A new RNLI inshore lifeboat goes into service at Skegness tomorrow (Friday 3 September), thanks to the generous donations from visitors to the annual CAMRA Peterborough Beer Festival.

The £31,000 D class lifeboat will be called Peterborough Beer Festival IV. She will operate alongside the Skegness all-weather lifeboat, Lincolnshire Poacher, and replaces the station’s former D class, Leicester Fox II, which has been retired to the RNLI’s training fleet.

Skegness’ RNLI volunteer crew have spent the past two days familiarising themselves with the new lifeboat, which is 5 knots faster than the old D class and also has enhanced manoeuvrability, built in navigation system and is ideal for providing a rapid response to distress calls close to shore.

Skegness RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Alan Fisher, said the crew were impressed with the new lifeboat, which will help them reach casualties faster and more safely than before.

He added: ‘Everyone at Skegness lifeboat station is extremely grateful to the Peterborough branch of the RNLI and the CAMRA Peterborough Beer Festival for their continued support. Our charity depends on donations for its existence and without such kindness, our volunteer lifeboat crews would be unable to carry out their lifesaving role. We hope we’ll be able to welcome some of our Peterborough supporters to Skegness very soon to thank them in person for their generosity.’

Dick Hammond, Peterborough Branch Chairman said he and his fellow fundraisers were delighted that Peterborough Beer Festival IV was going into service at Skegness.

He added: ‘We had a target of £37,000 to raise, which we achieved after four years of collecting at the beer festival and so as well as funding the lifeboat we have provided enough money to pay for her first refit. The organisers of the beer festival have been very supportive of the RNLI for many years and every visitor who has contributed to this new lifeboat can be very proud that they have helped improve the RNLI’s lifesaving capability on the east coast.’

The RNLI’s Peterborough branch has been carrying out collections at the annual beer festival for 21 years and over that time has collected almost £176,000. The money raised has funded four inshore lifeboats for the RNLI, including a D-class for Redcar lifeboat station and an Atlantic 85 for the charity’s relief fleet.

Chapel Sea Fishing Club Presents – The Chapel 2 Day Open

To be fished on the beaches around Chapel St Leonards, Skegness, Lincolnshire

DATE:- 6th and 7th November 2010

Fishing times:- 3.30pm to 7.30pm Sat 4.00pm to 8.00pm Sun

Booking in from 11.00am Sat Match HQ. Fat Wallys club, South Road, Chapel St. Leonards

Cost:- £15.00 per day including pools

Optional Pairs on the Saturday £10.00 per team

Optional Super Pool £5.00 biggest fish of weekend – 1st and 2nd

Limited pegs so book early
Tel:- Kim on 07826543032 after 6pm

Saturday 20th November 2010

High Water 15:43 and 5.35 meter

Presentation – At The Northfield Country Park, Waxholme Road Withernsea

Pegged Match, Catch Measure and Release

Registration at Northfield 09:00 to 10:00

Free Entry to All Juniors not older than 15 years on the day

Stewarded by the Commercial Sac Withernsea

Entry Strictly Limited to 100 Anglers

Essential Pre- Booking of Names tp Paul Jefferrson, 46 Beech Avenue, Garden Village, Hull

Tel :01482326814

paulandjenny@paulandjenny.karoo.co.uk

IT IS PREFERRED THAT ALL ANGLERS BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT

Fishing times 10:00 hrs to 16:00hrs
Scales down at 17:00Hrs

High Water 16:15pm and 5.50 meters at Bridlington

Entry £10 all Seniors :  £5 Juniors

Tickets available either on the day from 07:30 am at NorthField and
Pre entry at  local Tackle Shops from Mid October

Postal tickets will be available nearer to the event
Further info contact Paul Jefferson 01482 326814
paulandjenny@paulandjenny.karoo.co.uk

Hi There,

My name is Phill Dale I moved to Skarnsundet Fjordsenter in May 2008 to work as an assistant site manager to Klaas Jan Jonkman who owns and runs the sea fishing resort! Been from East Yorkshire I am a keen shore angler fishing from the cliffs of Flamborogh to the beaches on the Holderness coast!

When I was given the opportunity to work in Norway I could see the potential for shore fishing so I started looking round for marks that could produce fish, digging my own bait and learning what I could from the locals and my boss! The problem is that shore fishing with bait is not popular in Norway so it was down to experience and luck to find the fish! As I started to look for the marks I was catching good bags of cod, haddock whiting, dabs, dogfish, coalfish and ghost sharks!

The fishing was good during the summer but it became even better as the winter arrived at the end of September I had discovered 10 or more good marks, some producing fish over low water and some over high! Like any other angler it’s a dream to catch 10 or more cod in a 4 hour session with many bigger fish always there for the taking!!

I’ve had cod to 26 pound from the shore and lots of nice fish!! My guests have caught shore cod upto 50 pounds (Yes 50 pounds) so the potential here is truly awesome Its mainly cod that I fish for but there are plenty of other species on offer.

The scenary in this part of Norway is also spectacular especially in the winter months and fishing under the Northen light is an experience of its own!

With skarnsundet been a popular boat fishing venue throughout the summer months we have all the facilities to offer shore fishing holidays during the summer and winter season!! This is our first year offering the shore fishing holidays so I would like to get anglers over here to help me discover more marks and learn more about the ones, which I have discovered!!

I have maps to all the local marks and I will take the guests fishing to all the best places!! We also have a small tackle shop on site were you can buy bait and equipment!!

To read more of Phils posts to the site, please keep an eye on his blog section here.

The holidays start from £25 pp per night for a modern self contained apartment!

Have a look at our website www.skarnsundet.com and my Diary section!

Now into our second year in Norway, the fish continue to get bigger. The cod above weighed 49lbs and was taken by a group of shore anglers visiting us in February 2010

If you need any info on the holidays please email me phill.dale@hotmail.co.uk

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The Reckitt’s sea fishing club is run on a two league system, the Premier League and the Super League.

The Super League consists of 26 members (variable, depending on the size of club membership) who have been promoted from the Premier League.

All new members start off in the Premier League regardless of reputation/ability and the anglers at the top of the league at the end of the season are promoted to the Super league, the anglers at the bottom of the Super league are demoted (again, the number promoted/demoted is dependant on the size of the club)

We are based at The Haven Arms Hotel in Hedon where we meet on match day, register, pay our pools money and set off at the designated time to a venue of our own choosing.

After the match we return to the Haven Arms for the “weigh in” where food is laid on by the Landlady, and very nice it is too.

All matches, with the exception of the four summer matches, are “rovers”

Joining fee for the current season was £20.00 (before the season started). A discount may apply (at the discretion of the committee) for those wishing to join late.

We have a Presentation evening after the summer matches have finished and before the winter season begins. This usually takes the form of a Buffet meal at the haven arms and is a good night out.

A competitive yet friendly club which I have enjoyed fishing with for the past 3 years.

If you require any further information about the club, please feel free to send Graham a personal message in our fishing forum.
If you want to learn more about the Reckitts sea fishing club or follow the results then please visit the Reckitts Sea Angling Club section in the fishing forum.

This article has been written by forum member Graham.

When targeting Thornback Rays (aka – skate) in the summer months, the best fishing sessions usually follow a period of calm seas. This type of fishing usually picks up significantly after the sea has been flat for at least 3 days.
The best places are usually around sandbanks and I have personally had some success in the areas of Grimston, Aldboro and East Newton.

Rigs & Bait For Thornback Ray Fishing

Amongst the best rigs are up and over pulley pennel made up with 2/0 hooks consisting of a trace about 5ft long.
The best baits for skate include sandeel and squid. The best way to present this cocktail would be a sandeel with a thin strip of squid along the belly of the sandeel and whipped with bait cotton to prevent the sand eels belly bursting open.
you then need to cut off the head and tail of the sandeel to help release the scent.

Remember To Be Patient When Ray Fishing

Once you have baited up you need to cast out to the sandbank…. and then wait. Remember skate can be very annoying especially when you first target them. A lot of anglers make the mistake of striking too early, the golden rule is to just sit on your hands and wait.
Rays tend to hover over the bait for quite some time, and whilst they are doing this, all you get are little twitches on your rod tip.
Eventually they will just pull the tip down in one full arc. At this point can gently wind into the fish. Take your time but don’t stop winding because if you do they will hug the bottom and make it very difficult to get them in.

Hopefully there is enough advice here for you to be able to successfully target skate on the Holderness coast. Should you need any more help, advice and tips, or if you just want to discuss the subject of fishing for thornback rays then please head other to our fishing forum – http://holderness-coast-fishing.co.uk/forum/

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This article was written by Fran (aka White Rag Man) on the Holderness Fishing Forum.

Edited by Glenn Kilpatrick

Images by members of the Whitby & Holderness Fishing Forums

Steve Ace, Paul and Phetos joined us for a weeks summer shore fishing last week!! The guys had a fantastic week with the weather and some amazing fishing!! All the fishing was undertaken from land and around the skarnsundet area!! Plaice were the main target of the trip! Heres Phetos with a cracking 5 pounder, which took a juicy rag worm!!

The lads had an impresive list of species which included

cod to 13ib 11oz
Wolfish 7lb 3oz
haddock 5lb 3oz
Plaice 4lb 11oz
whiting 2lb 14oz
dabs 1lb 10oz

Along with Pollock, coalfish, ghost sharks and gurnards!!

Here is Steve with his Wolfish!!

Phil Dales Norway Sea Angling Gallery

Best Baits For Smothhounds

There is only really one bait to use for smoothhounds, and thats peeler crab. Fresh peelers are a top bait if avaialable, but frozen will do the job almost as well if fresh are in short supply. Many smoothhound anglers swear that rotting smelly peeler crabs are also excellent bait fro smoothies.

The Best Areas For Smoothhounds

By far the best area is the north Lincolnshire coast, where smoothhounds turn up in good numbers from early to mid June, most summers. Good fishing can be found at : Huttoft, Moggs Eye, Anderby Creek, And Chapel Point amongst other places.
Although there are many places in the country with a good run of smoothhounds, such as Southsea near Portsmouth, The Lincolnshire coast has to be one of the very best areas for smoothhounds in our region.

When To Fish

The best state of tide is up and over high water especially on a night time. Remember these fish tend to feed in packs so once you get 1 there often a few more about so have pre baited traces ready, so you can keep up with the action when it all kicks off.

Tackle For Smoothhound Fishing

A standard beach set up will work a treat for the smoothies. Any decent beach rod coupled with a 525/6500 size multiplier, or appropriate fixed spool reel will do the job. Aim to use 15lb mainline coupled with the appropriate strength of shock leader. Rigs should be a 2/0 pulley rig with half a crab whipped on and then cast out as far as can cast.

The bites are unmistakeable and when you hook into 1 you know about it they get often be as big as 15lb, but please remember to treat them gently and return all fish.
Some anglers wait all year for these fish to arrive in our waters, so when they do please treat them with care and respect to ensure they will be there for you to catch again and again in future years.

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Article By Fran (White Rag Man). with additions from Glenn Kilpatrick.

Edited by Glenn Kilpatrick

Pictures by members of the Whitby and Holderness fishing forums

For more information on this article please visit the Holderness Fishing Forum

Smoothhound topics in the forum.

Anyone who knows me will know that I despair when I hear the words “Health and Safety”. Not that I don’t believe in keeping ourselves safe whilst pursuing our beloved hobby, but rather because it reminds me of all the good things in life that it is now not so easy to do because of unnecessary red tape.

A beautiful summers evening afloat - What could be better ??

When I took up kayak fishing, almost 3 years ago now, I was pleased to be amongst a small group of anglers who wanted a new challenge from our fishing. My tutor on my first days kayak fishing was a local based long term kayaker Ken Oliver from Hull. Ken kept a close eye on me all that day as I paddled around the beautiful coastline of Flamborough. I can not begin to stress on you just how important it is to have the help of someone who knows what they are doing when you first take to the water. As already mentioned, I have a real dislike of health and safety zealots, but in the case of kayak fishing it really does pay to have someone knowledgeable point you in the right direction from the off.

In various parts of the world there are a multitude of laws, rules and regulations that you must adhere to before you can even set out on a kayak. In some US states you need to be licensed to use a kayak. In Australia you are legally obliged to adhere to strict safety rules or face prosecution if you don’t. Thankfully in the UK we still have the right to make personal choices about our safety and the degrees we need to go to in order to protect ourselves from harm. However, as your life depends on it it makes perfect sense to take safety very seriously when sea fishing from a kayak.

A Personal Flotation Device (PFD) IS Your Best Friend

In order to minimise risk and keep yourself safe when kayak fishing it is paramount that you have a means to stay afloat should you be unlucky enough to fall in the drink. Most kayak anglers wear a personal flotation device also known as a PFD

A PFD is slightly different to the everyday lifejackets that you see Yachters and the likes wearing. A PFD is often smaller, more lightweight and essentially will enable you to move about and remount your kayak should you fall into the sea. Most PFD’s are nicely designed to aid freedom of movement for paddling and swimming if your required to do so. PFD’s are rated depending on their buoyancy which is measured in Newtons. The higher the Newton rating the quicker you will come to the surface and the more support you will get whilst in the water.

There is a massive choice of PFD’s on todays market, and whilst it is not essential to spend the earth ( A cheep PFD will still keep you afloat) you do get what you pay for and the more expensive PFD’s are certainly more comfortable to wear. When you first practice remounting your kayak (It is a good idea to throw yourself in the water on a calm day close to the shore in order to practice remounting) you will notice that your PFD can actually ride up on your body. This is why it is essential to get one that is a good fit and to ensure you fasten all the necessary straps correctly.

Kayak And Angler Must Stay Together

On A beautiful summers evening with the sea as flat as glass and not a breath of wind it should be almost impossible to fall off a kayak. Indeed, so long as you take all the right precautions like watching the weather and wearing the correct gear you should never fear the sea. Conversely you should never become complacent and you must always have respect for your new environment. The picture below illustrates what happened to my mate Mike Marshall whilst bass fishing on top of a local reef. Even on the calmest of days the tide and shallow water can combine to make large waves capable of knocking you straight off your kayak.

Fortunately on this occasion Mikes Skill meant he rode out the wave and managed to stay afloat. However we could both quite easily have ended up in the water, and this is why it is essential that if you should come off your kayak you must have a means of staying close to the yak in order for you to be able to remount. Think about it, if you were unlucky enough to come off and find yourself separated from your kayak – what would you do ??? You would be up the proverbial creek without a paddle !!!

The use of a paddle leash could be your life saver in this situation. One end of the leash is attached to the paddle whilst the other is attached to the kayak. This way, should you be unlucky enough to come off the yak, just keep hold of the paddle and you will still be attached to the kayak via the paddle leash. Many anglers attach the leash to their PFD’s . However attaching them to the yak must be the way to go in terms of personal safety.

Dress For The Water

I have been fortunate enough to attend a kayak safety course run by Simon Everett. One of the core factors emphasised by Simon throughout the course, was the need to dress for the water. The seas around the UK are cold even in the height of summer, and spending any amount of time in there will quickly lead to hypothermia. It is therefore essential to dress for the worst case scenario.

In terms of kayak fishing clothing there appears to be 3 approaches. No one approach is significantly better than any other although a good quality dry suite would probably be the very best option. Some anglers also opt for a good quality wetsuit whilst others prefer the waders, belt and dry cag approach. There is a long and ongoing debate about the safety of wearing waders whilst afloat. I dont really want to get into it here, but I must admit that I have used this method for the past couple of years, I have been in the water, and am still here to tell the tale.

The amount of clothing options are immense and well beyond the scope of this short article. My advice to anyone starting kayaking is to get on the various websites and forums and research all aspects of the sport thoroughly. One of the best places to start is the Whitby Sea Anglers Forum which is home to a mass of experienced kayak anglers who are always willing to offer advice and take newbies under their wing. Just hit the following link to go there – http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/forum/index.php

A VHF Radio To Call For Help

In terms of kayak fishing safety, another essential item is some form of communication. Most kayak anglers prefer a hand held VHF radio. Such a device is preferable to a mobile phone as the radio will enable you to communicate direct with the local coastguard and any vessels close by who will be able to come to your assistance if you are in trouble.

Always make sure that you carry your radio about your person and not on your kayak. Some PFD’s come with pouches for your VHF. Should you not have such a pouch then you should consider putting your VHF in one of the aqua pack waterproof radio bags. This is not to keep your radio dry as you should purchase a fully waterproof one. The aqua pack has a draw string attached which will enable you to wear your radio around your neck. Please make sure you do not attach the radio to the kayak. Should you become seperated from the yak, you will then have no means of communication.

Other Essential Items For Kayak Fishing

The list of items you could consider taking with you when you go kayak fishing is endless. Above we have listed what we believe to be essential items. The list below also includes items you should consider taking with you in order to stay safe whilst on the water.

• Flares (Day and night double ended flares are very popular)
• A whistle is a great way to draw the attentions of other near by
• A compass (Ideal for navigation should the fog come down)
• A Knife (To cut yourself free if you become entangled in anything, such as rod leashes)
• Waterproof GPS (Useful for finding your way home, but never depend on it. The batteries may run out at anytime)

Oh Yeah – and don’t forget the rod and reel. Kayak fishing is fun, and around the UK caostline you have some of the best fishing available anywhere. Get out there and enjoy it !!!

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Article By Glenn Kilpatrick

If you feel the information given here is incorrect, or if you are able to add anything extra then please feel free to use the comments box below. We would love to hear from you !!!