13th August - Shoreham Harbour

If only all sessions started this way...... 1st cast sole - 36cm 1lb

I have recently been making requests of people to let me in on their sole marks, with the aim to field test thoroughly the new "Bottom Dweller" range of rigs from DVice. One person to respond to my plea for help was Worthing match angler Mark, whom I regularly fight against in the matches held on the battleground that is Worthing Pier. He was aware of our big bag of small sole on the arm of shoreham harbour recently, but he had a theory about another area of the harbour where he felt the small sole would be less prominent, leaving more opportunity for the larger sole to find the bait. I must admit I had felt we might have been heading for a patch of beach, so was maybe a little dissapointed as we strode for the harbour mouth. But I had faith enough in Mark's knowledge of the area (He has been fishing it since he was a lad) and fell in with him. On arrival straight on witht the MkII rigs, the hooks baited with inch and a half sections of kings I had extracted down west that morning. First drop down, five minutes on the bottom, and the rod buckled over. A decent weight, without the rushing around of a bass, and I was immdediately suspicious it was the intended target, and I wasnt to be disapointed. 36cm of prime sussex sole emerged from the depths. Weighing exactly one pound, not the biggest sole ever caught, but my best so far this year, and certainly some fine eating!!

Mark with sole and bass double shot

The fishing initially was at a frantic pace, and Mark and myself were matching each other fish for fish. But wheras Marks were all bass and eels, with the odd flounder, mine were just sole and bass. By the time the doldrums and crab-feeding period of low tide was reached, I had aquired four sole to Marks none. As the tide flooded, we were in anticipation of a fish fest, as it is often the best time here. But fishing is a funny old game, and it didnt really happen. The crabs were a big issue, with baits being stripped within ten minutes, but that is just a problem you have to fish through on this spot. A few fish did show, bootlace eels, flounders, bass, and for Mark two sole on his own tied variant of a weighted rig, but the action was considerably slower. We had both used a phenomenal amount of bait, with both the fish and the crabs being so hungry, and we finaly knocked the fishing at 03:30. Tierd, but very happy. I had some valuable stock photo's for the packaging of the rigs, and Mark had the satisfaction that his local knowledge was bang on the nose. Of the six sole we caught that night, three were for the pot. Quite a different ratio to the previous Shoreham session!! Thankyou Mark, for responding to my plea and coming up with the goods. I totally enjoyed that session!!