WEST WALL WILL OPEN SATURDAY and SUNDAY 5/6TH MARCH 7AM TILL 5PM

EAST wall closed for at least 2 weeks

Hmm i’m sure there is a song in that there title so where to start….

West wall

dave is nearly finished jet washing the main part of the west wall(ext to be done later)
East wall
We have contractors working on the upper walk ways for the next month but we do have access to try and start repairs on the east which are quite extensive and cant as yet give a time scale for how long this will take.

We have large 1/2 ton sizes of concrete that need breaking up and removing, at least 21 wires not only need repairing/replacing but new fixture points need doing on many as the red “T” bars have been smashed away, thus new securing points on uncracked wall are needed and there are as I understand it(may be wrong) no wires left in stock after the last round of repairs.(delivery time ..no idea)

We also have various pot holes and cracks that need sorting or making safe as well as jet washing so quite extensive repairs unlike the west wall.

BAIT

yes we have fresh ragworm and fresh black in shop , (get in there folks)

I did say good news week didnt i 🙂 weeeellllllllll
. .watch this space is the phrase of the day because
. . .Dave is hoping to announce some even better news V V soon possibly as early as tomorrow evening.

The one downer .. we dont have an eta or any further news as to re starting or even if we will be opening at night at the moment, but thats not to rule it out at a future day so…….
Hopefully this bit of an update should keep people going for a little longer as they await news about when we have all the fixes done
till next time
adieu, au revoir, bon chance and all that stuff
till next time , over n out

F

Is it Spring or has spring sprung ?

Mon 28th feb oh look , its pinch punch day tomorrow ! Both walls closed all week unless im told differently.
Dave is hoping to get going on the west with the jet washer as soon as work and time allows him. Contractors start on the east today for about a month, at time of typing all i know is they are working on the upper level and vehicle access is needed.
They will be asked somewhen as to if the shop can access the lower section via the side gate to get some of the repairs and concrete debris moved, when that happens we will gradually get a clearer picture on how long it will take to get the east back into some useable state.

Yes the weather is lovely , that doesn’t automatically mean the walls are open or safe to go on. All updates will be posted here or on the group facebook page. If you hear the walls are open , please check and get it confirmed here/on facebook or with dave.
Tons of rumours circulate, just because its posted online doesnt always make it real.

Tight lines if you have the chance to have a dangle today , it looks unusually nice out there today. F

Well here we are after the storm that was after the storm or summat like theat. Dave has managed to get up onto both walls to get checks and assess the damage expected. so lets start with the
WEST WALL , not counting the extension the west has amazingly got off lightly and will probably be the fastest back into an opening condition. The usual storm debris chucked up from heck knows where when storms happen so a minor tidy up and a case of get the jet washer out on what needs doing (half done pre storm), an issue with old hoses has been sorted with new hose on route so if the weather allows things may get sorted fairly quickly and opened (we shall see)

Over on the EAST WALL, things could have been much worse than they are but there is a fair old bit that’s taken a bashing.
The 3rd white gate at 29 is for want of a better term departed. Its been well mashed as has the “cage/gate” 1 bay from the white gate at 29.
We are lucky that no red posts have been smashed but with weakened fittings and similar to the redTbars cable pins currently 21 of the wires have been ripped out & much more poor weather will see a few more joining those already lost. Some very large chunks and part slabs of concrete that make up the step terracing have come away doing their own form of damage so repairs there will take time.
On top of all the listed damage we have contract work over due to start working on the upper levels of the east as soon as they can safely get up there (prob starting next week)which means a chat with them once they begin about having access to the lower level to do a clean up and begin repair work. for obvious reasons we cant say how long things will take to get the east in order as access is still to be worked out so as not to mess with the contracted work going ahead.

Dave is trying to source some fresh black but struggling as so few diggers have chanced the beaches. Rag worm he is hopeful to have thurs or fri
Shop Thursday open 9am til 1pm
and Friday shop open 8am til 5pm

Dave now has his new toy , aka jet washer. Trial runs today and yesterday and its powerful, maybe hoses were old but some teething issues with hose bursts but, BOTH WALLS CLOSED TODAY with jet washing on main section of the west up to the toilet block with extension to do at a later date. East shut today for drain inspections.
Once the west is sorted I believe the plan is to do a rolling jet wash on the east likely starting at bay one , yea you know the drill, anything can happen so watch this space.
Weather looks a bit naff this week and homepage indicates closed for a full week at least but obviously if any reasonable clear days they may get utilised.
As far as im aware during the week the shop is still closing about 1pm but that most likely will slowly get extended thus returning as much as possible a normal status.
I’m lacking any real catch info to post up as a bit out of the loop this week with personal and health issues.

On that front I can post the following below.

Hospital visit went well, in short the plan was to use a guided needle process to burn away the tumour thus avoiding a more invasive kidney removal. While there I agreed to take part in a study program that form me meant an extra “trace” mri scan but for them allows them to improve scan processes and methods of treatment … it was a no brainer to say yes.
Four “After” scans were done yesterday, 2 were a newer type with a deeper scan ability, in short described as able to tell dead from living tissue with a few other refinements and I was informed that I was the very first to have this type of scan at St. Thomas’s hospital, the benefit of agreeing to take part in the new study.
Upshot of this all was they were able to give me the results fairly quickly rather than packing me home with a 4 week wait on imaging results.
Specialist visited late afternoon to say that ……
…… as far as they can see they have got all of the tumour.
Now while that meant he wouldn’t say i’m 100% cancer free its as good as it gets and I wouldn’t need to go back in a couple of weeks for an early follow up scan thanks to the ability of this new scan process, yes it’s that good.
For me now I will have a follow scan in 3 months to cover bases on if there is any regrowth or changes which is a longer time than the standard come back in a month. Yes they are that confident of this method.
While this doesn’t fix all of my health issues (im a walking disaster to most GP’s) it has for now removed my greatest health fear and the damage that hearing those 3 words of YOU HAVE CANCER does to a person and put the fear of god into me.

One thing I have learnt from this if anyone is diagnosed is to talk to someone close that will talk straight with you, no frills or fluffy chat just straight blunt as it is talk through. If that person has not personally dealt with cancer find a second chat partner as well who has been through everything cancer entails, they have been there so it feels like they could be inside your head, they have had the fear and felt the doom that a diagnosis often delivers.

I am thankful to a few people who especially helped me to keep my sanity over and on top of the well wishers and messages i have had over the last few months. I can’t emphasise enough about finding someone to talk with that will “give it to you straight” they have been where you are/maybe now.

So it is now back to the fishing reports at a random rate even when I’m rambling for the sake of padding out a report …
Tight lines folks and don’t forget to feed the seagull god before you cast out 🙂

F

unfortunately the late change in forecast meant that the call was made to keep the walls shut, facebook pages were updated but I will admit to leaving the homepage late on this website and as a result wasnt updated til about 8pm last night.
Dave hoping to get the new jet washer out on the walls weather permitting this week to start cutting into the algae on the walls.

F

Both walls will be open sat 2nd, forecasts give a poor reading for Sunday so will remain closed that day.
On the good news front , the jet washer that was ordered failed to materialise which meant that the company he ordered from sent an alternative machine, indications from how it looks say he has been given an upgrade or at least a bigger machine :). Work will begin as soon as there are a few clear calmish days to het cracking on things.
Fishy fronts are doing ok for plaice, whiting, rays and bass with early signs of mullet being reported in LEWIS and harbours in Sussex so there is stuff out there to target, not heard any gossip of herring this week but no reason why they wouldn’t be about.

It almost feels like spring out there while the sun is shining so expect mother nature to throw a paddy sometime this month and dump snow & hail on Sussex sometime soon 🙂
Fresh black came in today and there will be fresh ragworm in shop on Thursday im told.
till next time

F

A bit remiss of me this week not putting up at least one post here this week but, I will use the excuse of being a bit distracted with hospital visits for pre op tests in London :).

Catch report simply put is, the plaice are in … or at least seem to be in. Crystal clear water as some anglers have put it has seen a rapid pick up of plaice catches al along Brighton seafront as well as on the marina when open.

The latest update re opening on the walls are that Dave is adding days in when the walls are dry & he thinks there will be a reasonable footfall on the walls to help reduce the algae. Last info I had was that dave was awaiting the jet washer being delivered. At time of typing im not sure if it has or has not yet arrived.
The main issue is as said the algae that is ok to walk on while the dry weather without frosts hold. One the jet washer is inplace its expected that the west will ket knocked into shape up to the tower block the over to the west to hopefully do a rolling opening of some sorts. Of course the plans depend on the weather playing ball and dave having time to sort the jet washing which he prefers to do himself. While we always have many that offer to do the jet washing the insurances and conditions with them prevent him using walk on help (previous incidents meant a tight insurance policy).

Back to the fish front , anglers are reminded that bass throughout Jan & Feb should return all bass caught and the minimum size when allowed to take them is again 42cm and a max of 2 per 24hr session.
Water tems seem a couple of degrees higher than the norm for Jan and likely due to the mild winter this and last year tho many will point also at global warming, what ever the reasons it seems to have benefited anglers in making Jan less dull than usual.

Plenty of whiting still out there and as usual around the marina there are bass & mullet lurking, locally rays , dab & flounder are about and anglers are still finding small pockets of herring hitting the walls and shoreline briefly around the high water marks. Inshore boats are also picking up an occasional mackerel on baits and herring set ups. It wouldn’t surprise me to see squid or cuttle catches in this clear water period also.
Things are looking up rather oddly for what is normally a dull month of grinding for fish :).
F

Both walls to open again this weekend with an extended session on saturday on the east til 10pm.
Warden may chose to open beyond the gate if dry enough.

.
west expected to open sat & sun 8am til 4.30/5pm

fresh ragworm in for friday & frozen black

F

As title says , the walls will open this weekend aproximately 8-8.30am on the east wall followed by the west . East will open up to 26ish with west to the tower.

We are apble to open due to the decent dry weather and providing there are no heavy frosts to soak the algae wall will open this weekend daytime only.

Jet washer has been delayed until the 25th of jan !