TALKING POINT: FISHERMAN'S TALES
I'm not bad at judging the weights of fish just by looking at them. That doesn't mean to the ounce, but I can guess a cod or bass weighs about 5lbs and won't be far out. I manage the same with tope and even porbeagle sharks, and will be within a few pounds with big fish. Many of you will be able to judge fish weights accurately as well. It just comes with experience.

I used to think charter skippers were good judges of fish weights too. To be fair, most are. It figures they should be as they are hopefully landing fish most days for their anglers. Some though, seem intent on telling porkies. We keep seeing photos of anglers holding up fish like tope quoted as being in excess of 70lbs, even 80lbs plus, with their arms held out at length? Are these guys superhuman or what?

Remember the old bags of cement? They used to weigh 55lbs. Average blokes like me could just about pick them up to waist height for carrying short distances. No way could I hold a 55lb weight at arms length for any length of time at all. Yet, here we have average lads holding these huge fish, arms outstretched straight at the camera with a grin on their face. Maybe I don't eat enough Weetabix, but somehow I think some skippers are wildly exaggerating the weights of these fish and the anglers are taking it as read.

I once caught a tope in excess of 80lbs on my own dinghy. I used the mathematical formula to length and girth this fish to estimate the weight. Three of us struggled to lift the fish aboard for weighing and tagging. I tried to lift the fish on my own so the lads with me could get a photo as I returned the fish to the water. I could barely lift the fish just off the deck for more than a couple of seconds, the weight was incredible, and it again needed the three of us to get the fish safely back over the gunnels and in to the water again.

You'll also remember in this column the photo of me with a 55lb shore tope I caught during the autumn of 2001. I could hold that fish across my body, fully supporting its weight, just for a few seconds while my mate took a photo as I returned the fish. It was that heavy my knees were shaking as I held it.

Sure some guys might hold a 50lb tope at arms length for a few seconds long enough for a photo. I've discussed this with a physical training instructor and weight lifter and he agrees 50lbs for a few seconds for the average guy is possible. Without proper weight training and technique though, no way ordinary blokes can lift and hold 60lbs plus at arms length.

Think about a car battery and try and hold that out in front of you. I weighed a Snowdon Heavy Duty 60AH car battery at 371/2 lbs, and it was heavy to lift. At arms length after just a few seconds I was already starting to wilt. That pretty much proved the weight lifters point that 50lbs is about as much as normal blokes could manage.

Let's have factual weights that stack up then, eh! Either by weighing fish if you must, or preferably using the maths formula, not some wild guess that just devalues what still is a fabulous fish to have caught.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Many headlamps now come armed as standard with halogen bulbs for extra power. Problem is many anglers don't realise that you must not touch the glass of a replacement new bulb with your fingers when replacing a blown bulb.

I'm told by electrically minded mates that the grease on your fingers will cause a hotspot on the bulbs glass that will quickly overheat the element and prematurely blow the bulb.

To fit a new bulb and maximise its life, use either your hanky, or a clean bit of cloth or tissue to grip the bulb and always make sure your fingers have no contact with the glass when securing the bulb in place.

SPRING BOAT BLONDE RAY TACTICS

Blonde ray start to move in to marks in the English Channel and the Bristol Channel during May, and also off the north coast of Anglesey. These are good fish running up to 30lbs, but the average is between 10 and 20lbs.

These rays like rising sandbanks. They sit on the downtide side feeding on food brought to them by the passing current. At slack water they move over the tops of the banks, feeding as they go, to the opposite side, again to face the current to feed. Blonde ray can also be found on the banks that build up either side of the depression around wrecks. Fishing the banks alongside wrecks is the best method off Anglesey.

It's actually better to anchor when targeting blonde ray, using the tide to trot the bait on lightish leads across the seabed downtide of the boat until the fish are found. Blonde ray are often found in small groups, so find one and you're almost sure to catch more.

The best baits are whole launce sandeel, long strips of mackerel or squid cut thinly, and fresh pout fillets. Big fish often take whole pout or mackerel fillets. That said, blonde ray often surprise by take much smaller baits like mackerel or squid strips intended for dabs. This is typically so when they move over the tops of the banks at slack water. You can increase the likelihood of a take by occasionally lifting the rod to pull the bait back towards you a few feet, then release the line again to let it tumble back.

They are attracted by flashing chrome spoons with coloured beads in front of the hook. Use tough hooks, preferably barbless like the Mustad Tope & Ray hook size 6/0 or 8/0. Hook traces need be no more than 30lb breaking strain and clear coloured, but do check after every fish for abrasion, as they have a rough mouth with small teeth on the lips.