Well how strange, its taken me nearly a week to notice the double blocked post on last blog and, tbh I can’t be arsed to change it now so I guess it stays for now !
So other than today being the last day of the prem season is there much to get over excited about ? to be fair not a massive amount but there has been a change or two going on down on the fishy front.
So whats different ? not the rot thats for sure, with the small tides meaning slower water flow the the rot is not going anywhere very soon even though some are more hopeful than I am that they think its breaking, I dont agree BUT, yep there is always a but eh 🙂 well the but is that the fishing is actually not that bad. Yes maybe the quality is lacking a bit but over on the east there are good numbers of plaice (up n down on sizes) Bream have started to play nicely and even a few wrasse are being reported which Im hoping means that they will be better in numbers than the last 3 years. Sole are on the increase and dont seem to mind getting under the may rot even on low tides and they do make good eating. Conger and as someone else put it the other day to me “the return of the bl**dy dogs!” which for time of year I think is/maybe a good thing !, WTF U say 🙂 yep hear me out.
Am I the only person in Sussex that has seemed to notice when the dogs return during the may rot or to the end of it that the hounds then start to switch on their season ? surely not coincidence and I have a couple of ppl I want to talk to regarding this because….YES the hound numbers are rapidly going up. Perhaps its due to the annual incoming surge of the spider crab march perhaps Ive never really thought about when why the mutts & dogs start catching but im gonna look into it. My final species round up for the east… RAY no not the Mr Charles or Burns types but there have been some almost decent rays being had on the east ! go figure…
West to follow this

All in all for species counters the EAST is doing ok considering the rot, not convinced ? I will start rattling off the last 2 weeks species for ya, Plaice, Sole, Topknot, Flounder, Dab (honest) Conger, Bream, Wrasse (2 types), sand eel, sardines ! yup, Mackerel (here n there hard work) Bass, Shad, rumours of mullet ive yet to confirm high east, Thornback & Undulate rays, dog fish, pout & chan whiting (bit odd there) Pollack (both walls & small)Red Mullet, Gurnard, sadly the hoped for squid cuttle became a non starter but hopefully we get a more settled Autumn and can get an event up & running for that one evening.

So over to the WEST, now please I hope you both reading are not breath holding as its not as rosey looking as the EAST ATM. I took a wander along the West a couple of times this week and yes like the east, things are a bit better than I expected but the may rot is taking its full effect on the WEST with the smaller & slower tided but that doesnt mean its not worth fishing. Talk to most of the know it all gobby ones about bream and they will answer , high tide every time, na m8 cant get bream on the wall on small tides or on low tides blah blah blah… bullshite ! I had on both occasions of popping do been there on low crappy tides and you can smell the egg rot as you walk alongside the multi carpark !Funny how fast you stop noticing the smell though when you have been sniffing it year in year out for way too long!, anyhoo, I digress, while not many were fishing mid week I guess some have done their homework/research on the walls or just plain got a bit lucky. Both occasions there were ppl fishing on bays that I consider decent for bream and yes they were being caught right on low tide, not loads but enough to tick people over when catches can be few and far between on the west wall in full rot mode. Not only were bream active on low but so also were plaice with fair numbers also being caught from time to time. Now I realise most see the west as the go to for mackerel in the summer and is snag central but for those unable or unwilling to do the hike over to the east the west does still mid rot have something to offer people.

This weeks catches on the WEST ? Plaice, Bream, Bass, Sole, Pollack, mackerel, & dogfish, not as species happy as the east but it is very much different ground and it does have its reasons on why it tends to be the most fav wall to get too.
Well thats it for today, Im gearing up for the last game of the season at the amex so, until next time… I bid you both ADIEU 🙂
F