Posts tagged: DVice

Back to Seaford

By , 1 November, 2010 15:19

After being out of the game for a week or so and then one session in Hampshire, I returned to one of my usual haunts that is Seaford beach last night. Arrived at a section just east of the Beachcomber about 4 hours before before low water. Flat calm, slightly coloured sea with a slight swell, no wind and a clearing sky didn’t bode too well.

Used one rod with a size 2, two hook flapper, baited with lugworm tipped with squid which I chucked as far as possible. Before I could even turn to set up the gear, the rod started bouncing around in that tell-tale whiting fashion. I brought it in to find a whiting double shot. Unhooked and returned, I re-baited and bunged it out again. This time, I had more time and set up the other rod with a 4/0 pennel on a long link running ledger and baited with whole squid. This was cast out just beyond what breaking water there was.

For the next hour or so, it was non-stop whiting on the worm baits – all small though. There was a dead period about an hour before low before it picked up again. I swapped the flapper for a single 2/0 rig with a DVice – again baited with lug and squid.

Just after low, I had a gentle pull down and nodding on the whole squid. I lifted into the fish, there was a brief lethargic struggle and an LSD (lesser spotted dogfish) was soon on the beach. The doggie was released, the hooks filled again and cast back out. In the meantime, yet another whiting was brought in on the other rod.

There was another tug on the squid and a schoolie bass of about 12″ was soon beached. After releasing the critter, I re-baited and stuck it out just a bit further out (still only about 15 -20 yards though). Another pull down and yet another LSD was soon on the shingle.

I had a few more whiting on the worm bait before calling it a night at about 2am. I could have hung on for another couple of hours but to be honest, I saw little point and would prefer to save my back for the bigger tides next week with the prospect of saw decent wind and a change in the conditions.

An Idiot on the Beach

By , 14 October, 2010 10:30

Someone once said “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on a beach looking like an idiot”. Well after last night, I think I could fall into that latter category.

I went for a late session last night after work and fished at Seaford from about 9.30 pm through until around 2 am. Fished from low water up until before high. Conditions were calm and overcast with no wind, the water was flat and gin clear. It looked like I had the beach to myself as there didn’t seem  to be another soul there, none of the usual lights along the shore. After setting up, I cast out the first set which was a size 4, two hook flapper baited with lugworm to try and get a couple of live-baits and in the meantime, the other set was cast out – a long link running ledger with a 5/0 pennel and whole squid.

It was long before the obligatory whiting hit the worm bait and I had the first of many, many double-shots on the beach but too big for bait and too small for the table. Worms sent seaward again and before I could put the rod in the rest, it was off with another double-shot – wrong size. This was to be the theme for the night, along with the big squid bait constantly being shredded by the needle teeth of whiting. Long, short, middle distance casting – it mattered not, the whiting were again everywhere. Bait up, cast, retrieve, take whiting off hooks, bait up, cast, retrieve, etc etc, I think you get the picture. I must have looked like the village idiot, scuttling around, waving a large stick at the sea and swearing at fish.

Giving up on the idea of getting a bait sized fish and in an attempt at trying to get something a bit bigger, I swapped the flapper for a size 2/0 single hook paternoster with a big worm and squid bait tucked into a DVice. This however just gave the whiting more of a challenge and it wasn’t long before the rod was rattling away as another one hit the bait.

By around 2 am, I’d had enough and although I didn’t stay for high water, I’m pretty sure that all I would have had would been more whiting. No wonder there hadn’t been anyone else out there; they obviously knew something I didn’t!

Martello Malaise

By , 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.

Whiting and Wockling

By , 6 January, 2010 13:27

Had the first session for a couple of months and the first of 2010 on sunday out at Seaford beach. Loaded with some nice black lugworm and two boxes of squid, I arrived at around 6pm and started to unload the car. By the time I’d got all sorted and walked onto the beach, I couldn’t feel my fingers it was so bloody cold!

Undeterred, I trudged across the shingle and started to set up the rods. After the first was done, I had to have a short break to warm the hands and fingers up before doing the next one. Big baits were the order of the day to try and avoid any small whiting and rockling, so one rod sent out with ledgered DVice 3/0 hook crammed with lug and squid, second rod out with whole squid on 4/0 pennel rig. It was then a matter of keeping warm and waiting!

Although freezing to start with, later on, as cloud covercame over, it actually felt like it was warming a bit – so much so that I had to open the main zip on my ABU floaty suit as I was getting a bit too warm.

Fish wise, I ended up with a few whiting and the dreaded rockling ‘slugs’ which still manaed to get themselves hooked on the worm baited 3/0’s. Not a great start to 2010 but at least it wasn’t a blank. May leave the beach for a while now as the rockling seem to be in abundance and the cod having moved off before I could target them in earnest. Will now concentrate on the herring at Brighton Marina if the seas clear out.

Quick Seaford report

By , 6 November, 2009 15:13

Fished Seaford beach last night from about 9.30pm until 3am, near the Beachcomber. High water was at 1230ish.

On arrival, I saw a very lumpy sea with some large rollers and big wave dumps up onto the shingle. A Strong Westerly breeze was coming straight along the beach. The sky was overcast but with clear patches. Wind did die down later – as did the fishing.

Fished just one rod with ledgered DVice and alternating between big lug and squid baits. First couple of casts saw the wind hold the DVice in the air and push it back which meant it was landing down-tide, where it had difficulty gripping the seabed properly. To ensure proper gripping and bait placement, I walked up-tide, cast out, let bait settle and then walk back to the rest.

It was hard fishing and only had three whiting before 10.30 and nothing until around high water when I missed the mother of all pull downs. How I missed it I don’t know because the rod was still bending while I picked it up and briefly felt a dull thudding at the other end before the dreaded slack line and no resistance – indicating fish off!

It was all dead then until just before I left when I retrieved my last cast and found one small unfortunate whiting had been unlucky to hit my bait.

Anyway, that was it for the session. Crap fishing but I nice bracing night out.

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