. Not that they are ever that easy to catch! SMAC Fish of the Month was a 5lb mullet caught by Ray Plomer.

Mackerel and garfish are around in reasonable numbers but still not as plentiful as they once were. You will often see birds working particularly in the evening and at first light, and although there are plenty of fish there, they can be difficult or impossible to catch. This is because fish can be very single-minded if they are feeding on very small fry that have just hatched. They are either focussed only on tiny baitfish or their stomachs are full!

The first smoothhounds have arrived and will be on the usual marks. There are also plenty of bass, particularly the smaller ones shoaling up like mackerel. There are also plenty of the usual species to keep anglers busy like the nice Thornback Ray above that was John Calton’s Personal Best. There’s always a chance of an unusual bonus like a turbot. It would be nice if we had more of those again.

Next month we expect to see more catches of tope as the larger fish arrive inshore to have their pups.

Thanks to everyone for sending in photos for the gallery!

SMAC Monthly Meeting June 2025

04/06/2025 /

We had a good attendance last night even though some of our members were away enjoying themselves fishing in Florida and Norway. Steve Kelly chaired the meeting as usual, opening with a run-through of the Standings. All change here as you can see below, and this early in our calendar we can expect a lot more challengers too.

Our Fish Of The Month award turned into Southsea Marina’s version of Conclave, with a good number of bream entered in the 2lb+ mark plus a decent gurnard and bass too. However, after much debate white smoke emerged and FOTM was awarded to Ray Plomer for a 5lb mullet, at 125% of the Specimen size.

The SMAC Bream Open Competition was very successful attracting 54 competitors. It was won with a 3lb fish and Jim Atkins the Best Placed SMAC Member in Second.

The new SMAC Open Bass Competition has overcome the hiccup over the supply of fish measures so it remains a Catch & Release competition, to be held on 12th July (13th July reserve date) 2025. The Club will fund the purchase of fish measures which will be supplied one per competitor’s boat for a returnable deposit of £15. Claims must be supported with a short WhatsApp video of the fish measurement. Many thanks to Stuart Newall of British Big Game Fishing for sourcing these for us.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 1st July at 7pm in the Marina Bar. We will open with a short talk from Gill Rodrigues and Vicki Neild of the International Seakeepers Society about Citizen Science marine research projects we can help with.

SMAC Open Bream Competition 2025

20/05/2025 /

After several postponements due to the weather, we finally held our first Open Competition of the year from Southsea Marina. The weather was glorious and 30 boats with 54 competitors went out on Sunday to search for the biggest Black Bream.

The fishing was generally very good with plenty of catches. The general opinion was that it was easier to catch a lot of bream than to catch a very large one! Although we were targeting bream, a variety of other species were caught alongside them which at least made interesting sport while waiting for the big one.

The wind picked up a little in the afternoon and boats started coming back in early which spread the load on Steve Kelly and the weighing-in. There was plenty of speculation because there were eight prizes plus Ladies and Junior prizes so fractions of an ounce suddenly became very important. In the end we had an uncontested overall winner, although many of the other places were only separated by the tiniest amount.  Prize-giving took place in the Marina Bar garden (garden? Well, it has a fence) and prizes were handed out by last year’s winner Mark Oldfield. Results are as follows:

1st – Dave Schofield with the only 3lb bream
2nd – Jim Atkins
3rd – Peter Churchill
4th – Jim Taw
5th – Ryan Whitmore
6th – Dan Lumsden
7th – Neil Glazier
8th – Eddie Walsh

Ladies Prize – Eleanor Atkins

Junior Prize – Luca Bozga

We would like to thank all our competition sponsors who donated prizes, Steve Kelly for a lot of organising and all the competitors who made it a great day for us all.

Cash prizes were awarded for First and Second place. Other prizes were donated by: Premier Marinas, Southsea Marina Bar, Bait’R’Us, SMDAC, Brian van Daal, British Big Game Fishing, Mark Oldfield Plumbing, Victory Gas & Heating, Fish-on Bait and Tackle and Cosham Angling.

SMAC Monthly Meeting – May 2025

14/05/2025 /

It was a glorious evening at Southsea Marina and we had a full room of members – I think there’s a connection there. Steve opened the meeting as usual with a run-through of the current standings, see below.  Dave Newnham is in the lead for the Champions Cup with five points. Then came Fish Of The Month and although we had several notable fish in the book for April, the only true specimen was Peter Churchill’s Ballan Wrasse of 5lb 2oz so this was voted Fish Of The Month.

We hope the postponed Open Bream Competition will be held this coming Sunday 18th May weather permitting.  We are keen to start promoting the next competition which will be the new Open Bass Competition. This will break new ground for us, being Catch & Release (optional) and a whole load of new rules. The planned date is Saturday 12th July, reserve Sunday 13th July.

Here’s a quick summary of future events:

  • Sunday 18th May – SMAC Open Bream Competition
  • Tuesday  3rd June – SMAC Monthly Meeting 7pm
  • Saturday 28th June – SMAC Members & Families BBQ and Raffle
  • Tuesday 1st July – SMAC Monthly Meeting 7pm plus a visit from Seakeepers International
  • Saturday 12th July – SMAC Open Bass Competition
  • August/September – SMAC Open Species Competition
  • November/December – SMAC Open Cod Competition
  • Christmas Break – Madela Cup (Members Only)

Finally, we were very sorry to hear that at the end of April, Pete Kilshaw’s Sportsmans Knight hit a submerged broken pile in the marina channel, and sank. Pete was rescued by Steve Kelly on Lady Elsa, and Sportsmans Knight was eventually recovered to the marina. This was obviously very distressing for Pete who has regularly donated prizes to the club. The good news is that there seems to be no problems with the insurance pay-out, and Premier and Langstone Harbour Board are getting quotes to remove the obstruction. In the meantime it is marked in the channel by a buoy, so it is worth giving it a wide berth.

Next meeting is Tuesday 3rd June, 7pm in the Marina Bar as usual.

Catch Report April 2025

08/05/2025 /

We had some amazing weather with day after day of sun and low winds. Even when the wind picked up the sun was still shining. As a result there were a lot more fishing trips and plenty of catches to show off.

Bass are with us all year now, and with the two month Closed Season behind us bass were a target species again with some good fish caught. The last few small whiting were still around but they will be gone by the end of the month, probably returning in November.

Pollack are gathering over the wrecks and although it can be a bit of a hunt to find a wreck holding fish, those that persevered were successful.

The first mackerel arrived, attracted by the enormous shoals of baitfish that sometime fill our fish finder screens. I haven’t quite worked out the migration pattern of herrings but they were around in good numbers this April. Good for bait and even better fried in oatmeal.

Another summer visitor is the smoothhound and these hard fighters give great sport on the right tackle, particularly in shallow water. The first bream appeared and became more plentiful towards the end of the month. The larger breeding fish will probably depart after May but there will still be plenty of bream to catch all through summer.

There is always the chance of a bonus fish and Jim Atkins managed to find a turbot. Jim also scored the prize for biggest bass in the Sea Angling Classic Meet & Fish hosted by Premier Marinas Southsea and sponsored by Crewsaver (see Galley below).

All in all, a great start to the summer season and if the tope follow the mackerel as usual we should have a good May.

SMAC Monthly Meeting April 2025

02/04/2025 /

The meeting started with a quick catch-up of prizes won but not collected including Specimen Certificates for Sam Cofie (pictured), then we were onto the Club Standings. That was a very short agenda item because nothing much has happened except Pete Churchill has Best Specimen with a spurdog of 14lb 8oz, and he also leads the Species Hunt with 9. That’s it, everything else on the table is blank. Roll on Spring!

Fish of the Month was a little more entertaining because we had Pete’s spurdog plus another from Peter Atkinson, except he had measured his at 109cm instead of weighing it. Google AI estimated 77lb and if we are trusting our future to AI it looks like we are all doomed. Anyway, it turned out that Peter’s mystery-weight fish wasn’t caught on a club boat anyway and was disqualified leaving FOTM to Pete Churchill.

Our club membership stands at 71 paid members, 2 lifetime members and 6 junior members. SMAC represents 47 boats berthed in Southsea Marina, which is a significant percentage. Club funds are healthy, enough to pay for our summer BBQ (free to members and family) and our end of season Presentation Night in 2026. Save the date for the BBQ – it will be on Saturday 28th June in the Marina BBQ area as usual.

The Sea Angling Classic Meet & Fish event will be hosted by Premier at Southsea Marina on Saturday 26th April. This year it will be a charity fundraising event for Sea Spirit and sponsored by Crewsaver who will be donating some good prizes. Entry £15 per angler, minimum 2 and maximum 4 per boat. You need to pre-book your entry here

Our next competition is the Bream Open on Sunday 4th May, details here

Our new Open Bass Competition is scheduled for 5th July, details will be confirmed nearer the date.  

Next meeting will be Tuesday 6th May at 7pm in the Marina Bar

SMAC Bream Competition

SMAC Open Bream Competition Sunday 4th May 2025

28/03/2025 /

Save the date for the annual SMAC Open Bream Competition which will run from Southsea Marina on Sunday 4th May (weather permitting). Sign in at the marina office on the day or book online. Fishing from 8am to 6pm, weigh-in at Southsea Marina by 6:30pm. Prizes will be awarded in the Marina Bar from 7pm. All anglers welcome!

Rules are simple: fishing from a boat, competition is for heaviest Black Bream only. One fish may be entered per angler. Heaviest fish wins. Maximum two rods per angler, maximum three hooks in total.

Cash prizes for first and second place will be calculated from the entry pool. There will also be runners-up prizes from our sponsors, and bonus prizes for lady anglers and junior under 15 years old.

Entry fee £10 payable before you start fishing.

Good luck!

Book Your Competition Entry Tickets Here

Let’s Meet & Fish – Southsea Marina

24/03/2025 /

On Saturday 26th April, Southsea Marina will host the Sea Angling Classic – Let’s Meet & Fish.

This year, the Sea Angling Classic and Let’s Meet & Fish events will double as fundraising initiatives for FreeSpirit of the Sea CIC, a newly established not-for-profit charity. This initiative is dedicated to providing on-water experiences for cancer patients, disadvantaged children and families, and individuals facing mental health challenges.

To bring this vision to life, FreeSpirit of the Sea CIC is commissioning a custom-built boat featuring therapy areas designed by medical specialists. Additionally, the vessel will serve as a floating classroom, offering hands-on learning experiences with state-of-the-art educational facilities. Click here to see more about the charity.

The SAC Let’s Meet & Fish at Southsea Marina will be sponsored by Crewsaver, with some great prizes and bonuses. Entry fees are £15 per adult, £10 per junior under 16. All entry fees go to FreeSpirit CIC. There will be a number of optional pools with prizes divided between the winners and the charity.

The competition rules follow the SAC event model, targeting specific species. Scores are awarded for fish length as this is a catch and release competition. There is a minimum of two and a maximum of four anglers per boat. To book your places and check further details please register here.

Tight Lines!

SMAC Presentation Night 2025

17/03/2025 /

Our Presentation Night is one of the social highlights of our calendar when we can celebrate all the successes of the previous season and have a few drinks and fun as well. As usual, this year we combined the SMAC Awards with our friends from SMDAC and packed the room at the Marina Bar. Steve Kelly had once again done a huge amount of work organising the cups, engraving, prizes, venue and food. On top of that he compered the evening with his usual efficiency and humour making it a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The running order of the night was the SMDAC Awards, then the SMAC Awards and finally after some food to sustain our energy levels, the raffle. Before we got on to the main business we had to catch up with a Fish Of The Month award for Ray Plomer from November. Next item was to hand out all the Angling Trust Specimen Certificates and Medals which covered 13 specimen fish caught by members last season.

The club awards were presented by our good friend Rupert Bremer who has supported SMAC at Premier Marinas since its inception. SMDAC cups and awards cover beach, boat and lake fishing and were presented as follows.

  • Mixed Freshwater Lake Cup – Frank Chatfield
  • Largest Freshwater Fish – Tony Tadd (Mirror carp, 13lb)
  • Silver Fish Species Cup – Frank Chatfield
  • Combined Beach and Pier Competition – John Wearn
  • George Dominy Trophy – John Wearn
  • Best Specimen – John Wearn
  • Cod Cup – John Calton
  • Species Hunt – Frank Chatfield
  • Runner Up Champion – Tony Tadd
  • Club Champion – Frank Chatfield

The SMAC awards were then presented by Rupert Bremer as follows:

  • Plaice Cup – Dave Newnham (1lb 15oz)
  • Bream Cup – Dan Lumsden (3lb 1oz)
  • Bass Cup – Steve Tambling (8lb 10oz)
  • Cod Cup – Darren Price (7lb 10oz)
  • Pollack Cup – Mark Banks (16lb 5oz)
  • Best Specimen Turbot or Brill – Dan Lumsden (Brill, 2lb 9oz)
  • Turbot or Brill Runner Up – Richard Pack
  • Ladies Cup – Soulla Banks
  • Junior Cup – Jack Dickson
  • Catch & Release Cup – Jock Park (Thornback 15lb)
  • Best Specimen – Peter Churchill (Gilthead 3lb 6oz)
  • Species Hunt Cup – Peter Churchill (39)
  • Ladies Species Hunt – Pam Eckersall (23)
  • Junior Species Hunt – Jack Dickson (6)
  • Nelson Mandela Cup – John Wearn
  • Bream Open, best placed member – Dan Lumsden (2nd)
  • Inter Club Competition – Ray Plomer
  • Cod Open, best placed member – Neville Merritt (3rd)
  • Cod Pool, First – Darren Price (7lb 10oz)
  • Cod Pool, Second – Neville Merritt (4lb 3oz)
  • Bill Arnold Memorial Trophy – Neville Merritt
  • Pairs Cup – Steve Tamblin & Dan Lumsden
  • Club Champion Runner Up – Steve Tamblin
  • Club Champion – Dave Newnham

The Bill Arnold Memorial is awarded in memory of our now departed but very dear friend Bill, to the SMAC member who has made a significant contribution to the running of the club during the year. Unfortunately Bill’s sister Mary was unable to present this in person but we hope to welcome her again in future years.

After pizza and chips we moved on to the raffle. We have one free raffle for members and then a fundraising raffle. In addition to prizes bought by SMAC we were also very grateful for prizes donated by SMDAC and Premier Marinas. The raffle raised £760 towards the cost of the evening, so many thanks to all that contributed.

Congratulations to all the competition, award and prize winners! We have lots to look forward to in the coming year including a new Open Bass Competition plus our regular fixtures of competitions and annual BBQ. All we need now is some warmer weather.

How to Support Seakeepers International Citizen Science Marine Research Projects

10/03/2025 /

Last year the Southsea Marina Angling Club was introduced to the work of Seakeepers International with a talk by Gill Rodrigues, Director of International Relations.  The charity aims to connect boat owners with marine research, through Citizen Science projects and hosting research teams on board. This year there are more projects available including ORCA Ocean Watchers and Seabed 2030. Rebel Runner has signed up to both of these!

ORCA Ocean Watchers simply involves reporting sightings of whales and dolphins so that a more global record of these magnificent animals can be maintained. This will in turn support more extensive research and understanding. Because most of us probably can’t be trusted to identify a short-beaked dolphin from a white-sided dolphin, by signing up for the programme we are also booked onto an on-line Whale and Dolphin identification course. This means that the sighting we record on the ORCA app will be more reliable for the researchers.

The Seabed 2030 project is a global Citizen Science Initiative to map the world’s oceans by 2030. This will be particularly valuable in areas where leisure boaters travel but hydrographic survey data is out of date. Signing up to this project is a little more involved because the data is recorded on a data logging device attached to your vessel’s data network. It picks up depth, location and time data and stores it on a micro SD card for uploading later to the research data portal.

Last week Rebel Runner hosted a visit from Gill Rodrigues and Vicky Neild, UK Programme Manager to install and test the data logger. As we have a NMEA2000 network this was a very easy job and the green data light was soon blinking to show all was well.

The next step will be to generate a test file which sounds to me like a jolly good excuse to take Rebel Runner out for a spin. Even better, I can now tell the FPO* that I am conducting important oceanographic research which may sway things in my favour.

There was also an unexpected treat for me in the form of a very impressive goodie bag from Seakeepers as a thank you. Inside a useful mesh bag was a bottle of eco boat-wash, eco detailing spray, a very posh insulated bottle, a cap and a sample of the Cano resealable can of water.

If anyone wants to get involved in these or other marine research projects, there are more details here. Please contact Vicky at Seakeepers International to register your interest.

* Fishing Permission Officer

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neville@boat-angling.co.uk

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