Brighton Inshore Fishing - Catch report 2nd August 2025

First sailing and still that nagging NW wind. I had warned Mark (new) James and Max (not new) to wrap warm. It was good advice. That wind knows how to make August seem like January often in the early mornings. Glad of the breeze by the afternoons though. Good thing about the NW wind was it meant flat seas mostly. With this in mind I set off round to where I had left the baitfish the previous evening. And yet, strangely, despite quite good conditions, it was not there. Why would that be? WOOOSH... A huge grey seal surfaced just by the boat, panicked, and shot back down beneath... With this in mind, next stop was 3 miles away.

Everything for the reason though. The fishing was still tough, but the sizes were ok. We managed just seven bass for the session, and yet with five of those being keepers, and only 4 required, somehow that didnt seem to bad. No complaints anyhow, although of course, I only accept them in writing. With the ink being gold leaf. Onto the next sailing...

Next, the beginnings of a boys afternoon in the marina. A trip with me, a few beers in the master mariner afterwards, and then dragged out by their wives before it gets too messy. Thats their plan. I was only responsible for the first bit. With the wind remaining annoying, and the last hour of ebb to deal with, I played in some of my deeper holes, before finally finding some reliable action on the early flood.

Only 2 bass were required on this one, and Neptune somehow knew as thats all he allowed us. But he let us add another 7 smalls plus mackerel and gurnards as compensation. A great trip as the lads were all fizzing to be free of domestic responsibilities for the day so banter was good and sharp. A great day. With a dozen dolphins as side show. Sadly, 3rd sailing was canned due to the forecast yesterday evening suggesting stiff SW winds from 1300. Now it says 1800... Grrr....