Fishing Report: 4th April 10 - St Osyth, Essex

Like many fishing winters for me this last one has been one that really didn't come together at all. Although I managed a couple of short sessions there really wasn't the time with the tackle business taking off in a big way and a few badly planned hours by the beach, mostly way too tired to be fishing, ended in the expected result ... a few small fish and a loss of my usual enthusiasm. It seems very strange that being surrounded by fishing gear day in day out that I should find myself with even less time to fish, but that's exactly how things have been.

My one outing to the beach with a rod since Christmas has been to test a new product, a custom ABU side plate which performed really well, but it wasn't until the Easter bank Holiday that I had the opportunity to lose the world for a few hours, hook up with fishing mate Stu and head up towards the Bird reserve at St O for a few hours of drowning bait and putting the world to rights - a trip long, long overdue!

As it was a bit between seasons and we were fishing in daylight we weren't expecting that much and we weren't disappointed as all that came out were small Bass, Whiting and even a micro Codling but for all that the day passed with a steady flow of fish and good conversation.   Despite trying a variety of baits such as Ragworm, Lug and squid we just couldn't find anything big enough for tea.  No mind, sometimes its not all about what you catch.

Fishing Report: 2nd October 09 - St Osyth, Essex

I'd originally planned a trip to the Bird Reserve end of the beach on Saturday night but a quick look at the weather forecast Friday evening changed my mind and so I headed off at the last moment to fish the flood on a midnight tide, deciding to fish amongst the rock groynes to maximise my fishing time. As well as my usual Frozen Blacks (which I reckon is a top bait for the Codling) I was also trying a first for me, salted Ragworm. I'd had half a pound or so left over from a previous session and rather than waste them I decided I would try salting them but to be honest I wasn't that hopeful that they would catch.

By the time I arrived at the beach at about 7:30pm things had roughened up a bit with a SW breeze and it was obvious from the off that the Whiting were not anything like as thick on the ground as my previous session; they came out steadily throughout the night though really nothing of any great size with the general stamp of them about 8oz, though it does have to be said that they seemed to really like the salted Ragworm.

The positive side to the reduction in the Whiting hordes is that it does give the other species a chance to go for the baits and it was just as I was resigning myself to a so-so session that one of the rods bent over and I was into something better than a Whiting. I was hoping for a Bass but it wasn't to be, though I was hardly disappointed to see a Codling appear on the beach - it went about 3lb I reckon but was a terrible "stretch", should have gone about 5lb and would normally have gone back to put on some weight. Having taken the hook way, way down there was little point in returning it however and it had to come home for the pot all the same.

Things continued with the odd whiting showing till just on the top of the tide when a good bite on the salted Ragworm turned up a real treat for me, a Sole. I catch them rarely (mostly because I tend to fish for Bass or Cod with big baits and hooks) and this one was well worth catching; it tipped the Avons down to 1lb 8oz at home, not my biggest ever but not far off and certainly a meal to look forward to!

Normally I would have liked to stay for the ebb but with things to do in the morning I couldn't stay and so reluctantly started packing up at midnight. Just by way of bonus as I was packing one rod up the other had a good hit on Black Lug and a very, very lively Eel of 12 oz or a pound hit the beach in a very bad mood. It was entertaining to say the least; the damn thing climbed up my arm, attached itself to my leg and at one point had its tail wrapped round the rod butt! I have never come across such a pissed off Eel and considering that I have been catching the things regularly man and boy for over 30 years and can normally deal with them easily, it made me look like a complete beginner! Having completely failed to get it under control I was relieved when it eventually came off the hook by itself and slithered down the beach back into the water leaving me to scrape off the slime, pack the rest of the gear and head home for a few hours sleep.

Fishing Report: 4th April 09 - St Osyth

I'd had a mind to head up the local saltings with some Ragworm this weekend to try for some early Bass in the river but not having time to get the Ragworm I dug a few local lug, put Plan B into operation and headed to St Osyth to see what was about up there instead. The beach has had a tremendous scour of late which seems to have knocked the fishing a bit but with more settled weather recently the foreshore seems to have recovered a little and I was hopeful that the fishing may have improved a little: I was wrong, but you live and learn as they say.

I arrived in glorious spring sunshine at about 5pm in time to fish the last couple of hours of the flood and as much of the ebb as I could manage and much to my surprise, although there were a few weekenders about generally the bird reserve end of the beach was deserted and there was not one nudist up there. I passed only one lone angler fishing right by the first rock groyne, where the recent big tides have formed a high sandbank against the rocks but that was it as far as company was concerned, apart from a local Fox, a vixen in peak condition, who arrived just after darkness fell and came to within 3 or 4 feet of where I was sitting to sample a couple of Calamari Squid.

I had the baits out in the water by about 6pm, fishing Lugworm on one rod and whole squid on the other, but with the poor tide it was not until about 9pm, in the peak of the ebb current (such as it was) that the first bite came to a Lugworm bait and resulted in a small Codling on the beach, which was quickly returned and swam away strongly. Shortly afterwards a strong bite resulted in a good sized Pouting of about a pound and that signalled what turned out to be the end of any chance of a decent Codling for me.

Over the next couple of hours I fished the tide down to the bottom of the beach with a steady stream of tiddler bites, managing to put 4 more Pouting on my scorecard, two of which came in on the same pennel rig very much like "little and large" before finally deciding I'd had enough at just after 11pm. Despite reports of Codling still being caught in good numbers there is no doubt that the season (and therefore the fishing) is beginning to change. Although there are still a few scattered groups of Brent Geese about in the local estuary the bulk have moved on and with the days lengthening and the temperatures starting to rise its very likely that the Bass are on their way; for me that means its time to fill the bait fridge up with Ragworm and to head to the various marks around my local estuaries after the Schoolies.

Fishing Report: 21st March 09 - St Osyth

Although I'd had an hours spinning on the Colne the day before (tempted by the illusion of a bit of sunshine and a longing for the Bass season to return) I really was in the mood for another spell on the beach. As I had a bit of bait left from the last session and the weather forecast seemed so good I thought I would finish it off by throwing it at a few hours of the ebb tide at my favourite spot at St Osyth again.

With the tide at about 8pm I arrived in time to be set up and fishing for the last hour of the flood on what was a really nice, calm night, passing only one other lone angler (fishing by what is left of the turn of the old beach road onto the dunes) on the way up to the far end of the beach. I settling back to watch the rod tip in the beam of the headlamp with only the occasional visitation from a patrolling Fox behind me in the dunes and the calls of the waders flying overhead for company and waited patiently for the first bite to come. To some it may seem like a very lonely way to spend a Saturday night but in truth this is the fishing I tend to prefer with nothing to distract me from my purpose and nobody to break the peace and quiet, away from the weekend revellers and the telly.

My previous session here a few days before had seen me manage a brace of Codling but tonight was a very different night. There was absolutely no tide run to speak of and the seabed in front of me seemed to be crawling with bait robbing crabs; to be blunt the fishing was crap. Apart from the odd tiddler bite, the only thing to save me from a blank was probably the best Whiting I have had for a few years, which slack lined a large Lugworm bait fished at range and went a good 14 inches. This time of the year I generally don't take Whiting home and such a nice specimen would have gone back had it not have taken the hook about 10 inches down!

Hopeful that the Whiting was a prelude to a Codling or two I fished on but by 11pm the water had all but disappeared and the air was getting decidedly chilly and so at 11.30pm after finishing off the last of the Lugworm on one last ditch bait I left the dunes to the birds and the leftover bits and bobs of bait to the Fox and headed home.

Fishing Report: 18th March 09 - St Osyth

A break in the cold weather had me itching to get on the beach as other than for a few casting sessions, I'd not wet a line for a while. The forecast was for a bright, sunny spring day and there were reports of good numbers of Codling still about so it really had to be done. I opted to fish towards the bird reserve at St Osyth with a high tide at about 5 ish, getting on the beach and set up by about 1pm, just in time to fish the beginning of the flood and enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine. Despite the chilly wind the sunshine had brought out the more hardy of the "gentlemen nudists" and there were half a dozen or so lurking amongst the dunes behind me as I fished through the afternoon, though nothing like the number that appear in the summer months.

I fished through the bright sunshine of the afternoon, one rod out with chunks of Herring (in the hope of a Thornie) and the other with freshly dug Lugworm without so much of a twitch on either rod and it was not until pal Stuart joined me at about 5pm and the sun had started to drop in the sky that the first signs of life started to show with the odd tiddler bite on the Lugworm. I managed my first fish, an undersized Codling, about 45 minutes later and that was shortly followed by another Codling to the Lugworm, this time sizable and weighing about 1.5lb.

As the sun finally sunk below the horizon the temperature dropped sharply and I noticed that the Skylarks (which had been singing over the saltmarsh behind me all day in true spring fashion) had stopped singing. Stuart had managed a couple of small fish but it was only now, just as things started to feel decidedly more like traditional chilly Codling weather, that he pulled out a small Bass, prompting discussions of many more sunsets at this favourite spot of mine. We fished on through the first hour or so of darkness without much more action and so with the tide disappearing fast we decided at about 8pm to call it a night. It was as I was packing up my first rod that the session was really topped off. A full blown slack liner on the remaining rod ended with me slipping a second codling of about 2lb up the beach and finishing off the session quite nicely thank you very much!

As good as the Codling fishing is at the moment it has to be expected that the season will come to a close soon. The recent warm weather has seen the trees and hedgerows start to bud and bloom and on the estuary the Brent Geese are beginning to gather in large numbers, ready for their great journey north to breed. No doubt a cold snap or two will still come but there's no mistaking that feeling of spring and hopefully the impending arrival of my favourite quarry, the Bass.

Fishing Report: 19th February 09 - Clacton on sea, Essex

I had originally wanted a session after some Suffolk Flounders but with various commitments getting in the way I just didn't have the time available for a long session across the border, which usually involves digging Ragworm on the way to fishing. Instead I decided to make the most of the time I had available and fish closer to home, settling for a shortish session at the Gunfleet Sailing Club at Clacton.

I opted to fish the ebb on the very small tide, a definite handicap when the target is Codling, slinging out my first baits of Frozen Black and Cuttle at about 7pm on what was, for a change, a very pleasant mild night. The fishing was slow to say the least, not a great surprise given there was very little run in the tide, however within an hour I had a Codling in the bag; nothing big but approaching the 2lb mark and a nice size for the pot. If I'm honest luck must have been smiling on me with this fish as I didn't even get a bite and it must have just taken the bait as I picked up my solitary rod to reel in and re-bait.

I had hoped to add at least one more fish to tally but it was just not to be. Despite the water being a nice colour there was just no run in the tide whatsoever and the fishing was just not up to much. The only other excitement of the night was one of those steamroller bites that lifted the rod butt off the ground on the last cast at about 11.30pm as the water began to really disappear on me. You would have thought that any fish doing that to your rod would be well and truly hooked but as is often the case, I picked up the rod to find it had gone and reeled in a bait that looked untouched so despite the ferocity of the bite it seems that the fish didn't take the bait properly.

Normally I would have tried that "one more cast" after a good bite but to be honest I was really just too tired and as I started to pack up the rain started to come down so it seems that packing up was probably a good decision (I hate the rain). Despite being a slow session, after all the cold weather we have had this winter, the mild night made for a nice change and I'm not one to complain at having a Codling in the bag for tea, especially not after some of the very lean Cod seasons I have experienced over the years.

Fishing Report: 7th February 09 - St Osyth, Essex

As seems to be the norm in recent years my Christmas Flattie crusade went completely down the pan. The fluctuating temperatures, way too much rain and the sharp bouts of frosty weather have either confused the Flatties or the fish are just not there any more. I tried one daylight session at Brightlingsea with Stuart a few days after Christmas, when the prom front should have seen us take at least a few fish, but it just didn't happen and we managed not even a bite between the two of us; the only action of the day was watching a huge scrap boat coming into the river.

A lonely night session a few days later produced nothing more spectacular than a small Whiting and the first week of January saw my first Cod session of 2009 turn into yet another depressing blank, so it wasn't exactly the most exiting start to the fishing year. Thirty years plus throwing bait at the sea teaches you that these bad spells come every now and again and that things will look up in good time if you persevere, but when the weather is cold, the nights black and the wind blows right through you from the north a few naff sessions can dampen the enthusiasm of even the keenest angler amongst us, myself included.

With a never ending list of things to do on the website I decided to have a rest for a while and set to sorting out some more suppliers and getting the online cart in order; it took me a lot longer than I expected and in the end it was a good month before I had the site where I wanted and decided on the spur of the moment to fish a few hours over the top of the tide amongst the rock groins at St Osyth.

Starting at about 6.30pm on a freezing cold day I originally intending to walk up to the bird reserve end but with temperatures dropping decided that it would be a bit foolhardy, not to mention hard graft in all the cold gear required for the nights fishing and a change of heart saw me setting up two rods in amongst the rock groins in the hope of better results than my first session of the year.

Fishing both rods with frozen Black Lug and Cuttlefish baits I started the night off well landing a Codling of about 1.75 lb on the second cast but that was pretty much the end of my luck for the night the only other action being just on the turn of the tide when I hit a slack line bite which saw me connected to another fish for 30 seconds or so before it swam straight in towards me and dropped the hook. I spent the rest of the night without so much as a bite until my last cast when I managed to contact another fish and thought for one foolish moment that I would be heading home with a brace of fish to my score, but it just wasn't to be. This fish again swam straight in towards me and about 20 yards short of the beach stuck me into an immovable snag which resulted in a lost fish and rig. Such is life and as it was now midnight and the cold had started to get to me I decided to take the hint the fish were giving me and headed for home and a warm bed.

Quite clearly the fish are still feeding on the sprats as the fish I did land coughed a few up on the beach. If anybody is thinking of fishing at St Osyth in the near future I'd suggest using a lead lift as the beach as obviously had a good scour lately and this has left quite a number of small snags showing close in which tend to catch you out when you least expect it.

Fishing Report: 23rd December 08 - Clacton on sea, Essex

I'd had a previous trip to the Gunfleet on the 12th December but to be quite honest it was such a waste of time due to rough weather caused by an onshore gale, that I hadn't bothered to post a report. However, after this last disaster of a session the fishing could hardly be any worse and I decided to have a last go after the Codling at my favourite spot tucked right in by the slipway before I turn my attentions towards the Flounders that will hopefully be gathering to feed in the local estuaries over the next couple of weeks.

It wasn't a particularly good tide with the high at about 9pm and so I decided to fish over the top, hoping to make the most of whatever run there would be to hopefully pick up a hungry Codling or two. I arrived at about 7pm to find my favourite spot vacant and a flat sea and had a large Black Lug and Squid bait out and fishing within 15 minutes of my arrival. Although there was some light drizzle as forecast by the weathermen it was hardly enough to wet the ground (certainly not enough to dampen my enthusiasm) and the mild night made it feel more like a mid-September session rather than one in December; not surprisingly having kitted myself out with full winter gear I had to lose the jacket fairly soon after I arrived.

I had hoped to pick up one or two fish on the flood but by high tide the fishing had been a complete let down with baits coming back untouched and not a single bite to my credit. The turn of the tide signalled a change however and as the run of tide strengthened about an hour after the top the Codling came on the feed, albeit that the bites were a lot more timid than usual and not the standard steamroller affairs that we associate with the species. Having had a steady rattle of a bite indicating a small Whiting on the end of the line I tightened into the first Codling of the night which measured in at about 48cm and this first fish was followed by a further two Codling over the course of the next hour, both of them also sizable although the last (which was just on the limit) was returned. Over the next couple of hours I was kept entertained by tiddler bites, hoping each one would develop into something more exciting but it was not to be and the only other fish of the night were the 3 or 4 Whiting that managed to take the 4/0 hook intended for much bigger gobs.

By 12:30am the water was disappearing fast as is normal on the mid-evening neap tides and with no run in the water and things to do the next day I decided it was time to call it quits and head for home, finishing the night very contented with two sizable Codling and a reasonable Whiting for my efforts.

Fishing Report: 22nd November 08 - Clacton on sea, Essex

Initially this weekend I hadn't planned to fish but I'd been working my butt off on the online store and really needed a break. The strong winds had dropped off steadily during the day but were likely to have left a good bit of colour in the water which I reckoned would bring the Codling on the feed and so, although the weather front had turned round to come in from the north (bringing with it a sudden drop in the temperature) I decided on a spur of the moment trip to try a few hours at the Gunfleet Sailing Club yet again in the hope of adding a few more Codling to my tally.

I arrived at about 6pm with the tide almost finished with the flood expecting to see the seafront scattered with angler's lights but to my surprise things were relatively quiet (perhaps because of the weather forecaster's promise of snow) and yet again I managed to get into my favourite little corner, right by the Sailing Club slipway as I have done on so many winter sessions in the past. Further up the promenade there were other angler's lights but for some unknown reason the Gunfleet stretch was very quiet and so it was that I set up my single rod and flung my first Cod bait out over the large swells that were pushing into my little corner of the seafront and sat back to enjoy the solitude that as little as a decade ago would have been impossible on a winter Cod session.

The last hour of the flood was very uneventful and at the top of the tide I had only two average sized Whiting to show for my efforts with the large baits of Frozen Black and Squid. I took the opportunity for a break in concentrating on the rod for a drink and a bite to eat over the slack period at the top of the tide and then, as I watched a shooting star (or more likely a bit of space rubbish re-entering the atmosphere) flash down to the horizon a decent rattle on the rod followed by a slack line signalled that the ebb tide had started and that the Codling were, at last, on the feed. Although sizable the 42cm Codling that resulted from the take didn't take long to get in and a minute or so later I slid it up the slipway on a convenient swell and it was mine; a nice fit little Codling with an unusually pale colouration was destined for the frying pan.

Things then went quiet for a little while and apart from the odd bite which I presume were probably small Whiting the rod didn't move. As the tide started to fall away I began to think that was going to be it for the night then two Whiting turned up in quick succession, followed a couple of casts later by another Codling, just undersized. Half a dozen casts after the Codling I lifted the rod into what I thought would be another Whiting and was surprised to find myself attached to something that was tugging back and a couple of minutes later was pleasantly surprised to see the best fish of the night slide up the beach, a very clean, plump Codling of 55cm which had obviously just taken the bait and sat there in the now weakening current. It makes you wonder how many Codling we miss simply because we expect a furious bite from them every time.

I had another cast after I had sorted the Codling out but by now I was beginning to feel the cold a bit. I hadn't expected it to be quite as cold as it was and so hadn't put my thermals on under the waterproofs; now I was beginning to suffer for it! As usual towards the end of a session I got the digital camera out to take a quick few pictures of the fish and it soon became evident that the camera was feeling the cold as well; I managed four frames and then the screen went black (which turned out to be the CCD dying) and with that final bit of encouragement I decided it was time to pack up and head for home.

Fishing Report: 14th November 08 - Clacton on sea, Essex

After having a decent session last weekend at the Gunfleet Sailing Club at Clacton over the ebb I thought I would try the same spot again, but this time on the flood. The weather was reasonably calm and with the south westerly wind it was really mild for the time of the year. Although I generally prefer to fish this spot when its rough we'd had some high winds during the week and there was plenty of colour in the water and, along with a reasonable tide, I thought there was no reason why it would not produce some decent fishing again.

I arrived at about 7pm to a deserted beach, set up in my favourite spot with a single rod and Frozen Blacks and Cuttlefish as bait and then sat back to wait for the action to start. Although the water was still quite shallow there is a definite area of deeper water at this spot and it seems to act to hold fish at low tide. The Whiting were on the baits from the minute the first cast hit the water and the first cast resulted in an average sized Whiting with things continuing along the same lines for the next couple of hours, sometimes with the fish just hanging themselves without any indication whatsoever. A decent bite finally signalled a change in the shape of my first Codling of the night, a nice clean little fish just short of the line at about 33cm and then, for a while, it all went very quiet and even the Whiting seemed to disappear.

A chat with a WSF forum member (who was having a bike ride along the front) broke the monotony of the quiet spell in the fishing for a time and then, just as the Whiting started on the baits again, I was joined by two of the drunkest anglers I think I have ever seen, who decided to fish on the raised point by the Sailing Club much to my annoyance. It has to be said that I am not the most sociable angler known and the two of them made me feel a bit uneasy for a while but they eventually came across for a quick chat and seemed pleasant enough, despite being pretty much pickled and so I settled down and got back to concentrating on the fishing. After a short lull in the action the Codling turned up about two hours before the top of the 12:30 tide and a "steam train" bite signalled the first of what was to be a quick run of Codling which left me with three sizable fish on the beach, the biggest going about 1.75lbs.

I fished on till about an hour after the top of the tide but the fishing died, as it normally does, over the top of the tide and the only other takers on the short bit of the ebb tide I fished were a steady stream of Whiting with the final fish of the night turning out to be a very respectable specimen. I headed for home at about 1:45am reasonably happy and with fresh Codling in my bucket despite the added annoyance of a flat battery on my camera, hence the lower quality than usual phone camera picture of the Codling for this post.

On a final note large shoals of Sprats and herrings are being reported close inshore now so its likely that the fishing bubble may burst over the next few weeks unless we have some rough weather to break up the bait fish shoals.

Fishing Report: 07th November 08 - Clacton on sea, Essex

Although the Codling have been around for a number of weeks now it's only just lately that its actually felt much like the autumn really. The last of the trees are starting to lose their leaves and the changing of the clocks along with the drawing in of the nights have finally got me programmed in to giving up on the chance of Bass and succumbing totally to thoughts of chasing Codling from a windswept shore. It's true enough that it doesn't need to be rough to catch Codling but to me when I dream of Cod, I dream of big surf, strong winds and water with lots of colour in it and its that kind of weather that has generally brought with it better sport for me.

With reports of the fishing finally hotting up and a good weather forecast with a stiff onshore breeze on the cards I had been itching to get on the beach all week for a proper session after the Codling and after much deliberation I decided to try my luck at Clacton's Gunfleet Sailing Club. After skipping work early and quickly getting my gear together I arrived at the mark a little later than planned but just in time to fish the last hour of the flood on the 7pm tide and a few hours of the ebb at my favoured spot here, right by the Sailing Club slipway. Here both the Sailing Club's slip and the nearby land drain pipe way disrupt the tide, providing a patch of shore with slightly deeper water and with some rough ground which seems to attract the Codling and bring them in closer than other parts of the beach. It is however a difficult spot to fish and accurate casting is a necessity here if you want to avoid heavy tackle losses.

By the time I had got fishing the flood tide had eased and it was no surprise really that only a couple of average sized Whiting and a Pouting of about 12oz came to the rods. However, once the ebb started to move though it all changed and, pretty much as I expected, about 40 minutes into the ebb the Codling started to play, although they were being a bit finicky hitting the Frozen Black baits and then dropping them almost immediately. I missed about 3 or 4 of these finicky takes before finally I connected with a fish that had slack-lined the TT Sport and after it had tugged a bit in the surf I finally had a sizable Codling of about 45cm on the promenade.

The fish continued to play awkward for the rest of the ebb but despite this, by the time the water had dropped enough to allow me to get down off the promenade and onto the beach I had three sizable Codling in the bag and had lost another in the backwash on the concrete slipway. By now most of the other anglers on this stretch (most of whom were already fishing when I arrived) had disappeared but I stuck at it for another hour as past sessions at this mark have shown that a bonus fish or two can be had by fishing at range, late in the tide. My persistence paid off and by the time I packed up at around 10:30pm, having run out of bait, I had managed another couple of Whiting, A Pouting roughly the same size as the first, a Rockling and the best Codling of the night, which took a large bait of frozen Black Lugworm fished right by the end of the land drain pipe. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable few hours at a mark that has been a favourite of mine for 20 years or more and rarely disappoints when the Codling are around in force.

On a final note I should add a word of caution for anybody intending to fish this spot. During easterly and northerly blows this spot is an exceptionally safe mark to fish and offers good shelter from the wind, although you should watch out for sudden swells if you are casting or landing fish off the concrete slipway. The mark can however become very dangerous during southerly gales, particularly those from the south west, as the waves are forced by the wind into the corner of the promenade and up the slipway often washing along the promenade at some force. The recent addition of metal railings along this stretch have improved safety in rough weather (despite being a pain in the bum for casting) but in very heavy southerly winds you should stay off the slipway itself.

Fishing Report: 25th October 08 - St Osyth, Essex

I'd had such a busy night on my last session at St Osyth I was itching to get back at the place and see if the whispers of a few bigger Codling showing were for real. If I'm being honest I really had too much to do at home but there are times when you just have to satisfy the need for a few hours on the beach and so in the end I decided on the compromise of one rod and a short session amongst the rock groynes just over the wall from the car park.

I arrived at about 7pm and was surprised to find that I wasn't the only angler with the same plan and that my favourite spot was already taken so in the end, after a short walk towards the Martello Tower, I had to settle for the last available bay where I quickly got myself sorted behind the brolly and got a 150 gram DVice, loaded with two good sized baits, out in search of some fish. In sharp contrast to my previous session here, the weather was definitely a bit more like Cod fishing weather and I was glad of the shelter of the brolly to escape what could best be described as "a bit of a blow"!

It was pretty obvious from the start that the recent rough weather had broken up the Whiting shoals that had been here previously so it was never going to be a repeat of my last session, where Whiting were on the baits as they settled on the bottom, but I consoled myself that the lack of Whiting and the rough water might provide a better chance of Codling and stuck to it, chucking out decent sized Black Lugworm baits as far as I could manage into the wind every twenty minutes or so.

The flood was uneventful except for one missed slack-line bite (it always happens when you pour a coffee!) and a couple of smallish Whiting, but I soldiered on in the now strengthening wind, and as soon as the tide turned at about 10:30pm a bit of current appeared and at last I started to get a few bites. A couple of sizable Whiting showed up and eventually a good bite about an hour on the ebb finally produced the sizable Codling I'd come looking for, which came in with a pair of reasonable Whiting attached as well, one hooked on the top trace and the other connected to the top hook of the same Pennel trace as the Codling.

By now I'd had enough of being sandblasted and after a couple more unsuccessful casts in the hope of turning my solitary Codling into a brace I finally decided discretion was the better part of valour and headed back past the now pretty much empty beach towards the car park to meet my lift home, with a final tally of six Whiting (four sizable) and one Codling of about 45cm.

Fishing Report: 11th October 08 - St Osyth, Essex

I've spent a lot of time fishing on my own this year so it was quite a welcome change to join a couple of friends for a reunion trek up towards the Bird Reserve end of Hutley's Beach at St Osyth. I met Stuart and Paul (aka Stuartdv and Bread in fishing forum world) at Hutley's car park at about 6pm on Saturday night and after a brief chat and gathering together of the gear we headed up towards the bird reserve end of the beach on what turned out to be an absolutely cracking night both in terms of the fishing and the weather.

We were set up in time to enjoy what is probably the best sunset I've seen all year and, as usual at this spot, got the baits out and waited for the light to fade in hope that the fish would show us the usual courtesy of "switching on" as it got dark. We didn't have too long to wait and the first few small fish started to show up as the sun dropped, the odd Whiting, a couple of undersized Bass, a Pouting and then, as darkness fell, the Whiting arrived in force and what was to be a busy night started in earnest.

Throughout the flood tide the Whiting were on the baits almost as soon as they hit the water with regular doubles coming out (and a good few trebles to Stu and Paul) and at one point I was even getting double shots in on a Pennel rig fished with a DVice. As well as the Whiting there was the occasional undersize Bass and Pouting putting in an appearance just to make life a little more interesting and, as the tide neared the high mark with the resultant increase in the current the small Codling decided it was their turn. Ultimately that was what we had come for but although they did tug noticably better than the Whiting the bulk were too small and by about midnight (when we decided we were too knackered to fish any more) the only taker Codling had come to Paul, a fish of about 45cm, which he kindly donated to me.

The general size of the Whiting seemed to be a bit bigger than of late and my tally by the end of the night was 2 Codling (approximately 32 and 34 cm), about 20 Whiting and 2 small Bass. To be honest it was a struggle keeping tabs on my own tally so I really couldn't say what Paul and Stuart’s totals were for the night but I would lay money that they both did at least as well as me and Stuart seemed to be scoring regular treble shots in true matchman style. The fish may not be particularly large at the moment but I'm loath to complain as they are at least plentiful and it was a thoroughly enjoyable night of non-stop bites spent with very good company; there's not that many times over the year that you get a night where you don't get time to eat a sandwich.

Fishing Report: 26th September 08 - St Osyth, Essex

I was finally getting my new online tackle store near completion and it had been a long slog. Most of the summer had been lost either to working on the store, family stuff or to the weather, which this summer has been completely naff and I was keen not to totally lose the autumn season. I'd been contemplating fishing the flood tide at St Osyth all week and after a report from pal Stuart of sizable Codling being caught during a weekday match I decided to give it a go amongst the rock groins on what was a really pleasant late September evening.

I was on the beach and set up with two rods by 7pm, surprised that despite the reports of Codling, the only company I had was two other anglers fishing in the next bay along and a coughing cat that was scavenging along the beach. As is usual for me at this time of year, although my target was Codling, I still had not completely given up the hope of a late Bass so with one rod sent out with frozen Blacks (for the Codling) I set up the second to fish for Bass with some very generous Ragworm baits which I hoped would attract something a bit more glamorous than the expected Whiting.

Things were slow to start but as usual, after an absolutely fantastic sunset, darkness set in the fish switched on and things began to liven up; though not with the Bass it has to be said. From that point on the Ragworm rod didn't stop all night and it was "a bite a chuck" with the Whiting, although because of my optimistic habit of using decent size hooks there were a lot I didn't hook. Not that it was a problem. To be quite honest I see no point in destroying the mini Whiting population and I'd much rather lose a few tiddlers, hook the slightly better ones and have a decent size hook on to cope for that fish of a lifetime when it appears.

About 3 hours before the top of the 11:30pm tide I finally had a break from the Whiting in the shape of a Codling of about 1.5lbs, which took the Ragworm rather than the Black Lugworm I had laid on specially for him and I was hopeful that more might show as the tide increased but that was it on the Codling front for the night. Despite the lack of further Codling it certainly wasn't quiet and the action continued with the Whiting for the rest of the night.

By the time I packed up at about 11pm I was knackered. The end result for a very pleasant evenings fishing was a nice round figure of 20 Whiting (most of which were sizable) and the solitary Codling, with all but a couple of the Whiting being taken on Ragworm. As I packed up I was relieved that I hadn't pushed up to the Bird Reserve end of the beach for a change as although I enjoy the solitude of being up there at night, I really wasn't up for the long walk back. No such problems amongst the groins though and a 50 yard trot with my gear saw me being picked up at the car park and on my way home with half a dozen Whiting and a Codling for the family pot. Time to stock up on chips, my Cod season has started!

Fishing Report: 11th September 08 - St Osyth, Essex

After a reasonably enjoyable night at Brightlingsea the previous night I decided to take a hike to a favourite spot up towards the Bird Reserve at St Osyth. Although there was a fairly stiff south westerly breeze the weather wasn't cold, though I did take my brolly (a fairly serious decision given the extra weight this involves and the distance this spot is from the car) just in case the light showers forecast by the weatherman turned into something more serious. With high tide at about 10:20pm and a neap tide I wasn't expecting a record-breaking catch but was hoping, if nothing else, that there would be a few Whiting around.

After the long walk to the spot I was sorted and fishing with my two rods by 7pm; one rod fished at range with large Ragworm baits and the other fished at long and short range alternatively with two hooks, one baited with Ragworm the other with frozen Black Lugworm. As usual things were slow to start but about half an hour after the absolutely amazing sunset the beach started to live up to its reputation for switching on at night and I reeled in the first fish, a Whiting of about 10oz which fell to a large Ragworm bait fished at range. From that point on the bites came fairly steadily throughout the tide particularly to the Ragworm, though as I was fishing larger baits in the hope of an autumn Bass I missed a great deal of them. Its most likely, given this spot's past performance, that a great deal of the bites were from Whiting and had I fished accordingly with a three hook rig baited with Mackerel strip I could have had a good haul of them but to be quite frank they are still a bit thin and in any case what I really wanted was a Bass.

By the top of the tide I'd been kept busy with a slow but steady stream of fish. The first Whiting had been joined by three others as well as a Codling just 2cm below the minimum size and I had at least managed one Bass, although at about 20cm long it was a lot smaller than I really wanted. As things quietened down over the top of the tide I took the opportunity to have a drink and eat my grub and then just as the tide started ebb the fish started again and I set to work to attempt to land a few more fairly quickly as I had to leave at 11:30pm. By 11pm I was wondering if my hooks had gone blunt as I hadn't managed another fish but a classic slack-line bite (which I was expecting to be a much better fish) saw the twin of the earlier Codling coming up the beach. I returned the Codling, which swam off strongly, and mindful of the long walk back decided to call it a night, reeling in the second rod to find another two Whiting of about 8 to 10oz hanging on it.

As usual the walk back to Hutley's car park seemed about twice the distance of the walk there, not helped by the added weight of the brolly. Overall not a bad night, though only the Whiting were really sizable and then I kept only two fish (because they had been deep-hooked and it seems a complete waste to throw back dead fish) as at this time of the year they are definitely a bit thin and not in their peak. Hopefully as the autumn progresses the Whiting will fatten up on the local shrimps and some better Codling will appear, particularly as there have been so many small ones around over the last couple of years.

Fishing Report: 3rd May 08 - St Osyth, Essex

I hadn't fished with pal Stuart since last Autumn so when he invited me for a session at a favourite spot towards the bird reserve end of St Osyth beach I jumped at the chance, not least because there might be the chance of a Bass or two to be had. With both of us having family commitments over the bank holiday we opted for the only night convenient for the both of us and chose to fish the flood into darkness on an 11pm tide.

Another winter has seen a lot of change at this beach with much more of the old sea wall and road losing its battle with the sea and more and more of the natural saltings beginning to show. While the loss of the road may make this once very convenient fishing mark a lot more difficult to get to it has, in my opinion anyway, made for a vast improvement with a much more natural coastline, a lot more wildlife (particularly the dune plants) and a lot less competition for fishing space. I've always liked this beach but now that it is slowly turning back into the wild and desolate place that it should be it has become all the more attractive to me as I'm not a particular fan of the shoulder to shoulder type of fishing to be found on the more popular and convenient beaches.

After the long walk from the car park we managed to get ourselves to the mark and fishing by about 6:30pm. There was very little depth of water in front of us but it had been stirred up well and was the right colour for a good session at least, although the south easterly wind that had done the "stirring" was pretty chilly. Keen to make the most of the session we both set to it with two rods and a variety of baits. We hadn't expected much to come out on the early part of the flood as this beach is notorious for fishing better in the dark, and we weren't disappointed on that front. Regardless of what bait we tried (and we had a fair selection) there seemed to be very little in the way of fish to be had, although Stuart did manage a couple of very small Codling. As darkness fell the only action I had seen was one small Codling to Ragworm and having to save my rod from a flight down the beach as Stu managed to catch my line whilst back-casting, but we both kept at it sure that something better might show as the night progressed.

Despite bashing on with Peeler Crab, Ragworm, Squid and Sandeel baits till the top of tide the fishing didn't improve at all with only more small Codling falling to Stu's rods and two further Pouting (including one that took a whole squid!) falling to mine. At the top of the tide I had my best bite of the night, a slack-liner, which took me straight into a snag and with the chilly breeze getting stronger and little improvement in sport we decided enough was enough and called it a night.

Although this session had not been a particularly good one we consoled ourselves with the thought that every angler, no matter how good (or lucky) they are, has to suffer a few duff sessions every now and again. And so it was, that by the time we were half way back to the car we were already deep in conversation about summer Bass sessions to come, float fishing, spinning and the dream fish that would possibly come our way, the only interruption being a chance encounter with another beach regular, a Fox; working his way across the dunes in search of his supper.

Fishing Report: 17th April 08 - St Osyth, Essex

It had been a good while (over five months!) since I last fished and having just finished building myself a new Tip Tornado Sport, I was itching to get back in the swing of things fishing-wise and give the new pole a try-out. With the tide at 11pm and work the next morning it was never going to be the most adventurous session of my fishing career, so rather than travel any distance to fish I opted to minimise travelling time and make the best of the extra time on the beach by heading for nearby St Osyth, hoping that the reports of Codling still showing along this part of the coast were not just another fisherman's tale.

I arrived at 6.30pm to find that I had the beach to myself (excellent!) which meant I could fish in the third bay from the ramp, my favoured spot at this end of the beach and with the forecast 3-4 cold easterly wind putting plenty of colour in the water, I tackled up quite confident that I might just be in with a chance of a spring Codling or two. After a few practice casts with the rod (just to remind myself how to cast) I set up a bomber rig, piled on some big Lugworm baits and sent the whole lot out as best I could given that I have not cast a rod since last November (Note to self: I must practice my casting more often). Now anyone who fishes this beach regularly will no doubt tell you that it is one of those venues that 'switches on' after dark and my experience of the place is no different. Normally I find myself effectively killing time while it is light, waiting for darkness to fall and the action to start but this session was to be the complete opposite and so it was that shortly after the arrival of fishing pal Stuart (who had popped down for a chat) at 7pm I got my first decent bite which turned out to be a small Codling of about 25cm.

Despite this early fish I was still convinced that things would only liven up after dark so it was a complete surprise when about forty minutes later (while I was still putting the world to rights with Stu and not concentrating) the rod 'knocked' and then sat back with a classic 'slack-liner'. The fish continued to swim right into the beach and only really started to fight about 20 yards out and after a brief tussle in the surf a nice plump spring Codling of about two pounds sat on the beach. Granted it was nothing tremendous but it wasn't even dark yet and after five months off anything sizable will raise a smile; if the beach was up to its usual standards I was in for a very good night once it got dark I thought. As the light started to fade another rattle provided fish number three, not the second Codling I was hoping for but a good sized Pouting all the same of about three-quarters of a pound. At that point Stu decided he was heading off home and seemingly took my luck with him. As darkness set in the expected run of bites that usually come never appeared and I fished on till about 10pm taking only one other fish, an undersized Whiting, which hung itself on a huge Lugworm bait on a 3/0 hook.

Despite it not being the most exciting session I've ever had (or the warmest - that easterly was damned cold) I can think of a lot worse ways to kill a Thursday night. The new rod lived up to expectations and behaved impeccably, providing good bite indication in the wind. Despite being a powerful rod it also cast very smoothly and didn't feel at all top heavy as a lot of 13ft rods do. Add to that the bonus of a nice bit of fresh Cod for my tea and it was, when all is said and done, a very nice way to get myself back into practice ready for the forthcoming Bass season.