In reply to Post #1
Certainly worth trying Glucosamine Hydrochloride and Chondroitin, it's worked wonders for my Dad..He has.gone from struggling to walk from one end to the other on the bowles green to playing all day. It needs to be the HCl.version, not the cheaper sulphate for the supermarket.
Healthspan website is a decent source.

The korum accessory chair is worth a look, can be set with seat high and straight, also plenty of tray options to avoid bending down.

For the last few years I have used Nash Gazebo as a bivvy when on french trips, with some adjustable height tables. Being able to stand and do things at "normal" height makes life so.much easier, but obviously needs biggish swims.

In reply to Post #1
80 yards with 17lb x line on my ultegra's 5500 is ok, easier with 14000's

Keep the line clean, fluorocarbon seams more prone to collecting debris to me.
Not sure why that should be, but I clean it every couple of casts and at end of session.

In reply to Post #8
I have one of these and it's as close to perfect fishing radio is I could want.

Good reception, compact, good battery life, lovely sony sound.

Are they really forcing other shops out of business? Or simply buying up what others don't want to buy and giving a retirement option for owners that doesn't exist elsewhere.

AD paid £1.1m for Eric's, what independent person is going to pay that sort of money? If "Dave" from down the road has a spare £1m in his pocket, he is unlikely to buy a tackle shop.

That's the thing when you want to sell a successful business, your buyer list is very small. Realistically it's only those on the procurement trail that will buy you.

I imagine all who have sold to AD are quite happy.

In reply to Post #1
I have Penn battle 3's in 6000 size. The power, build quality and drag are leagues ahead of my ultegras and aero Baitrunners.

The 6000 has max drag of 25lb, thats some serious power for a small reel, I don't doubt it could do it either. I regularly fish with them on 10lb (measured) drag setting and it ticks smoothly and linear. 1/2 turn seams.to be around 2lb,maybe bit quicker to the higher settings.but I doubt I would get anywhere near that when carping.

In reply to Post #5
I'm on the East Anglian Coast, for much of the year the sea is thick with whiting. Not a target fish but providing plenty of food for other species. Most people trot out the line that whiting are a **** bait, but when there are millions in the sea around you it's daft not to fish with them. Match the hatch and all that.

My fishing is generally centred around smoothounds, thornbacks, bass and tope. On the right tides and the right marks the fishing can be spectacular. But like most fishing you have to all the pieces joined up including bait.

I speak to a lot of anglers who think that a bag of squid or a few lug is all they need and then say theres no fish if they blank. On my last smoothound trip, I had 17 fish over 4 rods, only one fish fell to squid the others on the going bait for the area. I have seen that bait take 20 fish to one angler, while a charter boat 100 yards away caught 3 between 8 anglers on the same tide.

Thornbacks are now catchable all year round, from dinner plate size up to 5-6lb but unless fishing the right tide, or part of it and with small fish or rag baits you wouldn't know they are there. I am convinced wind farms are helping by providing no go nursery areas, so the juvenile fish aren't getting chewed up by beam trawlers. There are 20lb blonde rays and spurdogs, but they are mark specific and short window, miss that because of weather or work and it might be a year before another chance.

Most reefs and breakwaters are now producing wrasse, bream and a variety of mini species, but they won't be caught on a 4/0 and a lump lug, whip out the drop shot and all of a sudden, its dozen+ fish per day.

Sea fishing requires far more watercraft than any other fishing I have ever done, some marks only worth fishing for an hour or two on just a handful of tides a month. Miss them and the sea seams empty (or full of whiting). Then you have to be on the right bait, no point fishing worm when the crabs are moulting, but you have to have the crab, they have windows of availability, and everyone wants them at the same time. I might have 200 in my freezer at some points, so I have them ready for the time when I really need them.

But when you get it right and bag up on fish that you have found in millions of acres of water and have swam 100's miles to get there, the feeling is really hard to beat.

As for the bigger stuff I am looking for, I'll keep that to myself for now, but the East Coast has history of some very big fish, conditions are possibly now right for history to repeat itself.

In reply to Post #3
Have a look at the CHART program thats running with ABFT. It all catch and release sport fishing wise. No landing quota in this country..

I have 2 days booked soon.

As for the rarer uk sharks, Mako's already here, and more than one knowledgeable person say they have seen other headlines grabbing species. The big threshers seam to be more regularly caught as well.

I invested in a boat last year capable of exploring for different species, contrary to what media will.have you believe, the seas around the UK still.have plenty of fish biomass that attracts big predators and with warming seas extending ranges its a great time to be out there.

There are at least 5 species capable of 400lb plus to UK recreational boats

In reply to Post #3
Sure, what i meant was use a buoy for a live reference against a known water depth on your mooring rather than use tidal height charts, which are a just a prediction.

Unless you know the accurate differential between the mud under your hull and the chart datum point used its always going to be a guess, from what you describe sounds like you need to be as accurate as possible.

I think with creeks, bridges, etc that's the most accurate way as you can monitor tide height with a live reference. Wind direction, tide cycle, and a lot of other factors can effect a paper

Just look up the live tide height at your minimum operating depth and then you know what live tide height you need to be on your mooring. Then you don't need to do the charts or calc the live graph will give you what you need.

For example, regardless of what I calculate use tide predictions, rule of twelves, making allowance for wind direction in the North Sea. If I monitor the lowestoft buoy when I am out I know if the tide is above 2.2m then I need a bridge lift to get back to mooring as I won't have enough Air draft. Never fails, but can be quite a bit earlier or later than I expected based on charts.

Once you know what your minimum working tide height is on the live buoy then you can plan your trip around that just by looking at the tide graph. For me I can just draw a line at 2.2m through the graph, the time above that line is when I need to be at sea, the time under the graph is when I can come in. For you would be the other way around.

The shape of the live graph on that link will also give you an idea of speed of tide and allow you to estimate when you think you need to make a move home.

Hope I have got that across better this time.

In reply to Post #1
Charts are all well and good but In my experience better to go by actuals for your situation.

Find your nearest tidal buoy on UK National Tide Gauge Network https://www.ntslf.org/data/uk-network-real-time and take an actual depth reading under your hull at a certain tide reading on gauge. What ever the difference is, you can adjust the live gauge reading to know the depth in your creak.

For example if the buoy reads 5m and you measure 1m under hull, you will have water under hull provided the buoy reads 4m or higher.

The graphic on the Network, saves you needing to get the calculator out you can do it by eye.

I use this very similar in reverse to work out air draft under a bridge to get out of my harbour. It works well as long as no local environmental factors affect the tide between gauge and mooring.

In reply to Post #1
I have spent a lot of winters fishing in open boats, and wouldn't buy anything fishing branded.

Have a look at Offshore sailing gear, diving thermals and REAL (not fashion) mountain gear.

Those gear manufacturers make "life support" clothing, failure in through real extreme conditions costs lives, so manufacturers tend not to skimp on quality or durability.