To use up the bait I had left over from the previous day, I headed off to Seaford beach again last night, hoping that the weed had subsided just enough to fish. I got there at about 7pm and could immediately see that there was still a lot of weed but nowhere near the amount of the day before. The sea was again rough but had calmed quite a bit in comparison. The plan was to fish the flood tide up and over high water which was predicted for about 11.30pm.

I set up the bass rid with the now usual long link running ledger and 6/0 pennel. I should point out here that I’ve been experimenting and modifying this rig over recent months having found that all the fish I’ve had have come to the top hook and in an attempt to reduce the amount of dropped fish, I now use a 4/0 circle as the top hook. So far this has proved to very effective and all fish have been securely hooked in the corner of the mouth with a firm hold.

The first few casts ended up in the familiar leave for ten minutes then have to bring it in to clear the weed which was hanging just about where I wanted to put the bait – just behind the breaking waves.

I was soon joined by another fishing fanatic, Clive, who set up just along from me and soon had his bait in the water. We spent the time in between retrieving balls of weed, having a chat and mulling over the usual things that you do on the beach.

Things were very quiet and there was no indication of any fish interest until about half an hour after high water when I saw the rod tip pull down and bounce back, which I initially thought was weed again but while holding the rod, I felt a couple of tugs and then the rod tip pulled down again and I was soon into the first fish of the night. A short while later, after negotiating the incoming waves, I beached a nice plump bass that measured 48cm and weighed in at 2lbs 12oz.

Half an hour later, the rod tip twitched a few times, pulled down and I was into my second of the night. This was a lot smaller and I reckon was around the pound mark, maybe a bit bigger. That was it then, as the tide dropped, the wind kept the weed firmly inshore and again it was difficult to get a bait in the right place for any length of time.

We gave it a while longer on the ebb before both deciding that it was unlikely we’d have any more luck and opted to call it a night.

I’ll be out again tonight in the hunt for that elusive ‘double’. Just hope that the weed may have subsided to make the fishing a bit easier.