Monday 22 February 2010

Fishing off Old Lilstock Harbour, Somerset...



Three brave souls having a very stressful time fishing on Lilstock Beach yesterday - one man is clearly so stressed he's having to have a little lie-down! The old harbour at Lilstock is a favourite haunt for local sea-fishing/sea-angling fans, & Mike Thrussel of http://www.worldofseafishing.com/ has the following advice if you fancy a visit:



"SPECIES
Thornback rays can show throughout the year along with conger eels. May to July produces smoothound with sole showing from June through to September. Cod show from October, though it's usually November before they appear in any numbers. Whiting, pout and dogfish make it a good mixed bag venue.

BAITS
Ragworm is a top all round bait for the whiting, pout, dogs and rays, but it's essential to tip with squid for consistent catches. The sole take rag and lug. Peeler crab or hermit crab are best for the smoothound. For the winter cod tip big lug baits with rag or squid.

TACKLE & TACTICS
This area is generally patches of clean ground giving on to reefs and rough ground patches. Reef ground is evident to the left hand side and is very snaggy but can produce the better fish. Fish here from low water through high water and for two hours back. To the right side the ground is slightly easier to fish and produces well in southwest winds and can produce fish any time of tide. There is also a sewer pipe between the reefs which fishes well over high water.

With snaggy ground evident you'll need a tough 5-6oz beachcaster, and for long range a Penn 525 Mag loaded with 20lb line or maybe a 7000 sized reel and 25lb line, plus a 60lb shock leader.

Pulley rigs made from 60lb line are best here with a short 15-inch 35lb hook trace. Most anglers prefer a two-hook pennel rig using Viking pattern hooks size 4/0 for the cod and rays, but up the hook length to 80lbs when after the conger.

A three-hook flapper rig and size 2 Aberdeen's is the best choice for the smaller general species. Drop to size 6 Aberdeen's when after the sole."

Friday 19 February 2010

Skaiti - skaters raising money for Haiti

We thought this worthwhile project deserved a big mention - even if we just spread the word a tiny bit more...

http://roundupbout.blogspot.com/ are advertising Skaiti - a twenty-four hour fundraising event for the victims of the Haiti earthquakes.

"When? Saturday April 10th at noon
Where? Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Surrey - the famous Top Gear test track
Who? Anyone who skates - rollerskaters, inliners, longboarders and skateboarders

The aim is to raise as much money as possible to help the disaster relief in Haiti, whilst skating around the clock. All money raised will go to the charity Shelterbox, and it doesn't matter if you can't make all twenty-four hours of the event.

Camping is available on the site, and the runway lights will be switched on at night, so don't worry about skating in the dark!
All you have to do to take part, is raise your sponsorship, and turn up on the day! Please email the organisers at skaiti24@yahoo.co.uk to let them know that you'll be turning up.

If you'd rather raise your money online, it can be paid into JustGiving, check http://roundupbout.blogspot.com/ for details

Minimum sponsorship is £20 per person, but everyone who raises over £50 will be entered into a prize draw, so please make sure your sponsors who go to JustGiving to donate write YOUR NAMR against the donation.

Please spread the word, there's space on the track for 250 skaters."

Good luck to the organisers & the participants, it sounds like it will be one heck of an event!

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Photo of the week...

It's been a while since we've seen a photo worthy of posting for our little "Photo of the week" slot, but I think this one definitely qualifies!!



See http://williampedalson.blogspot.com/2010/02/rigors-of-winter.html for more...
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Friday 12 February 2010

RC Cars & dentistry...


More Funny Videos



Even if this is a set-up, you have just got to love that cat - I want it!

Happy weekend everyone!

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Monday 8 February 2010

Schaeffer Mclean, sponsored skater

It's been a little while since we've heard from 6 year old skate-legend Scheaffer Mclean & his Mum Eve - & here's why...



It's not every Mum who'll build their (admittedly very cool & awesome) six year old their own skate-park on the drive... way to go Eve!!

Full Ceramic Bearings are here...

We are very excited... We've been talking about it for ages, but now they're actually here...
Our first two sizes of full ceramic bearings have just been delivered - HOORAY!!!!!!!!!


We are now the proud owners of 608 (8x22x7mm) & 626 (6x19x6mm) bearings - they're ideal for situations where you need amazing resistance to chemical corrosion, marine applications (salt-water can't touch these puppies!), applications that require completely non-magnetic bearings or electrically insulated bearings. They are composed of Zirconia rings & balls & have a hardwearing PEEK cage, see below:



They're not so good for high speeds or loads, any kind of shock loads (they're too brittle) or any temperature over 260 degrees centigrade - but that's high enough for most of us to get a decent tan ;0) . For those of your who need additional temperature ranges, we can order in full-complement bearings to cope with temperatures in excess of 800 degrees centigrade. We'll hopefully be introducing a wider range in the next few months, together with some hybrid ceramic bearings (steel rings & ceramic ball) for applications requiring higher speeds & loads.

Watch this space!
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Tuesday 2 February 2010

Fishing Magazine...





From the author of http://sleepinginthedirt.blogspot.com/ , it is a virtual magazine full of gorgeous fishing photos & general artistic loveliness. For a first ever issue, the magazine is a real winner - can't wait to see issue number 2!!


Plastic Bearings...





You're hearing it here first! We're increasing our range of miniature plastic bearings to include even smaller sizes.

Chris can tell you a bit more about what they're used for:

"Bearings made from plastic/acetal resin (AC) with balls made from 316 stainless steel or glass are more corrosion resistant. They will however, corrode in the prescence of certain chemicals for which made-to-order polyethylene or polypropylene bearings with glass balls may be a better choice. These are generally termed as "plastic" bearings and like 316 stainless steel bearings, are not suitable for anything other than low loads and low speeds and should not be used in temperatures of greater than 90C. These types are also low precision so not suitable for instrument use.


The smaller bearings are not usually available in these synthetic materials, so we're really pleased to have been able to extend our range, with sizes now starting from just 3mm bore!

Plastic bearings are manufactured with plastic (acetal resin) rings & balls and 316 grade stainless (316 suffix) or glass balls (GL suffix) for use as corrosion resistant bearings or non magnetic bearings (we can supply to order plastic bearings with polyethylene rings and glass balls for more corrosive environments). All plastic bearings are only suitable for low loads and low speeds and should not be used in temperatures greater than 90C.

We normally stock these open but they may also be supplied as ZRS with one acetal shield and one rubber seal. Plastic bearings are not made to the same tolerances as steel bearings. Normal inner and outer ring tolerances on these bearings are +/- 0.05mm. Other sizes of plastic bearings are available but may be subject to minimum order quantities."

For details of our current range, please visit http://www.smbbearings.com/Framesets/Plastic_Frame.htm. As new bearings arrive, we'll update this page with further details.