Bream numbers now increasing on both walls & it seems that bait is the best way to go for some decent fish. Plaice , sole, wrasse, rays of decent sizes and plenty of smaller species down the sides.

Reports of mackerel are few and far between ATM but decent reports deal way so expect them back soon in numbers . On the wall a few mackies reported fri/sat but no big amounts.

Im out for a dabble tomorrow on a charter for the 1st time this year , hopeful of a few bream at least.

F

So a couple of days gap between reports …. Still next to no mackerel on the marina but this is not that unusual with fairly changeable weather over the previous week with shut downs & dirty water…

What we are getting is some decent fish on baits on both walls, pictured below is one of the undulate rays caught on the 30th July east wall

We have also seen a surge in the quality of bream on the west in particular and now seeing a few bream & wrasse on the east wall. Plaice are still ticking over on the sand on both walls. Bass are back .. did they ever go away ?? maybe not but the quality of size has again bumped up to the 6lb marks during the week. Add in some eels & gurnard & signs are there that the bait fishing is on the upward swing.

F

Back open after a weekend of closed and the main story on the west was bass. Not loads but enough to peek the interest of a few. Prawns or squid doing the damage tues & wed. A few plaice on both walls but loads of weed drifting past loading up lines.
Looking a bit better for this evenings tide though there has been little to see or say on the mackerel front…
Numbers on the walls easing mid week now with plenty of space to fish the last 2 days .

Monday seems to be the busiest angler numbers wise mon to thurs, I guess the image projected on social media or rammed with bodies only mackereling, loads of space & loads of those fishing are ground fishing… Tues-thurs .. usually plenty of space.. Fri .. depends on the weather & tides on when people want to be on the wall most. Small tides at the moment may also play a part… hey ho lets go eh 🙂 🙂

F

walls only open a few hrs on sunday b4 the weather closed in resulting in a double close sun & monday … both back open on tuesday usual times.

As said , walls were shut on Sat & re opened sunday morning … both open as type but possible west close on Monday all day , updates as and when

Wed thurs were tick over days with from what im told the better on the west for those targeting bream on Wednesday with some decent fish coming up rather than the week prior of bare minimum sized catches. An eel here & there sludged up a few fingers on the way with the east wall ticking off its usual flatfish catches of plaice mostly… One or two sole had on both sides and the very occasional mackerel was seen…
Early report on the west indicated the opening up was quiet with little to no queue & even the extension was not needed this morning… Some mackerel yes mackerel were caught and pictured on the west this morning (see facebook group).
Some iffy wind speeds headed toward the marina this week so please keep an eye out for updates as there is a decent chance the west wall may have to close for part or all of sat or sunday.

west wall condensed version
busy day .. queue until 3pm most got on fairly quickly , very little alcohol to be seen & that was in moderate amount .. one large group of regulars that all fished along the wall & then came together to eat (they fed me too) no beer to be seen & all enjoying themselves(regulars too)….
tough going on the fish front, a fair few bream all small mostly all returned.. 1 mackerel YES a mackerel!!!!
a few plaice & loads of suntans>

East wall mainly small plaice & one mackerel…. warden report was … nothing to say really

Rain stopped play
So, got on west 6.30am and full, did the ticket checks and clean up then started sorting the new people onto bays.
Continuous morning but not as manic as sat.
Small queues to get on the wall but all well behaved and no more waiting after 12.30 when it slowed.
Rain slowed many up with some of the v early people heading off before their ticket time expired.
Mackerel sowed up lunchtime and most caught a few each some having up to a dozen or so but no silly amounts as they weren’t shoaling.
150 -200 mackerel caught. Some bream but none too big.
Bonus today, hardly anyone drinking, but i got given a couple of cans(thankyou) , lots of happy people and all good natured had a can on a beer break?

Rain thinned the numbers again about 1.30 and by 4pm wall was 50% empty spaced so plenty of time to leisurely clean up.
Jnr helped all day and enjoyed helping out also

Finished up at 6pm with second can sat on bay 6 steps.
Home with sore feet
F

Sat was a tough day on the wall, I spent the day down there helping out and first light saw a few fish amongst the catches but to be honest .. it was a bit brutal. A couple of sole & plaice early doors, & by 10 am had heard of a couple of bream & mackerel plus an eel.
Queue system from 6.30 am to get on the wall lasted until 2am with the wind rising and a low tide waves were chopping up a fair bit making the west uncomfy to fish & fairly wet with lots of wave dodging.
Total catches by 6pm , 5 mackerel, 2 eels , 4 sole 6 plaice a mullet(returned) and a decent bass dropped at the wall. crabs … all small & maybe a couple of dozen … fishing was hard but some praise today…
5 hours + queueing and almost everyone was understanding and patient… very little booze on the wall and everyone well behaved , hard work & a long day but a pleasure to be on the wall saturday

So the night fishing news, Issues have been building for a week or two with the sheer volume of people wanting to use the walls day and night time. With Dover shut & a few other venues also restricted it seems everyone is opting to head to Brighton. Add into the mix more than 70% of the east wall has been lost to Building/repair work, furloughed people paid to have time off, fine weather and the arrival of mackerel shoals means that staff are already struggling to cope with the extra numbers in limited space and then the explosion of crazy that mackerel shoals on the walls bring.

This has resulted in aggressive behaviour to staff, miss use of the east wall thus hampering building work and creating health issues on the east on the upper levels and some cases on the west also, add to this various safety issues with the east upper due to works there.

Pressure from numbers and builders wanting to work means we have taken the decision to close BOTH walls at night. The entrances had to be manned from 11pm to 3 in the morning just to prevent the wall from being swamped with anglers unhappy about long waits to get on and fish with some electing to top up their beer levels while waiting and causing issues with the guys manning the walls all hours of the day.

Staff should not have to put up with any form of abuse from anglers disappointed in having to wait their turn to fish ! 3 this morning on the east were band for this reason so please , while we want to get you all fishing we simply cant do it while under space restrictions caused by the covid situation and repair situation on the east.

Once the building work is complete (sometime in sept) we will re visit the idea of night fishing but until we have the extra space & certain factors calm down it will be a case of daytime only.

frank