Bass Fishing, Hastings

Smaller and Lighter for Bigger and Better

Hastings, Sussex, UK.

It's a funny time of year right now, the days notably shorter, a chill in the mornings and the tree leaves beginning to turn red, autumn is setting in, the summer species are still around, and the winter ones are just arriving, at best, recent sessions have had me landing up to 8 different species on very busy nights, and at worst, desolate nights staring at a motionless rod tip till boredom sets in. If I'm honest, I'm getting a little impatient, waiting for the South Westerly winds come and stir the gin clear water into a angry muddy soup for the Cod, well that is hoping they get past the fishing fleets as they been on the missing list a few years now, the signs are good already, but right now it's a little early. 

little rod for a little lad on a perfect day!

My attention on this trip wasn't primarily with fishing, although in hind sight it perhaps should of been. I was on a family day out on the coast, enjoying maybe the last of the nice weather. We ate out, had a train trip, threw stones, played penny slot machines and walked miles, done art work and entered drawing competitions, still waiting to hear if my boy won lol, and yes he drew fishes!!!! I did take a set up with, a travel spinning rod, a replacement for my recently snapped and much loved Sea Bass Special, another Snowbee, this time a Rapter model in the same 10 - 50 gram paired with my Shimano Stradic 5000 loaded with 20lb Power Pro braid, one of my favourite set ups period! but I took this set up for my 2.5 year old boy to catch his first fish, I had about 10 rag worm left over from a previous session and set up with a 2 hook clipped down flapper with 12lb flouro snods for the clear water and size 4 hooks, perfect I though for mackerel, gar fish, plaice, bass or sole, well a 2 years old attention span lasted less than the 10 worms!!! it was high water, the sea was gin clear and with swimmers and god knows what else, made catching a fish very unlikely, unless a shoal of Mackerel came through, they didn't, there were at least 10 others trying with feathers. We left after a hour to enjoy our day.

when going light!

We had a fantastic time, which left us back at the car 5 hours later for low water, and whoa!!! what a difference!! the tide was a fairly big one and revealed more of the beach than I'd seen in a very long time,  the rolling surf was crashing hard and with the stiff south westerly wind the water was stirred up, and had a lot of colour to it! with a setting sun, it was screaming fish. I set up again, and cast out with 2 of the remaining 4 Ragworm I had left, and immediately was having bites, I had helped my little boy reel in a few times, whilst he screaming "fishes!" only to find no fish on the end, he lasted 20mins till the wife took him and his little brother to the car to get out the ever increasing wind, it had been a long day for him. I had just kindly been given some freshly dug Lugworm by the last of the day fishermen on the beach, and the wife gave me the go ahead for a few last casts. I baited up with 2 of the Lugworm and cast it as far as I could with a 2oz pyramid lead on the light rod, the wind was howling now and the bow in the line was massive as it slowly dragged the lead and rig back toward the shore.

size 4 Owner SSW hook doing the biz!

Then there it was, a big double knock and massive slack liner, I reeled in fast to connect with the lead, and gently struck, and BANG!, the rod buckled over into a 90 degree bend and the drag screamed, this initial run must of been about 20 meters, by now I positioned my self precariously on the end of the groin, the fish kited from the right where I was fishing and went down tide to my left, the battle was crazy, the fish was in such shallow water I could see its back breaking the surface, the light rod and reel were superb, the drag smooth as hell, and easily kept a constant pressure on the fish, and the rod kept a nice tight line to the fish as it shock, bounced and swooshed about in the heavy shallow surf. This fight took about 8 minutes! but eventually I slipped the fish on to the beach! YES!!!! it's massive!! NO!!!! but it's on the wrong side of the groin!!, it was about a 14' drop down and I would of had to leave my rod and hope the tide didn't wash the fish back out to sea whilst I run 80 meters up the beach around the groin and back down the other side! I didn't! a moment of madness, saw me pull the fish back into the water by the hook, and I preceded to play it again for maybe for another 2 or 3 minutes, but I managed even with heavy crashing waves to tease it back around the concrete groin, past metal steels and plates covered in old line and rigs, and up the other side onto the beach where I was fishing from. So much could of gone wrong!!! but it didn't!! and just as the fish was slid onto the beach with 12lb line and the tiny hook, it pulled out, but I just calmly jumped into the water and grabbed the fish!!!

a near perfect bar of silver , pure admiration!

put your left foot in, dam that's a big Bass

What a fantastic battle with a beautiful specimen on light gear, a tiny hook and light snod!! where are my scales and tape when I need them!! who cares really, I estimate this fish at around 8lb, what I will remember is the fight, my heart was pounding most the fight as I saw the fish very early on in the fight and I knew it was a good fish. my heart was still pounding as pictures were quickly taken, I didn't think twice about releasing the fish which was quiet difficult in the very shallow surf, wearing my best trainers I took the plunge and walked out about 10 meters into the surf and released the fish. In my haste I managed to delete the picture one of the bystanders from the ever growing crowd took on my phone, leading to me exchanging phone numbers with a stranger just so they could send me the picture on whats app that they actually took for themselves. luckily its not a bad picture! and a big thank you to them!! for the picture, a big thank you to the wife, for the last casts xox , and a big thank you to the lads who passed on the Lugworm. Today was my day!!! my only regret as I stood there with a pounding heart and wet feet, was my little boy missed it all, what I would of loved more in the world, would be giving him that memory, him helping land the fish and being in the picture with his daddy with such a special fish! dam game on! I'm gonna have to do it all again now!! such a shame lol

Bass And Sole Fishing

The Great Escape

Jurys Gap, Rye TN31, UK and Rock-A-Nore, Hastings TN34 3DW, UK

Jurys Gap is some awesome beach!!!!

Its started off a very funny year for myself this year, I've been plenty of times and caught lots of fish, I think the best fish has been a 6lb odd Thornback Ray, but nothing else really of note, and I found it hard to get excited and write a blog. I've said it before that if I only wrote blogs about those special captures that I would only be writing about twice a year if I was lucky! So I guess my point is really what is a good session worthy of a blog? well if it numbers of fish caught then that's what I have done, and if its catching a target fish, then I've caught my target fish, and if it is catching a new species, then I have done that. So why have I not written many blogs this year?, I don't know, maybe I've just been to busy, Preoccupied with my 1 year old son, Life is a complete rush at the moment, or I just need to find the inspiration and motivation, and that is only coming from being out there fishing, so I decided that I would be blogging about this session regardless, and as it happens it wasn't a bad one either.

short snod wessex rig, size 4 hooks

It's Sole season, and with 2 score of Black Lugworm and 1/2KG of live Ragworm, 6 x Wessex rigs with size 4 hooks, and my Penn Fierce 2 reels loaded with 12LB mono with 12lb - 30lb tapered leaders, I was 110% ready to go Sole hunting! Only thing was they just hadn't quite showed yet, I had fished about 4 venues unsuccessfully, and even other anglers only reported the odd one caught hear and there, this session was going to be more about finding where they are. Because I already knew where they wasn't really showing, I even changed plans with a friend who I was was supposed to be fishing with, on one of these venues in north Kent venue, which left me going solo! and the adventure began then, I was confident the fish were going to be on the South Coast. one venue had always been on my radar, but I never had the chance to fish was Jurys Gap, a shallow sandy bottom filled with deep gullys and holes, with a narrow shingle storm beach with a close range gutter, the perfect Sole territory!

nice fighting schoolie Bass

I arrived at 7pm on a hot Friday evening to hoards of kite surfers, picnickers and everything thing else imbetween, I was not fishing close, I looked right and it got busier, I looked left and it got very dead, I couldn't see anyone! so I walked along the beach for around 15 minutes found this very quiet bit of beach, I realise that I was going to get cut off by the tide hear and trapped in what I think was a military firing range, but more on this later!. it was quiet I had the whole beach as far as the eye could see to myself, no dogs, boats, no people in the water, this is where I would be fishing!, and I picked an area where I could cast each rod into a deep hole in the sandy bottom, hopefully where the Sole would come and wait for food to congregate in. It looked perfect! the tide crept over the sand as the sun was setting, one rod baited with Lugworm, the other baited with Ragworm, my traps were set! Well, I keep this short, I caught 10 Bass, from 8cm to 41cm, lovely fish of coarse, and enjoyable fishing made better by the complete lack of perceived nuisance fish, but I will move this along as this was only the first half, and things only get more commando from now on.

Bass selfies

The tide was fully in now, and as I sat there, I had lost confidence of catching a Sole, the tide would retreat leaving me fighting to keep up with the retreating water and navigating in the dark around the permanently water filled gullys and holes.  probably would have gone home at this point, but I still had half my prime bait, and with dawn only 3 hours away, I had time to relocate and fish for Sole on a less demanding beach, I decided to go Hastings, and fish my favourite spot. Well I climbed up the steep man made shingle wall onto a path and walked towards the car, very soon I was enclosed in barbed wire and a locked gate and guard tower, my fears were right, I was trapped, or at least until the tide went out, this was no good I had Sole to catch!! Barbed wire, locked gates, the sea, a giant boulder wall, and even a concrete wall were never gonna stop me!!! climbing around in the dark with a head torch breaking out of a military compound with 2 rods, a tripod, a tackle box and a cool box, ie no free hands, I think this proved my dedication some what, or I'm just crazy!!!

First Sole of the year

Having made my great escape, I drove to hasting pulled up in the car park Dam!!! people were camped out and fishing my obviously not so secret spot, it's actually a well know spot, but I like to think otherwise. I set up on the beach about 40 meters from them, very disappointed that I wasn't getting where I wanted to be. I walked over to them to see if they had caught much, but I saw rods and a bivey but no one standing, as I got closer it became clear they were not presently fishing and fast asleep in the bivey, I made a quiet retreat hoping not to get caught, I mean, what would you think if you woke up to someone creeping around your fishing rods in the middle of the night? As I returned, I decided, that I was gonna take advantage of the situation, hell I had broke out a military establishment to get here!! I turned my torch off and enter stealth mode, I crept quietly along the shore line with all my gear, until I reached the groin, with the still sleeping anglers up on the high tide ridge, I was around 40 yards in front of them, I set up and cast both rods out, with high expectations.

a small slip

It didn't take long, 5 mins, and the first bite was a cracking bite!, I struck and played a hard fighting 2lb plus Eel, dam the rig was twisted to hell, covered in slime and ruined, I cut the Eel loose, he wasn't even hooked, he then speedily made his way across 10 meters of beach to put himself back in the water! It took another 10 minutes for the next bite, a shy and gentle bite, definitely a bite but more like a crab pulling the bait off the hook. I struck and it felt like I was stuck to the bottom like a crab, it pinged free, and I reeled in a weight, it was fish or crab on I wasn't sure until I  beached it,it was a Sole!!! yes get in !!! a lovely perfect keeper Sole of 30cm! it didn't stop there! the next bite was a bigger Sole of 34cm, and after a few missed bites, I landed a third of 26cm, the sun by now had fully risen, and with it, the bites soon dried up and the expectation of catching another disappeared. 

The best of the trio at 34cm, daddys dinner!

It was time to pack up! the sleeping anglers camping behind me were still fast asleep as I left, and to my knowledge they will never even know that I had been there, as I walked back to the car, I could see they were serious about saving the spot, I counted another 5 rods, along the beach and sea wall that I didn't see in the dark! If they had woke of coarse I would of just moved, luckily for me they didn't. This had been a adventure I think most wouldn't of encountered, I had escaped one camp and broke into someone else's in my attempt to find the Sole, and I'd caught 3 keepers!, strangely enough, one at 34cm for daddy, one for 29cm mummy and one at 26cm for baby. That's the whole family catered for. Dover Sole are some of the best tasting fish I know, and I'm very much looking forward to this meal!! I asked at the begining of this blog what makes a session worthy of writing about, and I refound my reason, it's the adventure, that's what I've been missing for a bit, and that's whats gonna keep me going!

Bass Fishing, Hythe

Silver Bars From Heaven

Hythe, Kent. UK

Well it should be winter and the Cod season should be in full swing, but it isn't. With a long warm summer, the sea temp is still very warm, and of coarse the wind direction is completely coming from the wrong direction, all though this wouldn't stop me from at least trying. My rigs are ready, reels serviced, batteries all replaced, new line, and with 60 finest Dungeness Black Lugworm and a box of Squid, I made my way to my intended mark, looking out to sea the surf was awesome, with a ferocious side wind of 35mph gales, this was gonna be a tough little fish I thought, I phoned a friend who was possibly coming fishing, and found out he was all ready fishing at Hythe, Mackerel were bubbling in the sea, he and his friend were catch Mackerel with feathers and using them as live bait and getting bites from big Bass, well what could I say, I looked out at the mean sea at Dungeness and thought, a more sheltered fish where I had company and fish were showing now! It was a no brainer, especially combined with the fact I really wasn't confident of catching a early Cod. I set off with speed and great expectations to Hythe.

Perfectly presented whole squid on 6/0 pennel

As I arrived at Hythe, my friends had both caught a Bass each of around the 4lb mark, unfortunately they had lost a fair few too, but things looked promising and the Mackerel were still along the shore line, obviously being corralled against the beach by the Bass and giving their location away by the diving seagulls hitting the sea. Dam I didn't have feathers, why would I? I was going Cod fishing! Alas, I set up my rods one with 1 single large Black Lugworm, and the other with a whole Squid, both on 6/0 pennel pulley rigs. both cast out at 10 and 20 yards, I sat and waited. I had 1 bite within 10 mins, but I missed it, the Mackerel shoal seemed to dissipate all though a few brief show in front of me gave me hope, All was quiet, then the joyous screaming from my friend Warren, I knew something was up, so I ran over to see him just land a monster Bass, and the biggest Bass I'd ever seen, A new PB for him at 9lb 8oz, a beast of a fish, I was made up for him, so happy, that's what I love about fishing is it doesn't matter who catches what, I like the banter but I've never been jealous, it's the joy it brings to other people, that make me happy too.

First Bass of the night

The next hour was quiet, apart from the odd Whiting I dragged in. A very happy Warren had not surprisingly decided to call it a night. All though it had gone quiet, I decided as I had bait and time, I was out for the night, I prepared for the night, and decided to revert back to try for a Cod, big Lugworm and Squid baits to be fished at range. The Lugworm seemed to attract Whiting and Pouting one after the other, whilst the whole squid bait seemed to be left alone, I soon got fed up of the pesky Whitings, and both rods were now baited with whole Squid, one at range and one close in, because as low water come and past the wind picked up dramatically giving rise to similar surf I saw earlier at Dungeness, I sat there thinking this now looks like perfect Bass fishing, and I sat quietly confident. It wasn't long before I had landed 2 Bass, one from far out, and one from close in, they were both around the 2lb mark, but even still, I had a feeling I would either get a Cod, or a Bigger Bass and maybe even a Ray.

Gonna need a bigger tape measure

I wasn't disappointed, the rod at range had a few sharp pull downs, then a classic slack line, I reeled in to take the slack, and immediately the fish on the end was pulling back hard, I was using my 7oz big bait casting rods, and not the most refined fish rods, but I knew that the fish was pulling very hard to put a bend in the rod. I first though a big Cod, the fight was pretty short lived with the end tackle I was using, as I dragged the fish out the water up the shingle, I had to look twice maybe 3 times?!? first I thought it was a plastic bag, then I though a strange shaped fish, as I focused and worked out what it was, I realised I was just looking at a very big round fishes head straight on, with it's mouth opening and closing, the reflections of the scales and darkness inside the mouth was quite distracting. I literally threw my rod down, and run over to the fish and then I realised what it was, the excitement took over, I grabbed the fish, it was a monster of a Bass, definitely the biggest I'd ever had caught, a new PB for sure, I weighted and measured the fish, it came in at 72cm long and 9lb 8oz. It was immaculate, a pure beast of a predator, a perfect silver bar, I struggled taking selfies with the fish, and I wish there was someone to take my trophy photo of the fish, but after working out my phone didn't have a timer mode, I made my way to the water and released him without a second thought.

9lb 8oz Bass, a 72cm bar of silver, beautiful!

Wow, what a fish!, I was in shock, and my heart was still pounding, I laid my back on the beach, in the now howling wind, I looked up to the stars, and I believe I spoke to and thanked my god. What a night, I had seen 2 of the biggest Bass I'd ever seen, and had caught maybe a fish of a lifetime! I had no intention of continuing fishing, yes I may have caught more, but I didn't care, I didn't fish, I didn't even go home, I just sat on the beach with my tackle in a total mess around me, my 2 rods laying badly on the shingle like matches throw down, without a care in the world, savouring the moment for as long as I could.

Sole Fishing

Summer Sole Searching

Hythe, Dungeness, Hastings

Traps set, now to wait till dusk

This blog is a bit different to the previous ones I post, I have been searching for Sole since late June and it's now September. not only has this been a challenge, but thrown up some lovely fish and a few welcome surprises along the way, this blog is over 11 sessions and a few venues. The plan was simple enough, to fish small hooks and small worm baits close in during dusk and night. and to pin the baits to the sea bed where the Sole are more likely to find it. I had made myself up plenty of 2 hook boom rigs with size 4 Aberdeen hooks in preparation. One of the things about summer fishing, is the fact the calmer sea allow you to lighten up everything, 12lb main line, 50lb leaders, Bass rods rated at 2 to 4oz, and small leads makes for a much more enjoyable and less strenuous session, something which I very much look forward too after the brutal strain and stress that winter fishing into a stormy sea, in bitterly 20 to 30mph winds and rain.

Best Bass of the summer

2 hook boom rig, size 4s

Now having a full time job where I work the same amount of hours again in overtime doesn't leave me much choice in when I can go fishing, so with limited free time and sometimes I was lucky enough to have my last job of the day by the coast also gave me a opportunity to go, rather than the tide, weather and sea conditions, this was where my tackle was ready at a moments notice and I would be taking every opportunity when I could within reason of coarse, but if I'm honest, sacrificing a nights sleep on a work day isn't beyond me either, well my job prepares me well for sleepless long days. Ideally weather would need to be hot and a sunny day with high pressure and a gentle Northerly wind with a clear water and fish a rising tide. I think the first 4 sessions I done, the only thing that was right was that I was fishing in the dark, conditions were not hot, and the sea was angry with stiff Southey wind giving rise to a very muddy and angry sea with big surf, more akin to Bass fishing.

New species Horse mackerel

Although conditions were not right for Sole, The fishing was good, I fished multiple places along Hythe and Dungeness, catching Bass with a few nice keepers for the frying pan, also plenty of Rockling, Pouting, Dogfish, a new species for me Horse Mackerel and more Eels than I've ever caught in my whole life, now I'm not a Eel hater, and I'm happy they seem to be making a big comeback after becoming a protected species, but seriously they are rig wreckers and hard work to unhook, twisting the rigs into slimey "tangballs" (my invented new name for this particular tangle ) which results in it being chucked away. needless to say, the bigger Eels that I caught of around 2.5lb gave brilliant accounts of themselves on the light gear and heavy surf, that definitely gets the adrenaline going.

Biggest Eel of the year

Still Soleless, I decided to try a different bait, I'd been fishing local black Lugworm, but had my suspicions that Ragworm maybe the right bait. This in itself created a new problem, my local bait shops did not supply Ragworm, so I used a online store to deliver live Ragworm to my home address the day I had planned to go fishing, this did not go smoothly. the first delivery ended up at the wrong address, where a elderly lady accepted my delivery of live Ragworm, and opened it up in her kitchen believing it to be a new kettle, I would of loved to be a fly on the wall when she reached in and found the worms, needless to say, now with a traumatised complaining neighbour and having to send my wonderful wife on a peace keeping mission to collect the worms, I did get to go fishing with Ragworm as bait which resulted in my first couple of Sole this year, both were very small and released to grow, but very welcome none the less. Convinced the Ragworm was the difference between catching Sole and not catching Sole, I ordered twice again, but both deliveries failed, and left me baitless and unable to go fishing, I don't blame the online shops, but the parcel companys that seem unable to deliver to my address, and make a purpose made process where getting in touch with them to complain or locate the parcel is almost impossible.

Its a start, a little Slip Sole

Although I'd found a couple of small Sole, I wanted to do better, at least get a keeper to take home and cook!. The next lot of sessions were Soleless even though the weather conditions seemed perfect, back to locally bought Black Lugworm I just continued to catch Eels, Bass, Whiting and Pouting, by now I had worked myself all along Hythe beach front over the summer, fishing a different mark each time, I'd fished close in and at range, I'd fished 2 marks at Dungeness with no avail, I was confident of my tactics and bait, even though the Rag had worked, there was no doubt in my mind the Lug would be taken by Sole if they were there, so more the question was what was I doing wrong? It had to be locations, and work came to the rescue and offered the chance to fish Hastings, obviously I would have to repair a chiller in a store along the sea front, but damn it would be rude not to take the rods with me for after.

Slimey tangballs

After procuring some local Lugworm, a lot smaller than the Dungeness Blacks I'm used to, but they were top quality live Lugworm, and the absolute perfect size for a small size 4 hook and small mouths of the Sole. Setting up on my favourite mark the wind was ferocious, the surf was big, again I thought Bass rather than Sole. I struggled with the light Bass rods, they bounced about all over the place making bite detection almost impossible, but the fishing seemed the same Whiting, small Bass, and yes even more rig wrecking slimey sea snake Eels! I had almost given up hope of a Sole, as I sat there way later than I had anticipated, I had now changed one rod to a live bait rig, which Whitings were happy to attached them selves to, in the hope of a big Bass nailing it during the darkness in the rolling surf, and my other rod still a boomed Sole rigs cast about 15 yards out. Then bang, a big pull down followed by a slackliner on the Sole rig, the biggest and most definite bite for the night!, as I reeled in I knew a fish of a bigger stamp was attached, a bass or big Eel I thought, but no! finally my target species! a 36cm Sole, a plump fat keeper, perfect for dinner for 2!, I was over the moon, it didn't stop there, I had another 3 more smaller Sole in the consecutive casts, until I ran out of bait, and I'm sure I could of had more.

Biggest of the year Dover Sole

Well what have I learnt?, this has been one hell of a challenge catching a Dover Sole, let alone a decent sized one, I tried my hardest, and 10/10 for effort, I'm sure I was just unlucky, or possibly was fishing the wrong venues or tides, I just haven't nailed this Sole fishing quite yet. But I was catching fish, and lots of them, with new species of Horse Mackerel, some lovely Bass, and Eels, on top of the normal species, the surprising thing was how close these fish get to the beach, most of my fishing for Sole was around the range of 10 to 30 yards out, and many of the better fish were taken even closer in! Using the Bass rods light lines and leads was a sheer pleasure, I also enjoyed the warm summer nights and appreciated them knowing the pending winter season is closing in. And I definitely haven't had a very successful Sole hunt this year, but the one bigger one I did catch, was well deserved, I enjoyed sharing this top class eating fish with my wife, and who knows although winter has started, we have just had our hottest day of the year, so maybe just maybe I may get another crack this year before the winter comes.

Beach Fishing Chesil Beach

Birthday Surprises

Chesil Beach, Dorset. UK

Yuki taylor Q7 is a casting dream

Having survived to the ripe old age of 40, I had a plan to go away for a few days and enjoy some birthday fishing. Having been to beautiful Weymouth before when Chesil Beach was unfishable due to horrendous weather, this was a chance to return and hopefully get my chance to fish this iconic venue. And as it turned out, the wind was slightly breezy with white clouds dotting a blue sky, it was absolutely beautiful! But how would it fish? I wasn't really sure what to target, and the rigs I had made in preparation were as varied as the bait I bought, Squid, Ragworm, Hermit Crab, Sand Eel and Mackerel would give me many options, maybe a few too many to all try properly, but I felt confident, and although I was told Ray and Hounds were around, all I really wanted was to catch some new species, and my thoughts were for the humble Black Bream possibly a Gilt Head or even a Trigger Fish. All species that are very rare around my bit of coast back home.

Spider Crab!!!

I turned up at low water, and made my way onto the beach from the visitors center, my god this beach is big and long! A man made spit of epic proportions that dived deep down into the sea at a very steep angle, but the sea state was fairly calm and clear. I had bought 2 rods to fish a Yuki Taylor Q7, a powerful continental rod excellent for lighter lines, I had a 3 hook clipped down flapper with size 4 chinu hooks more suited to hooking fish with small hard mouths such as Bream, baited with half a Ragworm. My second rod would be an experimental rod, a brand new birthday present, a Tronix Pro Cobra GT, I started off with a pulley pennel with 2/0 manta hooks baited with mackerel. With both rods cast out and fishing, I excitedly sat on the beach waiting with anticipation. Within minutes gentle tugs showed to both rods, with the braid I instantly recognised it as crab tugging, and I wasn't wrong, finding a small spider crab tangled in the flapper rigs, with bare hooks, these crabs can be a problem! Even snipping off 5 hooks through out the day, but worst still they were stripping my baits off the hooks in minutes if not seconds.

Perfectly presented Squid on pennel

Although I was willing to work hard with the Yuki rod for Bream, I was unwilling to work hard with both rods, so I decided to bait the Cobra rod, with a whole 6" squid, a tougher bait wrapped in elastic which hopefully would keep the crabs away for longer. I also had another small obstacle to overcome, floating weed was constantly floating along the shore line which over 5 to 10 minutes collected around the line in sufficient quantities to pull your rod tip down and bounce up and down in the surf. Normally this weed would be well underneath your line if fishing anywhere else that I could think of, but the beach being as steep as Chesil is, the line seemed to dart straight down into the surf and weed, distance casting was essential here, as the further out you fished the less weed collected on the line and the longer the baits would stay out, luckily holding bottom wasn't a issue the whole of the flooding tide and a 6 oz breakaway with braid main line, tapered leader with clipped down rigs were the order of the day.

Undulate Ray, new species and PB 10lb 12oz

A grunting Red Gurnard

Whilst literally feeding the crabs with the Ragwom on the Yuki, the Cobra held still for at least 20mins, maybe the crabs didn't like squid or I was just lucky, but then a the tip gave a big wobble, I thought here we go again more crabs or weed, but the wobbles got bigger and were more frequent than the crabs, I readied myself at the rod, the tip was definitely bouncing around due to a fish. Then a massive pull down! I grabbed the rod as the line went slack, I held the rod still for about 30 seconds, then reeled in slowly taking up the slack, the rod bent over again, and I raised the rod to set the hook, It was fish on!! and immediately I knew it was a big fish, the Cobra handled it perfectly, I could feel every lung and knock down the braid and the rod tip was fast enough to keep in constant contact with the fish and more than enough power to pull back when needed. After a good old fight I saw a Ray pop up on the shingle ridge the incoming tide was making, as I climbed down and dragged the fish onto the shingle out the water, I realised just how big it was, and not only that it was a species of Ray I'd never caught before, a Undulate Ray!! It was lightly hooked in the lip, and the hook came out easy, I weighed the fish in a sling and it came in at 10lb 12oz!!! Whatever happened now, this one fish had made my day! A new species, a double and on my new rod, all on my 40th birthday, I couldn't have been happier!!!!

All Bass are beautiful even the small ones

Bites were few and far, I had 2 bites and hooked and landed 2 fish so far, the second coming on the Yuki rod with Ragworm, another new species for me a Red Gurnard! The weather had turned from good to absolutely glorious! The wind even died down to a gentle breeze, what was Chesil going to throw at me next? I stuck to the plan, one small hooks and bait and the other big baits and hooks, although I tried many combinations of baits, I was struggling to get bites. Coming close to high water, the weed died down enough not to be a nuisance and even the crabs seemed to have disappeared, with the rods cast out and staying out longer than they had all day, I really hoped for more! And I wasn't disappointed, a last final bite on the Yuki before packing up saw me land a very welcome and beautiful small Bass. I never found my Bream, but what a day! The Ray was an awesome catch, if unexpected. I knew this was a fish of a lifetime for me, as the chances of me even fishing areas where they could be caught were slim if not non existent, and the fact it was a double too was the icing on the birthday cake! I thoroughly loved fishing Chesil, the contrast from when I was last here was immense, from a very dangerously angry and swollen white sea in 50mph winds throwing sea spray and cargo from a overturned ship for at least 100 meters over the high shingle bank, to blue sky, blue sea, and the gentle lapping of wavelets on the shingle. Thank you to the fishing gods! Chesil Beach is truly a unique place to fish, and hopefully our paths will cross again.

Chesil Beach, the first section of 18miles of awsome beach

Smoothhound Fishing, Reculver

Release The Hounds

Reculver, Herne Bay, Kent CT6, UK

Reculver at night

The weather has settled a bit, and as the country blooms and turning green, the anglers are turning their attention to summer species. mackerels, garfish, soles, bass have returned to within catching distance from the shore, including the Smoothhound! Only one problem, it's May, and that means May water, May weed, May rot, whatever you know is as, it's a fishermans worst nightmare, an algae bloom which happens around May resulting in billions of tiny strands of weed floating around in the tide, they soon clump together around your fishing line and wrap themselves into tight knots forming tight balls of weed that takes an eternity to pick off as its so tough, its stops you reeling in as it wont pass through the rings, it smells, and most will get sore finger nails picking the stuff off. It can ruin any fishing trip and takes some dedication and a slightly different way of fishing to tackle it head on when its at it worst.

Peeler crab, top bait for Hounds

Well, even though I knew the May water was about, I also knew the Hounds were having their first run along the North Kent coast, coming in onto the beaches to feast on the first moulting crabs of the year. Having just bought 50 live peeler crabs to use as bait, I couldn't resist, It was to be a short 2 hours up to high tide and 2 hours down session, fishing in the darkness, and Reculver was to be the venue, renowned for it's Smoothhound fishing, a mixed ground, shallow venue, naturally full of Crabs and Ragworm. I arrived at 10.00pm, it was fairly busy, so I opted not to fish the railings and walked to the right, and found a nice big space along the shingle beach. I set up 1 x continental rod, and 1 x beach caster, with pulley rigs, 60lb mono straight through from lead to hook, which was a single 2/0 Mustad Big Gun hook, baited with a whole peeler crab only taking off the back shell, then wrapping it to the hook with bait elastic, and cast both rods out.

First Hound of the season

Well, the tide was kind, and holding bottom was no problem at all, but after 20mins, one rod was being dragged downtide slowly, reeling in revealed clumps of May water every meter along the line for at least 50meters!!!, this took me almost 20mins to clear, I was cursing much, knowing the second rod was going to be alot worse. but then it took a big knock down, and bounced around a bit. luckily I had my brother along, although he wasn't fishing, he grabbed the rod and started the process of reeling it in, picking the May weed off, it was at least 10 minutes before both rods were full reeled in and deweeded, and luckily the small 3lb Smoothhound pup which had taken the bait was still hooked, my brother obviously claimed the fish, which I didn't mind I was just glad for the help. Baiting up both rods and renewed with optimism that more Hounds were to be caught, I decided to beat the May water, the best way would be to fish 1 rod, and keep it out no longer than 5 minutes. I cast 1 rod out, and waited 5 mins, I then cast out the second rod, immediately I reeled in the first rod rod, deweeded the minimal weed that had started to gather then re baited and recast, fishing like this meant I always had a bait fishing in the water, although hard work, constantly reeling, deweeding, baiting and casting, it was the perfect tactic for beating the Maywater over a short session, only down side was I did use a few more crabs, than I would of liked.

Single 2/0  Mustad Big Gun Hook, never let me down

Now I felt like I was fishing, and it worked, I missed a bite, a ferocious pulldown and violent rattles, definitely not a Smoothhound bite, I suspected a Bass, but failed to hook it. a few casts later resulted in a classic Smoothhound take, the rod tip wobble, a slow big pull down and then line being stripped from the spool on the light drag. I let the fish run, when it stopped, I tightened up the drag, and reeled in the slack line, then lifted the rod hard and to the side to confidently set the hook, I was on, and on the continental rod too! it wasn't the best fight I've had, but considering the light rod, it was fun, even tricking me to believing the fish was bigger than it was A Starry Smoothound weighing 4lb 14oz, a testament to how good a sport Smoothhound are to catch! Although still a small hound, I was delighted to catch one so early in the year, and things will only get better! The next cast resulted in a small Bass of about 1lb 8oz, And then the tide stopped, the weed had disappeared, and then I thought this is it, now with 2 rods out fishing, I thought here we go! but nothing! not a touch or a wobble, the tide turned and the weed returned 2 hours later, signalling home time, A lovely little session and target species achieved, and even better was, they are only going to get bigger, spurring me on to target them again, looking for them bigger doubles.

Bass Fishing Bude Breakwater

Big Bass, Little Bass

Bude Breakwater, Bude, Cornwall. UK

Bude Breakwater

I was looking forward to this week away in Cornwall, for many reasons! from cream teas, BBQs, and fine food to be sampled, and then walked off over miles of the most beautiful coastlines in the UK. This place is absolutely stunning! But from a fishing point of view I was coming back a second time, more prepared and hopefully with the weather on my side. Last time Cornwall beat me up, and taught me a lesson, with 1 Dogfish to show for which I had fished in gale force winds, horizontal rain, got soaked in the surf, and impaled myself on a hook, it wasn't my finest hour,"Beach Fishing Widemouth Bay" But like I said, I was a little more experienced this time and looking forward to round 2. I kept my tackle to a minimum, just my Vercelli Sypra Fiamma continental 14" rod for beach casting and my Snowbee Sea Bass Special rod for spinning. Both light rods, which pack away into short sections and perfect for keeping in the boot of the car. For tackle again I kept it simple and light, 5 lures, a few packets of feathers, just enough terminal tackle to make up any rigs I may need, a couple of floats and a small selection of leads. The only thing I took that was annoyingly big and bulky was my tripod, a must for bait fishing on hard rock, and an ideal sand spike would of been too restricted.

Sand Eel Ready To Cast

I had a whole week in Cornwall, but had agreed to have a designated day where I could fish, of course this didn't stop me taking my spinning rod with me everywhere and having a few chucks here and there when time permitted, I even had a small 1 lb Bass on a Fiiish Black Minnow on Wanson beach, I even sneaked out after dark for a few hours and revisited my old nemesis Widemouth Beach, although no dramas this time, the outcome was the same, just a lonesome Dogfish which managed to hook himself on a large circle hook whilst playing with the Mackerel head bait which was bigger than his!!! I had formed the opinion that I would fish for a different species than I could catch at home, Rays or maybe Bream, but the reality is you only catch whats in front of you, and after some thought I realised that this is prime Bass territory, and very quickly my attention turned to them. I had decided to spend my day fishing at the Breakwater at Bude, a concrete wall sloping steeply onto a sandy bottom with a deeper gully where the River Neat and Bude canal flowed into the bay, all surrounded by big jagged rocks providing a vast array of features to fish, it screamed Bass! I had collected some bait and gained some valuable intel from the local tackle shop, and it was just a waiting game now till the day came.

Best Bass Of The Year At 4lb 4oz

It was now time, the weather was fair, no rain and quite breezy with a big swell, the only downside was the preceding days heavy rain had been running into the bay causing the water to be coloured, although this would make lure fishing more of a challenge it actually suited bait fishing better, and added an extra array of features as you could see clear and muddy water mixing in different places during the different tide state. I decided to fish Sand Eel on a clipped down rig, although distance wasn't really an issue, it allowed me to keep well up on the rocks out of the way of them pesky surging waves that come out of nowhere, and cast parallel with the breakwater to the side of the rocks at the end of it, this area interested me as I could see a big eddy of clear water covered with foaming white water as it surged around and over the rocks into the bay, and gave the added bonus of allowing me to fish up tide and get a good grip with the lead in the strong flow. On the third cast I caught my rod tip bouncing around violently, I picked up the rod and lifted into a fish, The fight was short lived as the tide bought the fish straight at me and I then slide him gently onto the breakwater, I chinned the fish and he flapped around furiously still full of energy, Yes! a beautiful Cornish Bass weighting 4lb 4oz and between you and me, I would have been dancing around like a loony except for the watchful small crowd of tourists, and now it didn't matter that this was my only bite of the day.

Gully Caught Flounder 

But fate had given me a chance to return a few days later, a kindly payback for sober nights and a hell of a lot of driving around sight seeing, and even better was the tackle shop just had a delivery of fresh Ragworm. This time the water was gin clear, the sky was blue, and the wind was but a gentle breeze, whilst waiting for the tide to come in and cover the sand, I fish the outside of the breakwater onto a shallow sandy strip edged by large rocks, as good as it looked, I never had a bite. but the tide was moving quickly, and now the inside had water to fish, remembering where the gully was, I launched a 1 up and 1 down rig baited with Ragworm out into the bay to fish in gully. The tide seemed a lot stronger today but I let the rig slowly work its way along the bottom. A fairly large bite revealed a greedy Flounder that had taken both baits on the rigs.

When Angler Becomes The Bait

As the bay filled with water I returned to the same tactics that I had caught the Bass earlier on, casting to the same area, but to no avail, I did pick up the odd tiny 6" Bass though, Changing tactics again, I used my spinning rod with a 2 hook flapper baited with small Ragworm and dropped it onto the sand at the foot of the Breakwater, immediately tiny rattles on the rod tip which resulted in a lot of missed bites and stripped hooks, I dropped the hook and bait size down from a 2/0 to a size 2 and then I started to catch the bait robbers, tiny little Common blennies, there must of been hundreds of them close in. One even decided to bite my finger in revenge for dragging him out the sea, oh my God!, they got a strong bite for a little fish, and he didn't want to let go either!!

As Small As They Come

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed fishing the Breakwater at Bude, again very different to the beaches I'm used to fishing in Kent, but for a small area the vast array of features and how it changed during the tide and even from day to day kept me interested and constantly searching for fish, trying to second guess their routes into the bay and intercept them with the right bait and rig, It had rewarded me with my biggest and smallest Bass of the year, a new species of Blenny and a sizable Flounder, I'd made a fishing friend, and when that sun is out and the water is turquoise blue, and the surfers are bobbing around waiting for that next big wave, its easy to imagine your a million miles away from home, Cornwall is such a beautiful place, and definitely not the last time I will visit!

Beach Fishing Dungeness

BBQ Bass and Sunday Sole

Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29, UK

I think I can honestly say the summer has arrived, with night time temps of around 15 degrees it was time to do a over nighter, so where and what should I fish for?  I had all ready caught some Rays this year, and being May a little early in the year for Smooth Hounds, I left it right to the last minute to decide, checking catch reports and weather forecasts, I was so confused!, seriously the options were vast, and the choice baffled me, and then somehow I just decided to go target Dover Sole, how? I'm not entirely sure, I hadn't seen any catch reports saying they had even started showing, but the weather conditions and the calm coloured water was ideal for them, and If I'm honest Sarah was coming, and the hunter gatherer in me had decided that we was eating fresh caught fish cooked on a disposable BBQ on the beach tonight. I just had a gut feeling that these small mouthed flatties were happily feeding close to the shore whilst most were throwing big fish baits towards the horizon in search of Rays, 

Add caption

I had my bait ordered 40 fresh Dungeness Black Lug, BBQ and tackle ready, Myself and Sarah headed off to Dungeness, The plan was simple, to fish two rods, 1 at close range of about 20yards and a second fishing at 40yards, both with the same same Wessex rigs on, 2 flappers with short shank Aberdeen size 4 hooks to target the Dover Sole with 1" pieces of Lugworm as bait, and the bottom running leger hook, a pennel Aberdeen size 1/0 hooks for presenting a large whole lugworm to target the Bass. We arrived to a beautiful sun set, the wind was gentle, the sea was flat and the temperature was definitely a lot warmer than it had been all year or even forecast. What a lovely night! It was low water as we set up camp on the high tide mark, I cast out the rods and put the stand half way between the water and camp, and waited....... and waited.........., and waited a bit more? I checked my baits, yes they still on and untouched, so didn't forget to put bait on the hook. This didn't look good. I checked the baits several times over and the sea was well on its way in by now..

Time flew past quickly, 3 hours and still no bites? I was sitting in the beach shelter talking to Sarah, where we was considering cooking the emergency sausages that we had bought just in case I blanked for dinner. I made the statement "I'm really not impressed with this!" and as if by magic my Vercelli rod had a big pull down! running down the beach shouting "That's a big bite!"  I lifted into a fish which was a fair way down tide from where I cast, and soon landed a lovely 46cm Bass weighing 2lb 4oz, perfect! just perfect!, this fish was descaled, gutted, filleted and sizzling away on the BBQ within 15mins, Sarah had pulled out a nice bottle of white wine, cant say it gets much better that that! the Bass was delicious, the company was excellent, the scenery was outstanding and the weather was dam good for England, I didn't care if I caught another fish now, But the fishing gods had something else lined up for me, After eating our fill Sarah feel asleep and I decided to cast the rods out and fish the few hours over high tide.

It was fish from the off, well not exactly fish, but Dogfish! ranging from 20cm to 60cm, I had to laugh I took a tiny dogfish into the bivey to show Sarah who has a fondness for them, she awoke shocked as I waved the fish above her face, then as she realised what it was, she smiled and sleepily reached out to stroke it with affection only for it to bite her finger! luckily they don't have teeth! I have to say, the Dogfish tonight were all very lively, had plenty of fight and big bites, maybe the warmer water temperature had something to do with it. I fished relentlessly till dawn, apart from a handful of tiny Whiting and Pouting the majority I caught were Dogfish, Having fished later than I expected too, I was down to the last baits, The tide was about 3 hours into the ebb by now and retreating fast whilst the sun was just cracking the horizon, bites were slowing down, and the last bite was a now familiar nice firm pull down, followed by a some rattles, as I reeled it in expecting another Dogfish I was surprised to see I had landed a Dover Sole! 34cm and 15oz! get in! Could this night get any better! I really had enjoyed this session, one of the most enjoyable for a long time! I had fished close range no further than 50 yards all night long with light rods, light leads making the fishing so easy, baiting the hook with lug was a breeze compared to the messy and long winded big baits bound with elastic. I had caught lots of fish, eaten fresh BBQ Bass with glass of wine, and to top it off had my Dover Sole to take home for Sunday dinner! 

Bass Fishing, Dungeness

Bass Fishing Gone Right

Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29, UK

Its been a while since my last blog, and for that I apologise. There are a few reasons for this, the 1st being I have just got married to my beautiful Sarah, We married in the Old Lighthouse at our special place Dungeness, followed by fish and chips and a music festival with a fire circus, absolutely brilliant! And 2nd, I just haven't caught a fish for a long time, several blanks on the beach in the UK, followed by more blanking during a weeks inshore fishing in Croatia, followed by even more blanking during a week in France Carp fishing, seriously you couldn't make it up, but it is fishing!, and sometimes fate maybe playing games, which you just have to trust will workout.

What A View to Awake To

With the impending winter season, the UK sea angling community are waiting with anticipation of the impending Cod season, with sea temperatures dropping, big SW gales battering the south coast, stirring the sea thick with mud and food that feeds the hoards of Whiting that arrive for the winter which in turn brings the big Cod under the cover of darkness within casting distance of the beach, but wait!..... on your marks....get set.....NO!, not quite yet, we are in the midst of an Indian summer, the sea still warm and clear full of small fry and mackerel, the winds not even strong enough to stir a pot of Tea let alone a sea, and glorious sunshine with a night time temp of 16 degrees Celsius. Really? no good for Cod, but rather nice for October, This changed my plans slightly, actually, quite a lot, to be honest, but after some consideration it seemed realistic that there was a chance of Bass, Codling, and I was betting on a few late Dover Soles.

Wee Tiny Pouts

I decided to fish in front of the power station at Dungeness, mainly because I would be fishing over low water and this area would still be fishable and give me the widest opportunity to catch 1 of my 3 target species. We arrived at our mark about 10.00pm, an hour and some later than I planned mainly due to a road closure and the vast array of badly placed diversion route signs that had me driving in circles around Ashford, I think the work men were having a laugh when they put them out! We arrived undeterred we set up base camp on the high tide mark, but rather than start fishing, Myself and Sarah took our time, relaxing, cooked some beef burgers on a petrol cooker, sank a few beers and cheeky premixed cans of southern comfort and watched the stars whilst reminiscing what we had done 5 weeks earlier in the towering lighthouse which stood out above the high shingle wall which protects the power station. It was about midnight that I set the rods up, and made my way down to the surf which by now was about 40 meters in front of us.

                      

Big Bait For A Big Fish

Using my Greys Centuar TSX paired with Shimano Ultegra for the distance rod, and a Shimano Biomaster 8000 for the near rod. I cast out the distance rod as far as I could, a pully rig with 1/0 pennel hooks baited with a small lugworm sausage tipped with half a squid head, a sized down Cod set up, and on the near rod I used a boon rig with 3 size 4 short shanked hooks baited with 1" sections of lug designed for Doversole. within seconds the near rod was rattling away, and small 5" Pouting and a little larger Whiting were constantly attaching themselves to my hooks in pairs, whilst the far rod was slower, still produced Whiting, I lost count of the number of fish I caught, but kept up the work rate in the hope that something else would eventually get to the bait quicker than the abundant Pouting and Whiting. They didn't ! and within 3 hours had devoured 40 black lugs, 10 salted old lug and a box of squid. With the shortage of bait, I had a plan, and the last two fish I pulled ashore, one being a Pouting and a Whiting, ended up being attached by the nose to a large 6/0 circle and cast back out as live bait on a running leger. The rods were quite for the next hour and the only excitement now was the occasional rattle on the rod tip from the live bait, and the shooting stars, which every time I saw one, I wished for a big Bass or Cod, as I had definitely lost the bet of catching a Doversole by now.

A Dream Come True, 5lb 9oz of Bass

With a few hours sleep, I awoke to almighty racket, the wind had picked up and a fairly large surf coming up to the high tide mark was hitting the single with a thunderous slap, as I looked out of the beach shelter, all I could see was lots of birds sitting on the water, whilst others were noisily squawking and diving around them only yards in front of our camp, as I looked closely, I saw shoals of tiny fish about 4" long, swimming out of the front of the waves like surfers fleeing for their lives. With only a single mackerel left for bait, and luckily for me me, just a gut feeling made me buy it the night before. I grabbed a rod with the live bait rig from the night before, And hooked a large chunk of mackerel to the circle hook and cast out about 10 meters into the feeding frenzy, and waited, the birds and small fry was slowly working its way along the beach, and just as I considered following the frenzy down the beach, the rod tip dived down hard, some line was taken, confirmed with the rapid clicking of the drag, then it slack lined, I grabbed the rod, reeled in to take up the slack, then lifted the rod firmly, but gently. I thought my lead had been buried at first, but with a constant pressure on the rod tip I watched as the line kited from left to right about 20 meters then the tell tale knock knock as the fish shock its head confirmed that I was in. The fight was quite short lived due to the range I was fishing, but several times the fish was left on the shingle by the surf but was able to to propel itself back to the surf in a few inches of water. I tightened the drag and the third time with the rod tip lowered to the side I pulled in time with the surf and slid the new PB onto the shingle above the high tide ridge.

Circle Hooked Perfectly

Sheer uncontrolled excitement took over me, this fish had been a long overdue, the amount of time, over many years that I have put into fishing for Bass with lures and big baits close in, up until now had all proved fruitless. But now it had come good within 10mins of awaking, during one of the most beautiful sunrises that I've seen in a very long time, and also a very big payback for the few months of blanking. Maybe it was the shooting star wishes, maybe it was wedding gift from the sea, or maybe it was just fate, either way I was in the right place just at the right time and this fish meant a lot more to me than any other I have ever caught. the uncontrollable passion and sheer excitement as I landed this fish would have put Robson Green to Shame. I have now doubled my PB Bass, willey Bass of this size have managed to outwit me and elude me for years and years and is such a very special capture for me, and it's picture will very deservedly take pride of place being centre stage on my wall of fish pictures.