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By Vic, 12 September, 2010 19:49

It was off to Seaford beach again last night, this time in company with some time fishing pal, Phil. We arranged to meet at Edinburgh Road at about 8pm to fish from low water up to an probably over high water. I got there a bit early, so wandered over to have a quick look. Conditions looked good with a fair bit of movement in the water being agitated by a brisk Westerly breeze. The forecast said the wind would die down at about 10pm, so we had to make the most of it.

I kitted up and set up at a spot just East of the parking area. Bass was the main quarry  of the night but, as usual, I can’t resist having another scratching rod out. Bass rod was a running ledger ending in a 5/0 pennel which would be baited with whole squid. Although conditions at the same weren’t suitable for live-baiting, the rig had provision for this should the conditions change later. The scratcher had a size 4 two hook flapper baited with lugworm.

By the time Phil arrived, after his ahemm… detour, both my rigs were in the water. From the off, it was obvious that whiting were going to be a pest for the whole night. Although not there in the numbers they were on my last visits, they were still there in their thousands. They hit the worm baits quickly and had a go at the big baits close in too. Didn’t matter how far or in what the direction you cast, the robbing barstwards had the bait every time.

Apart from a small ray caught by Phil and the odd pout, it was whiting all night with not a sniff from anything else. Gluttons for punishment, we stuck it out and tried all sorts but the main target was not going co-operate with us on this. Phil stuck it out just after high water at about 2.30 and and I, like the fool that I am, stayed for another hour before saying bollocks to it and packing up.

So, another disappointing night on Costa Del Seaford.  I am thinking about going somewhere different next time, maybe. So if you see a strange bloke wandering around your neck of the woods carrying rods and far too much kit, mumbling that he’s frightened and lost, take pity on him and either show him where the fish are or point him in the direction of Seaford and give him a bloody hard push.

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By Vic, 10 September, 2010 10:52

I wish I’d gone to Edinburgh Road at Seaford beach but didn’t and went to the Martello (also known as the canon) instead in search of bass and maybe a lucky  codling. Arrived on the beach by about 9.30 having shot home first after work to load up the car (should have done it before I went to work). Sea was lumpy with a fresh Westerly breeze helping to push some largish waves up the beach. The plan was to fish up to the 1.30am high water and down and hour or so.

The bass rod was set up with a running ledger and 5/0 pennel baited with squid but with the option of live baiting. This was done by just adding a free running swivel above a bead which was above the weight. A hook length with a 5/0 on one end and a snap swivel on the other was made ready. If a suitable live bait was caught, the procedure would be to retrieve the squid and unclip the hook length, cast the weight out, let it settle and then clip the snap swivel onto the main line, stick the live bait on the 5/0 and let it slide out into the water.

A scratching rod was set up with a two hook flapper – one size 1/0 hook and one size 4, both baited with lugworm and sent out beyond the waves which were crashing up the beach. It wasn’t long before the scratching rod was bouncing around and two whiting were brought in – too big for a bait and too small for table, so back they went. This was pretty much the theme for the next hour or so and while I was busy with the whiting, the squid was busy doing absolutely nothing just sitting out there being ignored.

By about 11.30, the breeze died right down until there was nothing. The sea started to flatten out, leaving just the swell running the occasional larger wave up the beach. This was just what the doctor ordered, as the next two fish were an ideal sized pout and whiting.  The pout was sent out on the slider reasonably close in just outside the main waves. While the whiting stayed in the bucket (with water in it, I might add), I quickly rigged up a DVice on a running ledger, stuck the whiting in it with a 5/0 and chucked it out at distance.

The incoming tide had pushed me back up the beach to an area where there was loads of washed up and rotting seaweed (nice) which was covered in clouds of small flies. They were annoying enough anyway but each time I used my headlight, it was like being in a bloody sand blasting booth! They were an absolute bloody nightmare, ended up moving my gear further back up the beach and out of the way.

I then sat back, smugly, drinking coffee and thinking I was in with a chance. This was not to be the case, as although I imagine the baits were having a lovely swim around, they remained untouched. Once the tell tale signs of movement ceased, it was time to bring them in – both expired. Ah well, back to the squid and the worm it is then.

The squid remained apparently unattractive, while the worm worms did well with more whiting, until the rig was trashed by a ‘snotty’ eel which managed to turn my nicely made rig into a tight ball of line and snot that was only good for being cut up and the components retrieved. The eel was successfully removed from its own mess and sent back to where it came from. A new rig was clipped on, baited and re-cast.

Another bite, another ‘snotty’ and another wrecked rig. Yet another rig clipped on, baited and re-cast. A few more whiting and then a bass, yeah, a bass only trouble it was, it probably weighed less than the lead I was using. That was it then, high water came and went and no more fish brought in, it just died completely.

I stuck it out until about 3am before calling it a night. It really was quite a disappointment, I had had high hopes of a reasonable fish but I guess that’s fishing for you – sometimes you strike gold and some times you don’t.

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By Vic, 22 August, 2010 12:33

I swear I should take up gardening, the amount of weed(s) I pulled up from Seaford beach tonight. Thought I’d have a session there to use up some launce I had left over from Friday night, plus some lugworm kindly donated by DannyC. He’s still so excited by his bass, that he had to take the night off and calm his nerves by tidying his tackle box.

Anyway, I got to Edinburgh Road at about 7.30pm, walked onto the beach and saw a lovely lumpy sea with plenty of breakers but it was choked with that bloody weed again, right in close where I wanted to fish. Not only could you see big dark rafts of it on the surface, you could see the ‘spaghetti’ stuff in the breakers. Not to be put off, I tackled up – one scratching rod with size 4 two hook flapper baited with lugworm and the bass rod with a running ledger, 4/0 pennel baited with the launce.

There was nothing happening until dark, apart from some marine gardening, during which, I did my best to single handedly clear the English Channel of it’s undergrowth. First fish was a whiting that that took the bass bait when it had no business doing so, it was about the same size as the launce and should have known better. Next it was a repeat of Friday night – whiting double shots until the worm ran out.

The first and only bass of the night didn’t arrive until just before high water and weighed in at an incredible (estimated) one pound! There was another suicidal whiting that tried to swallow a bait bigger than itself and got nabbed on the top hook of the pennel.

I stuck it out until about two hours after high water and then gave up as a lost cause. I hope this damn stuff goes soon, otherwise it’ll be another weeding post next time.

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By Vic, 21 August, 2010 15:28

Went to Seaford beach yesterday evening for a bass hunting session. Got the the Edinburgh Road area at about 7pm for a 9.30pm high water. I was met with a brisk SW breeze and lumpy water and to my dismay, rafts of floating weed close in.

I joined up with a few other guys – Dannyc and Ant and after having a chat, I picked a spot just East of them. One rod was set up with a size 4, two hook sole rig baited with lugworm and the bass rod rigged with a running ledger ending with a 4/0 pennel pointy bit baited with launce.

It wasn’t too long before I had a hit on the bass rod, it was a bass but not a large one, just a schoolie of about a pound. Sadly that was the one and only hit for the rest of the session for me on the bass rod, even after a change over to a squid bait. The other rod however was constantly being hit by whiting with numerous double shots.

Danny had a good result with a bass of 3lbs that took a whole squid; at last he had broken his Seaford jinx after many fishless sessions there on the past.

The weed on the night proved to be a real bloody pain in the ‘arris clogging up end rigs which were being fished close in. It was the horrible stringy ‘spaghetti’ weed which takes ages to remove from rigs. Further out, it wasn’t too bad and was more easily tackled.

The lads left at about midnight and I wasn’t far behind, packing up at about 12.45. I’m out there again tonight and hope that the weed has moved on a bit, although I reckon the SW winds will keep it pinned inshore for a while.

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By Vic, 13 August, 2010 18:55

I haven’t managed to get out for a while, so took when the opportunity came up to go out for a session last night, I took it and decided to fish a regular spot at Seaford beach. I got there at about 8pm and set up just West of Edinburgh Road. The weather was calm with very little breeze and what there was came from NW. The sky was clear but cloudy over to the West and could have been heading my way (but didn’t). The water was clear and calm with just a bit of wave action as the tide started to flood. High water was predicted to be a biggie at over 7 metres and due at around 2am.

One scratching rod rigged with a size 4 two hook sole rig baited with black lugworm. The bass rod was rigged with a long link running ledger and using a long 8′ fluorocarbon hook length ending in a 4/0 pennel baited with large launce. The scratcher was cast out about 50 yards or so, while I kept the bass rod back until the light faded.

The first bites didn’t come until after sunset, at which point, someone flipped the whiting switch – the bloody things virtually hitting the bait as soon as it settled on the bottom. I wouldn’t mind so much if they were a decent table size but they weren’t, just little pins of about 15cm. There was one small schoolie bass of about 20cm in amongst the pins but it was the only one.

I think it was at about 9pm or so when I was joined by Graham (good to meet you by the way) – another guy who uses a couple of forums I’m a member of – WSF and Fishing Forum. We had a good old chin wag over various topics while I hauled in a few more whiting and then miss a lovely take on the bass rod which resulted in the fish dropping the bait after its initial run. Shortly after this, I had another run, shorter this time and less frantic but at least I got a fish onto the beach this time – a lovely conditioned 2½ pounder (pictured) of 46cm. If I remember correctly, this was at about 10.15pm about 3½ hours before high water. As for the whiting? I abandoned the scratching rod as it would just have been whiting all night and just concentrated on the bass rod.

I had another bass at about an hour before high water which was a small one at about a pound or so. Missed another take about half an hour later and then that was it for the rest of the night – distinctly quiet and fishless.

While I was standing there, frantically not catching fish, at least there was Perseid meteor shower to watch and keep me occupied. There were some real stunners, leaving trails that were visible for a few seconds afterwards. I was lucky really, as the day had been quite cloudy at times but this was a fantastically clear night, so had good views as they streaked across the sky.

Just before I left, I cleaned the bass and found a whole small squid in the gut along with two very small hard back crab, this got me wondering – is now the time to switch from launce to squid? I don’t know but the next trip will be a comparison, squid on one rod, launce on the other.