I will get to a catch report but decided to start with a request and a niggle. I realise we have many visitors on the walls , some old hands and are very aware of the rules, some regulars that keep up to date with news changes etc and we have a larger group of new visitors . Amongst all of our visitors there is always going to be a group that either dont check rules b4 visiting or simply chose to ignore them. Thankfully the vast majority of our visitors are well behaved and do their best to arrive and leave respecting the fairly basic rules we have and indeed many will go the extra mile to help staff on the walls by alerting us to any issues or helping out (extension eyes the obvious) and we are all grateful of that help.

Sadly there will always be an unknowing element of the rules or the rude so & so’s that ignore them, So I will ask all readers here & on facebook my annual appeal to help the wardens out if they can and without putting themselves at risk.
How ? quite simply by adding another pair of eyes or ears on the walls. If you spot an issue that wardens should be aware of please find a way to let us know.

Many have ways to contact me by phone, messenger, email or via facebook as with other wardens or simply ringing an issue to the shop or if serious to marina security so that we can deal with things like a group that are somewhat noisy or have a fire, drinking too much , there is an obvious list to some but we do get people climbing closed areas, using marina or supermarket trollies which for the marina is a big thing.
Many of our regulars in the past have been a fantastic help with a simple message so we can deal with issues quickly before they escalate and what happened last year with the mackerel frenzy we have eyes on the walls just waiting for problems to happen so they can cause trouble between anglers and the bosses & residents in the marina. I realise very few anglers are willing to have a “chat” with the wrong doers and please only chat with them if you feel safe, no one wants anglers to risk themselves because some bloke has a marina trolley and he looks like he will kick off if you remind him of the rules.
Please help us keep things running well and as trouble free as possible. Many thanks.

So the fishing report after that drivel :).
The walls are closed today and west possibly shut Thurs & Fri as a sequence of winds push through , other than that it looks fine for the rest of this and next week and its planned to open at night this Sat 14th both walls , Friday is still to be decided so no real decision about a 2nd night this week.
We will extend the night sessions as things get busier but the last 2 weekends open have been fairly quiet.

On the fishy front we are still getting squid and cuttlefish for sure on the west but no reports of them on the east simply because no one is trying for them on the east wall. Report chasing I suspect the main factor in the squidders going west.
There are plaice on both walls , on the west its best to check out the wall page guides for likely bays to try from. On the east the plaice numbers are still good from bay 15 right to the end.
Over the last few days there have been quite a few decent bass catches amongst what seems to be a very active shoal of schoolies out on the feed.
Boat reports for plaice ,bass and bream are very good, both close to and around the marina in general and also on marks like college rock and beyond to the kingmere.
Bream on the walls while only recently started are now a regular take on the west and a few marks on the east wall (look at east wall guide for hints) Whitebait and fry in general is now plentiful in & around the marina which is benefiting all thus while we are seeing plagues (as some put it) of pout and dogfish the baitfish are drawing small shoals of mackerel and plenty of rays of very mixed sizes from a foot across to 7-10lb fish. Amongst the ray numbers thornbacks and undulates seem most likely to catch but Sussex in general is seeing more and more variety of species that seem more common than they have in years.

At time of typing I have not heard of any decent mullet catches so either the larger fish havn’t yet shown or anglers are keeping a hush on any takes. A few wrasse have now been recorded including what many class as a rare visitor of a Ballion’s wrasse caught by Glenn Arnold this week on the east. As mentioned in another blog post a decent sized goat fish (red mullet) was caught just off the marina on a lure info supplied by way of Robin Howards excellent blog (details can be found on FB) and we often see catches of smaller types on the west wall over the rockier marks.
There are a few flounders to be had in amongst the plaice and catch reports are ticking over now for sole low on the west and many sand marks on the east. After early reports in march for garfish things have fizzled out for those but expect them back with the late summer shoals of mackerel.
We are getting mackerel but from having a couple of reasonable shoals in & out of local waters catch numbers seem to be thinning as reports of may rot on some of the nearby beaches increase.

. So far the rot hasn’t found the marina in any strength and it would be nice to think that maybe this is the year that it skips forming in any depth and dampening the catch rates of many species.
I now find my self scratching my head to think of something I may have missed mentioning and realise I have missed something of which is not everyone’s cup of tea to catch of which we see mostly at night . Congers have been caught on the marina over the last 2 night openings with a couple being estimated at 20lb approx but the bulk 3-5lb so if you are fishing at night, prepare and invest in a drop net of some form. Way too few people show up at night with a net so when that decent sized fish is hooked they lack for a net & lose the fish.

Thus brings me to the end of today giant yarn with a reminder about noise and trollies on the wall. Please keep the noise to a minimum as residents are looking for problems and with regard to trollies & barrows. If you dont own a trolley carry your gear to the wall. If you are seen using a shopping trolley or a marina barrow there is a high chance of being asked to leave ! so please, bring your own gear and be prepared to carry it .
Many thanks again to ALL of the anglers that assist us in keeping the walls open. Every little help us to help you
TY
F