January 2005

Sun Glasses  Bob Burchett has recently purchased some excellent prescription, polarised fishing glasses through the Web from Optilabs that he would recommend.  The ‘wrap-around’ frames, which are rubberised for lightness and comfort, also feature removable safety shields.  And the scratch resistant lens are available in three tints – an all-round grey, brown for high contract and yellow for ultra high contract.  The latter with its greater definition, as well as of use in this country, would be ideal for flats fishing.

They retail (as at time of writing – January 2005) at £104.95 for plain lens and £114.95 for prescription.  Although there is a small additional charge for bi-focal and vari-focal lens.  Postage is an extra £3.50.

Further details of their whole range of specialist sports glasses can be found on their web site – www.optilabs.com - or you can obtain further information by contacting them, in the UK, on 020 8686 5708.

SCBI - Club AGM   The AGM held at the Flower in Hand pub on Sunday, 16^th January was very well attended.  And it was particularly pleasing to see virtually all of those who had been awarded trophies there to collect them.  You can pick up details of trophy winners by clicking on this link – 2004 Trophies.

Although there will be a mailing to Club members within the next two weeks just let me summarise a few key points from the meeting.

As you’re aware, due to work pressure, Charles Reaves felt he had no option but to resign from the position of Club Secretary.  We have however managed to ‘re-shuffle’ responsibilities within the existing Committee members but, at the same time, introduce some ‘new blood’.  However it’s pleasing to note that Charles is prepared to stay on as a member of the General Committee.

So the composition of our new Committee is as follows:

Given the healthy state of our finances a motion was passed to hold them at existing levels - £25 for UK-based and £27.50 for international members.

A number of members, including several Committee members, were looking to organise a trip to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica during early/mid April.  

So let’s start with what it’s not.  It’s not one of those venues where you go to catch masses of Marlin, or big Tuna.  That said though they do turn up and April is prime time for Blue Marlin.  What it does offer though is an opportunity to catch lots of 80 to 100lb Sailfish on either fly or light tackle, good Dorado and a wealth of inshore species.  The prize of these are the Roosterfish and Cubera Snapper which can either be taken on livebaits or, perhaps more excitingly, on surface lures. 

Planning such trips in the past has often proved a nightmare for the organisers.  I speak from what was sometimes bitter experience!  However what we would propose doing in this case is to use a specialist agency to bring the trip together.

So the venue we’re looking at is Crocodile Bay Lodge on the Golfo Duce.  It has a range of boats available for operating both offshore and inshore.  And, to give you an indication of costs, a 7 night package based on 5 days fishing, either 2 to a boat on a 27 footer or 3 on a 33 footer with tuna tower would work out to about 3500$US – that, based on an exchange rate of 1.80, is around £1900.  To that there’s the transatlantic airfare, around £600, to consider and tips.

At this stage we're looking at solely expressions of interests.  Could you please register that by contact Dave West at Dave@scbi.org.uk.  Obviously if you are interest it's worth looking at the lodge's web site at www.crocodilebay.com.  Just to re-iterate a newletter, together with the Club's latest magazine, should be with you by the end of January.

A Great White Shark off Ullapool?  I know that these reports tend to be isolated - but over the years I've heard reports from South Devon and both North & South Cornwall.  In all cases though no one has been successful in photographing one.  And that's still the case!

Are they Great Whites though, or Porbeagles or even isolated Makos?  What gives this story, the fish off Ullapool, though some additional creditability was that it was sighted by a holidaying Marine Biologist last July.  And it was estimated at 16' in length and it nudged the boat.  Interesting?  There's a report that appears on the International Big Fish Network's web site.  You can view it by clicking here. 

Approaching 25 years ago now Rick Cotterell and I (Dave West) were fishing off the Manacles, out from Falmouth, Cornwall.  And in those days the very occasional Mako cropped up - although most of the time it was Blue Sharks.  Any way that afternoon we were quizzing the skipper, Robin Vinnicombe, as to what was the largest shark he'd ever seen.  Robin described a fish 'longer than his dingy' - more than 14 feet - 'with an eye like a compass binnacle'.  He'd got a group of holiday-makers out with him when they had a run.  The fish came to the side of Huntress and Robin found he could control it particularly easily.  It was particularly docile - 'just like a big dog'.  But he had no crewman on boat to assist and concerned that it hadn't fought Robin elected to poke its eye with the 'back bend' of the gaff.  It took off and they fought it for 3 1/2 hours before it finally bite through the 800lb braided cable trace.  So what was it?  Robin wouldn't venture a guess as to what it was.  I guess he was too concerned people might be-little him.  What do you think though?  

Flights to the Azores  SATA, the Portuguese airline, are to introduce a weekly service from Gatwick to Ponta del Garda on Sao Miguel from 5th April.  The service which will use an Airbus 320 offers Apex (high season) flights for what appears to be £249.  I say appears because that part of their web site was in Portuguese!  Onward flights from Ponta del Garda to Horta on Faial are 160 Euros.  At this stage I'm trying to establish from Sian Carter whether there is a connecting flight enable you to arrive on Faial without over-nighting on Sao Miguel.  If you're interested you can access SATA's site by clicking here.  Details of charters aboard Ian Carter's boat Xacara, a 36' Hatteras, can be found by clicking here.

Ascension Island  The Marlin fishing seems to have been some what slow during January.  Although Olaf, the crewman on SHY 3, has just reported seeing big shoals of Skipjack out wide.  These are usually the forerunners of the Marlin and other oceanic predators.

Of particular interest though were tales of two fish taken evening fishing on the mooring.  Firstly there was a 57lb Yellowfin taken fly fishing.  And interestingly that was beaten on a 20lb tippet in literally 15 minutes, without have to slip the mooring.  Then Olaf reported that Matthias on Harmattan had released an estimated 1000lb Six Gill Shark that bore a tag.  It was a fish that Olaf had earlier released from the same mark in 2003.  Then it was estimated at around 1000lbs also suggesting they're a slow growing species.