Welcome to Friday, ya know the day that everyone now thinks is part of the w/end we all know it’s not but hey who wants too tell em ?
So whats going on down there ? no not AUStralia, the marina.
WELLLLLLLL tbh based on yesterdays visit its a case of back too what seems too be the new normal even though there is a little glimmer of hope if you want too see a fish caught even if its not one of your own.

Its currently a dropping tide as I arrive on the east at the moment but did get a chance too catch up with Ali who was at the start of the wall who informed me there were “a few ” up there, it seems these days “a few” often means its quiet but not quiet dead as it looks like either ppl have given up fishing this year or more and more are hitting the beaches but, I fear social media is the culprit here and that includes my posts and the general lack of posts on fishing groups other than a bit of bickering and a few catch pics and by few I do mean a few. Gone this year are the constant flow of catch reports.

This too me then asks the question. Are the fishing reports far and few because people are not catching ? is it because there are more wanting too hide their venues and catches or, are people simply not fishing as much ? I do suspect that many many anglers chase catch reports and if there are not tons of pics and posts a venue very quickly becomes out of favour. that & the fact that quite simply fishing has been cack this year. Ironically someone said too me yesterday that Shoreham was fishing really well and it set me actually wondering if it is the case because like most places the reports from there are very thin on the ground?

Anyhoo, what did I learn from Ali ? well he did repeat about some squid being caught again from the west side of the marina close too the wall once dark and a couple also caught b4 close last night but the better news was that someone had caught at least one squid somewhere above the steps at 29 and he saw a few mackerel yesterday eve as well as some yesterday daytime.

So off I rolled up the wall with no one below bay 14 it didnt take long too see that it was fairly quiet …. again… are ppl leaving just after high tides ? strange numbers are so low with decent late sept weather tbh. As I went towards 29 it was a case of the 5 or 6 there had blanked and a fair few were already packing as the tide was going out. I stopped and had a chat with one elderly gent (yea there are ppl older than me up there) who had the all too familiar story o no catches and not even seen a fish and I mentioned Id heard a squid had been caught of which he said no chance not seen any near him especially as I said it was only 3-4 bays further along from him.

Odd I thought, most make a fuss or get spotted quickly if a catch is being reeled in, was the squid imaginary ? surely not and it was at that point I heard a familiar voice shout my name and as I looked along the wall I saw ….
….. bugger all as the sun was firmly in my eyes !. And so I reached 29 and 2 very familiar faces who did indeed have a squid, I asked for a pic and was literally handed a phone with the comment here you do it i dont understand how too share pics!
ok so a bit of fiddling(it was Masaru’s phone) as I was expecting the phone too be all in Japanese I managed too send the pic via his messenger to my phone. I stopped with the 2 squiders for a while and chewed the fat catching up & while there saw 2-3 mackerel caught .

In between chats of squid & mackerel I never really did get an idea of catches for yesterday and so todays blog looks more like a deliberate case of pad things out too put a long blog up but that never was part of the plan, it just waffled that way it seems.

Any hoo , that really is it, and so until the next one I guess I will pootle off and bid you al ADIEU
F

The day after……. I went fishing… with JNR. TBH I wouldnt call it fishing though. I met Vic and briefly saw Lee both who had been fishing some higher bay and other than Jnr & I I could see 2 others fishing lower down ! 6 people for most of the day which was quite a surprise being as it was a decent day too be out.
Mind you the catch report wasnt that impressive being as most of the time we both sat there eating custard creams and chewing the fat for the bulk of the time. Swapped baits about, dabbled with a lure rod and had a swing for some squid and then… erm packed up having racked up a huge tally o bites between us numbering about 7!

I did manage too have a longer chat with “ALI” who caught me up on a few catches I hadnt been aware of and he told me that Tues evening on the west wall ledge 6 squid were caught also Tues and it seems on Monday over the high tide some Bream had been caught as well as a dozen or more mackerel spread over those 2 days.

Indications are there of it picking up a bit and Yesterday i also saw “mullet Dave” who stopped on his bike for a brief catch up and informed me of the mullet he had caught for his “late lunch/tea” as well as a decent mullet Mon or Tuesday.
Water conditions are rapidly clearing and although there was some of that string weed about it wasnt close enough too the wall to cause any problems. Now, While I say things seem too be picking up I mean that as in comparison too how the fishing has been of late , absolutely crap, and as I keep repeating it has been a similar story all along the Sussex coast with most venues reporting much less fish being caught, but, the signs look promising and Im hoping that as the squid numbers pick up so will the mackerel follow bringing in garfish also. Time will tell.

One ray of sunlight from the west wall I noticed over the last 2 days was cement lorries arriving on the west too pour cement so it looks like that last caisson is now being filled and better still is that the 2 yellow cranes have now left the wall. It is looking like they are on the final run in…

Thats it for today. I will be on the wall doing a run later today and will probably have a dabble on the east tomorrow with some friends who have been fishing the walls probably as long as I have. And so, that is all for today, no doubt tomorrow will be another blank, so, until the next one, I will bid you all ADIEU
F

A different title for the day I guess for no reason other than it popped into my head just as I was about too type ! Oh how the mind & brain work, well mine does anyway! so now that bit is out of the way ?
As usual(almost) I took the quad onto the wall again by the afternoon the lower bays were empty, granted it was about low tide time but ive been so used too people on the first few bays I sorta expected at least one person fishing there but nope, everyone was above bay 15 by time I got there.

Water quality has improved quite quickly and by this morning I recon the weed will finally be gone and with at least a week of northerlies I expect the water quality too keep improving.
While down there I met Rhoss who was just leaving and he showed me a decent haul of fish. He told me he had 12 plaice of which 7 were keepers. Finally it seems things are improving, a shame its late in the year but hey, the days are mild and not too unpleasant when the sun is out and it seems like there is a fair bit about too keep people interested.

Needless too say that it was quiet, a late Sept day on a low tide fairly late in the afternoon but I did manage too chat with a few regulars of which a couple were fishing the bend. No fish for them but he was showing off a couple of decent drop nets so if anyone is in the market for a decent net, one was triangular with a strong frame that folds flat into a bag supplied, the second was round that folded in half with a strong frame too it. If anyone is interested give me a shout or send an email too the address here via the link on the home page.

Fish wise while I was down there I passed one dude landing a nice looking gurnard although it was too small too keep. Yes there were even some mackerel caught around the high tide and 2 dudes on the wall had a half dozen or so with others also catching. as said Rhos also had a decent haul of plaice on the high bays as did his mate . plaice scattered along the wall during the day and there was talk of bass earlier in the day but that I cant confirm for definate.
Things are showing signs of pcking up at last and although I dont think anyone was squidding on the wall yesterday it seems that there are some out there as I noticed Robin Howards blog as mentioned squid over the last couple of days. It does sort of confirm a probable link between squid and mackerel often starting too arive at similar times of the year and I think I will be paying more attention too it
squid comp ? possible if numbers pick up on catches. Its an absolute bloody pain in the arse now not having the west wall available this year as the night fishing over there is such a great indicator of squid activity. The utumn squid are available in the daylight but catches in the Autumn have always been better in very low light and darkness. V V frustrating as the weather has delayed work being finished on the west and even if we did have access tomorrow I suspect most of the wall would need jet washing but we wont know until we can actually get up there ! fk fk fk fkity fk.

Anyhoo jnr is off today and decided he wants to go fish so I guess I will be also, if anyone wants tackle items come find me on the wall as I will have some bits n bobs.

Thats it for today, no doubt I will blank but fk it lets do it and so with that I will sort my gear out and perhaps have a report tomorrow, and ths until then I will bid you all ADIEU
F

What with the recent amount of storms lately and the lesser number of anglers the east has been sectioned off at 29 due to algae building up on higher bays. With colder weather now upon us the general footfall on the wall makes fully jet washing it impractical.

With work still ongoing on the west and constant weather set backs it is highly unlikely that we will get any use out of the west wall this year especially as it looks like it will be in much need of jet washing also and the work over there is expected too last well into October now.

Yesterday was the last day of our 9pm openings and as of today the east will low close at 7.30pm, while down there yesterday I managed too catch up with a few familiar faces and while the best of the catches (so far) had been on the morning high things did seem to start picking up again as the tide hit rock bottom. let it not be said that fishing the low tide was crap, not sure why so many thing its the case but perhaps it is simply because all they ever target is mackerel and lets face it, so far this year they have been very evident in their lack of numbers or regularity this year.

Anyhoo, the morning I was told had produced a few reasonable (above schoolie size) Bass and for some on the straight section a few plaice had been showing, most of the keepers were too be fair sub 30cm but it was nice too see some with more than the one fish for a change. Also on the flattie side of things with the water still being a bit coloured were some sole one of which I guistimate at about 32-33cm and quite plump.

Conditions yesterday had improved re water colour and with a week of Northerlies ahead I fully expect the water too clean up and hopefully push the huge rafts of bootlace/string/spaghetti weed out too see, on the low in particular it was gathering in huge rafts against the wall making retrieving fish problematic and a few anglers were bemoaning lost fish especially bass and congers.
Species counts and tallies were for a change encouraging with as said Bass, congers, plaice , sole Bull Huss pups, the bream seemed absent but that may be a case of end of season or simply the coloured water. Will be interesting too see if they make a return as the water flushes clean. While I was down there (as said low tide) I actually saw a real mackerel come out and while I shouldn’t be surprised the conditions didn’t favour the chances.
Now that we are fully into September I can also confirm and state the obvious, that out of the sunshine the air is much colder especially as the northerlies take hold so take plenty of warm gear with you even i it does at times feel almost like summer in the sun as air temps are dropping fast.

Now on the radar should be (as the water improves) squid and potentially mackerel(if there are any!) and possibly gar ish in with them and I would not be so shocked if we were too see some herring mixed in there. This year from Dover to Portsmouth the fishing on the south coast has been truly shocking and deo the poorest I have ever known. It would be easy to speculate and lay blame but I fear that over fishing is at the root of the causes, possibly changing conditions, warmer sea temps, the arrival of tuna with their huge appetites ? Global warming ? not convinced as mother nature tends too work in huge cycles that counter balance even if it takes 2-300 years too do so.
Trawlers and factory ships are still getting bigger and bigger replacing traditional methods of drift netting, trawl nets tear up the sea bed reducing habitat and overall modern methods are far more efficient at getting fish out and processed for market add too all o this the global population continues too rise so more & more mouths too feed and add too all of this the increase in popularity of recreational angling also pilling into fish stock and its starting too seem like there is no let up on the fish stock as the planets population increases year on year.

I dont have any of the answers even if there are any but things are reaching levels that are very concerning.
Anyhoo, wrap up warm if you are out having a dabble evening air temps are quite a shock too the system when you have been out in the warm Autumn sunshine.
And with that, I will leave you all with a final thought. My lad, often referred too as JNR is not quite so junior any more being as today is his 24th Birthday ! fek it only seems like a few years ago he was born and turning lives upside-down
And thus, until the next post I will bid you all ADIEU
F

Morning world, as the evenings are now starting to draw in there will be from MONDAY 22nd a change to the opening hours of the EAST wall.
SAT/SUN EAST WALL …6.30am open and close at 9pm
From Monday
EAST open 6.30 and close at 7.30pm

And so to yesterdays round up, of which tbh is only a partial as when I got down there at 4pm things were fairly quiet with only about 10 or 11 anglers on the wall with no one on the high bays above 42 and surprisingly no one below bay 14! something lately that has been fairly rare.
On speaking too most yesterday it seemed fairly quiet but hard too gauge without any morning info, something that has been very common I have found this year but, hey ho, I can only post what I see and can confirm for myself.
Now it would be easy for me too big things up ( I know some do) but I prefer in general straight talking. granted I can be sometimes a bit vague or spend time waffling too pad a blog out but then I guess a blog is in general a sort of free writing thing rather than an accurate assessment of numbers and lists of things caught or even comparisons to prior years fishing on the marina walls. I can confirm in all of the time I have spent on the marina that this year is truly the worst year I have known, but then, that is also true for most of the coastline from Dover in the EAST as far to the west as Portsmouth, the fishing from the shore this year has truly been crap and I could spend hours posting speculation as too why but even I lack the will too do that so, what did I learn yesterday ?
Catch wise yesterday was tough going although not as brutal as Thursday with a nasty wind most of the day making conditions extra lumpy. Im please too say though for the number who were fishing things sorta looked a bit better with a few sole being caught in places along the front section and a couple also around bay 16 area.

Im aware Chris H had 2-3 sole, a 40cm schoolie that was returned and a few other bits n bob and there were quite a few small strap congers launching themselves t baits while I was there (4 til close)
Water conditions were not the best but the day for late September( ok mid Sept) were almost enough too fool people summer had returned with one dude having stripped down too the waist and jettisoned his socks & shoes. I had a hoodie on too run the quad down the hill and it didn’t stay on long I tell ya ! lovely sunshine and it stayed warm right upto the sunset!

Now, when I say water conditions not the best it was on the low very coloured still but there was a hint of green, enough so to show promise of better water as the tide turned and rose yesterday of which it did. As too the weed, that long spaghetti stuff that some often refer too as boot lace crap was there in abundance yesterday. Huge great big fkn rafts of the stuff and as the tide got too the low & slack water it collected in or very close into the “Vs” making close in fishing quite problematic.

While I was down there and had little too do I did get the tele rod out for a dabble with some of my new squid lures and on getting home saw some reports of the boats that were out nearby landing squid so IMO it is worth a go even in the coloured water (its not true that you only get squid in clear water) and with at least a week of light northerlies I expect the water too quickly clean up making conditions much more clmer with clearer waters ahead which (touch wood) should IMO see the squid arrive closer too the walls and perhaps with them a late run of mackerel & gars, yea yea dont laugh but I have a feeling things are not quite yet done and if the clear spell hold we could see an improvement too this years piss poor year.
If the squid & mackerel don’t happen, don’t blame me, all it will mean is my wonky fish radar has got more hopeful than wonky 😂😂

Yesterday for 10 or so anglers id say things were not too bad and as the light dropped (yes its dark at 8ish now) and we stayed open til 9pm (this w/end is the last late one) there were some bigger sea slugs caught on the bend. One I guess was about 12-15lb but it wasnt weighed as the 2 lads fishing there got rapidly busy with late bites and at least one bigger “giant sea slug” aka conger was lost as it broke away from being netted. While not my cup of tea the lads did take the larger one they caught while returning (im pleased to say) the smaller ones.

In many ways its a shame there were not more fishing yesterday evening as it did seem very fishy one the low tide got itself into the turn. There seems too be a believe that fishing the low tide on the east is pointless. Im not sure how that belief has crept in down there as often Ive seen some of the better fish caught on the low.
Perhaps it has come about because of peoples fixation with mackerel and how they can only be caught on the high tides which IMO is absolute bull and once the light levels dropped yesterday there was a definite pick up of catches.

Thats it for today and I won’t be on the east this evening as Brighton play the spuds today at the amex so there wont be a blog posted tomorrow morning other than perhaps a reminder of the times open changes. And with that until the next one , as per I will bid you all ADIEU
F

Good morning John, yes I know you will be reading this probably still pre lunch also, always good too catch up with you especially now as the bike has been put away. I sorta hope as a temp measure for you 😉
Ok, my visit to the wall yesterday was all short n sweet and a case of in & out yesterday with enough time for a short chat with the two fishing. One, Andrew was just about to leave as I got there and I guess its an English thing but other than a quick mention of the congers we chatted mostly about that old English stand bye ….. Yup, the weather & how he hoped to get out on a boat today!

Well, the weather has held so no doubt he & John managed to get out this morning providing there was water under the boat rather than a mud bank! (if you know, you know) I will be closing up this evening to will likely only be carrying a few spares of gear so if you are reading this and planning too fish later & need something I suggest you message me early enough and I can bring supplies down with me.

Flipping back too the wall and a short chat with the final dude fishing prior too the heavens opening up on the world he informed me or should I say confirmed for me that the morning had been congers taking most of the baits chucked out. I just goes too show that the few days shut has left the sea slugs hungry and have got used too anglers chucking food at them 😂😂😂

And with that I am away and so will bid you all ADIEU
F

East will re-open tomorrow Thurs 18th Sept. ATM times remain the same with opening 6.30am and close at 9pm but expect that to change soon as the light starts going earlier.
Wall check was done yesterday and there are no major issues.
Thats it for today, short sharp & sweet
F

Doooommmmmeeeddddd😂😂😂 (dads Army for those that don’t get the reference 😉 ) Yes it’s meant light heartedly but lets face it the fishing this year has been .. simply put , efin cack! granted my usual opening line after not posting for almost a week usually leads with an apology for not posting or at least an excuse for not doing so especially when the walls have been open, so, lets restart this with an excuse/apology 😂

The excuse:- I was very busy this week, didn’t have time in the mornings when at pc, body having a bad start to the day, forgot to post blah blah blah ( by now some have realised i’m waffling and erm , in that sort o mind set to draw this all out 😉
The apology :- oops, sorry forgot too post 😉😂
The reality :- Sun, was nothing too say other than whats in the round up in a bit, T, W, Thurs closed so mostly overlooked updating and tbh yesterday the body was having a fk u morning so the length of time I was at the pc was almost zero soooo, here goes with a round up of the last few days… week.

The week that was, or wasn’t !
For those tht have not had a chance to get out in the last 10 days and the few that simply have missed the info out there the current sea state including the past 10 days have been churned and overall heavily coloured water and although not a problem in itself we are plagued with the long spaghetti weed in large amounts, yesterday there was a pile at the steps at 29 that would have filled a large suitcase. Im told, if there are gardeners out there that the long string stuff makes good fertiliser but its not my thing so couldn’t say for definite.

On the fishy front last weekend was tough going for most but there were some decent bass too be had and some decent ones also dropped on retrieve or for the lack of a net when trying too land them. Over on the FBook group Stuart G posted a report for Saturday that on the higher part of the wall he had Sole, squid, and dogfish over the high but the rest of the day was tough going. There were fish scattered along the wall(inc bass on the low section) all mostly in the morning with little too no sign of any mackerel showing up…. WTF are the fish this year ? Sunday again when I wandered along the wall there were reports o dropped fish, mostly bass again over on FBook Nick S posted a few pics from his day including a giant sea slug of 18.53 when hung on a digi scales and I believe he dropped another ironically smaller than the one he got pics of. Neil R who is a regular on the wall as well as FBook group poster shared his catch of a sole, bass, congers, and hound pups but all in all the weekend by past standards was very tough going for all. yes there were “tidlers” down close to the wall as well as a few scattered bream but the fishing last weekend was very patchy and very tough going other than a airly decent number of Bass caught or dropped for various reasons..

Tuesday the wall reopened after the windy shutdown that was Monday so on Tues I ventured down and met Mrk P coming off the wall with a very decent red mullet/goat fish that went 13.25 inches or in modern parlance 33.5 cm. No I couldn’t remember his name as usual with me but I figured he would (yea B again) post up on the FB group and sure enough he did and thus I have a name on the fish capture 😉. After a few words & catch up I ventured onto the wall and found Phil aka “pieman” fishing bay one but at the time hadn’t caught but no doubt by close he had something for his time. Further along towards the bend there were reports and occasional fish including Bream, a decent Wrasse and then I found someone with a mackerel ! yup honest guv a real and live mackerel what the Actual F! a Mackerel! granted it was a tiddler of about 4 inches and was about too be put too good use as a live bait but sheesh they are this year almost are rare as rocking horse poo!

further along & past 29 a similar story of tough going and an occasional Mackerel! MORE lummy what was going on, as it turned out I think nature knowing what the weather ahead report looked like was taking the piss out of everyone by throwing Mackerel at us and then closing the door as the autumn winds once again blew!.

Sadly the mackies were few n far between and while there they didnt get any larger. Up on the high bays I caught up with a couple who I hadn’t seen in a year or two so was a good place too stop & have a chat & find out if much was happening on the higher bays and was told of Gurnard, Bass caught and others dropped, no one up there had tried for squid so cant confirm any catches yesterday for them.
While up there there was a sudden flurry of activity only too find out someone’s bait had been hit by something(prob bass) and … oh dear no drag set and a rod had vanished over the wall! no doubt never too be seen again ! Bummer!

And that as such while missing some o the catch reports really did sum up the last week of very slow and poor, patchy fishing over the last few weeks. Sadly it’s not just the marina having a cack year, it seems a very wide spread issue for much of the SE coastal area !
we now have a week to 10 day period of wall closure which leaves me fearing, not only for the squid season thats looming but also for the west wall.

On Monday I got too speak with one o the workmen on the west who indicated they had been put back a week due too recent poor conditions and thus the new estimate (weather allowing) was of about a month and they had been working some long hours recently. Now looming we have a close down of at least 10 days which will push us into October and a high chance that the west would need jet washing before we could realistically let anyone onto the wall once the work crews finish. We won’t get access even for Mark too jet wash on the lower level while they work on the upper as there are vehicles constantly in use on the wall and it is classed as a closed work site !

I suspect we may be facing a case of no west wall fishing this year which would be a right bummer for everyone.
Time will tell, thats for sure !

And on that gloomy note I look back, or up on the page back too the opening title,
Mr Mainwaring, were doomed I say………..

And so, until the next one,….. I bid you all ADIEU
F

Walls now closed until re open on Friday Morning
F

Typing at mid day Sat as the title says.
East is currently open and under a close weather watch. The plan is to say open providing it is safe, and further deteriation would likely see the wall close for the remainder of day.
EAST will be open normal time Sunday morning.

On the fishy front I don’t have a huge amount to say, Jordan posted a pic on FB of the conger he had yesterday morning that I have poached for the gallery and will stick also at the bottom of this post. When I went down yesterday conditions were not the nicest ive seen on the wall;) but it was (obviously !) still open and a dozen or so had lines in the water. Other than the conger yesterday I did hear of a bass caught in the morning but have no details so in a way it stays as a rumour as I can’t get anyone that saw it to confirm for me.

Poor conditions for the last 2 days with strong SW winds that have kept the water churned. lots o weed visible catching on lines and rigs although it is small amounts and short fern like seaweed coming out that in all honesty not too much of an issue. Once the winds die no doubt the weed will become a pest for a few days as it clears.
Blowy conditions will continue right through the weekend and into Monday with Tuesday looking the better (wind wise) of days this week. Basing on xcweather it looks like things settle somewhen Friday evening so that we have calmer conditions for SAT & SUN next week.

Thats it, short n sweet for today so other than the conger pic from Jordan I will until next time bid you all ADIEU
F

Jordan with his catch yesterday morning, no weight or length details.