Morning world(just as I type this essay :)) and good morning JOHN, was a pleasure to chat with you again yesterday one one of my seemingly rare visits to fish the EAST, it was also good to see you still on your bike and looking well :).

On the weather front things have taken quite a dip and the WEST will be closed tonight and quite likely all day FRI and SATURDAY, SUN may open but it too early to call. The west will also be closed MON TUES NIGHT next week. Further updates will be posted as usual to the home page so please keep an eye on possible updates as things are quite variable at the moment.

As posted I did actually go fishing yesterday with (jnr) my youngest lad Michael, we had planned to fish just b4 the bend on the east with the intent of targeting some sole around bay 14-6 but there were 2 with multiple rods spread across 3 bays and tbh couldn’t be arsed to ask them to free some space so had a rethink and moseyed up t bays 55/56.
Reports along the wall were grim and Mark confirmed things were very poor on both walls especially as there were plenty of rods in the water & v few feathering.
Was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces as I went up the wall and more than one group offered some beer and food (thankyou all 🙂 while confirming there had been few catches, A MACKEREL did seem to be a highlight!. As we reached 56 one regular was just pulling in a Wrasse and he & mate again stated things were super slow.
Water conditions are atm very deceptive, may rot can clearly be seen burning off on the surface in chunky brown foamy blobs with the water in general having a decent visibility for 1-2 meters down, problem with that though is that there is then a thick layer of may rot mid water depth hampering much of the fishing. My son & I manged 3 small plaice in 4+ hours & while we didn’t have fresh worm we had plenty of frozen black, (old and newish) squid, (small and large sized) and some quick vac frozen mackerel. We just about chucked out every combo and distance with 2 & 3 hook flappers, 1 up 1downs, even threw a couple of wishbone rigs at it with my final rig being a large spoon & chunk of mackerel on a 6/0 hook ! Even the lures never got a sniff & it wasnt for want of trying I can tell you. We left the east about 6.30 pm with most ppl already gone but the return walk & chat only revealed a couple of decent bream down on bay 9
In all honesty the last 7-12 days have been a similar story, yes there have been bass often on the low tides but it seems that it is the smaller plaice that has had ppl ticking over for catches although the occasional mackerel does get caught as happened mid week on the west. Overall the last 10 -20 days have been a struggle in the may rot conditions.

I did hear that Shoreham is now picking up re catches and I would say much is down to the river outflow there raising the overall temps of the water to assist disperse the algae bloom. There is something about the marina and surrounding currents that seem to encourage the bloom(algae) to linger almost like it was sticking or hanging onto the east for grim life. Many wise heads are saying its dying and yes it is so some degree but I still maintain my belief that we need a decent 10 days of good sunshine to burn it out. The winds/blows that stir things up have so far done little to disperse it and the northerlies just push it out into cooler water where it again slowly regathers and drifts towards the warmer coastal beaches. As I say, wise heads are saying another week, last week I thought hmmm no, 2-3 weeks of algae on the marina still to come and I sill think we have a probable wait until June’s end b4 we see the back of it locally, Shoreham I suspect is free of it as will Newhaven be clear.

I hate delivering poor news and often its been said how the wardens add reports on facebook to attract the masses but that has never been my way. Yes I will dress up some reports with vague comments so readers look between the lines as they say for the hidden truths & meanings but in general I dont tart up catches to attract customers to the wall, ive no need to and I certainly don’t gain from it. lets face it , if the wardens attracted the masses on their reports all they are doing is making more work for themselves !
My way has always been tell it like it is and if the news is poor try & find something to make some of the news a little more hopeful so with that I will say,
Things are looking up, the weather patterns atm are not helping but overall water temps are rising and the may rot will run its course, as I say posible until JUNE ends BUT, for species counters things have improved. Bass, Conger & plaice seem to be the main stays but bream are becoming regular catches if you know the right bays (look at my 2 wall guides, its still relevant) There have been regular reports of wrasse this year of which they have been missing for a couple of years. Guiltheads are being caught more often than in previous years although the squid have refused to play on the usual spring runs the Autumn runs have been decent over the last 3 years so hopefully we can get a comp sorted for that.
we are getting regular day catches of rays & smooth hounds, one went 5lb on the west yesterday & I hope to upload a pic to the gallery in a day or 2 (stuff to sort), one or 2 gurnards reported over the sands on the east and again on the east dover sole during the day (try just b4 the bend or 74)For the jiggers there are cuttle fish out there & worth a go in the clearer patches of water. Yes there are still dogfish about but I think they are following the hounds. There are a few flounder & dabs out there amongst the plaice and I know of at least 2 topknots already caught this year so its not all about when them pesky mackerel arrive, there are other things to do than spend all day wearing an arm out feathering for something that wont truly arrive on the marina (IMO) until early/mid August, horse mac will prob arrive by the end of this month but , BTN is too shallow for the early shoals & places like Portsmouth, Dover & Folkstone will see shoals b4 BTN does, as I say that’s only my opinion on what I see BUT, dont take what I say as gospel. I try to notice patterns but miss much, the likes of Robin Howard are out there almost daily taking in conditions, patterns and fish habit and can be a great source of info if you can get the dude to speak fish(sometimes a trip with him is worth more than gold) and I thoroughly recommend splashing out on a trip with rob and no I’m not on commission merely saying what many locals already know, he knows his shit 🙂
Overall while the catching has been poor the signs are there of a good and extended summer into September so I will say, its not always about the reports ppl post up, sometimes ya just gotta go and do it what ever the reports are saying. Right time right place come to mind & the various reports are merely guides and one persons opinion. They may give you an idea of what to expect but until you get out there & have a go yourself you wont catch anything, besides, the best thing about fishing for me is the chance to turn the brain off and chill, either with company or as many know often on my own and switching off the noises of the world going by.
Give it a try, get out and turn the world off, you can tank me later 🙂

Until next time folks, as always I bid you ADIEU
F