Well it seems I got it wrong by a full mid-day tide cycle didnt I ! what T F! am I talking about then?
squid ! thats what, There was I on the wall 10(ish) days ago looking at the tides & conditions and thinking to myself that I recon them Autumn squid might, just might arrive earlier than mid October this year and suggested that the 7 days between wed 20th up to the 4th of |Oct should be good for early squid.
Well I admit it , I was wrong. As the title suggests it seems that they have well and truly started arriving with a few being caught early mornings as the first chinks of dawn lighten the sky but more likely dusk into the dark at night. One or two have sprinkled the wall over the last seven day and then Tues evening a well know and active chartering service landed one or two confirming more water activity and Wed just like that it was announced. Biff(1) bang bosh a handful of squid ! and and another of Cuttle on one sailing at dusk with more squid confirmed on the lower reaches of the west. Are they fully in ? dunno but there is only one way to find out & that is to get on out there with the jiggy jigs innit!

Over on the fishy front things are still a little hit an miss but the west wall is seeing little bursts of plaice on the sandy marks with a fair few of the plaice now making minimum sizes. Bass one of the wardens who regularly targets bass from the end of the extension feels that they are a bit of a struggle and I suspect that is more to do with the dredger working early in the marina so its likely better to wait till its finished an have a chuck as the sunlight drops into darkness.

Bream on the wall, what can I say other than that most people again on the walls are struggling to find fish , ironic as the boats seem to have had a glorious year on them ! If you plan to fish during the day I say hope for one of the cooler or overcast days as the fish are reluctant to oblige many people during this weird September hot spell! .

Gars are now doing very well for the float anglers, yes you can get them on feathers and tinsel but Gar are far more entertaining when getting a strike on the float set up. Don’t believe me ? well I’d then say you cant have tried it as I don’t know of a float angler that wont recommend getting a hit from a Gar or Mackerel. Float fishing is not elite or for the fishing snobs its an entertaing way of giving some sport rather than merely casting feathers and yanking in on a multi hooked up line. The buzz of a strike and keeping the fish on while drawing in is a great feeling and that buzz is far better than the one given from connecting with a bunch on feathers. very recommended folks.

So what else do we have out there, sadly we still have (or the buggers came back for another go) Spider Crabs out there mostly along the middle areas of both walls and they are getting quite effective at bait steeling. Also please remember if you are crabbing and not keeping a smallish one as bait there is a legal size for spiders and other edible crabs , for spiders measure from nose to rear of the shell , to keep they must be 12cm with a max take number of 20 per person per day, a size chart can be found on this website at this location https://thetackleboxbrighton.com/size-regs/ for shellfish and all other fish you are likely to find on the walls and along the Sussex coast.

Ok so the last paragraph wasn’t really about what else… but it gave me a chance to prattle about spiders again :). Ok Red Mullet or as some call em Goat Fish can currently be still found usually in amongst the rocks on the West wall (possible over the high rocks on the east, its been so long someone has reported one on tat side Ive forgotten. Someone remarked that there are still Red Mullet on the east side but I have not seen any pics to confirm.

Mackerel are currently very thin on the ground which IMO is quite a surprise, likewise Horse Mackerel seem to be around in bursts on irregular nights so hard to suggest a “when to go” for them atm. There have been tons of bait fish in the water running both walls including Smelt that are of a decent size if that is your thing and I know of a few people that lower a landing net into the water to catch the bait fish to take home as Whitebait, very nice if you like eating tiny crispy fish, try it if you haven’t, they are surprisingly good eating. Wrasse and Eels are about but not in great numbers but every now and then a pic on the facebook group gets posted. Likewise is is common for pics of Blennies, Scorpion fish,(Bullheads) Gobies all among the smaller stuff luring down the side of the walls stealing bait while you fail to watch your rod wiggle in the bright sunlight!

Ive mentioned quite a few species here, and reading through you could get the idea that there are good amounts of fish being caught but in all honestly things are a bit quiet at the moment. The best fishing is in an hour or two first thing just before or as the sunlight breaks the darkness before the heat of the day gets underway. Boats measuring water temps are still reporting higher than expected water temps in & around the marina, but far better for fishing further out for the boat, check their reports to see just how well they have been doing recently.

This coming week air temps ease off with current mid day estimates at 20-21c but slipping back towards the weekend with estimates at 17/18c so much of an ease of to the last couple of weeks. As we creep towards the weekend things will also cloud over a but so again a bit cooler with winds starting to rise with “bumps” Sat night potentially shutting the WEST at night if accurate but again back open for the Sunday daytime, there is a possible or potential loss of night fishing thus for Saturday into early Sunday and possible issues Monday night spilling into Tues next week that is looking more unstable so please keep an eye on the home page and FB group for weather updates as Tues & Wed could also be disrupted by high winds hopefully beyond Wednesday things look to improve and water temps should have dropped a little producing some good fishing conditions for what will be left of the month.

So now more words for the night anglers re powered lights in that to all anglers fishing at night please be aware that there is a blue light filtering requirement on the wall as instructed by the harbour office and marina security. If you dont have filtered lights and (NON GREEN or RED in the water) filters can be obtained from the duty warden and a simple fix for underwater lights is to put them inside a blue carrier bag, supply your own please.

Final words, honest, please note the lower levels on the marina are for anglers only, the rule has been there 20+ years and can be seen on the many old signs fixed to the walls at the bottom of the steps down. there are also some signs on the upper levels just prior to going down the steps. as those signs says

“anglers only on lower level and ALL ON LOWER LEVER must have a permit”.

This means if an angler has other people with them on the lower level they will or should be expected to be charged.
For many years this was overlooked by wardens but due to over crowding issues, especially at night the wardens have been instructed to charge on the lower level.
Having had a chat about this decision wardens have been given some latitude now to give some consideration to spouses sat quietly with their partner fishing likewise to single parents with a child fishing but please, dont kick off at wardens if they ask you to pay, that is the instructions they have and are expected to do their jobs.
Well thats my ramble done for this day so this “old man” (if you know you know) with bid you all another ADIEU for the day
F