Angling: Plain sailing for Buffey

WHEN Talke duo Derek Fowell and Julie Buffey went on a fishing trip to the Caribbean it ended up being an international contest against a party of Austrians.

And the English came out on top, with Julie topping the big fish catches with a super sailfin which was weighed in at more than 40lbs.

Derek and Julie were holidaying in the Dominican Republic when they decided to go on a charter trip out of the resort of Bavaro to hunt for some of the big game fish which inhabit the Caribbean.

Once aboard, they discovered they were sharing the trip with a trio of Austrian holidaymakers as they steamed 10 miles out to sea.

"It quickly became us against them," said Derek. "Lots of good humoured banter was flying about as we selected which rods we were to hit if they showed signs of a fish taking the baits or lures."

And the selection by the Talke twosome was spot on as Julie's rod was responsible for connecting with the monster sailfin.

The rod Derek picked also tempted a couple of large barracuda to make sure the unofficial "match" was over almost before it started.

"It was great to hear the encouragement of the Austrians for Julie as she struggled for 25 minutes to finally boat the sailfin. Then I went and caught the barracuda just to rub salt in their wounds," added Derek.

Try as they might, the Europeans were unable to catch a fish between them, bringing out a rendition of "Rule Britannia" as the boat sailed for home. "It was a great trip out with good company that joined in the fun," added Derek. "And Julie now knows what it is like to land a big fish ... and beat me into the bargain too."