Got out yesterday for the first time in ages, which was a much needed session, albeit brief. Although fishing is a bit pants at this time of year, I decided to have a bash anyway for some Herrings and maybe Plaice down at Brighton Marina. After picking up some Raworm and Lugworm from the Tackle Box, I headed for the East arm and got there at about 2.30pm, wich was just after high water. The sea was pretty calm and clearish with just a hint of colour. Weather-wise, there was just a very light Westerly breeze with an overcast cast sky threatening rain which never materialised, apart from a few drops.
Once there, I settled in at bay 30 and setup one rod with some micro sized Sabiki lures and another rod with a 2 hook flapper baited with the worms. The bait rod was cast out and I then set about the business of cast and retrieve with the lures.
For the period I was there, the bait rod remained static, with no indications of interest apart from the one knock which resulted in an 8″ Flounder, which had taken the bait after I changed over from a flapper to a running leger with a beaded up trace. There was no interest whatsoever on the Sabikis.
With nothing showing and the tide dropping away, I gave up at about 6pm. The only upside is that no Rockling showed up, which can only be a good thing!
Had the first session for a couple of months and the first of 2010 on sunday out at Seaford beach. Loaded with some nice black lugworm and two boxes of squid, I arrived at around 6pm and started to unload the car. By the time I’d got all sorted and walked onto the beach, I couldn’t feel my fingers it was so bloody cold!
Undeterred, I trudged across the shingle and started to set up the rods. After the first was done, I had to have a short break to warm the hands and fingers up before doing the next one. Big baits were the order of the day to try and avoid any small Whiting and Rockling, so one rod sent out with legered DVice 3/0 hook crammed with lug and squid, second rod out with whole squid on 4/0 pennel rig. It was then a matter of keeping warm and waiting!
Although freezing to start with, later on, as cloud covercame over, it actually felt like it was warming a bit – so much so that I had to open the main zip on my ABU floaty suit as I was getting a bit too warm.
Fish wise, I ended up with a few Whiting and the dreaded Rockling ’slugs’ which still manaed to get themselves hooked on the worm baited 3/0’s. Not a great start to 2010 but at least it wasn’t a blank. May leave the beach for a while now as the Rockling seem to be in abundance and the cod having moved off before I could target them in earnest. Will now concentrate on the Herring at Brighton Marina if the seas clear out.
I Fished Seaford beach last night after work, from 9pm through until 4am. It was a brilliantly clear night which became cloudier later on, not a breath of wind but still quite chilly. There was very little movement in the water which had just a tinge of colour. I used a familiar setup, two rods – one with size 2, two hook paternoster baited with black lug and squid strip. The other rod, used a 3/0 pennel with whole squid relatively close in.
There were loads of Whiting from the off, with many double shots of small to medium fish on the lugworm/squid combo but some really decent sized ones of around the pound mark (with one in particular at 1lb 10oz) on the bigger baits. It was pretty frantic at times with both rods rattling and bouncing away with bites at the same time. I swear there must have been a carpet of the things as the rods were going virtually as soon as the lead hit the bottom. As the tide rose and approached peak, the bites dropped off until there was nothing happening at all. Having been reduced to just scraps of bait, I decided to call it a night and head for home safe in the knowledge that I had enough Whiting to keep Anna happy in the kitchen.
Ended the night with a dozen keepers which are now all cleaned, filleted and skinned and ready for Thai fish cakes and fish balls.
All in all, a cold but busy and enjoyable night.
Fished Seaford beach last night from about 9.30pm until 3am, near the Beachcomber. High water was at 1230ish.
On arrival, I saw a very lumpy sea with some large rollers and big wave dumps up onto the shingle. A Strong Westerly breeze was coming straight along the beach. The sky was overcast but with clear patches. Wind did die down later – as did the fishing.
Fished just one rod with legered DVice and alternating between big lug and squid baits. First couple of casts saw the wind hold the DVice in the air and push it back which meant it was landing down-tide, where it had difficulty gripping the seabed properly. To ensure proper gripping and bait placement, I walked up-tide, cast out, let bait settle and then walk back to the rest.
It was hard fishing and only had three Whiting before 10.30 and nothing until around high water when I missed the mother of all pull downs. How I missed it I don’t know because the rod was still bending while I picked it up and briefly felt a dull thudding at the other end before the dreaded slack line and no resistance – indicating fish off!
It was all dead then until just before I left when I retrieved my last cast and found one small unfortunate Whiting had been unlucky to hit my bait.
Anyway, that was it for the session. Crap fishing but I nice bracing night out.
I was tempted out into the wind and rain on Friday night to try and hunt out some Codling and Whiting down at Seaford beach. On arrival about an hour or so before low water, I saw that the sea was pretty lumpy with some good heavy wave action. I set up just East of the Beachcomber and used two rods – one legered DVice loaded with lugworm and squid cast at distance, the other, a legered 4/0 hook pennel rig with whole squid cast into the turmoil of the waves.
To cut a long story short, I fished until about 1am when I had to pack up due to running out of bait. The conditions had been ok, even if it was a bit a bit wet and windy. Although no Codling showed, there were enough Whiting to keep things busy; most being reasonable size, with two being good table size. The great majority of fish fell to the lugworm and squid cocktail at about 50-60 yards out but a few did take the whole squid in the surf.
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