There they were gone ?seems like we just got settled into what I enjoy most and they've gone ,smooth hounds.We seem to have lost them a bit earlier this year and I think this can only be attributed to the weather conditions.The clarity of the water over the past two year has deteriorated.Lack of tobacco juice in the water ,more easterlies?I know it has curtailed my diving I don't think its over fishing luckily these are not and hopefully wont be a target species.They seem to rotate in circles with some years being better than others.This year we have not had the bait fish[mackerel] in such numbers and consequently not seen a repeat of recent years tope catches.Im not a scientist but like all interested parties would like to know what affects our fishing,this is why I partake in the UK Shark tagging programe.some skippers don't want to partake saying the tags damage the fish?well the program is funded by the world wildlife fund and you cant get much better support than them .I don't like the tags and think there could be a better type of tag.But when I see the damage caused by some of the barbed hooks I have to question their reasoning .and of course some of the anglers who want to bang everything on the head including female hounds heavily in pup.We have again tagged over 100 smooth hounds and a few tope .I will shortly be contacting Ken collins who runs this program and hopefully give you some sought of feed back.What Now?well its back to skate,dog fish,baby tope,the odd eel and bass.We did see a lot of bird activity in the river Pm Sunday,we tried a few feathers and saw a lot of school bass .Whiting ?no not yet but wont be long and codling. this week Skate/dog fish/eels/bass/small hounds. Look possibly last of the hounds ? soorry cheers Dave weaving