Boat Angling

The web site for eastern Solent boat fishing

Author: Neville Merritt (Page 3 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 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

What to Keep In Your First Aid Kit On Board

09/03/2025 /

At the March SMAC Meeting, we invited Steve Thair, Area Manager and Community Advocate for St. John’s Ambulance to give us a talk on First Aid on board. Steve is impressively knowledgeable and I’m quite sure could have spent a lot longer than the 45 minutes allowed in educating us on this vital subject.

Although many of the members will have attended First Aid training at some point, it is easy to forget some of the things taught but Steve’s encyclopaedic knowledge brought us up to date.

The purpose of a First Aid Kit is by definition to patch up an injured person so that they can then go and get specialist help if required. Sometimes this is just to make someone more comfortable, other times it can help prevent further complications and in extreme cases it can also save lives.

On an angling boat travelling many miles out into the Channel, it could take over an hour to get back to land or in extreme cases even to get lifeboat or helicopter support, so an adequate First Aid kit and some basic First Aid knowledge are essential.

Steve asked us to describe the sort of injuries we had either experienced or were aware are likely when fishing in UK waters. These include cuts from sharp bait knives; penetration of sharp items such as hooks, baiting needles and gaffs; bites from conger and tope and falls against hard objects which can break bones.

Our First Aid kits need to contain items that can be used to treat these injuries, many of which can be extremely serious particularly if a blood vessel has been severed. A box of Band Aids isn’t going to be enough. Another fact to learn is that First Aid kits need to be regularly serviced and replenished because many items have a shelf life. There is no point having adhesive plasters that don’t stick or sealed dressings that are no longer sealed. I was shocked to discover that what I thought was a well prepared First Aid box on Rebel Runner was in fact out of date by at least five years!

Steve gave us all a list of what we need to keep on board (below). He recommended that we keep them in labelled bags within the kit so you can grab them based on the type of injury you are dealing with, rather than rummaging through the whole box in an emergency. There are ready-made compartmentalized bags available if you are flash. Other items recommended are Tuff-Cut scissors for clothing, small scissors for dressings and I have found tweezers very helpful for removing splinters.

Steve then demonstrated basic wound management with particular emphasis on reducing bleeding for deep injuries. This is very important for offshore First Aid where some time may pass before the injury can be dealt with by the professionals.

The talk finished with a quick recap on CPR and the use of a modern defibrillator. I was impressed with how good the modern AEDs are and how easy they are to use. We should all get ourselves familiar with the basics so we have the confidence to have a go when the need arises.

If anyone wants to buy more First Aid supplies to bring their kit up to standard, the St. John’s Ambulance shop has everything you need and prices are good.

The First Aid Manual is a very helpful guide and for the price, well worth buying and putting in your first Aid box.

SMAC Meeting March 2025

08/03/2025 /

We started our regular monthly meeting with a talk by Steve Thair, Area Manager and Community Advocate for St. John’s Ambulance. He gave us invaluable advice on what should be in our First Aid Kits, how to use the kit for common injuries and also gave us a quick refresher on CPR and the use of a modern defibrillator – all in 45 minutes! There is a more detailed report on his recommendations here .

Then on to regular Club business – although being early March there wasn’t a lot to report. Fish Of The Month was an uncontested Spurdog of 14lb 8oz winning Peter Churchill the medal and a tenner. Peter generously donated his winnings to the RNLI.

It’s very early days for the Club Standings (below) but already we have a neck and neck race for the Species Hunt between John Wearn and Peter Churchill with three species each.

Presentation Night is Saturday 15th March in the Marina Bar. Prizes will be presented from 7:45pm so get there well before then if you want a seat, a free drink and the chance to buy tickets for an amazing raffle. If you haven’t told Steve Kelly you will be attending there won’t be enough food so please let him know. Thank you!

Looking forwards to our Open Bream Competition in May, we have decided to limit entries to Black Bream only. We don’t want a freak Gilthead stealing the show!

Neville reminded members that we can still get involved in citizen science projects which were introduced to us last year at a club meeting by The International Seakeepers Society. Here’s an update we received this week:

  • Dr. Christina Hunt’s fish-measuring project Competitive Angling as a Scientific Tool  is active until the end of March, therefore we welcome any participation up until this point. We are in contact with the researchers to discuss whether this timeline can be extended if either yourself or any other members of Southsea Marina Angling Club are keen to participate after this date. We will keep you updated with how this proceeds.
  • Seabed 2030 – This UN Ocean Decade Action project aims to map the entire global seafloor by 2030, using small bathymetric data loggers that connect to a vessel’s navigational backbone. By collecting time, GPS and depth measurements through these loggers (provided by SeaKeepers), Citizen Scientists can contribute valuable data to this project with little personal effort, mapping regions where data is currently sparse, non-existent or of poor quality. Coastal seafloor regions in particular are highly variable, thus data collected here can have the greatest impact.
  • ORCA OceanWatchers – The ORCA OceanWatchers project encourages vessel users to conduct effort-based sightings surveys to monitor global cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) populations and investigate their distributions, identify hotspots, and better understand the threats they face. Citizen scientists have the unique ability to expand the project’s data collection capacity, empowering all to contribute to meaningful scientific research that drives policy change and safeguards these creatures for future generations.

Neville is signed up to the Seabed 2030 and ORCA projects and has had a data logger fitted on Rebel Runner. In return there was nice gift of freebie swag! If any member wants to participate, please contact Vicky Neild at Seakeepers. Project and contact details here.

Finally, Dan gave us an update on progress with planning the new Bass Open Competition in July. Getting large-scale sponsorship has been challenging so it is likely the competition will be run on similar lines to our other competitions.

Next Event: Presentation Night Saturday 15th March, Marina Bar from 7pm

Next Meeting: Tuesday 1st April in the Maraina Bar at 7pm where we may get some unusual entries for FOTM.

Catch Report January 2025

09/02/2025 /

Boat angling catch reports are always a challenge in winter because the number of fishable days are limited by the weather and sometimes we can go for weeks without getting out at all. January was even more challenging this year because the cill (lock gate) at Southsea Marina was due for extensive maintenance, so most boats were locked into the marina for the last ten days of January.

Despite that, we got out for a few sessions and the results were fairly typical for January. Boats that went out to the reefs and wrecks found some good bass and pollack, with a bonus John Dory. Nearer home, the cod have all but disappeared, or were they even here? In the last two winters we have had much smaller whiting catches compared to previous years. On the other hand, conger are far more plentiful and bass that were once seasonal are around all year. We have already seen mullet back in the marina which is exceptionally early. Spurdog appear around this time for a few weeks, and these have been caught but not in great numbers. Catches have been boosted by the usual local species of rays, dogfish and pout.

I don’t expect much to change in February but anglers will be out looking for early plaice and if the seasonal changes carry on at the present pace we will probably see bream arriving too.

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