Comments (2)

By Vic, 26 July, 2010 16:45

I’ve been eager to carry on with my Launce trials for Bass at Seaford beach but was dealt a blow yesterday when I could only get smaller Sandeels. Not to be put off, I decided to go in the evening anyway, so armed with a couple of packs of frozen Sandeels and some lugworm, I headed off for Seaford.

I arrived at the Edinburgh Road parking area at about 7pm and walked over onto the beach to be greeted by a fresh Westerly wind, whipping up quite a lumpy sea with large breaking waves on the beach. I could already see rafts of weed in the nicely coloured water but it didn’t look too bad provided there wasn’t more of the damn stuff unseen lurking under the surface.

Fished two rods, one with size 4 two hook rig baited with lugworm, the other a long link running ledger with a 4/0 pennel rig with the Sandeel. The worms were sent out about 40 yards and although I didn’t expect much on the other rod during daylight, I cast it out anyway to see if anything was around.

Before it got dark, I had a small Gurnard and two schoolie Bass on the worm and nothing on the Sandeel. Once darkness fell, it was a Whiting fest on the worm – virtually a double shot of the bloody things every cast; all of them pins and nothing of any decent size.

It wasn’t until about two hours before high water that I had the first hit on the Bass rod – a huge pull down and screaming reel but I missed it whilst doing an impression of Billy Elliot as I tripped over the tripod. 10/10 for artistic impression but ‘nil point’ for results.

Had another take on the Bass rod about 20 minutes later and this time I connected and landed a plump Bass of about 2½lbs. Missed another take about 10 minutes later through inattentiveness and  that was it for the rest of the night.

By 11pm the wind had died, the sea calmed right down to a swell and it remained fishless until I packed up an hour after high water.

Comments (4)

By Vic, 12 July, 2010 10:58

I was thinking the other day that I haven’t fished Seaford Beach since January, so decided to have a go there last night to see what’s about. Not being able to rely on catching Mackerel there, I decided to continue my Launce (Sandeel) for Bass experiment. I had some left over lugworm as well and thought I’d use that up on a scratching rig.

When I got to the beach, it was about two hours into the flood tide and I saw that there was some weed present but didn’t look too bad and was certainly fishable. The sea was pretty calm with just a small swell and a bit of movement surf-wise. There was no wind to speak of and the sky was cloudy with sun breaking through at times.

I set up the scratching rig first, a size 4, two hook flapper baited with the lugworm which I cast out about fifty yards. I then set about the Bass rod which I would use later on and used a long link running ledger combined with an eight foot trace and a 4/0 pennel to be baited with the Launce. These were frozen ‘Ammo’ and were a pretty good size, being about six inches in length and thick bodied. Since I started using these, I have found that the larger sized Launce seem to work better than the smaller ones which have caught significantly less fish.

First fish to be landed came in about three hours after low water and it was a double shot of a school Bass and a small Weever. Next in was a small Thornback Ray, shortly followed by a small Tub Gurnard – all these came in before full darkness and fell to the lugworm. Once dark, I had another hit which turned out to be another school Bass.

By about 10pm and four hours into the tide, the weed started to become a problem – long strands of the ‘Spaghetti’ weed got caught up on the hook, sinker and leader knot. The best way to deal with this was to abandon the scratching rod and concentrate on the Bass gear which I had by now deployed. While packing the other rod up, I heard the ratchet on the Bass reel scream off as a fish took line. I picked up the rod and felt the fish pulling strongly and struck into it. A short while later, a bass of around 2½lbs was on the beach but before I could reach it, the hook fell free and the next wave took the fish back. Ah well, at least I knew there were fish  there.

I re-baited with a fresh Launce and cast out again just beyond the breaking waves. Almost immediately I saw the rod lurch over and the reel sing again, I lifted into the fish which was on for a brief moment before going free – arse! Another fresh Launce was cast out but nothing touched it – or so I thought. The rod was moving in a wave-weed like manner but when I retrieved it, I found a spider crab firmly attached. Unfortunately it wasn’t peeling, so went back.

By now, it was about an hour before high water and the weed was getting to be a real problem; at least on this rig, there was no leader knot to worry about as it was a straight through line. I saw the rod moving and was about to bring it in, when it dramatically arched over and the reel screamed’ I picked it up and felt a reasonable fish on the other end. As it got nearer the beach, I let the waves carry the fish closer to land and soon a nice fish was on the beach – success! It measured 52cm  and weighed in at a shade over 3lbs – not huge but very satisfying for my first session there in six months.

The weed become intolerable around high water and the place was just unfishable – huge rafts of it could be seen in the waves and after a minute in the water, line and terminal tackle were smothered and being dragged along by the weight of weed in the current. I was down to my last Launce anyway, so chucked it to give the fish a free meal on me before packing up for the night.

Given that there was a nice variety of fish (although on the small side), I may give the marina a rest for a while and concentrate on Seaford a bit more along with Newhaven for the Sole.

Comments (0)

By Vic, 9 June, 2008 11:42

Wanting to make the most of the current weather and get out in the fresh air, I decided fish the East arm at Brighton Marina yesterday. On arrival at about 7.00pm, I managed to get a space in bay 20. It was a fabulous evening, no wind, flat sea, clear sky, lovely and warm; Not ideal for great fishing, but lovely to be out in.

First off, I decided to try for a few fresh Mackerel to bolster the bait. Funnily enough, compared to the previous trip, there were none around. I managed a small joey which was put out live in the hope of a Bass.

My other rod was set up with a ledgered DVice and used either peeler crab or hermit crab. There was no action until the light faded, where almost like magic, bites started to occur. First fish was a very small Smooth Hound pup. Next was a small Thornback followed by yet another Smooth Hound pup. Apart from the usual suspects – the Pout, the next fish of the night was a lovely little Tub Gurnard. This made a welcome change and was the first I’ve had from the marina this year. It seemed as though someone flipped a switch because as soon as it started to become light, the bites stopped completely. I did have a quick go with the feathers for some more fresh Mackerel – for the BBQ this time and not bait – but none seemed interested. I did see some movement but I suspect this was down to Scad and not Mackerel

I packed away all my gear and tidied up the area I was in before just sitting for a while enjoying the early dawn. Even at just gone 3am, there was enough light to see by. The air was completely still with not a breath of wind. The sea was as flat as it can get and only disturbed by the occasional fish breaking the surface. It’s time like this that I know just how lucky I am to be able to enjoy it.

My enjoyment of the session was somewhat spoiled as I walked back along the lower deck of the arm by the amounts of rubbish left by thoughtless people. These I presume, call themselves anglers but I prefer to call them selfish, filthy individuals who ruin it for others. They more than anyone else give angling a bad name and add ammunition for those who wish to ban this activity. They know who they are and should be ashamed of themselves. I picked up what I could and put it in the bags which are provided. It wasn’t difficult and surely not beyond the ability of those responsible.