Posts tagged: brighton

Another Trip For Squid

By , 6 May, 2013 13:13

Picture of sunny morning at Brighton MarinaI was determined to bag some more squid, so with that in mind, I headed off to Brighton Marina on Friday morning, nice and early. Got onto the East arm at about 7am and it was virtually deserted. Absolutely beautiful morning, bright sunshine, no wind, flat calm, clear sea – perfect. I was on a dropping tide but decided to start in bay 1 with the intention of moving up to the higher numbers as the tide fell.

Standard set up of a sliding float rig with TronixPro squid jig at the end of the hook length. I plumbed the depth to make sure the jig was settling just right and then had the first proper cast of the morning – well, more of a gentle under arm lob really, putting the float out at about ten yards out.

Picture of lure caught squidI had a quick coffee then returned to the rod to see what the drift was like. The float had come in closer, so went for another lob. As I retrieved the gear, the rod tip suddenly dipped and the line went taught. A squid had taken the jig as it was rising and was soon on the deck.

I quickly put the float back out and then tended to the catch. Same as the other day, a relatively small one compared to what I’ve normally had off the arm. Would still make a decent lunch though, so it was quickly dispatched and tucked away.

The rest of the morning was slow, I mean really slow, no more interest shown in the jig, even after having moved up to higher bays. Looked like they’d all done a runner and disappeared. I gave it until around mid day and then decided I was on to a loser for the day, plus I needed time to get cleaned up and ready for work that evening anyway, so packed it all in and headed off home.

Lovely day to be out, I just love those early mornings when it’s dead quiet before the masses turn up and you have the place to yourself and pretty much go where you want. I had thought about going today but having been to the marina on previous bank holiday Mondays, I decided I couldn’t be arsed fishing elbow to elbow with the inevitable tinsel chucking. Besides which, work beckons anyway, so it was pretty much a no go anyway.

Squid Hunt With Alex

PAlex striking a poseAfter a minor success at the squid competition, I thought I’d make use of the decent weather and take Alex along for a shot at the squid. So we were up early the next day and shot off to Brighton Marina before the crowds descended. We were on the East arm by about 8am and shortly after, the float was in the water.

I’d set up a 9′ sea spinning rod with a 5000 size baitrunner for Alex and this seemed a perfect match for him, nice and light, easily controlled but with enough strength to handle a squid.

It was a glorious morning, bright sunshine, clear water and no wind. It would have been perfect apart from the fact we were on a very low tide and there was hardly any depth at the spot I wanted, so aimed for a higher bay but even then, we would have a wait until there was sufficient depth to fish.

I set up the gear and after a few short refresher lessons on casting and explaining that it was different from casting off the beach, Alex set about with gusto. There were the odd misfires but on the whole, he did pretty well and was soon into his stride.

After a couple of hours, the breeze began to pick up a bit and it was soon proving difficult for Alex to cast into the wind. There had been no signs of interest on the jig, so I set another rod with the same sliding float rig, only with a size 2 hook replacing the jig. I baited with small slivers of mackerel and had that one out in the water too.

Due to lack of action, impatience was setting in and Alex found new activities to amuse himself – cutting up mackerel into small strips. Surprisingly, his knife skills are pretty damn good and so he proved to be an excellent bait provider. In between doing that, made numerous runs back to the cafe to obtain snacks and drinks.I think the most widely used terms that morning were “Do you need another drink?”, “Can I get you anything from the cafe?”

It soon began too feel like a hopeless mission on the squid front and nothing was showing any interest in the floated bait either. We decided it would be better to pack up and go home to cook the squid I’d caught the previous day.

All in all, a nice to day to be out and although nothing was caught, Alex at least had an opportunity to practice his casting. The bait cutting should see him in fine form if he ever decides he wants to be a pathologist.

Squid Championship 2013

Well, eventually it happened, after previous postponement due to weather, the 6th. All England Squid Championship, a charity and fun day, raising funds for the R.N.L.I. got under way at Brighton Marina on Saturday 27th April. As usual, the event was organised by ‘Fishyrob’ and sponsored by George Cunningham of TronixPro. Thanks also to Dave at The Tackle Box for allowing the use of the arm for the event. I believe, in total, some sixty eight fools gathered at the East arm cafe, ready to hand over the entrance cash and draw lots as to who fished where.

In contrast to previous draws at this event, and against all the odds, I managed a low number and drew to fish at bay 4, so only a short walk away. I normally draw numbers so high, even Carol Vorderman would struggle to count that far.

And so it was I made the short distance to my slot and started tackling up – my usual set up, a 12′ 2½lbs carp rod, 5000 size bait runner reel and a simple sliding float rig with the TronixPro jig at the end of the hook length.

I was full of optimism, watching the float in anticipation just, waiting for it to gently slide under as a tentacled creature took the jig. Hmmm… the anticipation continued but not quite at the levels of earlier. The hours ticked by and it wasn’t until we were nearing the end of the competition when the first squid started coming aboard.

My high hopes and optimism were fading quicker quickly and I was staring at the prospect of a blank session. It was good to hear the shouts going up and seeing the squid coming in – at least it showed they were there – but not near my jig it would seem!

Picture of small lure caught squidI was into the last hour when I saw the float dip slightly before disappearing – first thoughts were that I was stuck in the weed but… there were signs of life on the other end. Rob kindly began netting the beast for me. I have to say, his attempt at humour almost had me taken in with his cry of “Sorry Vic, it’s gone, dropped off”. I very nearly let out a string of obscenities but in time, I saw my catch safely in the net.

It wasn’t huge and it certainly wasn’t in with a chance of the trophy but it had saved the blanked and would be extremely tasty for lunch the following day.

It wasn’t long before the shout went up that the competition was over and we all began the packing up, clearing up and trudging off the arm. I didn’t stay for the after comp knees up but opted to get home, shower and take a rest. The standing up for that length of time certainly do my back any favours.

Marina Flatties & Herring

By , 10 March, 2013 12:23

Picture of small herringIn a quest to up my species targets, I decided on a trip to Brighton Marina on Friday just gone to have a crack at crossing plaice and herring off the list.

I arrived on the east arm at about 8am to filthy weather, chucking it down with rain and just the slightest north easterly breeze. The arm was empty of people so I had the choice of where to pitch up, so I settled for bay 25 – one of my favourites.

I got setup, one rod with simple running ledger with blingy hook length to target plaice, the other rod with a small Sabiki string to get the herring.

Plaice rod was baited up with lug plus squid tipping and chucked out at distance. I then started working the sabikis but could only manage a few chucks at a time before having rest due to my back giving real grief.

I had the first herring at just after 9am which sadly, turned out to be the only one of the day.

Picture of plaiceThe first plaice came just after the herring, so that was both targets achieved in reasonably quick time.

The rain was relentless and a real pain in the arse, it wasn’t heavy, just that horrible persistent stuff. The breeze had started to drop had even stopped ruffling the surface of the flat calm sea.

Another two plaice were landed about an hour after the first one. It was turning into a tidy session considering i was now well into the ebbing tide and the sea was dropping quite quickly.

With no herring showing, I took the sabikis off and replaced them with a two hook flapper, baited with lug and squid. I stuck on a 2oz plain lead and chucked it as far as the floppy rod would allow.

Picture of plaiceAnother plaice landed which turned out to be the largest of the day at 34cm and a whisker under 1lb (13oz). It had hit both baits on the flapper and taken them well down (all had apart from one) and so was swiftly dispatched.

I was considering packing up as everything was getting soaked through and I had already accomplished what I had set out to do. I decided to stick it out anyway see how far I could go into the ebb and still nail a plaice.

At just on midday, I was slowly retrieving the flapper, hoping that the movement might trigger a response from a plaice as the static bait had long since stopped tempting them. Just few yards from the wall, the bait was nailed and soon, another plaice was landed.

It was around this time that I was joined by local guide and all round good bloke, Fishyrob. He was targetting the same as me but was going down using the artificial route to try and tempt the flatties out. By this time, we reckon they had all moved on with the dropping tide, as neither of us could manage any more.

Time was pushing on and I needed to be away sharpish – and so it was an extremely wet and happy Vic headeing off home to clean up and get ready for work. Now looking forward to the next session.

Mackerel Mayhem

By , 14 June, 2012 17:03

Picture of feeding mackerelHaving been given an order for some mackerel by the guys at work, I took the opportunity of a break in the weather to head off to Brighton Marina nice and early on Wednesday morning to bag a few. I arrived on the east arm at about 6.30 am just before high water, to find it nice and calm and the sun shining and as I walked along the top deck, I could hear the promising sound of mackerel boiling on the surface somewhere below.

I plonked down in about bay 18, I think it was, set up the feathering rod and began working the lures close in. Now the water was murky but mackerel were feeding – just not in the bit I was in! In fact it wasn’t until gone 7am and the top of the tide before they came in strong and then it was non-stop, they were everywhere, patches appearing all along the wall and further out too. Bloody gulls didn’t know which way to turn, flitting between the different shoals.

Picture of feeding mackerel shoalI took a bit of a break to try and get some photos but as is always – turn the camera one way and they show in the opposite direction. Anyway, I managed a few shots and a bit of video (Excuse the quality – haven’t done this for a while). If you enlarge the first picture (click on it), you can clearly see individual fish withing the shoal.

Picture of feeding mackerelBack to the rod but this time the light one and float gear; had some great fun hoiking them out one at a time instead of strings. Wasn’t long before I had a bucket full and plenty for the guys, the in-laws, friends and ourselves. If I was of a mind, I could easily have stayed and filled more buckets but just can’t see the point – having said that, I need to get down again soon and get some for the bait freezer which is empty!

Even as I left at about 10am, they were still shoaling in patches all along the wall, a great site to see. The thing that did surprise me was that apart from a couple of blokes fishing further round the bend, I was the only one there enjoying the sun and fish.

Looks like weather is breaking soon, so hopefully back to the beach during the evenings for some action.

 

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