The Water is still very coloured and brown looking, as a result the “Spring” species are somewhat limited atm on the west.
The WEST is currently open daily from 7am til 5pm and hopefully Dave is progressing with the work on the EAST this week and night fishing is still to be organised.
I took a walk along the west on Saturday as I was in the marina and there seemed a fair few out in the sun taking advantage of the wall being open.
As I said earlier the species were somewhat limited with mostly dogfish that seemed to be somewhat ravenous and were about in good numbers making the fishing quite easy for many.

Now, I often hear people say when asked “what ya caught” reply with a common phrase … Just Bl**dy dogfish m8. Well for a change i’m going to stick up for these much picked on fish. They may well be a pain to get off the hook sometimes and they may be a pain when it comes to skinning them but IN MY VIEW they are actually not bad to eat and quite versatile. Many Spanish hotels serve them up (granted they are a bit larger than what we get in the UK,) often sliced in a cross section and served with a large variety of sauces. In the UK I often hear people use dogfish in the same manner as scampi and cut into chunks and battered. If you are feeling really adventurous here is something dead simple to do with it.

Cut the flesh into small chunks, heat a pan with some butter and quick fry the flesh, add flour to the pan and stir so it makes a roux (a flour /butter paste) and add cream(if you are feeling extravagant) or milk to make a white sauce. season the sauce as u wish lightly. serve with rice.
If you want to play posh, make the sauce with single cream and add a shot of pernod ! trust me its gorgeous, try it and thank me next time you see me on the wall 🙂
Right, I mentioned dogfish caught on the wall, anything else I hear being asked ?
Well the plaice have done ok over the last few days of being open as well. As some of the regulars to the banjo groyne area of Brighton beaches will tell you there are tons of plaice out there. On the beach they are being reported on some days by anglers of coming up in double and triple shots.
Now, dont expect this catch rate on the west as the sand patches for plaice to lurk are fewer than along the beaches. That said there have been ok numbers of plaice being caught although a good number are somewhat marginal in size and have little flesh on them.
The Msl for plaice seems to have changed recently and I am grateful to “WARREN HAYES” for alerting me to the size change when it was incorectly posted to the marina group. Why they reduced the size I don’t know but its now inline with flounder at 27cm
When on the wall I have always made a point to anglers regarding small fish. While many are within the “legal size to take” my input has always been to ask the angler
“DO YOU think that fish is big enough to make a decent meal? “
Its a simple question, but often overlooked. Fish management is not just down to those that make the rules, it is also down to us, those that catch the fish.

Now I realise there is the old stand by of “BUT THEM commercials take everything”
well I am firmly in the camp of fish better, fish sensibly, fish responsibly. It is we, or us the anglers that know the rules and claim to know better that lead the way and teach the young and the novice anglers out there. So it is up to us to do our bit to show others the way to go, take what you need, stick to sensible sizes and spread the word. It may only be a small dent but stocks are falling and I think its time that recreational angler not only were more aware but were also more responsible and in some little way did a little to help preserve falling stocks and maybe speak up when we can, over fish and waste is not just the fault of commercial fleets and as anglers I think we have a responsibility to look after what we have and to pass on that need to fish better and to fish responsibly.

I realise the last section may seem like me preaching but I think its important that anglers realise we need to be SEEN by the public to be responsible anglers and I don’t just mean just picking up litter where we fish.

The public often have a poor image of anglers because they leave litter on beaches, leave tackle to harm kids and dogs on beaches, dead fish like dogfish get dumped almost anywhere(i once saw a bag of rotting mackerel in a layby 40 miles from any beach !)
For anglers that fish the marina the biggest thing we can do to improve the image of anglers is such a simple thing, it often gets overlooked when in a rush to get the rod & line back over the side into the water and that is all down to fish care and respect for what we are catching.
Anglers forget that once landed we have a LIVING CREATURE in our hands or on the floor, leaving the fish to flap around on the floor is the worst image we give out yet is so simple to solve, and is something I near always finding myself reminding people of. If you are keeping the fish, please KILL THE FISH, don’t leave it to suffocate on the ground. If its to be returned, handle with a damp cloth and return once any weighing or pic taking is quickly done.
Its easy to do and sets an example to everyone that you can fish sensibly and without needless cruelty to creature that suffocate out of the water.

Right, sermon over, hopefully the water will start clearing soon as the water temp I am told is a little above the average already and with luck the EAST will be ready in time for the hoped for spring squid run which was the topic of a chat I had on the wall when up there this weekend with one well known squidder. We both felt that last years run was a non event and hopefully the east can be ready in time to get the squid comp rolling (projected dates on the event section)with the event dependant on when they start showing.
The plaice comp will be re-arranged once we have both walls sorted and there are plans with the shop to start hosting some affordable friendly comps on the walls for which I may ask for a volunteer or three to help manage the events as & when we need mainly as a marshal to simply verify catches & make sure ppl are within any set rules. You may even be able to fish the event as well if we can have a few “spotters” dotted in amongst those fishing it.
I plan to get together with Mark to sort out what we need for each comp re wall space so that we can get the best out of the event without too much disruption to the normal running of the walls.

Well considering a chat I had with someone on Sat about why there arnt many blog posts this has turned out to be a long one that says little of whats being caught ! so until next time I post I will as usual bid you all ADIEU
F