First Forum Trolling Fishing Competition - 12th July

Gazzetta · July 12, 2008, 21:53:36 CET

Already waiting for your clip and pics John !!

Chris

skip · July 13, 2008, 08:49:36 CET

Benri, the center rigger is mounted high up in the center to put that line far back and above down the center, and if you have place to mount one, it's a great additional rod. I think you may have been looking at Ghedida but I could be wrong. What type of boat was it etc?

Well done again to the two guys out, DJS you have impressed us all

DJS · July 13, 2008, 09:51:48 CET

It was a great day out yesterday, weather was better than forecast and it was nice to keep in constant touch with Jonathan on board The Gaffer for ongoing catch reports.

The alungi have moved in fairly close now so we didn't need to travel out that far to get to the fishing hotspots. After a slow start, we had quite a few double and treble strikes after 9am which were much easier to manage this time compared with last week when I was out on my own. In fact, we only lost one fish this time near the boat and unfortunately one of my favourite lures which I had badly tied up in the dark the night before.

I have never seen anyone gaff fish as effectively as my friend Mario, every time without fail straight through the eye or the gill, certainly put me to shame! He also saw a very large shiney fish crossing on the surface behind but not interested in our lures which was probably a sizeable sailfish.

Finished up with 13 at the end of the day plus one that jumped out of the boat back into the water. We had two in the region of 10kg and the rest between 4kgs and 8kgs.

Headed back before midday at 6 knots all the way to Msida due to engine problems. I think my plugs were fowled like Skips due to the low speed trolling - will check them today.

Look forward to next year's event.

Dave

PS - Good luck for The Gaffer team in today's all clubs competition.

Gazzetta · July 13, 2008, 10:24:33 CET

The All Clubs Competition should be done next sunday if the weather is good.

Chris

camkev · July 13, 2008, 12:10:22 CET

Hi skip,No that wasn't the Ghedida.The boat was a Trophy model i think.I've seen it on some charters as well.I saw it close to hofriet while he was going back in.If it's the same boat!!

skip · July 13, 2008, 14:55:00 CET

Probably Capt. Chris's boat then of Fishing Mania Charters, though didn't realise he ran so many rods!

Thanks for the report Dave and well done. We'll have to sort out some token goodies for you and your crew for the win!

Hope you managed to take some nice pictures and will get them uploaded for us all to see and enjoy. I was reading that Direct Injection engines aren't supposed to foul their plugs unlike 2 strokes! But read in another forum that you're not supposed to use the engine for extended trolling at constant low rpm's when running in as the engine is set to run rich you then foul the plugs!

The_Gaffer · July 14, 2008, 09:31:57 CET

This is my take on Saturday's fishing trip:

We had our lines in the sea at about 6.10am, and 10 minutes later, the middle rod was screaming out line. I hadn't even deployed all lines into the sea, but that 1st ridge is a killer early in the morning. The honours were left to Fr. Charles Tabone to reel in his 1st Alunga catch. The fish put up a good fight, it was in the 9kgs range. We continued to follow set points and about 45minutes later, we were hooked up again. I then turned the boat in a SSE direction since we came across a surface longline. The plan was to head down to where there are 3 large ridges and troll along those lines there. We had about 3 strikes but no hookups. By 10.30am it became evident that alungi were not anywhere near us, so since jonathan had been keeping in touch with DJS, we headed back up towards the 1st ridge near filfla. As we approached, we could see alot of activity and baitfish on the Fishfinder, and no sooner had we come in range of DJS, that the fishfinder alarm sounded with the depth indicator marking the speedy approach to the surface of a moving target at great speed. In an instant, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, and the middle rod creamed out line. Simultaneously, the outriggered rod also hooked up, so, double hookup. We managed to land one, and lost the other just as we were trying to gaff it. For the next hour, this sequence continued, with the fishfinder sounding the alarm, a fast reduction of the depth indicator, and reels screaming. In that hour, we managed six from 8 strikes, and we could also witness DJS fighting fish as well.
Then, the engine pitch changed, and I immediately noticed that we were in a situation were the engine was starved of fuel. One glance at the Racor filter was enough to convince us that we had fouled up the fuel filter. We deliberated for some time whether to stop the engine there and then and try and clean the filter, since we could only manage 6 knts beofre the engine stutters and bellows black smoke. I decided to stop, clean and head in. A good 20minutes later we managed to clean the racor filter, start up and head in. As we approached the Grand habour, the engine played up again, only this time I decided to hang in, reduce speed, and pray we might make port. I wasn't the only one praying. Our silent hero, Fr. Charles, was in direct communication with our Maker, (he has a direct line, aptly called the Divine Intervention) and we did mange to make it in and dock at our pontoon. By that time, the filter was so clogged we actually had lost all power except for a 2-3knt speed.
All in all, that was our day. Just like a ride on a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs, and thrills in the middle.

benri · July 14, 2008, 10:11:51 CET

Great report The_Gaffer! Pity that you had trouble with the engine as it spoils the fun! Anyway, just think about the hook ups..... Well done!

skip · July 14, 2008, 10:27:52 CET

Joe, thanks for the report, we talked abit about the engine problems and thank your lucky stars or star (Fr. Charles) that you made it in safely as I don't think many of us on the forum would be able to tow you, maybe the Kaptan Sway's with their twin engines.

Good to hear how your fishing went. Did you guys weigh your fish and see who had the biggest one??

The_Gaffer · July 14, 2008, 11:36:23 CET

No sorry, didn't even think of weighing in any fish. However, 7 alungi together weighed in at 38kgs. My main concern was how on earth could a new racor filter get clogged up after the 4th outing in the season. I have boiled it down to two options. I either took on some fouled up diesel early in the morning when I filled up, or the sludge had been lying in the bottom and somehow got sucked up through the intake line. This latter reason is somewhat remote to follow since the previous Saturday I had been out in a F4 NW wind and we had no trouble. So the pitching and rolling of the boat did not affect the diesel tank. If there was sludge present in the tank, then that would have been the day it should have been affected. Saturday was fairly calm, with slight pitching and rolling due to the swell. I am more inclided to beleive that we took on some fouled up diesel, but will confirm on Friday when I empty the fuel tank. I intend to empty the fuel tank into 35ltr tanks, I have about 120ltrs of fuel on board at the moment, passing all the fuel through a filter fitted to the funnel. If sludge is present, then it will get trapped in the filter positioned inside the funnel. I have to do this anyway, as I cannot risk not knowing what condition the fuel is at the moment.

skip · July 14, 2008, 11:54:08 CET

Good idea Joe, just make sure to treat that fuel before you put it back into your tanks if you plan to re-use it. Check out Fuel Set by Liquid Engineering, imported by S&D Yachts

The_Gaffer · July 14, 2008, 12:04:20 CET

For sure I will treat it. My aim is to pick up and pump all the diesel present in the fuel tank from the bottom of the tank. Might as well pass all the diesel present in the tank through the filter, gives me peace of mind. Also, I will be carrying 2 spare racor filters from now on, just in case it happens again. Imagine being somewhere 35-40kmiles out, and something like that happens again. No use having a 16,000 Euro engine conked out because of a 10Euro clogged up filter!!!!

fishfinder · July 14, 2008, 12:04:33 CET

Hello Gaffer,

just read about your trouble with the Fuel and I can say that it happened to me with the petrol too and my case was worst cause the dirt passed even the Racor filter and the outboard filter and it end up in the fuel injectors. Once that you clean the fuel and inspect the tank make sure you flush the fuel pipes as well or replace them cause in my case dirt was still stucked in the pipes as well.

Good luck and hope you'll get it fixed without any problems.

Please filter all the fuel before you fill in your boats cause out there you can't pull to side and wait for the towing:)

skip · July 14, 2008, 14:33:04 CET

Heard you can buy a funnel that has a special filter which is also supposed to trap water in case it's present when pumping in. Don't think it costs alot, believe the funnel is yellow??? Can anyone confirm.

The_Gaffer · July 14, 2008, 15:13:04 CET

I'll be using a home-made filter spread over the top of the funnel. You basically get a pair of your wife's/partner's old tights, and spread it over the top of the funnel. That way, all water, sludge and dirt are caught in the tights, and presto...you have a filter which costs you zilg!!