Won’t be fishing for a week or so, as I’m off to Zante for a bit of sun. I did contemplate taking the telescopic rod I talked about here, but decided against it on account of the amount of space that all the other gear would take up.
Tight lines!
Planned fishing session
21 08 2009
Weed..
I’ve been waiting patiently for tomorrows planned fishing session – depending on which source you use, the tide is quoted as either a 6.8m or 7.0m – fantastic! Slightly concerned about the condition of the sea though. I’ve been keeping an eye on it, and it seemed OK at about 7:00 this morning, if a little surfy, but at lunch time today, although not too rough, there was an absolute *shiteload* of weed around. These pics were taken from the Groyne next to Oh So’s down on the beach – there was so much weed it was floating on top of the water.
I’m really hoping that it calms down before tomorrow night, and we get a decent session off of the ******* ****** (he he – venue still a secret), but regardless of venue this should be one to remember. CANNOT WAIT. Planning a bait digging session tomorrow to supplement our Red Rag supply, and will get the usual King, plus some Black Lug from the shop. Will supplement this with some Sandeel, and some Mackerel, some of which I’m planning to use as chum for the venue.
More weed..
I’ll be buying some size 2/0 or 3/0 hooks for some *big* bait, hopefully to tempt a few nice Bass. Woohoo!
August is my favourite fishing month, so I’ll be expecting quite a few Bass, some nice Sole, Founder, Eels, Bream, Thornback Ray and my ultimate catch would be a Smoothhound – regardless of size these fish put up such a magnificent fight, I love ’em!
PS. happy one month anniversary, Blog!
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Categories : Fishing Trips, Random Musings
Species, tactics and venue Hitlist
11 08 2009Thought I’d summarise the species I’ve caught so far this year, which includes the month of July, plus a few sessions in April / May, and then detail my hitlist for the coming months! I’ve also detailed a few types of sea fishing that I’ve never done before, but really want to try. Hopefully I’ll be able to fit them all in!
Caught so far:
- Gurnard
- Flounder
- Black Bream
- Bass
- Eel
- Mackerel
- Thornback Ray
- Pout
- Rockling
Species I want to catch in the coming months:
- Bigger Bass
- Smoothound
- Whiting
- Codling
- Pollack
- Plaice
- Sole
- Garfish
- Dabs
Fishing techniques:
- Rough ground fishing – probably on the beaches to the East of the Marina, but maybe as far along as Saltdean or Peacehaven. I’m thinking rotten bottoms, juicy Peeler Crab baits, 25lb mainline.. and *big* Bass ; ) This will take some convincing of my fishing buddies, as doing this alone is not a great idea.
- Float fishing from the Marina – for Mackerel, Scad, Garfish and maybe Bass. The only Garfish I’ve ever caught was foul hooked.. I want one on light tackle, to Mackerel or sandeel baits.
- “Down the side” fishing from the Marina – for Pout, Poor Cod, Blenny etc – sorry, but this type of fishing is great fun on light tackle.. it’s gotta be done ; ) wouldn’t go specifically for these species, but in combination with floating or Mackerel feathers.
- Floating for Bass – not sure on the venue, now that my beloved spot on Shoreham Harbour is inaccessible, but I want Bass on light tackle. The NG will qualify, and maybe the Shoreham Harbour Arms.. potentially the area in Fishersgate where there is an easily accessible fishing spot for fishing in to Shoreham harbour.. bit mainstream though.
I also want to give Eastbourne Pier a go at some point, and perhaps even Worthing Pier. I’d like to vary choice of beach venue a little more too, trying stretches of beach that I haven’t given a go yet. I may be tempted to check out the sand at low tide, to get a flavour for where the sandbanks and other underwater features are.
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Categories : Random Musings
Abu Garcia Reels
6 08 2009Have been a bit obsessed with Abu Garcia reels lately – went to the lengths of resurrecting my Ebay account, first used in 2003, last used in 2005, and “Watching” up to 35 reels of various descriptions, to see what kind of prices they’re going for.
First off, I noticed that it’s not necessarily particularly cheap to buy on Ebay! Even a pack of 100 Kamasan hooks I found was no cheaper than a mail order catalogue I’d got with Sea Angler Magazine. Also, reels rarely include a year of manufacture on the chassis, so it’s almost impossible to tell how old they are. However, I’m sure there are some features on each model that the trained eye knows to look for (for instance, I saw two vintage Abu 6000s, both red, but one with the same ratchet button position on the left hand side plate as an Elite, and one without. I’m sure that has some significance; just not sure what yet!).
I’ve mainly been looking at Abu Rockets and Elites, and the original Mag Elites. One of those went for under £50, which I guess is pretty good. I’ve seen a number of Abu Ambassadeur 6000s from the 70s on there, with cases and even oil bottles, for just under £50 too. Rockets seem to go for around £75.
One reel that I was also quite keen on, and went to the lengths of making several offers on (the auction had “Best Offer” enabled), was an Abu Ambassadeur 650+. This was identical to the first multiplier I ever bought, which I unfortunately lost when I left all of my fishing gear down at the beach after a night fishing session, and it was stolen.
It was a cheaper model than the 6500C3, and had a brass bushing in place of one of the 3 bearings designated in the “C3” part of the model name of that reel. But I was just proud to have a multiplier, and that reel actually meant the world to me! I’d bought it with almost every penny of my birthday money one year, and it cost £69.99, quite a lot for me before full time employment kicked in. So to say I was ultra tempted would be an understatement. In the end, the auction finished while I was at work, so didn’t have time to get a last offer in.. just under £50 would have secured it.
Am currently watching a few models, and am waiting to see how much the service that my mountain bike is in for at the moment costs, before deciding whether to purchase or not. Fingers crossed! Good night 😉
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Tags: reels
Categories : Fishing Gear, Random Musings
Light tackle Bass fishing
26 07 2009
Okuma Fixed Spool Reel
Most of the fishing I do, and have done in the past, revolves around beach fishing – multiplier real, relatively heavy duty rod, thick shock leader and tough terminal tackle.
Having said that, one of my most memorable sessions involves fishing in Shoreham harbour, in a section very close to Hove Lagoon – sadly, it is now fenced off.
The lead-in to this session, which was in the school holidays (so quite a while ago..), involved my cousin Nigel and myself groundbaiting the same spot with bread for several weeks prior to the session – we were targeting Mullet (a 4lb 4oz specimen of which I’d caught from the Norfolk Groyne earlier in the year, on float fished Red Rag. That’s another post – I couldn’t possibly write a fishing blog without mentioning the best ever fish that I’ve caught!).
On this particular occasion we’d plumped for a good supply of Red Rag as bait, and were using a 6ft float rod that I’d recently purchased for about £1 from a car boot sale, along with a rear drag fixed spool reel.
Our tactics involved float fishing the Red in the same spot we’d ground baited, with the drag on the reel slackened right off. From this point the details in my memory are vague, but the general idea is that we caught 3-4 Bass of around the 3lb mark in the session. The feeling when the drag screams as a Bass goes on that initial run is unbelievable. Playing the fish, in much the same way freshwater anglers do, with only light tackle to rely on, and nothing to hinder or weigh down the fish, is something rarely experienced in the course of standard beach fishing, so a great treat once in a while.
Of course, I’m not able to use that specific mark in the course of my new fishing adventures, but the harbour is pretty large, and there are quite a few spots suitable for the same type of fishing.
It was with a summarised version of these memories in the back of my mind, when, in a recent fishing trip with Shuo and Wade, I heard Dave from the Tackle Box at Brighton Marina tell a customer about a 6ft light rod / reel combination that they were selling for £18. I simply had to snap it up – the reel looked decent enough, and it evoked those great memories of warm Summer nights float fishing for Bass. Bring it on!
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Tags: Bass
Categories : Fishing Gear, Random Musings
Jims Sea Angling Diary - Fishing in Brighton, Sussex 