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By Vic, 12 May, 2011 11:43

Having had a disastrous squid championship result, I thought I’d have a go on Tuesday morning to see if I could get my squid mojo back. I arrived on the West arm at about 5am just after high water to find that the dreaded May rot was as bad as ever. With a flat calm sea, the water should normally have been crystal clear – what I had in front of me resembled pea soup, a horrible murky green with clouds of particles swirling around. It was nicely topped off with a generous helping of foaming patches….mmmmm, what a delightful recipe.

I setup two rods – one with standard float gear and squid jig, while the other was rigged with some feathers in the hope that maybe some not so bright mackerel put in an appearance. I have to say though, that with the conditions, I wasn’t really hopeful of a result on either front. However, not to be defeated at the first gate, I decided to selflessly carry on in hope. I do feel that fishing and blanking is better than not fishing at all – and as they say, “you have to be in it to win it”.

As the morning wore on, I hoped that maybe the sea would clear out at least a bit. It soon became apparent that the sea was going to remain nasty, cloudy and full of crap, although there were some clear patches at adistance away from the wall. I did sling some feathers out into the patches searching for any mackerel that may have been hunting in the clear. This exercise only resulted in an aching arm and a sense of ‘Why?’ The water got cloudier and the foam hung about and gave no impression of moving on.

A breakthrouogh came at 10.30, when a solitary, terminally stupid mackerel wandered through the murk and found my feathers – the blank was saved! I carried on for what seemed like a lifetime, alternating between feathers and float with no reward. I eventually gave in and had my last cast before calling it a day and trudging off.

Hope to hell, that this bloody rot disappears soon, so that normal fishing can resume.

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By Vic,

After several recent trips in search of squid, I have to report that the closest I’ve had to success has been three dropped at, or just before the net – so things not looking too good. Undeterred though, I headed off to the East arm of Brighton Marina last Sunday for the ‘4th International Squid Championship‘, organised by George Cunningham, CEO of TronixPro, along with Robin ‘Fishyrob‘ Howard.

This annual event, in aid of the RNLI was attended by even more than last year and I believe it was in the region of 78 anglers participating. We all met up at the cafe on the end of the arm, where after a chin wag, we booked in. I queued and collected a free squid jig (courtesy of TronixPro) and score card, which had written on which peg number I was to fish…. arse!!! I had drawn 68, right out at the far end – best start walking then!

After doing a stunning impression of a cart donkey, I eventually got to my peg. There had been some confusion over peg numbers reserved for the event but quite frankly, I’m losing the will to live just thinking about it, so I’ll go no further.

Fishing (or squidding if you prefer) started at 1pm on the dot and for me, what followed felt like a lifetime of staring at the orange blob that was my float as it did just that – float. No sliding under the surface as a squid made off with my jig. As hard as I tried, I just could not get a take. The only excitement was when the jig drifted into a bit of weed and was pulled under – at least I knew what it would look like if any creature felt like trying its luck.

Even an afternoons visit from FPO, Anna along with her Mum and our son Alex didn’t induce the critters into action.

I stuck it out and tried as hard as I could and was spurred on by one caught and lost and one landed by the guys to my left. With half an hour to go, I studied my float and watched it slide under – weed again I thought – but no, it was a real, live squid, a good ‘un too. I brought it in closer and was about to ask the guy to right for a hand with the net when the damn thing let go and was away. I quickly let the jig back down in the hope that it might be taken again but was disappointed when the float remained as it had for most of the day – floating.

6pm and the competition was over. I packed up my gear and made the long walk back to the car and loaded up. It was then over to the pub and a welcome pint while the trophies and prizes were dished out to the winners. The day wasn’t a complete ball breaker for me, as I managed to snag a bait pump in the raffle

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By Vic, 10 May, 2010 12:33

The third ‘All England squid Fishing Championship‘  was held yesterday on the East arm of Brighton Marina with a good turnout of 48 competitors who raised £240 for the RNLI. In comparison with last year, when the competition was held in warm sunshine and I got sunburn, the start for this year was somewhat different – cold NNE breeze (very light) and light rain. Last year was ‘T’ shirts, this year was waterproofs and thermal wear. It has to be said though, that later on, the breeze was virtually zero and the slight  rain was patchy to zero, so not that horrendous.

Before going to the appointed meeting place, I popped into ‘The Tackle Box for a few bits ‘n’ pieces. Being someone with a limited memory, I had written ‘Bait Elastic’ on the back of my hand, it was unfortunate that I had omitted to write or add ‘Bait’ to the list, as that vital item was sitting forgotten at home in the fridge!

Everyone met up at the café on the East arm at 4pm where entrance money (towards RNLI charity) was handed over and in return, entrants were given a Tronix squid jig in the colour of their choice, I opted for a very fetching green. We drew numbered score cards that denoted the order in which contestants walked off for the start – I drew no.10 which wasn’t too bad. Soon we were off and walking to wherever we could get a space. Another WSF member, ‘mr codling’ and his cousin ‘Ant ‘ were just before me but we decided on fishing together so that witnessing and card signing would be easier. We eventually found some vacant space at bays 41-43 and started to set up. We were also joined by Mr and Mrs Wee Haggis and their usual large amount of kit.

Official kick off  was 5pm and at that time, many jigs were cast out in expectancy and 48 pairs of eyes stared at floats, waiting for them to slide under the surface. In our little merry band, Mrs Haggis was the first to strike within the first 10 minutes and after I wielded the net, her first ever squid was safely on the deck. It was quickly dispatched, measured at 37cm and put in the cool bag. Things were looking good and it promised to be fruitful session.

After this first bit of activity, I’m afraid I got  lost  in it all and couldn’t tell at what happened at what time but my turn was next when I had a reasonable sized Cuttlefish on the line which escaped during the attempts to net the thing – my first chance blown! It wasn’t until quite a way into the session that my next chance came when I hook a squid, which got to the surface and then let go. I immediately let the jig back down and luckily, the squid grabbed it again and this time was safely netted by wee haggis. After measuring the critter (37cm) and getting my card signed, it was back for attempts at more; in my case no more, as that was it for me – not even a sniff at another squid or cuttlefish.

For the rest of the time, we saw no more action apart from wee haggis getting a mackerel on his jig and Ant managing to bring in a black bream on his…. weird! I did get to enjoy some very nice coffee from Mrs Haggis’ ‘kitchen’ which was certainly better than what I had in my flask. Before long, it was 10pm – the finish of the competition and the walk back to the meeting point, totting up of points and the giving out of the awards and prizes. Sadly, I got nowt for my efforts apart from a tasty squid for dinner and a great time in good company – just hope next year is a bit warmer and drier.

Many thanks to Fishyrob and George ‘Tronix’ for organising the event, the sponsors and dealers who donated kit for prizes along with the Brighton restaurant FishyFishy

Competition results can be viewed here. Hopefully, I’ll have some photos to add soon.

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By Vic, 29 April, 2010 10:12

I had another early start at Brighton Marina yesterday morning in the quest for tasty Cephalopods and some practice for the upcoming 3rd All England squid Championship on the 8th of May. After a quick visit to the Tackle Box for some more leads (Cheers Eddy for opening up early), I headed over to the West arm and grabbed a spot at the ‘Float Only’ bays at the end about an hour after low water. The weather looked promising with an overcast sky, very light Southerly breeze and a flat calm and clear sea, so I was optimistic as I set up the now standard rig of float fished jigs. I bucked the trend of using pink jigs and within minutes had cast out a green Tronix jig to do it’s work in the current which was running quickly as the tide rose.

I guess it must have been around 9am when I had my first take which saw the float slide under the surface. As the creature got to the surface, it gave an almighty spurt, slipped the jig and disappeared. Buoyed up by the take, I was confident that others would follow and at about 10.30am, I had another take which saw another squid on the surface. I could see that it was comparatively small and so had no problem swinging it up without using the net. First one done, I worked the float  through the swim in the hope of a quick follow up but it all went a bit slow with only a couple of missed takes.

Danny, one of the guys from the WSF internet forums turned up about 11am for a bit of a chin wag and fishy talk of plans for the summer. My wife Anna joined us half and hour later, wanting to see how her delicious squid dishes start out and how they’re caught; it also gave us the chance to blow the cobwebs away over losing one of cats on Tuesday when he had to be put down.

Just before mid-day and the top of the tide saw the action quicken when I had a take and a squid on, it looked pretty small and I thought I’d have no problem in swinging it when, despite the kind offer from a nearby angler to net it for me. The result? bloody thing dropped just as I was beginning to lift it. The next two successive takes resulted in the squid letting go as they were about to surface. Another take and some good netting by Danny saw a lovely Cuttlefish safely on the deck. It wasn’t until 1pm, after Anna and Danny had gone and two dropped takes later that I had another squid on; this one stayed on and was kindly netted for me by the guy in the next bay. His services were required shortly after when yet another squid was on. This one made it all the way to the net before slipping off at the last second.

There was no more action for me after this but at around 3pm, a local angler of many years, ‘Farmer George’ landed a good sized squid after he had settled in my bay. By 4pm I had had enough for the day, and as I was working that evening, I had to leave – pleased with the result but annoyed at the missed opportunities. With inclement weather forecast for the next few days, here’s hoping that by the time the squid competition comes around next week, the conditions calm and clear out, otherwise it means postponement.

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By Vic, 17 April, 2010 22:03

My last couple of attempts at snagging squid at Brighton Marina have been dismal failures, with the last one being particularly annoying as I had one but lost it at the net. In an attempt to break my squid Duck for 2010, I was back at the marina early this morning, making sure I got a decent spot before the weekend hoards filled the spaces – although this time, the East rather than the West arm was the venue.

I was on location in bay 48 on the arm by 6.45 am on a lovely bright morning with just a slight Southerly breeze ruffling the surprisingly cloudy water; I was hopeful that the sea would clear later as the tide rose. I set up my gear and used the usual terminal tackle of a float fished Tronix jig – pink to start and green later and then back to pink. As high water wasn’t due until around 2pm (depending on which tide table you read), I wasn’t expecting too much in the way of action, so I just enjoyed the peacefulness of it all, having not been out too much this year. As the hours wore on, the breeze dropped and it got quite warm but the on the business side of things, I was still squidless.

After a few hours, Richard, one of the guys from WSF turned up with his mate Nick and started fishing a couple of bays along from me. Handily for me that they’d brought a drop net along (left mine at home again) because at about 1pm, I had a slow take and a squid was on. A minute or so later, after Richard guided the net-handling Nick, my first landed squid of 2010 was on the deck and what a relief it was too.

The rest of the day was dead, no further takes at all, not so much as a sniff. The only highlight was reuniting Fishyrob with his leather hat he’d lost the previous night and found by me while walking out on the arm today. I left the marina by about 4pm and once home, the days catch was cleaned sliced and fried for tea, there’s nothing quite like straight from the sea onto the plate freshness. Anna was going to do her squid casserole but we decided that today was going to be “Calamari” as Alex has been pestering me about squid since last year. The next one will definitely be going casseroled though. Here’s a few pictures of before during and after. Click on images for larger versions.