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By Vic, 16 April, 2011 15:18

One of the wardens from Brighton Marina, Frank was celebrating his birthday by having a trip out on one of the local charter boats, ‘Lady of The Lake‘, skippered by John Barrow. I had been lucky enough to be invited out by him to join his party, consisting of his daughter, sons and friends, along with some indiviuals (sorry, I didn’t catch your names) and two additional crew, Alan and John(2),to make up a full complement. To say I was excited is an understatement, as it was my first trip for quite a few years and I was keen to venture back into the boat fishing scene.

We met up at The Tackle Box to stock up on any last minute items, after which, we were soon down by the boat loading up, making ready for the 7.30am departure. I have to say, Lady of The lake, a Tremlett 42, is a fantastic, sleek looking boat, is extremely roomy with a well set out deck and ample facilities. While we waited, we set up the rods to save time once at our destination. The basic tackle consisted of what is essentially a single hook paternoster with long flowing trace (sometimes known as a flying collar rig) and artificial lures such as sidewinders and shads.

Soon, engines were fired up and we set off out of the marina and headed to the chosen marks, which were to be deep water wrecks out in the channel. The tactic for the day was to drift and work the lures in front of and over these wrecks in the hunt for the cod and pollack which inhabit these rusting hulks. Frank’s target and a great way to make his birthday better was to get his first cod, in fact he had said that he “Didn’t mind catching chickens for the rest of the day, providing I get my cod”. So, fingers were firmly crossed – and that went for all of us!

As we left the marina, we motored out onto a flat calm sea, which was going to make the jouney a lot quicker and a lot more comfortable than you would get on bumpier water – Perfect conditions for a great day out.

Soon, the engines were opened up more to a good cruising speed and we headed for our first wreck which I believe was some 20 odd miles out. I took the opportunity to go over my kit and make sure everything was in order, with all knots nice and secure and extra traces and rigs made up ready in case of losses caused by getting getting caught up in the submerged ironwork.

The anticipation mounted as the engines throttled back and John began positioning the boat over the first wreck. Once the drift was established, the buzzer was sounded which meant we were safe to drop our lures down to the bottom. I felt the lead hit the seabed and then I began the slow retrieve, working the gear up and over the wreck, waiting for the tell-tale pull down on the rod and the weight and power of a fish crash diving after taking the lure. Sadly, the first drift produced nothing – or the next, or the one after that. Hmmm.. disappointment all round.

We headed off to another wreck and this produced similar results apart from a couple of pout. I had one tentative take with a fish briefly on before it was lost. We then headed off to another mark, where I had my first proper take and after getting it to the surface, I had my first codling of about 4lbs aboard – thing were looking up at last.

The next drift saw my gear caught up in the wreck, the line was quickly wrapped around a cleat by John and I waited for the drifting boat to break the line – damn, my first loss. I quickly retackled in time to catch the next drift, which produced nothing for me but I believe a couple of pout to the others.

The next drift saw me blank again but there was a shout from the other side of the boat and Frank’s long awaited cod was soon on the deck… and he was a very happy bunny.

Another couple of blank drifts and John decided to move onto another hulk which again produced zero results. Things were not looking good on the wreck front, so John asked Frank what he wanted to do (it was his day after all) – stick it out with the prospect of similar results, or move inshore and have a go for dabs and mackerel, so that at least some people went home with fish. Decison made, he motored back inshore and drifted over the ground just off the marina.

Tackle was changed – thanks Alan and John(2) for providing the lighter gear that I hadn’t taken with me. A spreader boom with beaded traces and size 2 hooks baited with lugworm were dropped over the side and before long, I had my first dab aboard – pity it fitted in the palm of my hand though! Things went very quiet and apart from a couple more undersize dabs and a couple of pin whiting, I had no more luck. The rest of the crew were bagging up on mackerel and Frank had a couple of lunker garfish. By 5pm, it was evident that we weren’t going to get anything decent, so it was time to had back into the marina and the end of the day.

Despite the lack of quality fish, it was a great day out with excellent company and great weather. Thanks again to Frank for the invite and to John and crew for helping out and making things run smoothly. I’ve now got the taste back for boat fishing, and am looking forward to making my next trip whenever that may be.

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By Vic, 31 January, 2011 22:44

Having not been able to make it to the World Dab Championship at Dungeness, organised on WSF, I consoled myself with a session at Seaford beach on Sunday. I arrived there at about 4.30pm about an hour so after low water and found a spot opposite West View that was reasonably easy to access – considering all the work that shingle shifters have been up to recently. I was going to fish up to and over the 9 pm high water period and a couple of hours down. Conditions were not ideal – bright sun, no wind, calm and clear sea. I wasn’t expecting anything really until dark but it was nice to be out.

Two rods, both with size 4 two hook flappers baited with lugworm which had been left to fester a bit until it was nice and sticky with a distinct aroma. Both were cast out, one at distance and one mid-range. I then set about waiting for the first knocks. I had to wait a while, in fact they didn’t start until about an hour and a half later when it was dark.

First fish was a small dab (the only one of the night), followed by the inevitable whiting, occasionally interrupted by rockling. It got so hectic, that I brought one rod in and just fished with one as I got fed up with cast one, retrieve one and so on.

I fished over high water and finally left at about 11.30pm with a tally of very many whiting, a couple of which were keepers. Anna’s blog will detail how they were done for lunch today. A thoroughly enjoyable session; no great fish but enjoyable just the same.

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By Vic, 27 January, 2011 09:43

I fished a ‘dab only’ small comp at Seaford beach yesterday with a few guys from WSF. Apparently there had been loads of dabs the previous day, so I was feeling lucky. We fished from 9.30am to 2.30pm opposite the Beachcomber.

Result?… feck all. Bloke to my right (Barry from DVice ) had a couple of dabs and a plaice and bloke to my left had dabs, flounders and whiting. It must have been like a bloody desert in front of me. I tried blinged traces, non-blinged, tried squid tipped lug and non-tipped. Varied ranges but nothing. As much as I stared at the rod tip, it remained motion-less for the duration.

Going to sulk now…………………………….

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By Vic, 22 January, 2011 14:06

After nearly three weeks of no fishing, I had to get out no – matter if I caught anything or not – I just wanted to get on the beach. So after finishing work, I shot home, loaded the car and headed for Seaford Beach armed with some freshly acquired lugworm from The Tackle Box. I arrived on the beach at about 8.15pm – two hours after low water – to a still night, clear sky and calm sea with just a whiff off a breeze coming from the back of the beach. The plan was to fish up and over the mid-night high water and maybe a couple of hours down.

First task was to pick an access spot that I could get down to get to the water. Environment Agency ‘Shingle shifters’ have been re-profiling the beach recently, overhauling the sea defences (old news item). The beach is virtually flat on the top at street level, suddenly dropping (almost vertical in places) around 8′ down on to the tidal part of the shingle. A word of advice here: If you’re planning on fishing the beach at night, either check your chosen spot out in daylight first and make sure you have adequate lighting and take care when wondering off towards the sea. It wouldn’t be too difficult to plunge down this abyss  if you’re not careful. The other thing to bear in mind is an escape route for when the tide gets up, this steep bank is very loose and could be bloody difficult to climb up if it’s one of the steeper parts.

Once on the beach, I set up two rods, both with size 4 two hook flappers which I baited with lug tipped off with this strips of squid. Both chucked out and I settled down to a coffee. It wasn’t long before the rod tips were rattling to the familiar whiting and sure enough whiting were the first fish to come ashore – really small ‘pins’. They weren’t in the frenzied amounts we had late last year but it was enough to keep busy. Had the first of the nights dabs at about 9.15 pm or so, not a huge size but at least it wasn’t a rockling (slug)! I had been thinking about the lack of slugs when – to put the mockers on it, the first one was landed within minutes.

There was a steady stream of small fish through the night, consisting of whiting, dabs and slugs. Just before mid-night I had a half decent 37cm whiting and then about an hour later, I had the first dogfish of the year. Things started to tail off after this and by 2.30, it had dried up completely which is just a s well as bait had run out.

Tally for the night was half a dozen dabs (two keepers by the fact they were gut hooked), dozens of ‘pin’ whiting one decent whiting, one lesser spotted dogfish and numerous slugs. Lovely night to be out and a few fish too, so I was well pleased. Still can’t wait for spring to come in and fishing in earnest can start.

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By Vic, 3 January, 2011 11:58

After a bit of a break over the Christmas and new year period, it was good to get out again, even if it wasn’t the best session ever. I’d decided on Seaford beach as the first venue of the year, so headed off and arrived at a spot near the Beachcomber at about half and hour after low water. There was no wind and the sea was mill pond calm with a bit of colour and quite a bit of foamy scum stuff on the surface. The plan was to fish the tide up to the 10pm high water to see what was about and get the first fish of the year.

I set up two rods, both with size 2 two hook flappers baited with lugworm tipped with squid. One was cast out at distance and the other mid-range. It wasn’t until 6pm that I had the first knock on the mid-range rod and on retrieval, it turned out to be a double shot of dab and whiting – they weren’t the biggest fish but they were the first of 2011, so was glad to start off the year by not blanking.

This year, I’ve joined in on a species hunt competition being run on one of the fishing forums that I haunt, so was happy to get a kick start on that one. It’s not a serious competition but does give an idea of what is caught in the various parts of the region and is a light hearted bit of rivalry between members, although there is a prize at the end of the year.

At about 6.30pm the mid-range rod trembled and quivered giving an indication of a bite that couldn’t be anything else other than ‘the fish whose name shall not be mentioned’ aka the rockling or ‘slug’. On retrieval, sure enough it was. Now I had to go through the embarrassing procedure of getting a picture for the species hunt. A quick check to make sure nobody was watching, then flash – picture done and fish returned and hopefully before being seen.

After that, it was a few more slugs, another dab and a couple of whiting. It really was quiet and without the frenetic whiting fests that were happening before the break. I think my next trips will probably be during daylight into early evening to target flatties further West along the beach. I might even have a crack down at the marina, as I hear that some herring are still about. This time of year is never really up to much, so it is a matter of scratching around for what you can get.