For his birthday, our son Alex, was given a new rod and reel, paid for by my mother and obtained by me from The Tackle Box at Brighton Marina. 
As his birthday was in February, when fishing is generally pants, we waited until now to give to him so that there was a fair chance he would catch something on his first outing with it. So yesterday was the day, we thought that mackerel would be the obvious species to target and Seaford beach is a safe and accessible venue and there have been reports of mackerel there.
After parking near Claremont Road, we eventually found some beach space down towards the Buckle and settled ourselves there. We hit our first snag, he was torn between learning how to set up and pebble shifting and conquering the steep shingle bank. We managed it without any mishaps and after setting up the kit and attaching a small Dexter, we set about the dark art of casting. Now my style of casting resembles a cross between a Morris dancer and a drunk hammer thrower, so perhaps I am not the best one to try and teach him. Anyway, he soon got to grips with the priciple of it and before long he was managing to get it in the water (as well as his feet) and retrieving. Pity the water quality was crap, with it being brown stained (snort) with May rot (an algae bloom present at this time of year). Unless the water cleared or the fish had x-ray specs, it was going to be hard going.
As predicted, we left with nothing but a great afternoon out. Alex is quite philosophical about it and it doesn’t seem to have dampened his enthusiasm and is now asking when the next fishing day is.
Decided on
Seaford (again) for a session yesterday evening. I fished from about 4pm at a spot that was about half way between the Beachcomber pub and West View.
Sea was a bit rough early on with a stiff South West breeze in the face but it did calm down considerably a bit later on as the wind dropped and the tide rose but still retained some of it’s energy. I used one rod with a two hook flapper baited with lugworm and varied the casting distance. On the other rod I used running ledger with a 3/0 pennel and whole small squid cast close in.
The only fish I had were a small Tub gurnard caught not long after I started, two Pout and a whiting which came near to high water (all on the worm baits). About half an hour after high water, I had a tremendous pull down bite on the whole squid but as I was tending to the other rod, I couldn’t get to it in time, and the fish was gone, so that pleased me no end.
Once the hour after high water had passed, there no more bites and it all went dead.
Desperate to get out for a session, I decided that even though the tides are crap neaps at the moment, I went for an evening session at Seaford last night. I fished from 9pm through low water at 11pm until about 3am. Arriving at the beach, I could see that even though the wind had dropped dramatically, there was still quite a bit of movement in the water and chucking up some big dumps up onto the shingle.
I used just one rod with peeler crab on a ledgered size 3/0 hook in the hope of some bass lurking in the turmoil. First fish was a big Pout (well big compared to the usual stuff there), which came at about an hour before low water. Next was a schoolie bass of around 1lb on low water and the only other fish was a flounder at about 1am of about 1lb or so (at 37cm) which had taken down the 3/0 hook and whole crab.
I was a bit disappointed that it was such a really slow night with no sign of a bass but at least I was out and I hadn’t blanked.
Just to catch up on recent trips out.
Thursday 23rd April: An evening session on the East arm at Brighton Marina. Nothing inspiring happened on the squid front with none being caught. I did get a few mackerel, so I could at least go home with something for the table.
Sunday 26th April: Decided to have the whole day after squid down at the marina. The forecasts showed that it should have been a good day for it but unfortunately this proved not to be the case. The sea was patchily and coloured – almost like heavy clouds of silt going through with small areas of clear water. It proved enough to put the squid off and despite my best attempts, I couldn’t coax anything out. I tried with some Sabiki lures for some mackerel but only managed to hook a small but still dangerous Lesser weever which took the lower of the hooks.
While thrashing around alternating between the Jigs and Sabikis, I also had a setup baited with worm ( lugworm and ragworm ) which was out there hoping for something to come along. I did have one almighty take which dragged the rod along the wall but I was too late to connect with whatever it was. I did manage two small thornback rays but these were the usual palm sized juveniles which were released.
Although it was a glorious day to be out, it was decidedly disappointing on the fish front.
Tuesday 28th April: An evening session at Edingburgh Road in Seaford. Armed with a selection of worm baits, Peeler crab and squid, I fished through until high water at around 2.30am. Had been hoping for a bass on the squid but I reckon the sea was too calm with no real wave action to entice them in. Total tally for the night was loads of small whiting, Pout and one small thornback ray.
Nice night but in reality, a waste of time and good bait. When will I learn?
Felt the urge for some fishing yesterday evening but being a last minute decision, the local tackle shops were shut, so no fresh bait. Had a dig around in the freezer and found a solid block of tiny squid – otherwise known as ‘Partysquid’. Hastily defrosted them in warm water and was away. As it was really only going to be a short session, I plumped for Seaford but at the deeper end of the bay opposite the Martello Tower and only took one rod.
Got there around8.30 pm, about an hour before low water, set up and used a ledgered Dvice with a 3/0 pennel rig baited with the now fully defrosted squid. Even though the wind was coming in from the East, there was at least some movement in the sea.
First fish was a Lesser Spotted Dogfish, the second was likewise. Another two followed soon after and from then on, it was like a grave – no fish at all. I wished I’d decided earlier on going and had obtained some fresh worm, so I could at least have a variety of baits.
A brief squall at around 10pm broke the monotony when the wind was gusting quite hard and it chucked down with rain. It only went on for about 15 minutes or so and then it was back to a mild night.
I stuck it out until around high water before calling it a night and heading home.
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For his birthday, our son Alex, was given a new rod and reel, paid for by my mother and obtained by me from The Tackle Box at Brighton Marina. 
As his birthday was in February, when fishing is generally pants, we waited until now to give to him so that there was a fair chance he would catch something on his first outing with it. So yesterday was the day, we thought that mackerel would be the obvious species to target and Seaford beach is a safe and accessible venue and there have been reports of mackerel there.
After parking near Claremont Road, we eventually found some beach space down towards the Buckle and settled ourselves there. We hit our first snag, he was torn between learning how to set up and pebble shifting and conquering the steep shingle bank. We managed it without any mishaps and after setting up the kit and attaching a small Dexter, we set about the dark art of casting. Now my style of casting resembles a cross between a Morris dancer and a drunk hammer thrower, so perhaps I am not the best one to try and teach him. Anyway, he soon got to grips with the priciple of it and before long he was managing to get it in the water (as well as his feet) and retrieving. Pity the water quality was crap, with it being brown stained (snort) with May rot (an algae bloom present at this time of year). Unless the water cleared or the fish had x-ray specs, it was going to be hard going.
