Warning , today’s post will be a long read:)
I Got up earlier than normal today (Tues) mainly to get in the queue for BTN Vs Southampton footy tickets only to see that the on sale date had been pulled so was thinking “a wasted morning when something made me look at the Everton ticket sales and Lo & behold some extra tickets had been up so managed to get a scooter space for the game ! result, So now you are thinking (both of you that read these)..
… WTF has footy got to do with a fishing blog !
Well, its simple innit 🙂 had I not been up early to get tickets id not have remembered I have gotten sloppy with the blogs and thought to myself what could I ramble about to fill up a page !.

Well, as said now I am here, I best put something up about the fishing! That said where to start ?
Conditions of water, yes there is rot in the water, AKA May rot which basically is an annual forming of algae on the water surface which sucks the oxygen out of the water and can clog the gills of the fish often causing infections of various fish. The end result , the fish tend to avoid the algae blooms that can cover large area’s and impact on a meter or more of water. The fish avoid the bloom and either move away or go deep under the rot. Many people mistake the scummy surface for sewage as it looks and smells very similar. No doubt someone at Southern Water figured out that while it is around they can keep dumping untreated water and raw sewage into the sea and claim it was accidental spills ! yea my @rse!.
so scum aside there are northerlies or N East breezes this week that should serve to push the bloom further away from the shore line clearing the water some more and as one well known local blogger/guide/angler put it
” The NE breeze should Assist with shore casting of lures“
With the NE breeze there are no issues on the wall that I am aware of so normal daytime hours for the next week or so.
No NIGHT FISHING this week while the fishing on the WEST wall is somewhat limited for numbers but that said the east is fishing quite well for April.

Onto the catch info with the east wall performing the better of the two with plenty of plaice coming out although the size of many is marginal and somewhat skinny. Thus giving me the opportunity to voice a personal view.
It does seem to me especially with flat fish that many will land a fish & give it a quick measure to check that it is size see that it is and pop it in the bucket for taking home. Now my view is that while the fish is of “legal size”
is it really of a size that would make a decent meal ?
When fishing many have remarked to me , “why did you put that one back? it was IN SIZE ! and a keeper”. Well in my view yes it’s met the required size but please folks , take a look at the fish condition , Just in size, somewhat skinny and most blokes would likely want 3 fish to make 2 meals and fillet them off. Cooking whole would leave you a plate of bones wanting more to east !
Thus I tend to keep what I regard fish I want to keep as somewhat bigger than the legal sizes !. As a general rule if i’m asked is this or that fish someone just caught is in size A quick measure may show yes its in size but Will it be big enough to make a meal for you ?
If the answer is no, why keep it? give it a chance to grow some more and return it if possible. Sensible fishing must be the way to go….. sermon over for today 🙂

Bass fishing is picking up very nicely for the shore anglers and indeed for the inshore smaller boats (and charters of which I will add some more below this chin wag 🙂 ) with some good quality fish being landed and I read on ROBIN’s BLOG they are in better condition than last year with far less skin/mite issues and blemished having started spawning earlier than usual.
Ray reports are increasing and the dogfish plague still seems fairly obvious. Loads of “bits n bobs down the V’s” and some smaller conger to be had when the water is coloured. Recent rains seem to have brought out flounders of which there are still a few about.

Since the last shouts for 3 mackerel caught on the wall things have gone quiet on the wall but the coming clearing water and big weekend tides Myself and a few others seem to think that the mackerel will jump inshore for a run that may last a week if lucky.
No real signs of squid on the walls but they are off shore and again expecting a few caught come the weekend.
The fishing is good, damn good out there for the boats atm and bream im told by a few skippers now are out there early and in numbers, so the fish are there but not yet seemingly made the jump to the shorelines and marina walls … soon….
I will repost a report I put up on the marina facebook group as Im aware some readers here do not use the book of face:)Brighton Marina fishing uk

A bit of info from the charter side of things today that may be of interest to some in the group that have thought about a boat trip but not quite made the jump out on one.
The charters are already running some great Pollack trips as well as closer inshore for the likes of plaice and Rays. Bream fishing has already started off well on the Kingmere, and mackerel are only a couple of miles off shore “millions of em everywhere” as one skipper put it.
Squid are out there also and will be piling on weight over the next few weeks so expect the shore catches to steadily build once we get past the blows and into the calmer conditions allowing the water to clear.
Early bass numbers are looking promising with good numbers of plaice out there that only need a bit of fattening up to bring up to decent table sizes. Turbot & Brill trips are i’m hearing filling up so well worth ringing early and talking to the various skippers about what type of fish you want to be catching out there.

Gone it seems are the days of going out with skipper and when asked what do you want to catch ? people reply “oh, any BIIIGGGG fish”.
Think about what you want to target, be it Bass, bream, Pollack, Cod, Turbot, Brill, Conger, gurnard even greater Weever’s (damn good eating im told) if its out there the chances are one of the skippers in Brighton will be arranging multiple days out targeting it this summer.

Its always great to be out afloat even if it even just a basic day out catching “what ever is about” on a spur of the moment thing, but what if you are after a specific species ?
Perhaps it’s something to add to your local bucket list.. Well then it is well worth doing a bit of ringing around to see if anyone is doing that special day out on Turbot, or perhaps a species that you haven’t had locally before, then its worth booking ahead with someone.
Ring around, chat to the skippers, find out who is running specialised trips and book up early as I’m being told this year is has the potential to be something special. There is a list of charter skippers on the shop website at https://thetackleboxbrighton.com/charter-contact/
And quite often recommendations are asked for on the group.
There is some fantastic fishing out there at the moment so don’t just restrict yourself to fishing the marina walls, There is a whole bunch of charter boats in the marina that will be running some great trips this year ranging from , 2hr 4hr 8 & 10hr and I believe there are even trips for 2-3 days stopping over in France.

And that as they say is it , over n out for today, enjoy the weather it looks like the fishing is about to “lift off”
F