Successful week fishing for friends with carp and tench biting

Fishing the long arm and in far from perfect conditions, the two lads landed seven good carp plus some cracking tench.

Fishing mailine boilies combined with fluorescent corn, Saunders banked mirrors of 13lb, 15lb and 18lb, plus a scrappy little 14lb common.

Brown landed mirrors of 15lb, 20lb and 22lb.

Their haul would have been larger had they not lost a further four carp.

Ian Simmons got among the fish this week when fishing eclipse boilies on the south bank.

Just fishing a short evening session, he landed mirrors of 17lb and 14lb.

Lewis Clark took a day off work to try out his new drop shotting outfit, but seeing so many carp cruising on top, decided to try his luck with a few floaters on his light rod and line more suitable for perch fishing.

The light tackle accounted for mirrors of 15lb and 17lb even though light tackle is not recommended for this type of fishing.

Ricky Knott managed to avoid a blank with a low double from the back pool, while fishing a night on the long arm while Mike Spooner fished number one on the north bank where he landed a stunning 26lb mirror and lost another nice fish the following day.

Joe Clark fished a night in the gulley on the north bank and was delighted with eight good tench, but his bag was made even heavier with a very pretty 20lb fully scaled mirror.

Rochford angler Vic Watch also found some tench and a mid-double mirror whilst fishing virus boilies on the short arm during a day session.

Watch might have caught more as conditions were looking good but his session was soon cut short by a phone call from his wife!

The float fishing continues to be productive but maggots are essential with good rudd and roach being found in the margins.

The tench are proving quite elusive with a few are being landed mainly in the evenings. A few pike are now showing but mainly jacks being being landed so far this week.

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Ian leads the way in competition on Predator

AFTER the Thorpe Bay Angling Association Pier Open last week, members returned to club matches with a boat trip on Predator out of Wallasea.

Skipper Stewart Olley took the members to a couple of his favoured marks and in excess of 80 fish were caught with 25 thornback rays, a number of dogfish, whiting, a single dab and the first cod of the season making up the bag. However, members are mindful of TBAA’s fish stocks preservation ethos and all thornbacks were returned to sea with just two other fish being retained.

Catch of the day – Ian Wicker

Ian Wicker led the way with the heaviest total catch as well as being the happy angler with the cod at 5lb 10oz. New member Mustafa took second spot with his first boat trip including two nice rays at 7lb 7oz and 8lb 6oz – the two biggest fish of the day.

Anyone wanting to find out more about TBAA can do so by visiting www.thorpebayanglingclub.org.uk.

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Sea Report by Graham Barrett

Try your luck on night tides from beaches

Thamesmead: Eddie Sharp reports flounders and eels.

Erith, Morrison’s Jetty: Flounders, eels, the odd sole.

Belvedere: Bass to 2lb, flounders, eels, whiting and soles.

Dagenham: Eels and under-sized flounders.

Barking Creek (tidal): Flounders, some sizable, but lots of mitten crabs are around so beware!

Dartford: Large bass to 3lb under the Queen Elizabeth bridge, plus the odd mullet.

Gravesend: Graham, from Dolphin Angling, reports whiting, flounders, eels and bass.

Greenhithe: Soles, bass and whiting.

Southend Pier: Lee, from Southend Angling Centre, reports herring, bass and whiting.

Southend beaches: The chance of a schoolie, whiting or flounders with fishing at night tides increasing your chances. There are still mullet at Chalkwell and Shoebury Boom, while you can find mullet and whiting at Barge Pier.

River Crouch: Bass, one or two roker and the occasional flounder.

River Roach: Flounders and eels.

Walton Pier: Richard Holgate reports whiting, codling and bass.

Hipkins Beach on the Naze: Bass and whiting.

Clacton Pier: Local angler Mark Grey had 15 thornbacks between 5lb and 7lb.

Holland on Sea, Brighton Road: On night tides, codling to 1.5lb and whiting to a 1lb.

St Osyth: Codling and whiting.

Felixstowe: The whiting are getting bigger, from pinhead to 1.5lb.

Boats: Some really stonking sized whiting, plus lots of roker, dogfish and smoothhounds.

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Rory's double catch

Southend Angling Centre boss Rory Coase landed two decent bass during a charter trip in calm conditions.

The fish weighed 9.25lb and 7.5lb and were landed while aboard Stewart Ward’s Wallasea-based charter boat Reel Busy.

The fish, along with others caught on the trip, fell to boat-casting techniques with lugworm baits.