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By Vic, 24 February, 2008 16:06

In a continuing effort to raise funds for the family of the missing Bristol Channel angler Alan Wright (See 11.2.08 entry), a friendly competition was organised by the Hampshire Hookers Angling Club and was held on Saturday 23.2.08 at Eastney beach, along the Esplanade near the Royal Marines Museum.

I started the journey from Sussex at 5.15am and made reasonable time considering the thick fog in places. I arrived at about 7am and met up with other hopeful anglers who had turned up. Donations to the fund were deposited in the bucket. In total, some 25 attended in support.

The target species for the day was plaice for which Eastney is famed (apparently). Although a bit early in the season, there were reports that a few had been caught in the area, so everyone was optimistic.

After introductions, I trudged off in company with ‘Fishyrob‘ to find a spot to fish . Once we had selected our ‘patch’, we set up and started fishing. I used two rods with one using a one hook clipdown rig baited with the preferred ragworm. The other rod was armed with a two hook flapper, again baited with ragworm but with thin strips of calamari tipping it off.

To say fishing was slow is an under statement, it was non existent; no bites, no indications, in fact no sign of any fish being there at all. I passed the time by sorting through my gear and making totally unnecessary changes and checking things over again. I had a good scout around amongst the debris and general flotsam on the high water mark and was rewarded with a few Slipper Limpet which I added to my bait bucket. I tried all the usual tactics that would normally induce a bite, I ignored my rods, I had numerous coffees, I even wandered off and chatted with Rob to my West and the chap to my East, Kev I think (If you’re reading this, I apologise for not remembering your name – I have a severely crap memory).

From what I heard along the grapevine, I was not alone in being fishless. It seemed that the plaice were still away on holiday or had decided not to play. At one point though, the beach was filled with excitement with whispers that one of our gathering had battled and brought ashore a flounder! There was hope after all. There were later sightings of a “Scorpion Fish” – probably a Bullhead of some description being beached, followed by wild tales of a Blenny of some sort (there are numerous types) being hauled ashore. I did hear later that a whiting had also been thwarted but I do believe this was after the official close of the competition.

No matter what the rumour mongers were spreading, my rods stayed securely in the rest and did not budge during the whole day except when being picked up for bait changes, rig changes and hook replacement after being snipped off by crabs (not a medical condition). It mattered not one jot what I tried in my quest for fish, nothing worked, it was that simple.

Slowly but surely, people started to pack up and drift away from the beach until the only fools left were me, Rob and another guy far away to the West. By about 3.30pm I called it it quits and buggered off leaving Rob to his manic endeavours. It was a tiring drive home and I was certainly glad of a good hot shower and spruce up.

Despite being dire as regards to fish, it had been a good day out and a different venue for me. It was all for a good cause which had a few more quid in its coffers. A huge thanks go to local lads, Big Ivor and Pompeyboy for great organisation and making everyone feel welcome. I would seriously consider going again once the plaice are in. In fact as my mother lives not too far away, I don’t know why I don’t try it more often anyway.

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By Vic, 13 February, 2008 20:27

Just a quick report this time. Last night, I fished Seaford at the Edinburgh Road mark from 8pm-3am. High water was 2.30am. No wind to speak of, sometime very, very slight breeze from NE. Clear sky, flat calm sea.

Baits used were lugworm, calamari & ragworm, either singly or as cocktails. Rigs used were one size 1 hook clipdown.

Total for the night was five 5 Bearded rockling, two whiting, one Pout and one tiny codling of around 6 inches. Not fantastic results but better than blanking and it certainly was a lovely night to be out in the fresh air.

Hopefully, we’ll soon be out of the ‘Doldrum’ months and into proper Spring fishing. I have vowed to wait until then before fishing again and to spend my time cleaning gear and building rigs – but you never know when the fishing bug will bite!

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By Vic, 11 February, 2008 16:23

Yesterday, I took part in a competition organised by the Shoreham Angling Squad club. Funnily enough, this was held at the West arm of Shoreham harbour.

It was an early start for me, leaving home at 6.40 am in order to stop off at ‘The Tackle Box’ shop at Brighton Marina for bait. Whilst getting my lugworm and ragworm, Dave Grinham kindly gave me a large bag of Slipper Limpet to supplement my supplies.

Arrived at the venue at the allotted time of 8am. A long wait ensued while we waited for everyone to arrive, book in and draw numbers for the order of ‘walking off’. I unluckily picked 32 which meant I would be one of the last to walk off and would thus be limited to where I could fish.

My spot was quite a way inshore and I would be casting not far of the beach itself. Anyway, armed with a good supply of quality bait, I was confident of doing well. Targets were flounder and dab. I tackled up and awaited the hooter to mark the beginning of the match.

First few casts produced numerous knocks and bites but I couldn’t connect. First fish of the day arrived soon afterwards and I found the culprit to be a small 5 Bearded rockling which sadly was under the 18cm limit and therefore didn’t count. This was followed shortly after by another non qualifier. That was it for the rest of the day with no further fish landed. No matter what I tried, I just could not get the fish to bite. Frustration grew as I heard reports of a few fish coming up the blokes fishing at the end of the arm.

Gladly, it was a warm bright day with little wind – nice and comfortable for me but not good conditions for fishing.

The hooter marking the end of the match sounded at 3.30pm. Time to tackle down and make my way to the meeting point to watch the lucky ones receive their prizes. I didn’t even win anything in the raffle- pffft.

I then faced a journey of nearly one and a half hours through Brighton to get home. It had been an enjoyable day, even though I was virtually fishless.

Incidentally, I believe a reasonable amount was collected from people who fished the match towards a fund being set up for the family of Alan Wright, a young man who was washed away whilst fishing in the Bristol Channel. Alan was a member of WSF (World Sea Fishing), a fishing website/forums used by many of us anglers.

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Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

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By Vic, 30 January, 2008 11:48

Sunday 27th was spent engaged in a small competition run by Sussex Sea Fishing. It was held at Seaford beach from 10am through until 3pm. One rod, three hook limit and no bait restriction.

I’m not really into the match scene, being more into recreational angling. As such, my tactic for the day was to use a one hook clip down rig baited with lugworm or calamari strip and have a relaxing session with the possibility of maybe winning a prize on top.

Fishing was slow, as although there was a reasonable amount of movement in the water, it was bright and sunny with the water not having a lot of colour to it. The main aim was to bag a few flounders, with the chance of whiting as well.

First fish of the day was a welcome flounder of 13½ oz. (my first of the year) which was weighed and returned. The rest of the day was a total blank, apart from a minute 5 bearded rockling which could only have weighed in at a staggering 2oz or so. It didn’t even reach the minimum size, so was returned immediately.

At the end of the match, after the weigh in, it appeared that I had come fifth out of sixteen, so not a bad result and the prize of a few bits of tackle added to the collection.

I decided to fish on after the match to see if I could bag a few more as the sun set and it got a bit darker. It would seem that the fish had learned of my plans and so deserted my bit of the beach, preferring to go and bother someone else. I called it a day at 5.30pm, deciding that a hot shower and dinner were a better option.

Competition report and results are posted here.

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By Vic, 23 January, 2008 12:11

Due to other commitments, weather and tide conditions, last night was my first session of 2008. I have to say, it was welcome too, I was almost having withdrawal symptoms.

I scouted the beach at Seaford beforehand during the early afternoon to check out the current ‘wood problem‘ which was affecting other parts of the coast. It didn’t seem to bad, with most of the larger pieces having been moved above the high water line and little evidence of more in the water. Reassured, I decided to return to fish the evening tide.

Arrived at Edinburgh Road at about 7pm and set up just West of the car parking area. The Southerly breeze had picked up since the afternoon pushing the cloud in. There was a reasonable swell which increased during the evening. All in all, conditions looked pretty good.

One rod was set up with 2 hook flapper using size 1’s baited with lugworm/slipper limpet cocktails. Second rod set up with 4/0 pennel baited with lovely big cuttle fillets.

Action (or lack of) was slow for the first couple of hours with the odd knock but no fish. I used this time to scout around for any timber that could prove useful for mending my garage. I couldn’t fit the bigger lengths into my car and found that the suitable stuff that was left had been broken up beyond use. As the wind and wave action increased, I did noticed more wood being washed in further West of me but funnily enough I wasn’t affected by it at all.

An hour before the 11pm high water, the whiting started to appear, hitting both the lugworm and the cuttle. Although numerous, none were of a decent pot size.

The whiting onslaught carried on until I called it a night at 12.30. Total tally was in excess of 20, so not a bad start to the year. I would of been happier with a codling or two or even a few pot size whiting but at least I didn’t blank and didn’t lose any gear to the wood.