Total Sea Fishing May 2005
Editorial
Welcome to the May issue of TSF. I’ve got to kick off by admitting that I was really disappointed with what happened at the 11th British Open Beach Champs this month. On the Saturday, one crazy angler from the southwest decided that he could get away with trying to weigh in a 6lb bass. The problem was, the bass had obviously been dead for three or more days, and was instantly turfed out of the competition, as was the angler involved!
To make the whole episode even more ridiculous, bass of this size and strain are so rare in the area that alarm bells started ringing as soon as word got out about the supposed capture. I really can’t see the point in trying to cheat in a competition. Okay, there’s a great deal of money involved, but is the risk of being humiliated and known throughout the land as an angling idiot really worth a couple of grand? I don’t think so.
I know many of you will want all the gory details, like the guy’s name and where he came from, but I have promised the club that he was chucked out of anonymity, to help the rest of the members save face! Apart from that little episode, the event was a huge success, as you will see from this month’s Daz Challenge on pages 66-71.
I hope you like the new-look mag. I’ve worked really hard putting together the best team of writers in the business, and you can expect some groundbreaking new features over the coming months from the entire TSF team.
So things are looking up. Spring is here and the summer species are already beginning to show around our shores. Stick with TSF and we’ll be showing you how, where and when you can get yourself in on some of the best sea fishing sport the
Until next month, go get your lines wet and good luck to you all.
6 Newsbreakers
Keep on top of the latest goings on with our monthly news round up.
8 Catch Reports
You’re an ugly bunch, but you’ve been bagging some serious specimens this month!
12 Hitting The Horizon
The latest results, plus some contacts and events for your diary.
14 Simply The Best
How does
20 Team Talk
With more than 200 years of sea fishing experience between them, the TSF team is ready to answer your questions. Fire at will!
26 Ben’s Beach
Meet the newest member of the team. Ex
33 Casting The
You won’t have seen a casting series like this before. Let Barney show you exactly how he blasts a lead over the 250-yard mark, step by step.
38 Testing Times 1
TSF puts the new sub-£200 Century G5 Supa-Sport rod through its paces.
42 Made In
John Findlay takes a tour of the Daiwa plant to see how they still manage to develop most of their rods in the
46 Testing Times 2
Shimano’s latest gem, the Aspire 130M, gets a thorough Barney Wright workout.
50 Tackle Talk
Daz checks out some new luggage from Greys and a bass fly rod from Fox this month.
52 On Your Marks
The TSF team heads east to Skegness and asks top local matchman Dean Sumner how he fishes a beach that has constantly changing features.
66 The Daz Challenge
The 11th British Open was a very close call for Daz this month. Find out how the team he put together fared this year.
Total Boat Fishing
78 Uptiding For Blondes
Editor Dave Barham explains how to have the ultimate thrill catching 20lb-plus rays with uptiding tactics.
86 Boat Test
Mike Thrussell gets to grips with the new Drago Olympus 540 this month.
99 Revved Up
Looking for a new outboard engine? This Yamaha F50 is the nuts!
101 Electronics
The Plastimo Navman VHF 7200 Radio and Raymarine DS400X Digital Fishfinder explained and reviewed, just for you.
104 Tackle Talk
Daz checks out the Shimano Beast Master clothing and a new bait knife from Mustad.
110 Trolling Around
TSF visits the jewel of the
117 Bully Boy Tactics
123 Tide Table
124 Skipper’s Journal
This month Jim O’Donnell explains what weather fronts are, and how they affect our fishing.
130 Bird’s Eye View
David Bird takes a rather satirical look at how we can ensure ‘exotic’ fishing on our doorstep in years to come.
Competition
75 Shimano Aspire Rod Competition
We’ve got three of these fantastic Shimano Aspire 130M beach rods to give away in this month’s easy-to-enter competition, and each one is worth £264.99!
72 Subscriptions
