I spent the daytime on the east wall yesterday, in general being a visible presence but also offering guidance where needed such as dispatching fish asap and best storage among other stuff and generally chatting with the anglers that were there.

Fishing in the morning was slow and there was a bit of an unpleasant NE breeze/wind to add to the issues of dragging lines on the currents. Thorough the day a few small bream had been caught even around bays 27/28 with some plaice of mixed sizes but if we are being honest most were there in the hope of mackerel.
They didn’t disappoint but were erratic as the first batch flitted in and out for 20 mins on the front section around about 1pm , (yes , tough going ’til then) and were gone as soon as people had got going but most had a few.

A second burst happened as the high tide came up for 3pm ish and most then managed more than half a bag each. I will add through the 2 hours I had been busy making sure those there knew that we expected all catching mackerel to dispatch the fish prior to storing the fish. Some I showed how to guy and clean their catches of which a few took to it like ducks to water while others were more reluctant but did comply.
I stayed til 4ish and by this time a few more flurries had happened and am please to say that yesterday everyone I saw were getting the message about killing their catches quickly. One minor incident quickly dealt with but other than that a decent day on the marina for many with a few tips given out on catching bream and plaice and i’m happy to say a clean wall on the east which now closes at 7pm daily.

Over on the west the fishing pattern was much the same and a quick chat with the night guy told me that Wed night while busy on the wall saw no real incidents other than the usual busy time management and the west gate closing over for a short while so the duty guys could rebalance where people were fishing and to check the numbers, once that was done the few queuing were allowed up onto the wall having sorted what bays were available. Catch report was a bit vague as the west can be sometimes so suspect no great catches other than saying a normal fairly busy night on the west.
Thurs day over there started fairly quiet and didnt really start showing signs of being busy until near mid day, catches sort of mirrored the east as far as mackerel were concerned , a few flurries leading up to high tide with better catching for a couple of hrs from 3pm’s high.

With mackerel season upon us yes the walls are busy and there are extra staff about to reflect this. If there are issues people do need to please contact the warden or even someone on the facebook group or myself(frank) so that we can sort or resolve issues as they arise. The wardens are not miracle workers but sometimes try to walk on water :), please let us know as it happens and we will try to sort it out.

Sometime the older hands using the walls have a tendency to forget their fishing origins of being on the wall as teenagers first looking for mackerel either to sell for a few rigs or fags. Many of them I have seen grow up , as have Dave and Keith who still helps from time to time so please have a thought in the summer, maybe a little less knocking or even blaming the “mackie bashers” for over busy sessions on the wall or even trouble caused by numbers when hot heads lose their self control. The crowds are there for the same reasons most anglers are , simply put everyone likes a fish or two in the summer so it must come as little surprise that the walls are busy on sunny days and bank holidays.

please help us keep control and be our extra eyes and ears when needed.
ty
that’s is from me, Football on Sunday Btn are home to Leicester so am unlikely to be on the walls this weekend 🙂
have a good one folks , I sure will be 🙂 .. over n out
F