Ok, a bit of something different today, 2 blog updates … oh yippeee !
Right, by now you should have seen the first one regarding updates and /or changes to bait collection rules, so, now that is out the way I can do a normal blog entry as below.

Yesterday I managed to get out after abandoning a visit to the EAST due to the fact it was pishin it down as I was all set to load up the quad ! Thus the trip got cancelled. After a call from Alex things went ahead yesterday lunchtime ISH.
Got on the wall just before 2pm and there was loads of space as expected & I had a target of bay 38 to 41 in my head. pffft went that as someone was set up there with 4 rods erk, anyhoo ended up on 43, close enough I figured as that region had been fishing ok for flatties.
Squid & frozen black was order of the day as didn’t have any fresh yet so set up one rod long & 2 light rods medium-ish. Catches at the time had been a few mackerel early, a couple of decent wrasse & bream and a light scattering of plaice.
Sunshine, calm water but very obvious may rot on the low tide. As the tide came up so the fern like weed started collecting on any clips, snaps & hooks and got worse towards the high tide of which I didnt see(8pm) as body and mind called it a day about 7ish with a slow wind down and trundle back home.

The fishing ?
For me wasn’t that great, multiple changes of bait with some frozen worm that was dried out plus the standard sticky black after it defrosts, 2 types of squid strips used in various combos & at varying range. one rod was a standard boom arm bream type rig with #2s, 2nd light rod had a one up 1 down with a few beads, a long #4 on bottom & a #2 above. Third rod was a short rig with a wider gape ‘#1’s that had at varying times squid strips, black loaded on & various mixes of both and even tried a decent sized squid head with the hook set amongst the tentacles.
All in all, a few bites 2-3 decent knocks & loads of chatting equalled up to a massive… yup another blank.
Alex fared a little better with 2 plaice returned although 1 was a decent size plus he also had a flounder just as we were packing it down.
While we were there a few mackerel came out mid tide about 6pm that got everyone’s (almost everyone) feathers out, me I stuck a metal lure out and had a few flings but being late in the day(for me) I rapidly found out what my spine thought of faffing about with a lure after going through the motions of fishing for 4 hrs. No pictures yesterday(not sure why )
Catch wise Id say the last 2 days were in general slower than previous days, possibly the small tides, maybe the may rot or a combo, although perhaps there were a few more than recent days mackerel catches. There were a few targeting Bass at both ends of the wall and despite plenty of gull activity in the marina entrance about 5.30pm nothing came of the higher bays other than plaice yesterday.

As a result the bulk of catches over the last 3 days Id say were mackerel & plaice, with appearances also from dab, smooth hound pups, a ray or two, bass, wrasse, gurnards(grey & tub)

The weather looks to close in after today. The plan tomorrow is to open the east as normal and then judge things as the weather system progresses so please keep an eye here on the home page and also the marina fishing fb group for updates
That it for today folks
Have a good BHol weekend and I will see ya on the other side.
Until then I bid you all ADIEU
F

Latest Bait collection info from Sussex IFCA

Sussex IFCA Email re bait collection

>>>>

Dear Stakeholder,

The Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority are pleased to report that the exploitation of sea fisheries resources within the District will receive enhanced management by ensuring the long-term sustainability of shore gathering activities on marine organisms, in the Sussex IFCA District intertidal areas. The Hand Gathering (Restrictions and Permitting) Byelaw 2021 has been approved by the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Rt. Hon. Steve Reed MP.

The new Byelaw will enable the regulation and recording of hand gathering activities for a range of marine organisms, including shellfish, bait species and seaweeds. It introduces bag limits for various specified species, for anyone hand gathering within the Sussex IFCA district. From the 1st July 2025, anyone intending to gather any of the specified species above these limits will require a Hand Gathering Permit. It also introduces additional bespoke restrictions for relevant Marine Protected Area sites, that will protect the designated features of these sites. This Byelaw will safeguard the most vulnerable and ecologically important intertidal areas, supporting the sustainable management of these fisheries within the Sussex IFCA district, and the ecosystem services they provide.

For those intending to gather specified species above the defined limits, permits can be purchased from the Authority and will last a period of one year from the date of issue. Permits may have associated conditions including areas in which collection can occur, limits on quantities that can be collected and the requirement to submit returns data.The use of permits and flexible permit conditions support adaptive management based on evidence derived from permit holders. The byelaw should be read in conjunction with the flexible permit conditions and byelaw guidance material.

Sussex IFCA have produced extensive guidance for stakeholders on the Hand Gathering (Restrictions and Permitting) Byelaw 2021, including specific guidance for permit holders, and for each of the six Marine Protected Areas covered by the Byelaw. Please see attached our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document and Hand Gathering Factsheet, supporting promotion of the Byelaw introduction.

The Byelaw in full and following guidance documents can be found on the Sussex IFCA web pageshttps://www.sussex-ifca.gov.uk/regulations#HG-byelaw:

Hand Gathering (Permitting & Restrictions) Byelaw 2021 Full Text

Introductory Guidance Document

Permit Application Guidance Document

FAQ Document

Quick Reference Guidance Document

Plus, specific Hand Gathering guidance documents for each of the defined management areas where additional provisions are applied:

Chichester Harbour

Medmerry & Bracklesham Bay

Pagham Harbour

Adur Estuary SSSI

Beachy Head East & West MCZ’s

Dungeness, Romney Marsh & Rye Bay

We hope the provided guidance documents will answer any queries you may have, but please feel free to contact us at admin@sussex-ifca.gov.uk, or on 01273 454407 for further information.

Regards,

Sussex IFCA

Rob Pearson

Yea yea yea, no “Beatles” and yup I know this one is past due, but, occasionally I get distracted by real life and forget to sit & type up something here.
Sooooo In the words of Marvin Gaye… “what’s going on”(if you don’t know, look the man up)
lets start with your favourite and everyone else’s, with… yup MAY ROT.

I recon its safe to say that the MAY ROT (algae bloom) is well and truly with us, but its not all doom and gloom as it does (on the walls) seem somewhat patchy and shifting about. It seems that the tide as it ebbs & flows is moving it about quite a bit so if you do set up with dark patches in front of you there is a good chance that as some point that it may thin or even move. Quite strange this year as usually its like pea soup everywhere until the water temps rise enough to start killing the stuff off en mass.
How to tell if its dying off?, easy the water surface develops that brownish foam that many mistake for sewage. The foam may stink like bad eggs and collect floating debris in it but its defo not sewage its the algae throwing out its final twist as it dies. The more sunshine we now get the better as the sea temp will rise above the levels that the algae can survive.

By now you may be realising that I don’t have a lot to say about the fishing but, thats not quite true as the weekend just gone turned into a bit of a conger fest for some people with myself and some of the wardens seeing a few of those giant sea slugs being caught on the higher bays (yea you know where). Anyhoo across fri, sat & sun I saw evidence of 7 that were 5 foot plus & 2 or 3 up quite close as 3 were picked up Sunday while I was there.

I did have a dabble on the dropping tide Sunday but only had the one plaice that when hooked took off like a bream on speed, once I got it in I found out why, no perfect lip hook for me, ohhhh no, straight through its eye was I, no wonder it fought more than most plaice !..
Friday closing time on the wall saw a 9lb+ stingray landed above 30 somewhere, Im still hoping someone out there got a piccy but Im sorta giving up on that.

Overall the weekend wasnt the easiest but there were some mackies over the high tide for 5-6 days in a row, the standard amount of plaice and a sprinkling of bream also to be had… (may rot slowdown on catches is showing). adding to the tallies also were tub and grey gurnards, dab and flounders, strangely enough there still seems to be some dogfish about and we are also seeing the occasional small smooth hound and a few rays. Bass catches seem low on the wall but that may be a case of few actually targeting them when they are about. There are smaller species down the Vs but tbh they are a bit hit & miss amongst the clearer patches of may rot & so far I can only confirm 1 mullet caught of about 3lb but, there may be more as many of the mullet dudes say little.

Overall Id say things are okay ish and prob better than I would expect for this time of year with the may rot building fast to its full levels.

WEATER ALERT for those reading this far, Sat & Sun starting to look quite iffy and if XCWEATHER is correct there is a high chance of the fishing being closed on both days but, I will post here and on the FB group as fast as I get the info.

And finally, no not “good night from me & goodnight from him” A word or two about the spider crabs………. WTF are they ?, nope not really seen any, one or 2 caught on the wall, one pictured on the gallery was a big bugger too, so by now I would have expected the things to now be marching in ranks of 20 abreast like some Napoleonic division of Frenchies aimed at the east wall. Flip, I swear some years they arrive with knives & forks at the ready to demolish baits and lines. This year it seems that either they are late… or getting jiggy jiggy somewhere else…… hmmmmm summat to ponder as I consider a dabble on the east today.

Ok so it wasn’t quite finally, I near forgot to add a reminder if you havnt noticed the additional notice on the home page re the shop and some bait availability at weekends
I have been asked to post the following info from/for the shop

SHOP INFO

from 6th June, NEW opening at weekend. Friday & Saturday’s only
The shop will be open till 6.30pm
and then from 7pm till 8.30pm will be doing bait and tackle on the east wall. This is a trial run and weather dependent if all goes well it will continue

Aaaannnnnddddddd with those final words and these, until next time folks.. I bid you all ADIEU
F

Yeeee haaaaa ride em cowboy…

So, I took the quad for a lazy spin around the marina yesterday, for those still unaware, the WEST WALL will be closed to all for a few months and the last estimation is late September before anyone has access, and yes it could be longer, its very much of an unknown at the moment.

Anyhoooo…
Over on the EAST after indulging the 2 very friendly dogs at the cafe & asking the owner I i can fatten them up with dog biscuits I rolled onto the wall having passed MARK going the other way who informed me that the last bit of jet washing was almost finished and the whole of the east is now available to fish from.
YES ALL OF THE EAST IS OPEN and opening hours are currently 6.30am and gates are locked at 8pm
FROM MONDAY 19th MAY the EAST will CLOSE AT 9pm

And from that update we go to a fishy update/ wall round up for yesterday. not a massive amount of anglers yesterday but was pleasantly surprised to see some old familiar faces that have been regulars over the years as well as a few current regulars like James with his lure rods. Unfortunately Im chronic at remembering names, even when I have seen some people fishing for more than 20 years, My excuse is as always , for most im fairly easy to remember being one of the points of contact and the facebook group as well as my ramble on posts(like todays is rapidly becoming.

As I was saying about familiar faces, the first had so many layers on I asked him if he was not cooking in so much gear & stopped & chatted for a few mins to find out that there definitely had been mackerel caught, some of them quite big and plump and he had seen a couple of plaice and bream.
2-3 bays up a couple were fishing that have been visiting the marina for some 30+ years and over the last 10-15 years often with another wall regular Armando Britto, yes a name I can remember, mostly as he often likes to book the extension over night and fish until about six am. Any hoo the couple were in their favourite spot on the east, this time without their kids…. not that they are kids now that they are now in their 30’s and wall regulars themselves.
Spent quite a while catching up and found out they live near Wembley stadium, (something in my head says they have told me this before) and the obvious thought occurred that if I every get Wembley tickets I probably have somewhere very convenient to crash, so if they are readers here they are now forewarned on what may be in the wind. 🙂 Well, when I returned from the higher bays the husband was reeling in something that ALEX glanced at said “looks like a dab, cba to get a pic” well nosey old me looked & thought, thats no dab , go look closer its too big for a dab(yea the do go large sometimes).

was it a dab ?
Gawd no, what he had reeled in was a 33cm “small” turbot that was quite plumb & by my estimate around the 2LB + mark. larger than most Ive seen on the wall & not such a common catch this far inshore. while helping him disgorge and check my size list on website like a plonker forgot to get a picture so guys if you read here please get a pic if it hasnt already been eaten !

As members of the marina group will know earlier in the day a large (for the wall)conger that looked close to 6foot long & will be on the gallery today once ive finished my essay :).
Mackerel while not showing in shoals do seem to be slowly increasing and are still mainly a couple before & after the high tide but as I understand it there were a few early on opening also and regarding high tides I cant confirm but suspect most of the bream caught yesterday were also close to the high.
Now news for those that like to chase the mullet. Yes one was caught yesterday, Ironic that “mullet Dave” was set up in his usual manner for a couple of hours when along comes Roy, sets up 2 bays from dave and near first drop reels in as I was told by dave a 3lb mullet. It defo made me laugh when dave told me, he certainly looked miffed 🙂

Now what with the conger, the mullet and the turbot one may have thought that that would be it for the day regarding lesser common catches for the day amongst the plaice, flounder, dab, bream mackerel and schoolie bass but after chatting with MARK there was another tale to tell just before closing.

As most are aware the wardens usually remind people 15 to 30 mins prior to gate lock time to start winding in & packing, last night usual time for Mark about 20 mins to go everyone was getting the nudge as usual & Mark on getting to a couple of the mid wall bays found two single anglers one being a teen asked mark having packed 95% of his gear if he could have 1 more cast, Mark agreed and worked his way to the gate to wait for all lo leave. With everyone off bar the 2 singles mid wall Mark went up to give them a nudge only to find the lad with something large in the net telling Mark that he had caught a STINGRAY!
marks thoughts, “yea right Stingray, more likely a thornback” On opening the net for a better look I can just Imagine his face as lo & behold a 9lb+ STINGRAY !, what a way to finish the day off. Like myself earlier Mark overlooked getting the piccy so I just hope the lad did.

Today seems to be off to a decent start although at last post to the FB group there were not many fishing(I expect with decent weather & a high at 14.46 it will fill up. Catches today already have been plaice, dab, mackerel & schoolie bass plus, potentially a decent sole although my brain says prob flounder because the angle is quite hard to judge BUT will give benefit of doubt & say it was a sole without a clearer image.

MAY ROT UPDATE
on the lower than 50 bays the rot is very visible in the water giving an almost nuclear glow to the water although yesterday above 55 due to the tidal drag outwards looked much better and while the rot is obviously there the visibility higher up was decent and I could see the rocks clearly a metre down.
Well thats it for today, I will probably take the quad down again today, my in head plan is to get out & about as much as possible even if im not fishing. I still enjoy the social side of being on the marina walls and chatting to the various anglers & seeing what’s being caught(as well as feeding biccys to everyone’s dogs :).
And with that my ramble comes to an end and until the next post(maybe tomorrow or next week) I will bid you all ADIEU
F

GREAT NEWS, as of 1pm today (fri) the EAST WALL will finally be fully open.
Big thanks to MARK & his team for quickly finishing the wall jet washing once the marina were able to AT LAST restore a water supply to the wall.

Long over due, but it is at last JOB DONE.
Plaice, dab, mackerel and a decent ray reported by the warden this morning.
And with that mini post I will bid you all ADIEU
F

Some of the galleries updated with additions too “views” & “Marina” galleries plus a couple added to the “infamous” page.
Fishing wise the may rot is taking a grip and clearly visible in the water, the weather seems stuck on a pattern of northerly /easterly breezes that can be quite strong and tied in with the decent sunshine it can be deceptive on how much the sun is impacting on people fishing for a few hours on the wall. Quite often people will be starting to burn without realising is especially if they have removed shirts & even shoes. Take care out there, sunburn is very unpleasant.

On the catch front, plaice, bream, a conger or 2(they seem quite active atm) mackerel seem mostly for a short while over & around the high tide marks, likewise a gurnard or 2 are among the catches. May pop down later this afternoon for a looksee & chat with whoever is on duty.
Thats about it for today, so, until next time I will bid you all ADIEU
F

Gordon Bennett! I find myself typing at 6am! wtf! body playing games on me, cant settle so got up daft early. Transport up to London (Guys) for a yearly routine kidney scan is booked for 8am so no doubt catch a few zzz’s on the way up.

Anyhooo less of that and what about the fishing?
Well, for the first weekend I think its fair to say that the wall was busy Sat & Sun, I even had a dabble after watching jnr’s game of footy on east Btn Park… shan’t say the result as they played a team about 4 leagues above & it truly was their 1st game as a team.
On the fishy front a few mackerel were caught on Saturday on the bend very briefly around the high. Sunday saw more of the same and I did see one dude with a bucket of maybe 16 or so as I went on the wall at about mid day(more on that in a bit.)
There have been bream over the last few days and locally Im aware of a few rays being caught , likewise reports of small hounds are starting to filter in so no doubt the world and his pal will be wanting soft and hard back crabs to go charging off to Bracklesham bay to land hounds in 10 inches of water !, nope unimpressed.
Plaice and dab seem a bit thin on the ground this week and contrary to one report in marina group Ive not heard of any gar fish on the wall for a few weeks although the local boats are reporting some.
Yes there are bass about if you know where but with the stronger easterlies things have been a bit lean with that old saying about wind in the east being commonly heard.
Down the sides things are picking up with scorpion fish(bullheads), gobies, and blennies being caught and plenty of signs of fry in the water.
Reading Robin Howards excellent blog it seems that the sand eels are also n the move, his blog is an excellent guide to pick up what is about locally and highly recommended. This week we have also had a few gurnard caught out on the sand, some quite close to the wall. Ive not heard of any mullet on the wall as yet but im sure they cant be far off and continuing on the fishy list we are seeing more pollack than has been for a while which is good to see.

Now, have I missed anything ? hmmmm yes actually I did, during the week I also saw a couple of thornbacks landed, granted not adult but good to see another species adding to the tally as was the conger landed erm in a landing net after it unwisely swam into the net and a special mention again of the topknot caught on one of the upper bays this week.

I have started getting down onto the walls most afternoons even if not fishing and a couple of times I have bumped into wall regular and marina resident JOHN who asked me about catching these fish (usually I only see 2-4 of these a year so this one has started us off) For those unaware Topknots like to attach themselves flat against sea walls and can be caught quite high up unlike the usual targets on the sand. So if you are trying for one you will need to set your hooks quite high up usually as they dont seem to be caught much on the bottom.

Finally a little request to all fishing the wall. If you see anyone using the upper level as a toilet please alert one of the wardens or shop staff if its open. It is a disgusting practice an always males too lazy to either find the toilets at the loch gates or even pee over the side. Anyone caught doing this are likely to get banned…… and from me if you can get a pictue of the bugger I will post the image to the website, I may not be able to name but I will be able to shame.

And finally, do you recal the dude with the mackerel bucket on Sunday ?
well as I said I went for a dabble on the wall after watching jnr’s footy game. well we both did & while fishing had a catch up with Alex and Ashley. TBH I wouldnt call it fishing. Bright sun and a dropping small tide made for very few bites and in all honesty I wasnt really into the fishing bit and spent a fair bit just chilling in the sun. Jnr ignored to put his shirt back on while there and sorta paid for it later looking like a part cooked lobster in the morning. Any hoo come 4 pm we both agreed enough was enough & my body was also closing down on me quite fast so the decision to pack was a wise one & prob just in time .Sometimes my body can just fold on me and Sun was one of those days. V unusually I was in bed by 9.30! quite rare but was absolutely knackered.

So what about the bucket dude ?
Well he was still there at 4 pm feathering away with maybe 1 more fish in the bucket. Now by my calculation those fish would have been caught over the high tide Sunday morning about 11.30am or earlier and they were still sat in the bucket at 4pm.If he had some distance to travel home that would likely add at least another 2 hours by time he packed , got to the multi & travelled home. The fish potentially were stewed in the heat of Sunday, it defo was a hot one. If you are going to keep fish in a bucket please change the water from time to time or they will near pickle in the summer heat and be no good for eating.
Catching fish is great but if the fish care following catching isnt looked after all you will have by time you get home after a 2-4 hour drive is stewed and spoilt fish that can do harm to those eating them.
please look at how you keep your fish once caught.

Well thats it for this mornings silly early report & until the next one I bid you all ADIEU
F

A different heading for todays blog. Why ? because to be honest I couldn’t think of an apt title for the blog. No matter, lets get too it.

And so the bank holiday has been and gone and its been a few days since the last post so I better be putting up a round up or at least some padding to make the blog look like there is tons going on.

Prior to catches I thought Id post a little about the tacklebox. As most are now aware dave has passed the shop on as well as the running of the fishing walls. They are now SEPERATE from each other.
The shop has no control over what is happening on the wall. They get tons of calls still asking about night fishing, which wall is open , why is the west shut etc.
Simply put, most of the time they dont know and thus are fielding questions by phone because ppl are too reluctant or CBA to look here.

This website carries all the info needed and the shop almost never look at it.
Likewise, MARK ROBBINSON runs the walls and has little to no feedback from the shop.
Questions about the walls should be directed here or to him. he has little to no info on what is happening with the shop. He doesnt know if the shop is open nor what time the shop shuts on any specific day as neither are tied together any more.

I have spoken with the shop owner suggesting a split shift type of opening to cover high tides and afternoon anglers then are able to get bait BUT….. The owners big concern is lack of customers when he is open in the morning and I have a suspicion he doesnt realise there is a demand for bait a couple of hrs before a high tide. His view ATM is that he will be glad when the good weather is here and more want to go fishing AND THEN he could open longer hours for customers who he feels are simply not there ATM.
yes I have now spoken to the shop ppl to try to resolve this on a few occasions, so far offered solutions have not been taken up. I will continue to press the shop to open at least for an hour… or two for bait collections in the late afternoons but I dont seem to be getting very far.

ok thats done, whats been happening on the fish front down there.
Nowt on the west as its shut until at least end of September thus NO NIGHT FISHING.

Over on the east across the last few days since I last posted there has been….

An increase in plaice and bream catches. Some of the ballan wrasse have been good sizes although the colourful corkwings dont seem to be about much as yet.,….. Likewise it seems like rays are on the increase , especially the number of thornbacks coming up on the wall as well as on a few of the beaches with pics from some of the regulars who night fish nearby.
Squid & cuttle seem to have given us a bit of a swerve again. three years absence in the spring and noticeably also that spring 10day run of mackerel that used to be so regular and now clearly missing from inshore waters around Brighton!
Purely based on me reading Robin Howards excellent blog for BIF1 the bass are also on the increase in size and quality and this should also be noticeable all along the east wall. Robins blog /photos reports etc can be found here>>>> https://www.brightoninshorefishing.co.uk/ well worth checking out and nope I dont gain a think posting up the link.

back on th fishy front, A week or two back it was posted that the spiders were here and although there have been a few reeled in I cant say that there are tons of the buggers out there yet. most anglers wont even see one yet .. so decent news there tbh.

As well as the usual flatties out there it does seem like we have had a marked increase over the last 10 days of dab catches. Now, while most are quite small if you do manage to find a plump one rather then the many that seem see through ! they do actually make good eating and well worth a go at. Adding to the tally of flatties & rays Ive noticed quite a few flounders being caught on higher bays as well as the standard areas over the mussel beds (bays9-16). Once species that does seem lacking atm is dover sole. Perhaps the brighter sun light days have pushed them more into a nocturnal pattern.

Now, regarding good eating also out there over the sands there are increasing reports of gurnards. While the sizes so far are quite small (please check size guide page on site) those in size make damned good eating. Gurnards on the east seem most common on the wall as it straightens out around bay 22 right the way up to 55 and have been known to grab at more than one baited hook on a rig.

Smaller species are now becoming common down the sides and if they younger anglers get bored watching you, how about setting them up with a light rod and drop a baited line down the Vs. Blennies , scorpion fish(AKA bull heads),gobies often lurk right under the wires on them Vs and in some areas of the wall can be found pollack. Not the big beasties found on the wrecks offshore but some of them are large enough to make a meal for one.

Mackerel! there , I used the M word(god forbid 🙂 ) have been distinctly lacking especially as mention the spring run, 3 years in a row its simply not happened inshore although Im told by boat owners that they are out there off shore. So far on the east wall there have been perhaps 3-4 caught on the wall when the angler numbers are there. Quieter mid week days are luck to see the critters.

I cant say the eel numbers are up although on jnr managed to net one I’m told, yup, netted not baited and hook caught, it seems that it just happened to be in the drop net when it was lifted. I suspect someone was crabbing for spiders with a baited drop net down the V but that’s unconfirmed.

Over all this week the species count has increase but many are still finding things slow. When I had a dabble I found, like many had also commented to me, single type baits worked more than mixing twin baits on the hooks. fresh lug seemed to work best but old worm also was doing quite well. weirdly for me I was having hooks stripped of black and left behind was squid that was wrapped and pinned around the lug, as a result I eventually swapped to just lug and bite rates even on the dropping tide increased or should I just say the bait stripping increase as I managed to blank while loosing a ton of bait while gossiping on the wall & taking pics of other peoples fish !

Yes its my own fault for not paying attention to the rods, and b4 anyone suggests using a bell… no thanks the mere sound of em does my head in. If you cant watch your rod tips in daylight there something wrong with how you are fishing…. so now everyone knows why I blank when I don’t visit the wall as often as I used too (health n all that shit)

So, if you see me on the wall, don’t be shy about stopping and saying Hi, I’m crap with names so assume Ive forgotten your name, while I’m decent remembering faces I truly am hopeless remembering even simple names !

And finally a word, well 2 words that every angler has a love hate with at this time of year….
…. MAT ROT, yup, that old chestnut. IT HAS arrived. as yet , not massively but the died off foam like fuzz on the water is clearly visible on high tides in particular and reports of its visibility also come from Hove anglers.
As most now are aware, may rot is an algae bloom(growth) that happens this time of year as the water temps rise to a particular level. While at prime temps the algae will multiply rapidly and as it grows it absorbs oxygen from the water and creates a sort of sticky matter that can and does block into fish gills hampering the fish to absorb oxygen from the water, thus the fish tend to avoid patches of this “may rot” bloom. the end result is often a sticky gloop & blobs that will get wound in on lines and most of all hamper catch rates as the fish avoid the area.

The best thing to deal with this may rot is for water temps to keep rising so the sea temp rises above a level that this algae can survive which is why when the rot is heavy and it starts to die you will see a brown /green sort of foam form on the water surface that can often smell like bad eggs. The foam is often mistaken by those unaware of the algae and people convince themselves that it is sewage, nope its the rot dying off.
Longish periods of cool over cast days will keep the water temps at desired levels for the may rot to hang around. Thus ideal for shore anglers are a light northerly breeze to push the gunk out to sea to disperse it and combined with nice hot sunny days. The longer it stays dull, the longer the rot will stay and grow…. please mr weatherman , bring on the sunshine.

Thats it for today double sermon, I will now bugger off, go do a bit of shopping (dog food mostly)and have a mooch along the east wall (purely nosey research 🙂 )
And with that all said and done I will bid you all ADIEU
F

May the 4th its STAR WARS DAY!

so, happy star wars day folks, looking out the window Id say things will be a bit cooler out there with that northerly breeze/wind today (good news for all those sunburn bodies from the last 2 sunny days 😉 ) Two continuous days of posts may have people wondering whats going on but nowt to worry about, I just find myself with some spare time while her indoors gets ready to go to todays Brighton game vs Newcastle.

Thus you may wonder how bad was yesterdays catch reports :), the good news is that its not bad news although its not awesome levels. My youngest took to the east yesterday with a mate and came home looking like a lobster half cooked but seemed to enjoy his day on the wall although his catch rate wasnt high.
It seems he has picked up my bug of chatting to the world while down there and then forgetting who he was speaking to especially those who said hi to him & then said “SAY HI TO YOUR DAD FOR ME”! doh! .

Ok, so what was actually caught yesterday ? Well for one young man (very young) I hear that there was a surprise conger landed without a single rig or hook used. It seems as I understand it to simply have been dumb enough to swim into a drop net ! boom. I suspect that is now one youngster hooked for life and if I can get permission I will post the lad with another catch in his hands providing his parent(s) are ok with the pic going public.
Also on the wall a not so commonly caught fish was posted although the angler wasnt facially posted with the catch (still in the drop net) and that was a decent TOPKNOT, again I will try and sort a pic for the gallery.

I should add at this point, that mention of things being cooler today, it may be cooler but please dont get caught out by the sun, its still very capable of burning you especially when there is a breeze to cool things ….. as my son found out.
other catches yesterday included the usual plaice, bass, some dab, bream, I believe a gurnard or two out on the sands also. Things are picking up a little although many will still find things are slow. Fresh worm does sound to be the way to go at the moment , catch rates seem high on single type baits rather than mixing it up.

On a final note I will put a bit here about a chat I had with one angler who lives close to me. I was chatting with Alex the other day who mentioned that he got chatting with some “DUDE” near him. someone who normally he wouldnt talk too and the chat definitely made an impression, this dude fit the bog standard impression us white English types have of foreign people, ya know, they speak different are loud and fit the bill of “oh they never talk to me” or “im not talking to them they are gonna be rude so ya dont bother type of person. Its forgotten that they are also like us/you/me there to catch fish if the can.
Now, Alex is a really nice guy who lives on his own. Much of his socialising is chatting to fellow anglers but I suspect a little shy or nervous talking to people he doesnt know so very often goes fishing then goes home with out seeing someone he knows or more importantly chats to someone he knows.
Well, one way or another Alex got chatting with the cliche type of person most dont chat with, it made an impression on him so much he later on was telling me how much he enjoyed chatting with him about rigs tides and all things fishing. He came away with a different view of those non English anglers that dont chat.. he realised that most are like him, stood on the wall and not talking to the dude in the next bay because to them that dude looks foreign and naturally avoids them just incase summat kicks off, as a society we have become seperated from people and that includes those of a different nationality or colour. Then the shock comes because one gets the balls to say hi or ask if they are ok and the result… a new friend, or a new mind set or even both for some.

Whats my point in the above some ask?
well on the FB group I bang on about chat to the person(s) in the next bay, they may be srangers but they are anglers. You all have common interests and are there to fish the wall. That neihbour may need help, maybe its you that needs the help but here’s the thing, saying hi breaks down barriers , though you may not need help fishing you may need help in other ways… YES ITS GOOD TO TALK.
Alex( if you read this I post with the best intent so please dont be upset ive said a little about you. You found that chat uplifting and it impressed you enough to talk to me about it.
So folks, many of us are out there fishing on our own, its quite a solitary thing if we can do it…. often that person next to you may also live alone and rare speak to others thus much of their socialising is actually while fishing. please say hi to those next to you, Im sure you will benefit from the chat as much as they likely will. No one needs to feel lonely while fishing although it seems like a lonely hobby to some.
Yes it is good to tall….. honest

and with that I will again sign off and bid you all for today ADIEU
F

Things are starting to pick up on the east wall…. finally. Plaice numbers and quality has started to improve. I spent the afternoon down there yesterday quietly blanking and chatting (more chatting) as a result missed plenty of bites as the tide dropped. Either side of me I saw quite a few plaice come out, 2 thornback rays 2 bays from me as well as a couple of crackingly coloured gurnards. 2 or 3 mackerel were caught just before the high along with a few smallish schoolies & a nice shad that got brought down to me for ID carefully held in a towel. it was returned via lowering it in a drop net as they are extremely fragile once out of the water… amazingly it took 20 or so mins to recover but did swim off safely eventually. There was quite a lot of fry and small fish 2-3inches down the sides that to me looked like pollack of which will no doubt start to trigger bass activity.

For me , it was a gorgeous day, next to no breeze & plenty of shirtless anglers. About 5pm it hazed over a little allowing the temps to drop a little allowing ppl to cool off a little. No fish, plenty of lost bites on a glorious May afternoon where I managed to catch up with quite a few that I hadn’t seen for a while. On the plus side, after the high there was plenty of small fish & fry activity, down side clear signs of the may rot building , ho hum!

Tomorrow (SAT) there will be traffic issues in the city centre due to the annual children’s parade and Sunday see’s Brighton & hove Albion play Newcastle at the amex so expect heavy traffic in the afternoon out near the Amex and by-pass routes.

Sat looks like there may be a few showers and if is the case expect the bays above 43 to be closed while wet.
Thats it for today, looking like a busy w/end for me, so if you are out fishing, tight lines, enjoy the bank hol weekend.

And with that I will sign off and bid you all ADIEU
F