No "If's or but's" Butts is best at bass!

Brighter than it has been as a result of the clocks going back yesterday, first light...

sees Nimrod (named after grandfather) the latest addition to the Rowse crabbing fleet nestling between the Harriet Eve and the Chris Tacha...

 though as yet the sign-writer has not yet had a chance to weave his magic over the old name numbers and name on the bow...

shades of the past when there were no market fridges to hold fish in and with only half the market space available two netters are waiting in landing berths for the market to be cleared of fish before putting their fish ashore...

despite a flurry of forklift action ferrying fish away...

meanwhile, in the market Cefas are busy collecting fish data from the Resurgan's landing...

with the single fridge full of mackerel landed by the handline fleet over the weekend...

and fish from two beam trawlers, five inshore trawlers and a handful of punts...

saw some solid landings of haddock...

plaice...

and more plaice...

but all of these landings were totally overshadowed by the fish from this boat - there are fishermen, good fishermen and the best fishermen and then there are the best fishermen that fish for bass - and the best of the bass fishermen in Newlyn has just returned to fishing... 

and let us remind ourselves that Steven 'Cod' Astley now goes to sea with two titanium legs after a suffering from sepsis...

so with over 70kg of bass on the market this morning - 20kg more than the next nearest boat its heartening to see he is still the master when it comes to chasing what Keith Floyd always referred to as, the "King of fish"......

while Dennis Pascoe aboard the punt Sprigs of Heather, probably the oldest working full time fisherman in Newlyn, hauled in a few big squid to go with his bass haul...

during the refurb, access is now kept clear at the western end of the market...

despite the hundreds of boxes being stacked across the market floor...

from the big netters like the Joy of Ladram...

and the Ajax...

long-dead fisherman Freddie Howis would often joke that conditions for working on the market were worse now then they were 100 years ago when, "they had donkeys and carts to move fish about"...

a sentiment no doubt shared by that happy market chappy, Roger as he drags another stack of boxes to the exit...

while this big pollack has been doused in tallies it seems...

Plugger on the Shiralee must have been well pleased with this trip of rays - big by any standards not just for a 10m inshore trawler...

as more light begins to crack the sky...

two of the hake netter Charisma's crew exchange pleasantries...

as they wait for the market to be cleared of fish so they can land and sort their fish for Tuesday's market...

since work began on the refurb half the market space has been lost which means that on days when big trips from beam trawlers, netters and the fleet of 30+ handliners coincide...

the market is pushed for space...

and with the morning light giving such stunning vistas...

it's now wonder you just have to take the time to record the moment...

while others work flat out to keep pace with the fish being bought...

the beam trawler, Resurgan made £31,000 last trip, will she beat that this morning...

all three Rowse boats picked out in the morning sun...

while the wreck-netter Gary M waits to sail again...

work is forging ahead and a new roof is on one end of the market...

out in the bay a handful of mackerel boats have found a biggish mackerel mark...

back in the Dry Dock, the new IoS supply ship, Mali Rose.

Monday morning and Newlyn wakes to see most a the fleet at sea, inshore fish on the market, and a visit from an old friend.

Early morning flypast...

over the still waters of the Bay...

while surprise number two was the fact that the keel was still firmly sat on the bottom at high water......

on the market this morning most of the fish was from the inshore trawler fleet apart for the big beam trawler Billy Rowney with a good shot of ray...

and the netter Britannia V and her haul of monk, turbot and ray...

and a a few boxes of hake to boost thew boy's earnings...

no doubt with only a handful of quality bass on the market from Cap'n Cod they will make top dollar this morning...

the beam trawlers always pick up a few bags of scallops in their travels...

unusually, the inshore trawlers seem to be catching more Cornish megrim soles these days, though this may be due to the fine weather allowing them to work that much further off in better trawling grounds...

all set for the scales, one more turbot...

gets logged in the book from the Myghal...

with five dredges a side......

the Neptune is more typical dredgers found working in the south west...

than the UK's largest scallop trawler which landed at four am this morning with a surprise on board...

young Will Gillespie (ex-Filadelfia) has the honour of skippering this giant of the scallop world...

as he surveys his domain from the huge wheelhouse...

the boat sports two sets of conveyors - which take the scallops and fish below decks to be picked out, sorted and stored in the fishroom - which also has a freezing capability - within minutes of the gear being hauled...

the gear needs constant attention...

from the crew in order to maximise catch rates...

as the boat moves around the coast of the UK in search of the right kind of grounds for scalloping...

greasing the running gear is hugely important as the boat hauls around 25-27 times a day, towing at the most for one hour at a time...

with a side of gear weighing every shackle, splice and link are checked on a regular basis...

film work continues for the ITV series currently being shot in Newlyn with some of the first summer mackerel being caught on camera by none other than Barry who featured on the cover of Salt of the Earth...

which captured in glorious black and white photographs the fishing community who make their living going out Through the Gaps every day...

Barry gets a chance to see himself in action as the mackerel came in over the rail...

and being a fisherman means he is always  keen to spot a better way if doing things...

then it's time to lend a hand getting the film gear ashore...

before he gives up objecting to being manhandled and allows himself to be mic'd up...

ready for the cameras to roll...

and the next piece of, 'a day in the life of Barry Ede' is captured on film...

while his fellow handliners wash down their boats and head back to sea.