Well, not quite all but yesterday was a bit odd for some especially if you look at the who picture or happen too be one dude on the wall and yes he reads here , yes he knows who he is, and erm yes I cant recal his name but he is a bit camera shy, I know this as I have proof ! scroll down if you cant be arsed too read todays waffle.

So, too Saturday on the walls. Now you may recal my saying it would be a bum burner (using different words but..) well it was. you may also recal I mentioned the lack of breeze here and was very promptly told it wasnt the case in London nor erm that once sleepy town of Haywards Heath .

Well to be fair , this is Brighton or more precisely Brighton Marina which does have a way of doing weather somewhat differently too the rest off Sussex ! Indeed Ive seen a pea Souper of a fog sat over the Marina while the rest of the nation has glorious sunshine. So much so that you could walk through fog on the west wall and out onto the extension just like a cartoon step through an imaginary door out of the fog into brilliant sunshine quite weird and creepy especially when in the fog there isn’t a sound , through that door a world of summer noise, trust me you have too see it too fully appreciate the weirdness of it.

Too be fair though after the blog went up it was a while before I loaded up the quad and headed down manor hill too collect some bits from the west wall. Conditions ,? yea a faint breeze but lacking any tree movement. the water though was much like Thursday and fairly obvious that may rot had entrenched itself on both sides of the marina.. oh joy the fishing is gonna be tough in the full heat of day.

Well, in spite of conditions most anglers seemed in fairly decent spirits, for many there was a lack of fish or an occasional one being pulled up by someone else with much of the days catches being returned as generally undersized.
I will add here that for those that know me they will be aware I am a bit of a stickler for maintaining fish sizes and do often try too impress this on others using the marina, lets face it., while its great too catch Id rather see someone take a pic and return undersized fish and in many ways its good management and ya never know the returns may one day get too be a decent catch for someone.
Now, while out if fishing myself my personal keep sizes do tend too be a bit more than what is considered legal & acceptable sizes so probably more of my caught fish go back than what many would keep but that is my choice and personal standard & I will admit if its legal sometimes I offer fish caught too others who are ok with that smaller specimen.
At this point I will admit too making an error yesterday with was actually resolved after a quick size check on the website here. YES there is a page of fish sizes so please guys take a look from time too time. On the west yesterday I watched a small (my view) starry hound come up and the dude that caught it was just about to knock it on the head when I called a stop and questioned why he was killing a fish that can grow too 7-8foot I believe. As said I referred too the size page here and realised I was wrong and it was genuinely in size corrected myself and apologised for calling a halt too his afternoon. personally keeping sharks isnt my sort of thing and if was I defo would want them bigger than the one that was caught (bass size) but again, thats my mind set and the angler did say he would be eating it.. each too their own I guess.

So, how was the rest of the west doing for fish ? somewhat like a foxtrot tbh. meaning, slow, slow, not quick quick but slow. Yes there were fish, but the bulk of catches on the west did seem earlier in the day (bar the occasional find like the hound) and not in the full heat of the day.
Any hoo, loaded the trailer on the quad and headed over to the east with the intent on a proper look at the west later.

yes, the cafe was open, yes I remembered the dog biscuits in my pocket and yes the 2 cafe hounds spotted me quickly and promptly ignored those petting them and bee lined towards me and more precisely the pocket with the food! these 2 aint daft thats for sure. Thus a short stop by the cafe, a chat and owners permission too give both a biccy .. or two. I think he has given up asking me not too feed them as they do attach too whats in my pocket and too be fair I do ask him if ok and now do limit how many the dogs get each.
Please please please, if you or a child is near a dog, check with the owner that an approach is ok and safe heat like this weekend can make people grumpy, dogs are much the same and can stress easily in the head. Likewise too anglers and walkers alike on the marina, dogs are welcome on the wall and should be on a lead but most importantly , on the east there isnt any shade and dogs will suffer probably more than us pink skinned white people, trust me on this some of the pink skin yesterday was looking very red so have a though if you have a dog. the flooring will be hot on their paws and the poor buggers have fur coats on… please carry extra fluid for the pets and if fishing a brolly or some form of shade protection. The west is a little more protected in the afternoon as the sun travels east there is some shade from the front of the wall for pets and small children. The toilet block s a sink and cold tap. If anyone is using this for watering pets please let it run for a couple of mins. The water is fed by a pipe the full length of the wall so can get warmed in the summer.

I realise the above is a bit of a long yarn and may sound like im preaching pet care, that isnt the intent but occasionally a reminder nudge is useful too remind people of simple health care out in the sunshine.

Well, onto the east and ya may wonder if there were any fish.. I met regular John H and Mike coming off the wall basically saying it was erm naff up on the high bays and another regular (Roy) said much the same was his day. As said too john I suspect the factors of heat, tide state and heavy may rot probably the biggest factors and perhaps there would be some improvement as the heat dropped after 6ish.
Lots of head shakes on the east when I went up but there was some chatter of a few fish, mostly plaice and a dab or two indicating some activity on the bottom although when I went up late afternoon many were feathering in the hope I guess of mackerel.

Thus I arrived at bay 40 something and a chat with a familiar face whose name I cant remember but always seems too be cheerful and chatty. So during a general chat about life n fishing etc he ws saying how he had seen a few small plaice come up but all returned. I think he had caught a couple himself but at the time I passed he was feathering.
Now, with may rot the fish tend too either avoid it (it clogs up the fishes gills and de oxygenates the water so I suggested he lets his weight go deep and try a very slow retrieve and twitch the line occasionally. well , guess what, that 1st cast was enough too hook into something and the dude seemed gobsmacked. It seem so often I come up the wall chatting too people that fish somehow do the miracle thing (or stoopid thing) & Ive often joked that the fish follow me up the wall. Anyhoo he is convinced its me and yup he was grinning as he reeled a mackerel in off the bottom. Proof,? of the fish or that he is camera shy.. well scroll down coz this piccy was his request of , please dont id me 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
On moving on I did let a few other know that they should try nearer the bottom and yes some had already realised there was an occasional fish down there. Species on the east yesterday included, bass, plaice, dab, mackerel and small hounds scattered through the day but generally slow going but again I suspect many didnt mind that as the weather was plying ball and most enjoyed being out in the sun.

Back on the west there had been a fish caught here n there. I suspect the best of the day had been before the high too bait users on the extension and quite a few decent bream had been caught although one regular unusually had struggled too catch (jerry) and had been bait fishing rather than his recent squid n cuttle targeting. One bass was had that went 58cm among a few others, most caught and kept were bream as said the best of it on the end. Hound pups do seem on the increase and at time of typing a decent one was caught on the east this morning (early) there were mackerel caught but all were singles on feathers without any clusters made for tough going with feathers in the heat.
The other thing of note was the spider crabs, both walls are seeing them now and in increasing numbers. I swear the buggers are on the bottom with knives and scissors cutting lines and grabbing baits.

Again its gonna be hot and very dry out there so please come prepared too bake in the sunshine. heavy sunburns though are no fun so please prepare.

Thats it from me for today.. Brighton’s amex i am bound for the last day of the season so probably wont be down later on today.
Thats it, im done for the day bar the mackerel and the man with no name 😉 Until the next one then I will bid you all ADIEU
F


the fish with no name 😉