Brighton Inshore Fishing

First sailing, and it was my pleasure to invite some of my longest standing regulars aboard. Max, Mark, David and James. All very well finger trained. But with the tide dying away, it was actually a bit of a struggle from the off. Not a complete failure, with 8 bass landed. But not the fish fest I had hoped for. And it left me wondering about what the rest of the day may bring, with all trips sold out. What did happen for the rest of the day was quite fascinating. I do feel t

Just two sailings today. First up, I was joined by Nick, Andy and Dave. All regulars and well trained. The combination of a big tide and a pretty stiff NE wind meant it was quite bouncy out where I wanted to start. It began well, with a few fish landed on the last trickle of ebb. Then the tide turned, and the flood got a little bouncier still. This made for pretty difficult lure control. A move slightly inshore to a spot that I tell anyone fishing it with me in March, where b

First sailing (currently sailing times are 0630, 1030 and 1430) and thanks to some miscommunication I found myself with a full boat. Peter and Lawrence were joining me for two sailings, today, not Saturday, and first sailing they were out with two regulars, John and Bruno. Plan was 2 hours on the bass, and an hour on the plaice. And the plan went pretty well. Bass were on several spots today, which shows that more and more are arriving with every tide, and spreading out. Bode

First sailing, and first silver of the season being sort by John and Kevin, both regulars. Plus new to BIF1 Guy, looking to refresh his skills after a mere 30 years away from our wonderful hobby. Thats a long time to not cast a line, but he was back in the swing very quickly. However, conditions were rather against us. We set off in a light mist, but soon were covered in a thick fog. Initially we had the last trickle of ebb tide, and two fish quickly fell, including a good on

Three full sailings today. Didnt have that for quite a while due to the abysmal winds last year. A bit of a test of stamina, and as I write, I realise I am less young these days. I do ache a little. Lets see what happens when daylight extends and I go back to 4 sailings a day. First sailing, Mark, Sam, Ian and Bruno, all regulars itching for their first silver of the year And all managed their goals. Not nearly as hectic as last Friday morning, but sport was steady, and we pi

J ust the one sailing today, slightly delayed by a no show from two rods (who of course paid) meaning Richard and Matt had plenty of room to fish from. And straight back onto the bass. Not quite as frantic as yesterday, but we managed eleven before the strengthening tide took them away to somewhere I have not yet found. Only a matter of time though I suspect. Plus a dogfish, which is becoming a more and more frequent visitor on the shads. Then on a plaice hunt. Although the p

My first day back on BIF1 with clients, in 2026. I had been preparing the boat, the previous few days. Charging the batteries, cleaning the algae that grows when you dont visit your vessel for 2 months, stuff like that. I had also managed to slip out to do a couple of pokes. One for bass, one for flatties, and had found enough that I was confident for todays two sailings. March is a very tough time for bass, especially the first half, so the few I found, last Tuesday, were en

Winter is not a good time to be running a 21 foot open boat. Opportunities to sail are less frequent, more and more so as our environment clearly changes. Plus winds, and then February is fairly empty of fish inside the 3 miles that I work. And so I rent accommodation in the Algarve, and invite people to join me there. The theme is mostly lure fishing in both fresh and saltwater, but I call it the gastronomical light line lure tour of Portugal, because eating, and introducing

Wow... Another year gone... How does it happen so fast... Was it a good year. It didn't feel like one, but browsing back through the diary entries it clearly wasn't terrible either. Anyhow, I wont be doing a "review of the year" thing. Help yourself to review the last eight years (although you have to play a game of guess the page as WIX blog only displays 4 years in the GUI. But change the date parameters in the browser window and hunt down older entries that way. They go ba

I am not 100 percent sure what constitutes good light line lure fishing at the back end of December. Just getting afloat is pretty good going, and although the winds were from the NE and much reduced from recent days, it was still a bit bouncy out there, and yet, we went. And we found fish. Again, pretty good for the final few days of 2025. With me first sailing just 3, as we were a man down during the night. Kevin and JJ, returning, and JJ bringing Rohan to me for the first

As predicted, the fishes are there, feeding on the sprat and herring shoals. But the wind and clarity remain a bit of an arse. Apologies for my crudeness, but this sailing rather highlights how frustrating the current weather system is. This mornings wind, due East instead of the NE forecast, and swells nothing like forecast with big troughs and white water running on the tops. Smashed around getting Mitch, Ed, Danny and Gavin wet for 20 minutes to find some fish. Fished the

Super quick one coz flu has me... 1st sailing - 44 bass 2nd sailing - 6 bass Fishyrob out...

Finally a day where we could go fish all the places we wanted to. So we did. First up, Mikhail, John, Gavin and Ian. This was going well until a white piece of plastic with the name VIKTOR down the side of it not only cut in front of us on the drift but actually stopped right on top of the fish we were casting to. What has happened to angling etiquette? I wouldnt dream of acting as these other boaters do. Zero regard for the fact that they are attempting to trick a totally wi

A very tough one to call today. Winds were forecast at 20 gusting 30 Northerly, but after a week of watching winds way under the forecast, I took the gamble to call the trip on. At least with a Northerly staying in tight means calm seas regardless of wind strength. And I had to get it right. One guy, Chris, had travelled down from Aylesbury to join more local Stewart, Tom and his dad Jerry, for the session. However one thing I havent had to factor in all year, which suddenly

First sailing and out with Richard, Paul, David and Andre. I had forewarned my crew that there would only be fishing close in available, with the screaming N wind, but that there would be squid (they are literally everywhere at the moment) and some bass but likely no beasts. And so it turned out. 8 bass landed, 3 killed. We forgot about squid until the last fifteen minutes, but even so a tidy feast went up the road. A good trip considering the brutally cold conditions. 2nd sa

Frustrations continue. I managed to get Stuart, Peter, Bruno and Kevin, all regulars, out to my current favourite spot for all of an hour before sea conditions meant I had to leave them alone. In that hour, 8 fish landed, three tidy ones. Then another hour spent in closer, out of the worst of the swell. Here, squid central for those who dropped down on them. For us bassers, we crept the total up to twelve bass landed. But by the end of the 2nd hour, with swell and no tide, I

Another upside down day on the forecasting front. I awoke, and headed to horse duties, with a gentle Northerly breeze hardly rippling the channel. But the forecast had been for 20 gusting 30mph. That wind is not for lure fishing really. And not for getting to where the fish are currently living, as waves are big beyond a mile. And so I cancelled and volunteered for horse duties. So, while I was with the nags, I un-cancelled the 2nd sailing, and at 1200 returnees Richard, John

A bit of a cock up day really. Which was a shame, especially the early cock up as the fishing was good, and more rods on board would have seen a greater tally, and more smiles. Although Dave and I did smile a real lot. And we had plenty of space to spread our big smiles. How did this happen? A sudden loss of oil pressure on the M25 removed 2 of my guys. And confusion as to what "next Sunday" actually means took out another. End result - 12 bass to Dave and I. 6 each I seem t

If only we didnt have wind... Today showed us a great example of how good the fishing is out there. And has been since September. But winds are doing a far better job of protecting the bass shoals than any government bureau. With me for this mornings sailing, three returnee's, Mark D, Mark P and Gavin, plus new to BIF1, Alan. Heading out into a very big swell, as the wind had been blowing Southerly for much of the night. Looking back at shore, it looked more the landscape of

Finally back at sea once more. I do get a little stir crazy that now the best of the bass fishing has arrived, Neptune used wind weapons to protect them. But we got to have a little survey today. Not that it was anything close to calm. Fairly windless, but Nilesh, Andy, Ed and Ian all quickly discovered how fun BIF1 is to ride on a swell of 0.8 meters. Out on the whiting holes, the session began beautifully to plan. The first 8 fish landed were killed, which gives you an idea