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By Vic, 14 December, 2010 17:07

I haven’t done many reports recently, mainly due to lack of sessions and those the three I have had, have been pretty dire. Reports of increased whiting activity are not an interesting read and are even less interesting to write about. The weather of late hasn’t really done much to stimulate fishy action and hasn’t stimulated me enough to stride out onto the beach.

However, I have suffered from withdrawal symptoms, so in a moment of madness and against my better judgement, I decided to hit Seaford beach on Sunday night armed with some lugworm and squid to see if anything was alive out there. I wasn’t expecting much to be honest, no wind to speak of and what there was came from the back of the beach and so there was no movement in the crystal clear water. The predicted temperature had been given as 4°C but it felt a lot, lot colder than that and I was glad of the floatie suit to keep me warm.

I arrived at a spot at the deep and between the Martello and Splash Point about an hour before the 9pm or so low water and set up two rods. One used a live bait rig baited with the worm in the hope of hooking a whiting to act as the bait for anything bigger that might be lurking (hoping for a lucky cod). This was cast out at distance and left to do its work. The second rod had a size 1/0 two hook flapper baited with a worm/squid cocktail. Unlike previous trips, where the baits were hit straight away, things started slowly with no bites coming until the start of the flood tide whereupon, the live bait rig was hit with a typical whiting bite. The continuing rattling rod tip assured me that the bait was well hung on the small hook under the main 4/0.

The second rod was hit a few times by whiting but no keepers. It was also hit by the universally disliked rockling which were annoying in their persistence at robbing baits. It kept on like this for most of the night until about two hours before high water, I got a good pull down on the flapper which sprang back and carried on bouncing away. I struck and on the retrieve it felt like a half reasonable fish, not huge but maybe a keeper. Once on the beach I saw the usual whiting on the top hook but was surprised to see a coalfish on the lower hook. It wasn’t big at around the pound mark but is a first for me in Sussex and my first ever from a beach like Seaford – also a new for my 2010 species list. I have heard reports of them being caught at the marina but not the beaches.

I changed the live baits a few times but nothing seemed even remotely interested throughout the session. A few more whiting plus a couple of pout and rockling on the other rod saw me up to high water before the thought of a warmth of home and bed got the better of me and I jacked it in for the night. Until the conditions change and we get a bit of a blow to stir things up a bit, I can’t see me hitting the beach for a while.

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By Vic, 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.

Comments (4)

By Vic, 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!

Comments (1)

By Vic, 11 October, 2010 10:55

I hit Seaford Beach again on Saturday night to fish the big 7 metre plus high tide predicted for about 1am in the hope of improving my recent results. Got to Edinburgh Road at around 7.30pm to find a number of people already there, so walked over a way to the West out of the way. A North Westerly breeze was keeping the water flat as a flat thing, with not much movement at all.

The plan was to fish one big bait out at distance and a big bait in close. I rigged one rod with lugworm and squid cocktail in a ledgered DVice and cast that one out as far as I could and a whole squid on a long link running ledger ending in a 5/0 pennel sent out close in.

From the off, the distant bait was hit by whiting, so I varied the distances to try and find a whiting free zone; unfortunately, they were everywhere and were hitting the bait as soon as it got settled. None were of a table size which was a shame, as I like a bit of whiting, either as fish cakes or just fried.

The close in rig was also hit by whiting, stripping and shredding the big squids. It seemed as though nothing else was going to get a look in that night.

I may not have been on the fish but at least I was luckier than the group who looked like they were down by the buckle end. A large dredger type vessel came in close and started pumping large volumes of water and shingle up onto the beach in the annual sea defence work. I don’t know if anyone down there got hit by it but it would certainly have buggered the fishing down there.

Just after high water, I have had a massive hit on the close in squid which had the rod hooped over in spectacular fashion and me lifting into what at first felt like a half reasonable fish. I was gutted to find that it was a bloody whiting along with a someone’s lost gear – a two hook paternoster, weight and two dead whiting!

With nothing else appearing, I gave up an hour or so after high water with an empty fish bag but some new gear.

Comments (4)

By Vic, 17 September, 2010 15:25

I had a session planned for Seaford beach last night after work, fishing down to the 1am low water and a few hours up. I popped into the Tackle Box before work to collect some lugworm and squid and listen to the ‘Tales from Eddy’. While I was there, Fishyrob turned up to collect bait and asked if I wanted to join him for a sole bash on Brighton  beach. I was sorely tempted but as my plan was to fish Seaford, all my kit was at sitting at home in the garage waiting to be loaded into the car when I got home. I didn’t really want to drive home and then turn around and go back into Brighton again. I apologetically declined Rob’s kind offer but said I might pop down there if the conditions weren’t right at Seaford. Now having read some of his recent reports, it could have been an interesting evening. Rob also managed to locate a secret stash of large launce which was buried beneath an avalanche of frozen cuttle.

Anyway, after work, I shot home and loaded my gear into the car and set off. I’d originally planned top fish the Martello but at the last minute, changed my mind and went to a spot I haven’t fished for a while – a little patch opposite West View. I was toying with the idea of live-baiting, so set up one rod with a simple size 4 two hook flapper baited with the lugworm and cast it out while I set up the bass rod. On this, I rigged a long link running ledger which would have a 5/0 pennel rig baited with squid or launce. On standby, I had a made up live baiting trace with a single 5/0 on one end and a snap swivel on the other. The idea being that when wanted to live-bait, I could retrieve, unclip the pennel and cast out the weight only, before clipping the trace and bait onto the main line and letting it slide out into the water.

It wasn’t long before I had enough small whiting and pout in the bucket to last the time I would be there. I swapped the flapper for a sliding live-bait rig as above and sent the first of the pout out into the oggin to do its work. I continued to use the squid and launce on the bass rod.

It wasn’t until about half an hour after the 1am low water that I had the one and only take of the night and that was on the bass rod, falling to whole squid. I started as a whiting-like rattle and then a dramatic pull down and line peeling off the reel. I lifted into the fish which then came inshore before hanging in the breakers. A short while later, a nice bass was on the beach. It had taken the bottom hook right down and the top hook was caught up in the gills causing massive bleeding. There was no way of removing both hooks without causing untold damage, so it was quickly dispatched and put to one side while I clipped on a new trace, baited it up with a new squid and sent it out.

The fish measured in at 62cm and just under the 6lbs mark. I would normally take a picture on the beach but the camera refused to co-operate (turns out the card wasn’t seated correctly) so the kitchen picture is the only one I have of it.

The rest of the session was dead, no interest at all on the live-baits and none on the remainder of the squid and launce. Packed up at about 3.30 after cleaning and scaling the fish – the gut was absolutely empty, not even the usual small crabs etc.

Part of it was eaten at lunch time today, gently fried off with ginger, soy and spring onions…… drool. I’m sure Anna will be updating her recipes pretty soon.