Seagull Fishing Tackle Sea Fishing at Dungeness

If you get a good catch let me know, you can also send me your pictures! ARJHills@aol.com

Click here for BOAT Catch Reports

Calling all Junior Fisherpersons ( 25 July)
Just to remind all 'juniors' that the DAA are forming a Junior Club for those under 16...and its FREE!!!
Junior Fishing Match Sunday July 27th Pilot Pub car park booking in 10.00 to 10.30 fish from 11 till 3pm. for more info www.dungenessangling.co.uk or call Jim McMurray on 07890003472 or 01797 458242...don't forget its all FREE!
Hot...hot...hot ( 23 July)
With the heat it has been a quiet...not many anglers about, but my bait digger popped in this morning and told me he had a 'fit' four and half pound bass last night...he didn't say where but my guess it would be down towards the 'diamond'.

DAA match results ( 21 July)
Here are the results from last night...

DAA match result Sunday, 20th July 2014 – Full Rover – 4-00 pm – 8-00 pm

1^st Gavin Smith 5 fish 6 lb. 5 oz. Heaviest fish 1 lb. 9 ½ oz. dogfish

2nd Paul Jarrett 2 fish 2 lb. 6 ½ oz.

3rd John Smith 1 fish 1lb. 5 oz.

4th Malcolm Jones 1 fish 0 lb. 8 ½ oz.

4th Paul Gunner 1 fish 0 lb. 8 ½ oz.

Dogfish, sole and flounder weighed in – 12 in total.

19 fished and 7 weighed in. Light SW breeze and humid

The DAA match ( 20th July)
Another 'rock hard' day...not many weighed in, full report tomorrow...what did I catch...a...
cockle!!!!

Ooops I missed it ( 20 July)
I missed Martin Swinyard's post with the full results of last weeks charity match between Seabrook and the DAA...thanks Steve for reminding me to check...

Right Boys, Girls, Cowboys, Pengiuns and Blankers, I have finally got time to do an update and full list of Honours for the Memorial Cup held in memory of Steve FiField
You guys did both Clubs proud AND ONLY WENT AND RAISED A MASSIVE £701 for the RNLI
Seabrook committee would like to thank everyone who donated time or prizes in no particular order.

Micks Tackle
Seagull Tackle
DAA
Stephen Harvey
Simon Newman
Scott Strudwick
Dave Wood Bignall
Laurie Black
Samantha Swinyard
John Smith
Cieron Bull
Alex Veel
Micheal Richardson
Pauline Lee
Mike Sullivan
Dorian Partridge
Lee Greeley
Karen Coates
Marion Stewart
Last and not least the amazing duo of Steve Field and Kim Field
hoping i havent forgotten anyone if i have please accept my apologies

Overrall winning team was the DAA wieghing in 13.6lb against Seabrooks 2.25lb.Only 8 out of the field of 22 managing to find sizeable fish
Individual honours go to.
Fished wieghed in Bass Sole Eel and Whiting

1st Darren Brooks 5.75lb
2nd Micheal Smith 3.30lb
3rd Paul Gunner 1.75lb
4th ColmBrennan 1.70lb
5th Steve Field 1.25lb
6th Martin Swinyard 1.00lb
7th Scott Strudwick 0.60lb
8th Simon Lacey 0.50lb

This is something we would like to do on an annual basis maybe making it a little bigger so hopefully see you all next year

WELL DONE EVERY ONE AND THANK YOU ALL AGAIN !

Mackerel in the storm...( 19 July)
I have had two reports in today of mackerel 'topping' around the point last night in the storms, quite a few caught...lightning and carbon roads...interesting...not sure I would have the 'bottle' for that!
Very Pretty ( 19 July)
Lots of lightning flashes last night...very pretty...but so warm and humid.
The forecast for tomorrow (Sunday) south westerly breeze...and no rain!!
Good news for our DAA match tomorrow, a full rover book in at the gate 2.15-3.00pm fish 4.00 to 8.00pm...I think I will have an easy afternoon fishing down at Littlestone wall...and no doubt keep up my averages of undersized whiting!

Diamond fishing (16 July)
Daniel & Barry Reynolds fished the 'diamond' mark behind the power stations today on a rising tide they had seven bass, the best two 3lb 8oz and 4lb 2oz the rest being a bit smaller were returned, besides the bass they had three nice sole around 8oz, all fish fell to lug....

Jurys gap...again ( 15 July)
I had this report on facebook from DAA member John Smith...
"went to jury's gap to day low to high water 4 bass first 3lb 15ozs 2nd 1lb 15ozs 3rd 1lb 10 ozs and a small one meet another d.a.a. member who caught 2 eels there was 10 people fishing nice surf up the beach all my bass caught low to 2hrs up small 1 top tide"
Well done John...good fishing!

The Welsh Wizard ( 14 July)
I had this PM on facebook from Jason Davey...
"hi Tony its been a good week !! another couple of hours last night produced 6 more bass 2 schoolies and 4 2-3lb ...so that's 3 quick sessions this week for 14 bass to 6lb 3 sole to 2lb 42 whiting to 36cm(only the one over size limit !!) 1 1lb eel all in all a mighty fine week, all fish at Galloways and all to fresh lug"
Well done Jason...you put the work in and you get the results!

Jurys / Galloways today ( 13 July)

Alex Veel was going to fish Jurys Gap this morning, I asked him to get me a few photos so we can see how the sand bars are recovering from last winters storms...

"Hi Tony,

Fished Low up for a couple of hours this morning at Jury's Gap. Had just the x1 Bass at 2lb 1oz & an eel. (Others down there had similar + a couple of Sole) Moved round to Galloways for 2hrs either side of High but could only winkle out a Flounder. All in quite slow given conditions looked good.

As discussed, i've attached a few pics showing the 'lay of the land' down at Jurys……that gulley filled up FAST on the big tide today. You might be able to just make out my tripod/rod still on the sandbar. I had to walk along the beach to wade back and get it!

Also hit a sandeel when pumping…might have to try raking for them ;) Cheers Alex

Last nights charity match ( 13 July)

Around 25 fished last night at Galloways, the match was arranged by Seabrook Sea Anglers Association (the red tops) and their old rivals Dungeness Angling Association (the black tops) it was held in memory of Steve Fifield who sadly died recently, here is a report of 'facebook' from Martin Swinyard...

"Well Seabrook were well and truly thrashed last night by the Daa in last night's charity match fishing was slow to say the least with most failing to weigh in Congratulations to Darren Brooks for getting first place
A Massive thank you to everyone who turned out and donated prizes special mention to Steve Field and Kim Field who not only donated all the food but also did a brill job on the BBQ a provisional count puts us well over £600 for RNLI
Full list of results and honours to follow in next couple of days
THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE !"

And how did I do......undersized whiting

three at a time...no change then!

Galloways ( 13 July)

Here is a report from James Brockman...

"Hi tony we fished the Galloways caught two sole both at low tide one at 7pm then other one was at 9pm both were caught in lug about 80 yards out the first one we caught was 2lb the other one was 1lb. We fished from 5pm to 11pm 11th july"

We got sole ( 12 July)

This report came in from Andy Heslop....plenty of sole about...

"Hi tony .i fished behind the Power Station last night from 18.30-01.00 were i had 1 sole and loads of whiting. All falling to lug. Regards Andy Heslop,"

We all have to start somewhere ( 8 July)

I had this email from Nagendra...

"Hi! Tony. I am really new to sea fishing. I am planning to come to Dungeness for sea fishing learning particularly bass fishing. Can you please kindly advise me where to fish, what baits to bring, tackle and lures for Dungeness Bass Fishing.

I would definitely pop into your shop for advice when I get down there as I am new to Sea Fishing. Help much appreciated. Nagendra"

When it comes to sea fishing no two days are the same, you can improve your chances by fishing the right tides with the right weather using the right bait...what is 'right' the best advice I can give anybody is to ask. Sea anglers are mostly a friendly bunch usually willing to share their knowledge...so don't be nervous...ask.

Sea fishing is very simple...if the 'food' is there so will be the fish, the tricky bit is learning what brings that all together!

But sea anglers starting out have a great adventure ahead of them...and its FREE!

Remember...to catch fish you have to go fishing...you can't catch them otherwise!

Good night Jason ( 7 July)

This report came in from Jason Davey..."Hi Tony I did Galloway last night from 4.30pm until 8.30pm 2 score of lug and had 8 bass to 6 lb most 40-43 cm a 45 cm sole an eel and 4 ting"

In the misty morning ( 6 July)

Nick Burton went down to Galloways early (before firing) in the poring rain and had a couple decent of sole...not massive but nice fish (returned) but I think he deserves a mention for giving it ago in nasty weather...and I hope he cleared the rubbish up before you left...

More bass today ( 5 July)

Nigel George popped in as I was closing up to show me a couple he had today, 48 and 38cm the best weighing 3lb from 'behind the boats' on lug.

Nice bass ( 5 July)

This email came in this afternoon from Terry Gifford...patience pays off!

"Hi Tony
Waited all day but had faith in the surf which finally paid off with this lovely 
9lb bass caught on single lug at close range. Thought it looked better in the 
surf than on the plate so returned unharmed. Thanks Terry, lee and ken Gifford"

The next batch of DAA match dates ( 5 July)

The DAA have just published the next few match dates for all you DAA match junkies out there to drool over...

The bass are on the move ( 5 July)

I had this report come in yesterday from Tony...

"Hi Tony
As suggested when I collected bait from you yesterday, I fished behind the power station with around two dozen other rods. About two hours before high water I caught the just undersized bass about 360 mm followed by a small whiting. My neighbour caught a similar sized bass within half an hour and all were returned.
On returning to my car a fellow DAA angler parked next to me indicated he had caught "half decent bass" but like me caught no mackerel in spite of trying feathers for a while. Back in a fortnight to try again!!
Regards Tony Ellis"

I know its Hythe but...( 4 July)

I had this report as a PM to me on facebook...

Aaron Griggs - "Fished princess parade last night next to the rock groyne at Murco and caught this nice sole on just lug as the sun was dropping"

Just in ( 3 July)

A customer just dropped the key back and told me he had five whiting and a 'monster' dogfish (his biggest to date) on the road...water coloured...didn't see another angler!

At the end of the day ( 2 July)

Just about to close up and a customer popped in and told me he had half a dozen mackerel behind the station in the sun...not many but some is better than none!

Fun in the sun ( 1 July)

I had this photo of Josh Sparkes today with a summer eel (returned)...just to remind everybody...yes we are getting plenty of eels but remember they are protected and must be returned unharmed...

Loads of fish...all returned ( 1 July)

I had this email from Timothy Cloake...

"100 whiting few flounders and a eel all returned Denge"

Yes we are getting plenty of fish...but mostly small!

Sole searching ( 1 July)

Here is a report from Simon Newman...

"Sole showing behind the power station in the hour down to low before the whiting turn up at dusk. 2 from yesterday and saw 4 other caught."

A timely reminder ( 30 June)

I had this email from Paul Hodges...

"Hi Tony
Fished at the end of the road at the back of the Power Station yesterday from 7.30am until about 1.30pm. Had lots of fish during the session lots of small stuff with quite a few sizeable fish amongst them. Mostly Dabs (25+ up to 25cm), Whiting (30 + 10 or so sizeable fish), Couple of Flounders (both sizeable) an Eel and a small Plaice but No Sole for me . Lots of people by the end especially over HW when all the fluff Chucker's arrived, there was quite a bit of tide especially at distance. Caught lots more fish at distance than close in.
One concerning factor speaking to a young man who was fishing with 2 of his mates was that of keeping all fish they caught despite the size. He came over and asked me why I was throwing all the fish back and what I was doing differently to them. I told him that there were size limits to all fish species and if caught fines can be imposed. He simply didn't care or was bothered about this saying 'so its ok for the boats to chuck back dead, unwanted and undersized fish but not for me to keep them.' to which I replied 'unfortunately yes, there are reasons for size limits. it isn't a perfect world and these are the rules we should all follow'. He stayed for a couple minutes more and walked off back to his mates.
Any way and enjoyable day none the less. Paul Hodges"

Well said Paul...to be accurate not all species have IFCA (Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority) size limits...check out their website kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk for more information. One of their enforcement officers is due soon at Dungeness to check out retention of undersized bass ( 36cm )...but the DAA have size limits for their club matches and we encourage our members to follow those (you will find a link on my home page).

Howard's got sole ( 29 June)

This morning Howard Sargent brought in this cracking sole weighing close to 2lb caught in the west bay last night...what a beautiful fish.

The first of many? ( 29 June)

Great report from Darren Brooks...with the sea temperatures about three degrees above average...lets hope this is the first of many...

"Hi Tony, fished this evening in the west bay, had 4 bass and this turbot of 1lb 4oz. Cheers Darren"...doesn't he look pleased...very tasty Darren!

A happy man ( 29 June)

Chris came down on holiday...

"Tony,
Just a big thanks for the supply of bait this last week whilst the three of us were down for our annual holiday.
Plenty of bass round at Greatstone, Kerton road is the mark I believe, up to 3lb, with some very large eels, few flounder and several small hounds as well.
Yesterday saw a change of attack and we headed to the water tower for a last day.
Again, over a dozen small hounds between us, eels, dover sole in the daylight and a bonus thornback for myself, about 3lb, not a pb but a nice fish none the less.
Will be back soon. Chris Voller, Sussex."

Bless my sole ( 28 June)
This email from Mick O'Donnell goes to show its all about being at the right place at the right time...yummy!

"Hello tony.  Good shout for dengemarsh today plenty of dover sole showing up 
with some keepers. Couple small plaice and a  Nice eel made an appearance. Which 
with all under sized fish returned alive and well. The two up one down rigs you 
supplied us was perfect with the worms. Mick."

Beautiful Bass ( 28 June)
I just had this email from Simon Newman of 'Castaways' fame...

"Hi Tony

We've had some great fishing in the last couple of days. Castaways has welcomed regular guests Brian and Paul plus old friend Clive Collier and brother Keith for a weekends guided fishing. East bay has proven to be slow with a couple of unproductive session, however a move round to the "other side" saw greatly improved results.

Thursday evening saw both Brian and Keith catch their first ever sole and last night we had a blinder, with 84 year old Brian catching his first ever bass and Keith (72 yrs old but passes for 50...git!!) catching a PB bass weighing a few grains of sand over 10lb. Plenty of smaller bass between 2lb and 3lb kept the lads busy. The boys are at Dengemarsh now....I'm too busy to join them doing the ironing and cleaning rooms. tonight however!.......

Loads of bass ( 28 June)
With the wind backing round to the south west we are getting more and more bass being reported from the west bay...
"Tony.. Jury's threw up an interesting catch this morning.. Having seen the SW breeze building I left home in Orpington at 05:15 and set out in pursuit of Bass..
First cast produced a rather large and plump Flounder that gave a cracking bite within two minutes of the bait being in the water, this was quickly followed by three Bass between 42, 55 & 56cm.. Things went quiet until the tide nearly covered the sand when along came two Eels, one of which was a cracker and can be seen in the attached photo .. Three more Bass (two were tiny but hopefully a sign of things to come) rounded off a good session.. All fish except the two larger Bass returned.
The vital bits.. All fish fell to fresh out lug (why do the worms go off in all directions at Jury's?) mounted on Limerick 1/0's on pulley pennel rigs held in place with a 5oz Breakaway.. A little bit of green weed came up the line but no sign of the May rot..
Best wishes Michael Smith

The odd fish ( 27 Dengemarsh)
Billy the bait was cycling past Littlestone wall this morning and he saw an angler land and photograph and then release a nice thornback ray...I wonder if I will get a report?
Dengemarsh ( 27 June)
Another report of black bream...this could be an interesting summer...
"Mohamed Matrane Hi tony I fished Monday and Tuesday at Dengemarsh 3bass 1 bream 27th June"

A big black day ( 26 June)
I was having a chat with one of my customers today concerning...black bream...very tasty said Howard having 'scoffed' a 1lb fish caught at Galloways...the big surprise that his mate had one of 2 1/2 lb!!!...same session...that is a very good bream from the beach...wow!
More mackerel ( 25 June)
Reports coming in today are of more mackerel being caught in the west bay from the walkway to Dengemarsh, yesterday I was getting reports of the odd red gurnard at Dengemarsh...it must be summer.
Enjoying yourself behind the boats ( 25 June)
I had this email from John Stone...who puts it into perspective of what fishing is all about...enjoying yourself...

"Hi Tony,
Introduced my Brother from Portsmouth to Dungeness fishing Tuesday evening. 
Quality lug from yourself and set up behind boats low tide up. Bait was being 
stripped clean very quickly for first two hours. As the sun dipped and we 
watched a porpoise skirting the waves, came welcome bites, lots of whiting and 
then this junior flounder. 
Broke me blank, all fish returned and a lovely evening. Oh, I'll pop key back 
later tonight. Kind regards John Stone"

Hot work in the sun ( 23 June)
The latest round of the DAA match series fished yesterday...not for the weak willed...hats off to the 19 competitors who fished the 'rover' here are the results...

That was tough fishing 'dead tides in daylight...and yes at last I weighed in with a lucky flounder twenty yards out!...fishing at Dengemarsh I noticed all these kites flying really high, and then breaking free and diving into the sea?...is this religious...does anybody out there have any ideas?
Better late than never ( 21 June)
I forgot to remind all you keen DAA anglers that the next match is tommorow ...
the times posted on the DAA members facebook page by Steve Harvey...
"next match is Sunday booking in at the gate 2.15-3 fishing 4-8"
Don't forget your suntan lotion!
Pretty as a picture ( 21 June)
I had this email last night...no more details but a very pretty picture...
"Sammys first ever bass!
Live and fish in herne bay,started late last summer,had a quick 2hrs from 6-8pm this eve,caught me first bass.only small but keep em comming!!!"

The right choice ( 20 June)
Here is a report from Martin Swinyard who chose to go fishing rather than watch the football...
"Hi Tony

Took my dad Sole fishing last night decided it wasnt worth watching the footie we fished in the east bay very busy night I caught 2 sole 34cm 42cm and and Dad had 2 slips lots of dabs flounder eels dogfish pout and hardly any whiting, looking at the football result i reckon we made the right decision"

I drove back last night from a council meeting last night...roads deserted!!

Superb fishing ( 16 June)
I had a customer pop in on Sunday and ask "hows the fishing" being depressed by the football...I snapped and said...if nobody tells me how the **** would I know...I have just had this this email from Paul...now I know...
"Dear Tony. Thought i would give you an email of our trip on Saturday behind the power station. Fished 8.30 to 4.pm, fishing with, dungie, peeler crab, rag, squid, had 2 nice plaice, just over a 1lb, 2 bass 47cm returned, 1 lovely dover sole 1.5lb ( my first). My mate adam had a bass of just over 2lb and a cracker just under 5lb on peeler crab, 3 plaice, and one dover sole. We always enjoy fishing dungy, and this was our best trip to date. Celebrated with a fish and chip meal in the Pilot. Great website, looking forward to our next trip. Best wishes Paul and Adam."...wow!

A mackerel weekend? ( 13 June)
I had this email from Paul Hodges...
"Hi Tony
Andy and myself fished Galloways last night from 5pm until 12.30 pm chasing the elusive Sole. After reports of a few being caught we felt that with the conditions and tides being pretty much perfect we would be able to open our account. For the first 3 hours we were both fishless I broke the blank wit a palm sized flounder followed an hour later by another. As darkness approached we were still confident. Andy had the first Bass of 38cm I then had another flounder and by this time the dreaded ting were there in numbers. I did manage a small Dab and then a Bass of 42cm literally on HW 10 feet in front of me. The water was like glass with no wind at all. We could see the occasional fish moving on the surface and I saw one or two jumping. The water is extremely clear with no may weed at all not a sniff of it anywhere. I am sure there will be a few mackerel around this weekend from the shore. We were joined a littler later by timthebass after his first sole from the shore but alas no joy at all.
If I am honest I think the best bet at the moment for a sole is fishing a tide where HW or LW is just as it gets dark before the Whiting turn up. Regards Paul"
Paul was right...I had a report of mackerel being caught last night at Dengemarsh!

First of the summer ( 13 June)
I had this report in today from Timothy Cloake....first black beam report I have had this summer..."Got lucky with this nice 4/5 lb bass from close range made my night also caught a bream and the usual whiting, also a big shout out to the other anglers on the

beach from Hertfordshire top blokes"

Things are hotting up ( 11 June)
Here is a report from Simon Newman...

"Hi Tony

Thought you might like to know that the bass and sole have arrived! Fished west bay on the flood yesterday evening and we all caught bass to 46cm (Darren had 12 bass of which 9 were betwen 41 and 47cm) and a couple of sole to 44cm, I managed 5 bass, 2 sole, 3 flounders, an eel and a couple of whiting. Looking good for the big tides this weekend!"...the building tides help...unlike last Sunday!

On manoeuvres ( 10 June)
Local rod Roy Godden on a fishing holiday down on the Isle of White sent through a couple of pics of stingrays that he and his mate Peter caught (around 16 and 21lb)...cracking fish...

The hunt in the sun ( 10 June)
Here are the full results of the DAA match on a beautiful Sunday afternoon...

DAA match result Sunday, 8th June 2014 – Full Rover – 4-00 pm – 8-00 pm

1^st Nathan Elliott 3 fish 4 lb. 13 1/2 oz. Heaviest fish 2 lb. 6 1/2 oz. bass

2nd Michael Smith 5 fish 3 lb. 4 1/2 oz.

3rd Simon Newman 1 fish 1lb. 10 1/2 oz.

4th Gavin Smith 3 fish 1 lb. 4 1/2 oz.

5th Colm Brennan 3 fish 0 lb. 15 1/2 oz.

Bass, dabs, whiting, sole and dogfish weighed in – 17 in total. Light NE wind.

16 fished and 7 weighed in.

Full league results so far...

Well done Joe...you weighed-in...after a row of blanks...what did I do...with only a twenty five cm. plaice ( I did try stretching it!) I'm joining the list of 'hatrick blankers'...a long and worthy list!

Gone for a Burton ( 8 June)
Beautiful early season sole for Nick Burton down at Galloways last night...

Nice bass ( 8 June)
In spite of the may water Alex Whittlesea had this nice bass on a flooding tide to fresh lugworm in the east bay area...

Reminder from Steve ( 7 June)
Here is the reminder from Steve Harvey...
"Hey up lads its match time on Sunday
booking in at the gate from 2.15-3
fishing 4-8 £5 entry any DAA member can fish.
Tight lines
******Juniors******look out for an event coming soon in july. ... Posters and info on the website available soon"
Down the bay ( 6 June)
I had this email from Jonathan who had a great session yesterday...

"Hi Tony went fishing off rocks at Sandgate on Thursday for a change  . Sea was 
quiet rough couldn't stay out long on the rocks waves started breaking over the 
top so had to get off before it got dangerous and then fished on the beach . 
Thought  I might get a bass or two . In the end had four nice size dogs fish a 
eel about three feet long and a codling which I didn't expect thought it was my 
bass I was after when I first felt him on but not complaining all went back to

live another day . John from West Malling"
Its that time again ( 5 June)
OK you match junkies its that time again...the next DAA match is on Sunday a full rover, book in on the road from 2.15 to 3pm...fish from 4 to 8pm...your match captain will be giving out the sun cream...the forecast is hot, hot, hot...no wind and plenty of fragrant 'may water'...I can't wait!
Plenty of fish ( 4 June)
I'm hearing plenty of fish being caught but I'm not getting reports...so I nagged Martin Swinyard this morning and here is his report...
"Hi Tony as promised

Fished Jurys gap yesterday 3 hrs up 1 hr down.. nothing big but a nice 4 hrs and didn't blank (contested by other jealous parties) I had 8 schoolie Bass up to 38cm all on blacks...sorry no pics" ...yes they are legal but its nice you put them back.

Mackerel Galore ( 4 June)
I had this report come in this morning from Ali...whats interesting is that reports coming in, the mackerel are more inshore in numbers...not many for the boats further out mid channel? I guess that why the seals are back at dungeness!...lovely garfish.

"Hi its Ali
Its not Dungeness but i thought i share with the fellow anglers. 
Fished on 3/6/14 from 8am till 3pm @ admiral pier Dover.
Lovely sunny day with plenty of fish. Caught around 20 mackerel and1 Gar fish. 
Nice day all in all.
Its a shame that people don't care and just treat the pier as a dump, even 
though there is plenty of dustbins provided every 10meters. They just let every 
thing fly everywhere and chuck their finished cans straight to the sea. Its a 
shame that people act like this.  My boy Ozy with his first Mackerel and Garfish."

Hard work ( 1 June)

I had a report in from Andy of yesterdays match...

"Hi Tony,

A brief report on the Sheerness Steel Sea Angling Club match held at Pirate Springs

on Saturday 30th May.

Fishing was hard going for 42 anglers who struggled to find sizable fish.

Conditions looked good with the water a good colour, but the fish failed to show

in any numbers other than the usual pin whiting.

Only 14 anglers weighed in all with mainly single fish, top weights were

with dogfish, 4 were caught, with the remaining catches made up of

whiting to 30cm, eels to 60cm, pouting, rockling and a surprise 36cm codling.

Cheers, Andy Reeves"

Thanks for that Andy...the 'colour' could be a touch of 'may water'...what is interesting is that 36cm codling...we were 'knee deep' in codling a couple of months ago, undersized around 32cm...if we get the right weather this autumn we beach could be 'heaving' with 40cm fish!

Beautiful fish ( 31 May)
I had this email from Andy today...
"Hi Tony
I know its not Dungeness but I would like to show you a undulate ray that I caught this morning at Pagham. Weighing 15lbs from the beach .
On a pennell pully dropper on mackerel fillet. And to finish off a 3lbs 3 oz conger on squid and lug Very happy"...so you should be Andy a beautiful fish...well done!

Best bass ( 30 May)
The strong north easterly breeze kicked up a bit of surf behind the boats today, big tides, so a bit easier down from the lookout tower to behind the power stations. Best bass reported to me today was around 4lb 8oz...unless you know different? Should be calmer tomorrow and Sunday...more mackerel?

The usual suspects ( 29 May)
Reports coming into the shop today...not very spectacular, at least they are not blanking!
Bass, dabs, dogfish and of course whiting! With the weather improving lets see if we get more mackerel being reported?

Every cloud has a silver lining ( 28 May)
I had an email...a bit depressing...
"AN analysis of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report reveals the growing threat of climate change and acidification to marine resources.
The briefing, published jointly by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Judge Business School and supported by the European Climate Foundation, reveals that:
•The total loss of landings to global fisheries by 2050 due to climate change range from USD 17 to 41 billion based on a global warming scenario of 2 degrees.
•Fishery yields will increase 30 – 70% in high latitudes but fall by 40 – 60% in the Tropics and Antarctica based on 2 degrees of warming. Large species like tuna in the Pacific and Indian oceans are likely to move eastwards."
Tuna in the English channel!!!...I better get some heavier boat gear!

It must be July? ( 28 May)
I had this email from John...

"Hi. Fished off the boards yesterday (27th) from approx 9 - 5 ( yep day shift ) 
caught some baby dabs, couple of tings and then this suddenly turned up, I 
believe it's a scad. Certainly a species 1st for me. John Norton"

A few fish ( 28 May)
I had this email from a H Dennis today...

"This mornings high tide at Dengemarsh(28/5)

Bass 45cm, Dover Sole 32cm."...Promising...a very early sole?

The full results ( 26 May)
Here are the full result of Saturday nights match...

Good Day ( 25 May)
Terry emailed this report...
"Hi Tony
We fished Saturday just to the right of the wooden walkway, wet and windy with a heavy surf, first cast 2lb bass! We then had a steady stream of small schoolie bass, Whiting (some large), various flatties and this lovely dinner plate sized flounder (?). Great day with start to finish action, everything returned.
Thanks Terry, Ken and Lee Gifford"

Oh what a night ( 25 May)
What is it with our fishing captain...he books a match and the weather (unlike today, beautiful) turns out to be a force five gale...but great surf for the bass, but otherwise tough going. Eighteen very keen anglers took part...eight weighed!...needless to say I spent my night catching undersized whiting on sand eel!!
Top Gun...was Paul Gunner with a bass of 3lb 11oz and an overall weight of 4lb 4oz....I will publish the full results when I get them.

A smiley face ( 23 May)
Fred Brown 'popped' the key back to the shop this evening with a smile on his face, he fished by the 'boats' today and had fish from the first cast, whiting, dogfish and bass...he showed me a photo of his bass around 4lb...if he can overcome the technology deficit and he manages to get the photo from his phone to me I will put it up. But Fred being a fish friendly type put the fish back and made sure it had fully recovered before he sent in on his way...it brings a smile to your face.

The reminder from Steve ( 22 May)
Here is the the reminder from Steve Harvey posted on 'facebook' with the times for Saturday...
"We have a match at Galloways on Saturday book in at the venue 5.15-6 fishing 7-11 £5 entry open to all DAA members join on the day"

The next match ( 21 May)
The next round of the DAA series is on Saturday night at Galloways, with a bit of luck the heavy showers should have gone through by Saturday morning leaving good weather for the rest of the Bank Holiday! Catch reports coming in are mostly small fish (unless you know different) except for a few big flounder...you guessed it...at Galloways.

Hot Hot Hot ( 19 May)
Beautiful weather...I can just about smell the glistening 'may weed'...

Mackerel ( 17 May)
Since I mentioned mackerel I have had a few reports including one from Justin of mackerel at Dengemarsh yesterday...and more today...its hot, hot, hot.

Small is beautiful ( 17 May)
Verbal reports coming in this morning are mostly small fish...species reported today are whiting, bass, dabs, plaice dogfish and smoothounds. With the calm seas I wouldn't be surprised to get reports of mackerel around the point this evening.
Plenty of fish ( 14 May)
This report came in lunchtime...

"Hi every one. 
Just wanted to report... Went to Dungeness on Tuesday morning 01:00am until 
Wednesday 12:00 after noon so a long session but paid well. Lol
Caught lots of dogfish
1 good sized dab
1 I say good sized smooth hound ( returned)
Lots of rockling
Lots of whiting ( small and big)
Finally a small bass (still my first bas this year) returned
Tried for mackerel but the water was still murky.
That's it and keep on fishing"

 Great report ( 12 May)

I just had this email come in from dave...

"Just a quick email regarding the fishing trip on Friday behind the boats.

I joined the fishing club on Friday morning and set off to fish behind the boats as the wind was really bad,

Started fishing about 11 ish feeling quite confident that Bass were around, used black lug as bait.

Fished with 2 rods one at distance of 100 yds and the other around 50 yds.

As the wind was over my shoulder my rod tips were bouncing all over the place, was thinking how really could I see a bite, my own question was answered as the rod at 100yds bounced down a typical bass bite, the result was a small schoolie at around a pound, unhooked released back, now with my confidence heightened I recast and waited, after about 20 mins same bite on distance rod missed the fish but understood why as small whiting had taken hook bait and then was attacked by bass.

This happened once more so decided to put above main hook bait a size 2 hook.

But nothing after that, for around 2 hours except whiting after whiting with a few dogs thrown in.

Then l had a good pull down on the close in rod and a bass of around 4 pounds was beached,

While I was there an older gentleman of around 60ish had just started to learn sea fishing talked to the guy and was really nice to see older people learning the skills of beach fishing…good luck to him as also I gave him the fish I caught for his tea,

Rest of the day it was whiting, dogs and a few place all returned.

Only been fishing here a few times but love the area, just wish people take litter away with them as I filled and took home with me a black bag full of cans etc.

Next time down bring camera with me just in case…

One final word, the tackle shop is very helpful on where to fish and bait quality is excellent. Tight lines Dave Maddox"

Bang on for bass ( 12 May)
I had this report from Paul Hodges who had a a big bass session at Dungeness last weekend in the wind...
"Hi Tony
Fished both days this weekend in the same place, perfect conditions for Bass. The Saturday I managed to Catch 6 Bass and had a further 4 on the Sunday. Returned the two smallest at 38 Cm. Others 47, 47, 45 X 3, 43, 42 X 2cm all nice fish. Pumped some fresh outs first both days then off to our chosen mark. Also had a bonus surprise with 8 Scallops washing up on the Sunday. Tasted very nice alongside the Bass."

Here is the full DAA match report and placings from Malcolm (statto) Jones... ( 12 May)

Here is the SCSAS match list ( 11 May)
Paul Jarrett has sent me the match list if anybody interested contact Paul...

Great match ( 11 May)
Here is the retort from Paul Jarrett...
"Good turnout for the Sandwich Bay match in windy conditions, 18 fished.
Well done to Matthew T Summerfield for winning with 19 dogfish
Mainly dogfish were weighed in, also a couple of pouting, 1 Smoothound and 1 Eel
Top 5 places, full results to follow

1) Matt Summerfield - 19 fish 25lb 12ozs
2) Warren Ross - 16 fish 20lb 12ozs
3) Daren Edwards - 15 fish 17lb 5ozs
4) Steve Richards 16 fish 16lb 14ozs
5) Dave Sales 12 fish 14lb 10ozs

Heaviest fish - 2lb 3oz dogfish (Sam Collier)"

Blown away ( 11 May)
The latest round of the DAA match series was fished last night in a 'howling' gale 15 fished (it would have been more but quite a few members were fishing the SCSAS) eight weighed in, won by Paul Gunner who found founds some dogs plus the biggest fish a dog of 1lb 15.5oz...well done Paul...needless to say I was one of those not to weigh in...full results to follow.

TGF bass ( 10 May)
This nice lady showed me a photo on her phone of a nice bass caught yesterday in the wind...this is the best of many reported over the last day or so...

"I caught a 4lb 9oz bass Friday 9th May 2014 behind the boats.
Tracie Taylor from Waterlooville"

Skating over the challenge ( 9 May)

I saw on face book that Paul Jarret DAA & SCSAS member has been out practicing for the SCSAS match tomorrow...I will 'larf' if we find more rays at Pirate Springs in the DAA match...
"Paul Jarrett fine tuned his ray catching skills last night ahead of Saturdays match ! Think he means business lol"

A Burning issue ( 8 May)
I'm very sad to report that over the recent bank holiday we had an incident by the boats, some anglers had a large fire on the beach close to one of the boats damaging equipment to fuel the fire...this is illegal...no fires are allowed on Dungeness National Nature Reserve period. The police have been notified and are investigating a case of 'criminal' damage.
Anglers have to understand and obey the rules...if anybody sees anything illegal going on please let me or the Police know.

The next DAA match ( 7 May)
Here is a reminder from Steve Harvey the DAA match captain...
"Hi folks we have a match Saturday book in at pirate springs 5.15-6 fishing 7-11 £5 to fish any member can fish. .. Join on the day. .. Tight lines"
Strong south westerly winds forcasted for Saturday (great for bass) the venue faces east so wind will be from behind over your right shoulder...should improve my casting!

DAA away day? ( 6 May)
Here is a email from Martin Swinyard...

"Hello Tony

as promised some pictures attached of from our Sandwich Bay away day

Our Match captain with extremley lucky Ray of 8.95lb

Dorian Partridge with a 6.5lb

and Dean Thomas with a PB of 10.05

rest of catches were made up of dogs and whiting

I had a touch of Steve Field-itous and blanked although i see he seems to have had a slight recovery lol Regards Martin

Cracking mackerel ( 5 May)

I had this report in from Mark Newman one of many mackerel reports from yesterday...

"Hi tony
Dengemarsh today,great worms off of you but they didnt work!!!!
No bites untill a mackerel on the drop on sandeel then out come the feathers and 
40+cm's and 4 at a time .......and even better not a single whiting."

Were the bass a bit small ( 5 May)

I had this email in from Steve Cornelius concerning the size of the bass reported on the 4th May...

"Hi Tony,

As an avid reader of the catch reports from Dungeness and a very regular visitor i am not normally one to pass comment on what fish people are taking for the pan, but on this occasion i feel i must say something on the Bass that Roger Clark has taken, now i might be wrong and if i am i apologise in advance, but from the photo i would say at least one of those fish and possibly more are well below the size we should be taking, rather than returning to let them grow on.

If we continue to take these fish we will eventually end up in a situation as we have over the past 20 years with Cod.

Tight lines and please be selective in what fish we keep gents Steve Cornelius"

Well Steve I put up the report in good faith...just so we are clear, the Kent & Essex IFCA legal size limit for bass is 36cm (the DAA fish to 41cm) average breeding size is 46cm (IFCA)...I have a big worry for the autumn with the potential to be 'knee deep' in codling...I was catching loads of fish up 32cm last month...these fish will be sizable come the autumn 35cm!! (IFCA) ...poor baby's! Average breeding size 60cm (IFCA).

While we are on size limits...we are getting reports of mackerel being caught the size limit (south of Folkestone) is only 20cm (IFCA)...so small!

Dengemarsh yesterday ( 5 May)
I had this email from Steve Field...

"Tony  Had a few hours at dengemarsh today .  Lovely weather but slow fishing. Had a few small flounders and 10 or so mackerel. Best fish was a 43cm 1lb 8oz plaice 
Cheers Steve"

I had three reports yesterday of mackerel...Steve's and a couple of others when they brought the keys back...

A taste of summer...( 4 May)

I saw on facebook that Steve Field reported a couple of mackerel at Dengemarsh today...mmm tasty!

Bags of Bass ( 4 May)
I had this report in from Roger Clark who had a good bag of bass on the road...

"We fished the  ness behind the boats Friday night  and had nice little bass"

Blue Cross rescue ( 2 May)
I had this 'feel good' report from Terry..."Hi tony just back from walking the dog along Greatstone beach where I found a nice smoothhound washed up in surf opposite castaways b/b weighed about 3lbs & was still kicking so sent it back to its mum

Terry carpenter"...lucky fish...if Simon had seen it it would be 'breakfast'!!

Nice bass ( 2 May)
I had this report in from Lee...the reports of bass are beginning to grow...quite a few from 'Tailor Road'...

"Hello Tony

I have attached a picture taken on Sunday 27^th April.

This bass was caught at Dungeness by Sean Gill just off the board walk, 1 hour before low tide. Caught on a single black lug and weighted at 6lb 12oz

Regards. Lee Greeley"

You never know ( 1 May)

Had this email from Mark Burdon...Its great when it pays off...

"Hi mate watch your blogs fished Littlestone yesterday usual Rockling plus 2 Smoothound both on squid one at range the other close in intended for Bass!"

One is better than none ( 1 May)
Had this report in from Paul Belli...
"Hello Tony,
Very very quiet on the beach fishing front. In my last 4 sessions around Dungie over past 2 weeks, the only bite I've had was the 2lb ish bass in attached pic. Caught at the point side of the kennels an hour before high tide yesterday. No small whiting, no flatties. Eerily quiet. Bass caught just 20 yards out more by luck than skill i think as u said... The only bite in a 4 hour session!
Have got used to being constantly busy with two rods out over the past months. The lull before the bass storm hopefully haha. Rgds Paul"

Mayday...Mayday ( 30 April)
Tomorrow the padlock changes on the DAA road at Dungeness...so you guys with keys you will have to apply to Malcolm Jones for a new one (details on the DAA website) for a new one...members only.
Its getting better ( 30 April)
Reports in today...looking promising with reports of smooth hound and rays at Littlestone and more bass in the west bay to over 5lb.
Good news ( 28 April)
I had a couple of bass being reported yesterday...nothing big up to a couple of pounds, but promising seeing that none were weighed at the DAA match...here is a cracking photo taken by Mike Richardson...sunset at Jerry Oiller's boat 'Fairchance'

Oh what a night ( 27 April)
The latest DAA Rover match last night...loads of fish...mostly undersized whiting!!
But the doggies saved the day!
Thanks to Malcolm Jones for getting up first thing and doing the results...

Happy days ( 25 April)
I had an email from Timothy Clarke enjoying his first time at Dungeness...
"I caught 5 of these today and 8 whiting in a few hours! It was my first time fishing here and loved it! There was also dolphins swimming around!"

Yes its our old friend Mr Rockling otherwise known 'ling' or 'slugs'...the matchmen's favourite!

Reminder ( 25 April)
The next round of the DAA league tomorrow ...book in at the gate 5-15 to 6.00 pm, fish 7.00 to 11.00 pm. All members welcome £5 match fee, for more info contact Steve Harvey on 07786 538 103....not much being reported locally...but you never know...woof, woof!
Bank on Darren ( 24 April)
Darren Brooks had a great trip to Sandwich on Bank holiday Monday. The local lad had six rays including a couple of doubles the best 13lb 8oz....coming soon to Littlestone!

Lovely weather for a plaice ( 23 April)
Here is a report of a nice plaice in the sun...

"Hi Tony,

Caught this lovely plaice on Easter Sunday just behind the power station in Dungeness. Weather was gorgeous, cant wait for the mackerel season to begin!

Regards Waqs

Latest results ( 21 April)

Here are the latest results and standings from Paul Jarrett of the Southern Circuit Sea Angling Society...

A family outing ( 20 April)
I had this email just come in from Andrew Small...I'm get lots of reports that the fishing is better after high water on the ebb...

"Hi Tony,

Fished Dengemarsh yesterday (19th) with my two sons to the east of the car park. Quite a few people there and very slow with nothing until high tide when the water cleared.

I had a decent plaice and skinny whiting at long range followed by a schoolie. My son Tayler had a bass about 3lb close in. Both bass were returned.

A difficult day but nice to be out. Cheers Andrew"

What is it ( 20 April)
I had this facebook message from Alan Mills...

"Wasn't Dungie but today I caught a rockling with this strange thing on it's back, and ideas? It was at Normans bay."

I don't know Alan it could be a type of parasite? Lets see if anybody has any ideas...cracking photo...

It goes to show ( 19 April)
I put a report out yesterday that I hadn't had any bass reports...but here is one from Simon Fowler...

"Hi Tony, 
just read todays beach reports , thought i would tell you about yesterday !!!
It was pretty busy but nobody seemed to be getting much at all,   several guys  
didnt even get a bite.   However i did manage a Bass , about 2.5lb.
Missed another.   Caught on black lug at short range , just before high tide .  
Fished through to 6, just 1pin whiting and no more bites.
Great to come back, hadn't fished Denge for years.  
Tight Lines for all at Easter, Si."

Reports in today ( 18 April)
Flounder and the odd plaice at Dengemarsh, dabs and small stuff towards the point...we should see more plaice tomorrow in the west bay with the north easterly wind...it was packed today, don't forget Galloways is open for fishing on a rising tide. Not heard of any bass so far this weekend...unless someone out there knows different?
Looking good for Monday ( 18 April)
Yes the weather forecast for bank holiday Monday, could mean the best weather of the weekend...

Interesting fish ( 18 April)
I had this report come in on from Conrad Kasprzyk...

"Hi Tony i found that fish at Dungeness by walk about january if anyone can tell me what kind of fish is that and if that's popular fish in english chanell... thanks conrad"

Well Conrad it looks to me to be a large male 'Common Dragonet' (Callionymus Lyra) in its spawning colours...not rare but unusual to be caught on the beach. They spawn in the English channel from January to June...a very pretty fish.

Nice day ( 17 April)
Peter Webster had a good day last Thursday...

"Hello tony, Pete Webo here, been a while since i sent in a report, anyway i 
fished last Thursday in dungie area and finished up wiv 2 bass to keep, 2 plaice 
to keep and a load ov pin whiteing an couple more very small dabs. Me dad was 
with me instead ov my bass brother Stevie b but he had no bass but ended up with 
3 fair size doggys. Not a bad session all in all. Keep em tight!"

Floundering around ( 16 April)
Verbal reports coming in today are mainly of flounder being caught...and not many of those...it can only get better...still we are enjoying the sunshine.
The answer is yes ( 15 April)
I have had quite a few phone calls on the opening times over Easter...so here they are, Friday 9 till 6.30 Saturday 9 to 6.30 Sunday 9 to 3.30 and...yes Monday 9 to 3.30 ( it being a bank holiday)
Dates for your diary's ( 14 April)
Just picked this up off facebook from Steve Harvey ( the DAA match captain)...
"Hi folks some new dates for the diaries
Sat may 10th bookin5.15-6 fishing 7-11 at pirate springs
sat may 24 bookin 5.15-6 fishing 7-11 at galloways alternative denge if they are firing
sun june 8th bookin 2.15-3 fishing 4-8 rover
sun june 22. bookin 2.15-3 fishing 4-8 rover
i understand one of these dates clashes with another that some members fish unfortunatley looking at the tides etc i cant see a way rd this. .. So its a case of que sera sera im afraid. .. If you fancy a go at our matches then all you need is to be a member of the daa you can join on the day and its a fiver to fish. ..... Tight lines. ..."

Friday fun day? ( 14 April)
Had this report from Kelvin...
"Hi Tony, Fished Galloway’s Fri 11^th, there was just 3 of us on the beach, great weather but only 1 flounder all day. Thanks Kelvin"
Yes it has been a bit slow with the coloured water, but out on the beach this morning we had an northerly breeze this should help clear the water and bring a few more plaice in at Dengemarsh.

Last night ( 13 April)
I had this email from Paul Jarrett who kindly sent me last nights results of the 'Southern Circuit Angling Society' rover match...

"13 members fished last nights match at Dungeness, fishing was very slow with plenty of undersize whiting still about, dogfish and rockling were the main fish at the weigh in

Top 5 places
1) Mick Watt - 4 fish 4lb 2.5ozs
2) Daren Edwards - 4 Fish 4lb 1.5ozs (heaviest fish 1lb 15ozs dogfish)
3) Paul Jarrett - 6 Fish 4lb
4) Tony Taylor - 4 Fish 3lb 2ozs
5) Joe Stevens - 9 Fish 3lb 1ozs

Full match results and league table to follow"

The latest DAA match stats ( 12 April)
Just posted on facebook by Malcolm (Statto) Jones our membership secretary last weeks results and current placings...

Lock...stock...and barrel ( 10 April)
Would you believe it...somebody smashed the DAA padlock on the road yesterday afternoon!
It has been replaced by Simon Newman who looks after the gate...but it must be easier to join the club and be legal rather than risk getting locked up...if you get spotted by our 'nuclear' police for criminal damage.

The weekends looking good ( 10 April)
The weather forecast looks ideal for a few plaice in the west bay...all that lovely high preasure...

Jurys Gap pays off ( 8 April)
John Smith fished Jurys gap this morning in the breeze, he had plenty of fish, flounders, codling and a couple of bass the best going 5lb 7oz!

Ray of hope ( 6 April)
The DAA had its latest club match today a rover with 18 taking part...three of us fished Littlestone wall...hoping for a thornback ray at distance. All I had was dogfish, Matt Summerfield had one undersized but Paul Gunner struck gold with a ray of 3lb 12oz...not massive but you have to hand it to him...it was the target fish! Full results to follow.

Last weeks DAA match result...( 5 April)
Here are the results fro Malcolm (statto) Jones...

Early days...my excuse was that my trip to 'pirate springs' fishing a bluey wrapped sandeel to find an elusive ray didn't pay off...but you have to try these things! Lets see how we get on tomorrow...kick off at 3pm.
EDF has been 'gardening' ( 5 April)
Malcolm Jones the DAA treasurer went fishing yesterday and kindly sent me some photos of the beach behind the power station down towards the 'diamond' EDF has had diggers down there repairing the beach after the storms...it should make access to the foreshore a lot easier!

Hi Tony. Finally found the time to catch up on lots of things. Long walk on Thursday to near the diamond and took the attached photos along the way. 2 up 3 down gave me a few dabs, flounders and whiting – all under size so returned."

Spring has sprung ( 4 April)
I had this report in from Paul Hodges who had another good day down at Dengemarsh on Wednesday...interesting at last we are getting more reports of bass...
"Hi Tony
Had another session the other afternoon. Lots of fish, plenty of Pin whiting, 6 Plaice smallest 31cm largest 38cm, 4 Dabs, a small codling of 28cm, a small Schoolie and a flounder of 43cm = 1lb 15oz which was very fat and its belly was full.
Stroll on the Holidays and more fishing :) Regards Paul"

Dengemarsh in the sun ( 3 April)
I just found this email that came in yesterday from Andrew (hiding in the spam folder)...yes the internet has been full of 'chatter'...

"Hi Tony

Busy down at Dengemarsh today. I had 5 plaice and lost count of the dabs and whiting. Also had a small codling about 30cm. Appeared to be more plaice caught east of the Coastguard lookout than to the west.

Cheers Andrew Small"

Nice Plaice ( 3 April)
Kevin had this cracking plaice down at Dengemarsh yesterday..."Tony, Thanks for good bait and rigs this morning - resulted in me and my son catching mixed bag of dabs, dogfish, pin whiting and this cracking 1lb 7oz plaice which

was caught just after high water. Regards, Kevin Harris."

Well done Jamie ( 2 April)

Here is a report from Jamie Hodsdon...

"hello wasnt sure how to post a picture to you so I thought i would message you, me and my friends fished deal last night my mate had a codling off around 1lb on the 1st cast and then we fished the tide out and caught a few dogfish and another small codling then on at around 3:00am i caught this lovely thorneback ray (not sure on size as i had no scales) but it made my night:) Nice fishing Jamie you can allways email me the report on ARJHills@aol.com

Hot off the press ( 2 April)
I had this email from Andy this afternoon ...cracking early season fish...
"Hi tony
I am currently fishing at Galloway's where i have just landed a 1 lb 6 oz place on straight lug ,also caught so far 1 doggie 1 dab 2 whiting.
Regards Andy Heslop"

Better and better ( 1 April)
Martin Swinyard posted on 'facebook' another successful day at Dengemarsh...
"Another good day on the red spots loads coming out to fresh black lug"

The sun is out at Dengemarsh ( 1 April)
I had this email from Steve who joined the stampede down to Dengemarsh yesterday...
"Hi tony 5 of us fished denge today and had a great session catching lots of plaice .. about 30 were caught and a bonus bass pic attached is m swinyard with his haul of plaice ... I had 7 .. simon had 11 and dave wood brignal had a few ... Looks like things are looking up at last many thanks steve harvey"

Mothers Day plaice ( 1 April)
Here is a report from Paul Hodges...
"Hi Tony, Haven't really fished much this year or over the winter but with the lovely warm spring weather I felt the urge to try for a few Plaice. Fishing started off well with a 35cm Plaice first cast then nothing until 2 hours before HW when the tide began to run. Then a flurry of activity with 4 more Plaice and a flounder, then another quiet spell and 2 more Plaice coming 1-2 hours after HW. The biggest Plaice was 39cm, all coming on Fresh Outs. Most fish came at distance over 100 yards on single hook clipped down rigs. Plaice sizes 34cm, 4 X 35 cm, 36cm and 39cm, Flounder 30cm Regards Paul

There's a plaice for us ( 31 March)
Simon Newman sent me this link on facebook...
"Heads up to my fishy friends. Denge Marsh fished well for Plaice today. There was a comp there and one chap had 6, someone else had 5 and there were lots of one's and two's. Biggest I saw was 41cm but they seemed to average about 34cm+. Bearing in mind they finished an hour into the ebb and only fished one rod each, it is a damn sight closer than Brighton! I'll be having a go tomorrow."
I have had lots of reports of fish coming on to feed after high water...it was the same for me at Pirate Springs.

Good night ( 30 March)
Here is a report from Steve Harvey DAA match captain...posted on 'facebook' concerning last nights match...some people are bad losers :-)
"Match result 29.3.14
20 anglers fished in an easterly breeze ..caught mainly dogs dabs ling and odd flounder
1st micheal smith 8lb 10
2nd D.wood.Brignal. 8lb 6half
3rd Alex Veel ..8lb 2half
4th Graham 'need a shave' king 5lb 8half
5th matt summerfield 5lb 5half
Heaviest fish 2lb dog for Mike Richardson
Me???.....,well i was dragged kicking and screaming to a venue on the assurance of a bumper haul by an 'unnamed' local angler... I wont name and shame for fear of retribution ...however since then ive heard a squeek that he was pre warned to not fish it in an easterly :)
I guess its my turn to choose next week ... So i better get my choice prepared ... Next match is sunday 6th april 3-7"
Good night had by all...everybody weighed-in...my gamble didn't pay off...I think I was almost last...but there's always next week?

See you next season ( 30 March)
Fishing the DAA club match last night, I chose to try 'Pirate Springs'...totally deserted...amongst the hordes of pin whiting I had six beautiful baby coddling between 28 to 30 centimetres...next autumn these baby's will be sizable!

Who loves rockling? ( 29 March)
One of my regulars who fished Dengemarsh last night reported this morning that it was...wall to wall...rockling and dogfish! The DAA have their match tonight, let see what gets caught?

Local lad does good ( 28 March)
I had an email from Gary Seare...cracking fish...well done...
"Fished sandwich bay last night with a top a fisherman...who put me on to a 11lb thorny a new pb...thanks briggs"

The quiet before the storm ( 27 March)
Very few reports coming in...with the beaches being so quiet...plenty of fish...not many anglers! But it is looking good for the weekend with the warmer weather and the bigger tides...I had this email from Graeme Pullen of 'totallyawesomefishing.com' on U Tube...

Hi Tony,

The part 2 film of "The Great Cod Hunt"on Dungeness is just up. Link below if you want to post it anywhere. Part 1 had a load of views and shows the sea anglers are at least getting good info from our Show. I imagine the Dungeness one will also pull in over 1000 views in the first 24 hours. 3rd and final "fishing" part of the series is up tomorrow night-Friday 7pm.

All the best, Graeme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtyNRqxXWo

A few more bass ( 26 March)
David Elliot came in today after fishing...loads of dogfish, dabs whiting and codling up to 30cm...David sent me a photo of a bass he had a couple of days ago, with the crabs on the move due to very warm seas we should see more and more bass being reported.

Reminder ( 25 March)
Here is a reminder from the DAA match captain Steve Harvey...
"Its matchday on Saturday ...booking in at the gate .. 5.15-6 fishing from 7-11 a rover .... After that the next match is next weekend 6th April fishing 3-7 so booking in will be 1.15-2 ... Sorry about the two matches being so close together the tides etc are the reason ..."
Very interesting ( 24 March)
Speaking to the DAA match captain today (Steve Harvey) on how the Seabrook match fished yesterday...there was one fish of interest...a decent sole...now that is early!
Bass on time ( 23 March)
Here is a report from Andy...again just after top of the tide?...
"Hi tony
I fished 12.30pm to 16.30 yesterday at tailors road .
I had a 1 small flounder. 1 rockling and a 2lbs bass on a 2 hook flapper with lug .
Just after high tide . Regards Andy Heslop

Behind the boats ( 21 March)
Report in from Adam Goldie...
"Hi Tony, fished behind the boats today, what a lovely day!! plenty of Dabs and 3 keepers, and tiny Whiting and Rockling, and half way through the flood ! had this surprise fish on single lug fished 20 yards out intended for Bass, I believe its a Coal Fish."

High Tide ( 21 March)
Reports coming in this afternoon from behind the boats today...nothing till after high tide then flats and whiting...strange?

Good cod ( 20 March)
One of my customers told me this morning that he fished Littlestone wall yesterday...and had codling after codling just after high water...in daylight!

Good news for fishermen ( 20 March)
I had an email yesterday from the MOD with 'firing times' for Dengemarsh (going west) and Galloways for the month of April....I couldn't believe it so I queried it, and here is the reply...
"Just to confirm with everyone that the Firing Times list is correct as showing Lydd closed for the month (a few of you have quite understandably questioned it – as did we! - Lydd are having a targetry upgrade and so no live firing is scheduled for April.)"
Yes that means open house all April...all we need is some clear water and the plaice to move in to the beach!

A timely reminder ( 17 March)
Here is a bit from Steve Harvey (the DAA match captain)...
"This coming friday is the DAA A.G.M.
At Heysham Hall next door to the chip shop in Taylor Rd .. its your chance to voice your opinion and have your say on all matters regarding the DAA also we are looking for people to join the committee .. start time 7.30 ..."
What a lovely evening ( 16 March)
It could be summer...walking the dogs on Greatstone beach this evening...calm ...warm...in the glow of a golden moon.

Loads of fish ( 16 March)
Here is a report from Paul Jarrett...love those dogfish...

Southern Circuit SAS match result - Dengemarsh 15/03/14

"Hi Tony hope you are well,

Result from our Dengemarsh match fished on Saturday evening, 11 members fished the comp, we were plagued by pin whiting from the off, rockling, dabs, dog fish and whiting were weighed in

The biggest fish was a 2lb 4oz Dog Fish caught by Steve Field

Steve Field – 12 Fish 7lb 9ozs

Sam Collier – 13 Fish 7lb 6.5ozs

Adam Horton – 13 Fish 6lb 12.5ozs

Keith Johnson – 13 Fish 4lb 9.5ozs

Daren Edwards – 6 Fish 3lb 10ozs

Mick Watt – 12 Fish 3lb 8ozs

Wesley Cheeseman – 12 Fish 3lb 7ozs

Paul Jarrett – 7 Fish 1lb 13ozs

Joe Stevens – 6 Fish 1lb 11ozs

Daniel Collier – 5 Fish 1lb 4ozs

Alan Jarrett – 4 Fish 13.5ozs

Regards Paul"

What a cracking weekend ( 16 March)

Reports coming in are that a mixture of species...mostly small but some bigger flounders, the weather has been brilliant, the forecast hopefully will give a bit of a 'stir up' next week...will it bring in some bigger codling?...the buzz is that the bay is full of them!

Yes...its a plaice ( 13 March)
The intrepid Simon Newman ventured down to Dengemarsh...how did he fare...
"It's not big, but it's oooooh so pretty. 29cm plaice from a short session at Dengemarsh today. No other fish and no other bites so i must thank Daniel Sanger for keeping me amused between casts. I left Daniel on the beach. He's been fishing since 0630 and I left him at 4pm not only fishless but also biteless. I will say no more, already having said too much LOL."

Rock on...( 13 March)
This email came in from Lukey yesterday ( spam folder yet again) here is the report...
"hi Tony, my dad and myself fished infront of the powerstation this afternoon (wed). not much to report tho as we only managed to find 2 species 3 beard rockling and 5 beard rocking. my dad caught 5 fish and i caught 4 fish. nice day to be on the beach tho if not a tad chilly in the N/E breeze. cheers Lukey Knight.
I think Lukey was a bit unlucky on the species, we have some 'local heroes' fishing Dengemarsh today looking for a plaice lets see how they get on...

When the winds in the east fish bite the least... errr...no! ( 11 March)
Here is a report from Steve behind the boats...into the wind...
"Hi Tony myself Mr Field, Martin and Martin Jeff(Martins dad) had a couple of hours behind 'fairchance' this afternoon .... Hoping for an early bass in the surf ... No bass unfortunatly but we did have 12 small codling between us which is a good sign for the future ... Plus a cple of flounders whiting and ling ... So all in all not a bad session ...the picture attached is jeff with one of the codling ... Tight lines steve Harvey"

I have had loads of reports over the last six weeks of baby codling being caught...not just around here...the Thames estuary and the east coast!...I had some customers 'pop in' on Friday (on the way to the British Open up north) from Belgium...and guess what...their coast have loads of small codling as well!

Oops (10 March)
I found this email from Arkam in my 'spam' folder I think it came in yesterday therefore I think Arkam was fishing on Saturday...

"Hi Tony...I fished yesterday with a friend of mine between the boats and the point...it was beautiful day with plenty of fish caught:rockling, dabs, whitings,3 plaice, dogfish,codlings, but the highlight of the day was a codling around 2lb and my first time ever coalfish at dungeness. From Arkam

Well what a nice day (10 March)
We had the a good match day yesterday...nice weather...plenty of fish (mostly small) here are the match results from Malcolm Jones (Statto) our DAA Chairman...

DAA match result Sunday, 9th March 2014 – Full Rover – 3-00 pm – 7-00 pm

1st Scott Strudwick 12 fish 3 lb. 9 oz.

2^nd Paul Gunner 10 fish 3 lb. 5 ½ oz.

3rd Mike Richardson 9 fish 3 lb. 4 ½ oz. Heaviest fish 1 lb. 3 ½ oz. dogfish

4th Mike Smith 8 fish 2 lb. 3 ½ oz.

5th Tony Hills 8 fish 2 lb. 2 ½ oz. .

Predominantly dabs, whiting, rockling and the odd dogfish, pouting and plaice weighed in. Slight SE breeze.

17 fished and 14 weighed in.

There's a plaice for us ( 7 March)
Reports coming in today...more plaice about, linked with the forecast of building high pressure for next week...this should clear the water...fill your boots!

Next DAA Match this Sunday ( 7 March)
Yes you lucky people...its the next DAA league match this Sunday...this must be a mistake as we have a decent weather forecast with plenty of fish about!
Book in on the road from 1.15pm to 2.00pm fish from 3.00pm to 7.00pm if you need any more info call Steve Harvey on 07786 538103
Codling...( 6 March)
Here is a report from Martin Weeks...

"Caught this last night of the point at dungeness first proper cod I've ever caught
5th march 2014"
A point of view...( 6 March)

I had this email from Rafal...

"Hello,
I have been reading postes on DAA website for about a year or so. 
Few of my friends and I were down the dungeness several times in the past. 
However we had no much luck so we couldn't send you pictures or email before. 
I'm getting a bit concerned about the post on the 2nd of March from Kevin 
regarding polish anglers kicking the fish around the beach. 
I was just wondering how does Kevin know that they were polish?
For someone who is english, spanish or french would be hard to tell if someone 
is polish, czech, slovakian, russian, ukrainian, serbian, croatian, estonian, 
lithuenian etc. 
There is nice and friendly polish, angling society around bexhill, hastings and 
eastbourne. We have been going fishing for couple of years or so, mainly around 
sussex/kent coast. 
We respect other anglers, rules, regulations and what is most important natural 
environment. We keep the beach clean and treat fishes with care because it is in 
our interest to keep them healthy so we can all have fun when they get bigger. 
I would be very disappointed if this is done by polish anglers however all those 
times we went down the dungeness we didn't meet one. 
If there is anything we can do in the future to help please don't hesitate to 
contact me. Best regards, Rafal.

60% (or there about's) of my customers don't speak English as their first language...without them I wouldn't be in business! There are good and bad in all types....our role is to show some anglers a 'better way'...teaching by example...promoting angling...working with other users of the beach showing that we can all work together in partnership to protect our environment.

Better and better ( 4 March)
Simon Newman popped in this morning and gave me the good news that the codling are getting better (bigger)...up to 4lb being reported up around the 'point'...besides all the baby fish!

Having a good time ( 3 March)
Here is a report from Savio...
"Hi Tony,

We fished near the power station on Friday night into saturday morning and had lovely time fishing. We caught 8 different species of fish and while most were not very big and left to fight another day, there were a few takers.

The best moment was when I hauled in a lovely bass and a codling on the same cast. The bass just came under a kilo and 44cm in length and made a lovely dinner while the coding was released back. They were caught on straight lugs just before low tide.

Species: Whiting, Codling, Rockling, Dab, Plaice, Bass, Pouting, Dogfish

Thanks and regards, JJ & Savio"

Wow....( 2 March)
This was posted on facebook by Dave Hancock...copied from 'magic seaweed'
http://www.holidaysincornwall.com/worlds-biggest-waves-to-hit-monday-3rd-march-2014/

"Forget Bondi Beach or Hawaii – the biggest waves to be found anywhere on the planet tomorrow will be aiming themselves at Cornwall’s coastline.
The map from surf website Magic Seaweed shows that tomorrow morning nowhere in the world will have bigger swell than Cornwall.
The waves crashing into the South West will be higher than Hawaii and bigger than Bondai at that time.
The website expects swell of up to 33ft to hit Sennen in West Cornwall.
This is the second time this year that Cornwall will experience the largest waves in the world."
...I'm going to bed in my 'flotation suit'!
A sad story ( 2 March)
Here is a sad story from Kevin...
"hi toni just thought you may want to put this on your forum was at hythe last week on a Saturday 22nd feb watching the fishing as I had nothing to do whilst the beach was full of fisherman there seemed to be a few dog fish about I no these fish are like pouting to some fishermen and they can be a pain whilst there feeding. to my surprize I witnessed 5 polish fisherman catch a large dog fish rather than put it back they kicked it up beach then dug a hole in shingle and buried it alive rather than put it back being a fisherman myself I jumped off sea wall dug it up and said if you don't want it you barskets put it back I walked down to sea edge and put it back luckly I was so angry they let it go as they wernt sure about what I was going to do. yes I could of got beaten up by these thugs but wasn't going to let this go shame we don't have a fish monitor to check these venues out. yours sincerely kevin varn boat club."

Well Kevin I think all fish should be treated with respect (I like dogfish!), there is no excuse to torture fish...I feel guilty match fishing with fish in the bucket....but I can't explain some peoples behavior...but we have to 'teach' by example...but be careful don't put yourself at risk!

Another quiet day in paradise ( 1 March)
The beach has been a bit quiet today...in spite of glorious weather but reports coming in say we still have plenty of plump codling around 1lb, popping into the beach to say hello!

Leader of the pack ( 27 February)
Paul Belli yesterday spent time down at the 'kennels'...
Hello Tony,
Quick report on the lovely session i just fished. Arrived at 11am and fished the point side of the boats. Lots of dogfish. A nice codling, many small codling. Couple of nice dabs and 2 good flounder.
Fished until 5.... By when the wind had picked up... Definitely not t-shirt weather where i was.
Little bit weedy and fishing 2 rods meant i hardly sat down. At least the rockling were thin on the ground.
Lovely day to be out.
Cheers Paul
Ps. The new lifeboat was busy zooming up and down.... nice to know they're right there if anyone gets washed in.

Fun in the sun ( 26 February)
Paul Howells just popped the key back in after fishing the point, he said he had loads of dogfish some nice dabs and baby codling, he said it was so warm he fished all afternoon in a 'T' shirt...wow in February!

The writing is on the wall ( 26 February)
I had this email this Carrie...
"Hi first time messaging you we fish about 4 times a week putting in many hours and i read your site everyday we fish any where from Hythe to Camber but there is just nothing out there Fished Littlestone wall last night and this morning not much about 5small codling biggest about 1lb and loads of ling carrie & wayne"
...yes we have plenty of small fish about, the sea is very warm, it won't be long until we get more flounder and plaice!

The WDC...the results ( 24 February)
Here is what Simon Newman posted on facebook...he missed one person out! Thanks Simon for a great idea and all the work you have done to make this an unique event...

Tronixpro World Dab Fishing Championships 2014 THE RESULTS

Firstly a few very big thank you's.

George Cunningham and Tronixpro for the kind and generous sponsorship of the event

The Pilot Inn and all who sail in her for hosting.

Zziplex for a fantastic rod, and Chris Dance for building it for us.

Seagull Tackle and Micks Tackle for raffle prizes and one of Micks world famous bait pumps

Andy Molson for the rod and reel Junior prize

…..and everyone else who donated raffle prizes on the day. KH recruitment for £50 worth of tackle vouchers, Paul Fenech /Sea Angler for a cracking reel, the raffle mafia of Wayne Hill and Phil Hambrook who are now so intrinsic to the event, Gobby Welsh git Jason Davey for running the raffle, Stephen Harvey for looking after the weigh in and a big big hand to Steve and Kim Field for running the registration and results service. Anyone I’ve forgotten to mention, I most humbly apologise.

The very biggest thanks of all must go to the 147 anglers who fished on the day in what were “testing” conditions to say the very least. With long arms and shallow pockets, they donated a final tally of £3383 to the Dungeness RNLI, which I’m pretty sure tips the 4 year total to just over £20,000.

Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, I salute you all.

The Results:

Junior World Champion: Kane Wood Brignall 1 dab 4 oz

World Champion: Andy Molson ( AGAIN!!!!) 5 dabs 2lb 5oz

Runner up: Kevin Bowles 4 dabs 1lb 11oz

3rd Alex Veal 4 dabs 1lb 9oz

4th Roy Barker 1lb 3

5th Greg Dixon 15oz

6 Paul Gunner 14.5oz

7. Peter Bolton 14oz

8. Darren Mills 13.5oz

9. Scott Shadwick 11.5oz

10. Shaun Graham 10oz

Pools paid to 17th place (£30 paid down the field after 3rd). If anyone knows Peter Bolton, if he could get in touch with me please. I have his prize and £30 pools winnings.

Gentlemen, until next year, I am looking forward to not worrying about the weather for a while!

Tightest of lines, Simon Newman

The World Dab Championship ( 23 February)
Three of us fished Galloways today...bracing...

For us only rockling and whiting. I believe that around a 140+ fished...a really good turnout considering it was the reserve date with a forecast of southerly force 6 to 7 winds...I was told around thirteen weighed in, I will post the full results when I get them!

A fishy story...( 21 February)
Here is a report from Kevin concerning problems when skinning a dogfish, someone told years ago 'scald it' with boiling water first?...Iv'e seen Jerry Oiller ( Fairchance) skin a doggy in about a half a minute.

"Fished down by the boardwalk on Wednesday. Very busy with the sunshine coming out at last. Fished 3 hours before high and 1 hour after.

18 whiting (only 1 keeper), 1 dogfish (keeper), 1 codling (keeper) 4 rockling and 1 dab

I have only been fishing since last spring and was my first dogfish. I normally fish Winchelsea Beach as I live round the corner but thought i would give Dungeness a go. Anyway, back to the dogfish, after some advice, when I got home I skinned it. WOW, if I had known how hard it was i wouldn't have bothered. I think any more dogs will go straight back in unless you have any advice. I cut round the bottom of the head with a flap over the back of the head and then pulled hard.......... what a mess, the Mrs was not to pleased, Kevin"

As if we didn't know ( 21 February)
This is the met office rain map...as if we didn't know...most on Dungeness!!!

Fingers crossed ( 20 February)
Here is the latest from Simon Newman (Organiser) ...
"Tronixpro World Dab Fishing Championships Sunday 23rd Feb Dungeness....weather update: Saturday and Monday are ok, Sunday is looking very windy but dry. On the basis that any slippage with the forecast either way will be in our favour, the event is going ahead as planned. We will be very reluctant to cancel again as long as conditions are deemed fishable and safe. We suggest you keep an eye on the forecast for the next couple of days and pray for no deterioration in the current predictions. You will need to assess your own capabilities to decide whether or not you are competent to fish in potentially strong wind and rough conditions. Hopefully the conditions will improve, but do please keep an eye on the weather forecast. This is a weather site I generally trust for Dungeness:http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/tn299nw"

Don't Forget ( 20 February)
Here is a report from Steve Harvey (DAA Match Captain)
"The DAA members league due to be fished on the 23rd of february.... This match will go ahead however due to the Dab match there will be changes to the times .... The fishing will take place at THE SAME TIME as the the dab comp ...11-4 ... Booking in for both will take place at the pilot from 7.30 onwards ... If you can inform booking in team that you wish to fish both ... There will be no fee for the league match ... Its just about the points for this .. due to most people will be fishing both matches ... Just bring your buckets to the weigh in where there will be two sets of scales one of which will be for the league aswell ... So that your 25 cm dabs can be weighed seperately if you are fishing both .. but remember to keep all your sizeable fish if you are fishing both ... There maybe a pools for the league match of £2,just for the heaviest fish ... Any more info dont hesitate to contact me on 07786538103,tight lines for now"

Littlestone wall...underrated ( 18 February)
Here is another report from Paul Belli...
"Hello Tony,
Fished Littlestone again today from 12 until 3 over the high. A few others keeping me company for a change today.
Lots of small whiting and dabs, with two good sized dabs coming home.
At one point, within a ten minute period i reeled in 5 dogs. Didn't see one before or after this strange spell. They're surely not shoal fish. Must've been the perfect conditions just at that time for them.
No bass and only 1 small codling.
Light winds and only a few raindrops. Perfect day fitter me if not the fish ;)
Cheers Paul
Ps. I usually fish behind the boats but haven't heard any feedback for a few days now?"
We are still recovering from the storms with fewer anglers fishing...equals fewer reports!

A real mixed bag ( 17 February)
Just had this report in from Paul Belli...
"Hi Tony,

Just a quick report from my trip today. fished Littlestone from 11am till 4pm.

Lots of small whiting and many (10) small rockling. One small plaice, one large dab, 3 codling of no size and 2 schoolie bass.

Just before finishing I pulled out a very nice dab but upon inspection it had what looked like superating lumps by its head on its top and near its tail on its underside. Looked like bleeding warts ? What would that have been .. .some disease ? Wished I'd taken a photo with my phone now.

Good session , although the wind did pick up later on and being southerly i didnt escape it. I'll have to bother getting my big brolly out of the car next time.

Cheers, Paul"

A good day Paul, well done, you are right if you get a diseased fish send me a photo and I will copy it to the local IFCA for identification.

Plenty of water how about the fish ( 16 February)
I had this cracking picture on facebook taken by Ian Dawes today so much water lying around it could make Dungeness into an island...plenty of fish being reported...dabs and more dabs...

A bit of a blow ( 15 February)
Nick (no fear) Burton popped in this morning on his way back from Dengemarsh, showed me this photo...a bit wet...but it is still there...and it will be flat calm tomorrow!

Weather window? ( 15 February)
I had this email from George...

"Hi Tony,
I was just looking on your website and the BBC Weather site. Then I looked out 
if the window and just wondered was there a window Sunday morning. Was is 
possible that Mother Nature was going to allow a mornings fishing?? 
How did Dungeness fair in the storm, do you agree there us a weather window 
Sunday morning? Cheers George.

...Yes the weather looks good for tomorrow after weeks of little activity 
we have quite a few orders for the morning, so your not alone in your 
thinking.
The beach has been flattened in the west bay...but we have survived so 
far!

Yes it is spring? ( 14 February)
Well...I checked the sea temperatures yesterday 8 degrees the average for April! Here is a report from Wayne...

Hi Tony,

I met my fishing buddy at Dunge yesterday morning (4am) 'suspecting' a fish or two.

There was no rush to get set up, so i walked the LW line.....there was loads of shellfish....but only the odd worm today. Picked up few a queenies/razors for a 'change' bait.

Set up at 5am with a very basic 2hook flapper, hooks baited with a single black lug....(i picked up 25 score from the HW line on Tuesday).

Short casting was the order of the day, hoping there may be a Flounder moving in with the flooding tide....however Bass were also in the back of my mind.

My first take came quite quickly...and was very savage....i instantly thought BASS, and so it was.....2lb 8oz.

My buddy quickly added one of similar size, the it went quiet for ½hr.....then the Pins arrived...but not in great numbers.

At half tide the fun really started, with me getting a proper 'slam down', resulting in a bigger Bass at 4lb 2oz and my mate taking another 3 (all in 2-3lb bracket.)...we both missed a couple of takes too.

At HW the action stopped.

We decided to give it another 2 hrs, this accounted for 4 Dabs...a couple of Rockling and a small Plaice.

Would have expected more Dabs....very thin on the ground.

Packed up at 2pm...and apart from a bit of squally rain, it was a smashing days fishing....and great to actually be able to get out. Regards Wayne

Bass...( 13 February)

It pays to keep an eye on the weather, here is a report from Matt Barwick...
"Hi Tony

Thought i'd take advantage of the weather window this morning. Arrived behind the boats at 5.00 am looked perfect for bass. No bites till 7.00 am when the whiting came on. Looking for bass I moved behind the RNLI first cast nice bass 54cm

Regards Matt ( Tonbridge )"

The sea is still above 8 degrees...more like April!

Very Interesting...( 10 February)
I had this photo from Jeff he is asking for help in identifying what it is...any ideas?

Flat as your hat...( 9 February)
Here is a photo from Roy Godden he was down at Dengemarsh yesterday...totally flattened...

The sun is out...( 9 February)
Beautiful morning...but a touch breezy...here is the local shipping forecast from the met office...

24 hour forecast:

Wind: Southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10 at first, decreasing 5 or 6, becoming cyclonic 4 or 5 later.
Sea state: Very rough or high, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather: Squally showers, rain later.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Bad news...Dab World Championship ( 6 February)
This has this evening been posted on facebook by Simon Newman...

"World Dab Fishing Championships ..POSTPONED

Having taken all the many weather forecasts available into consideration, and despite being the eternal optimists that we are, we are sorry to announce that in the best interests of the participants, we have cancelled Sundays Tronixpro World Dab Fishing Championships. At best the beach will be a very unpleasant place to be on Sunday, at worst it could be down right dangerous.

The event will now be held in two weeks time, on Sunday 23rd February 2014. All the other details remain unchanged.

It is with great regret that we have taken this decision and we understand the inconvenience this may well cause, especially to those of you who have travel plans and accommodation and bait on order.

We now pray to a different weather God for fine weather on the 23rd (obviously we did not sacrifice enough whiting to our usual one), and we hope you can get a fishing pass to come and join us on the 23rd.

Tight lines and stay safe this weekend, Simon.
PS. I would appreciate it if all my fishy friends would share this to reach as many anglers as possible and if my media friends could perhaps duplicate this announcement on their web pages"

If there is a silver lining...the tide of the 23rd of February is far better ( Fishing low tide to high) this will give us more choice of fishing spots if the weather is still difficult! I feel sorry for Simon who has put so much hard work into organising this.

Lots more codling...and a few dabs ( 6 February)
Reports in today ...from those hardy anglers who gave it 'a go' this morning were more 'baby' codling...and good news a few dabs! I can't remember a time when so many baby codling were on the beach...might be something to do with the October weather?

Dab World Championships update ( 5 February)
This just came in from Simon Newman organiser of the DWC...

"Tronixpro World Dab Fishing Championships 2014 Weather update and contingency. Hi Dabbers.

As we can all see, the weather is not looking very promising for Sunday at the moment, however, it is still 4 days away and all we need is a nudge of high pressure and the Atlantic lows will miss us here in the SE and the event will be fisheable.

If the weather forces cancellation, the event will be postponed and will be held on Sunday 23rd Feb, same times and rules etc. A decision shall be made by the organising committee by 10am on Friday morning at the very latest and shall be announced here on Facebook and World Sea Fishing Forum.

We will not delay the decision until Friday if tomorrow the forecast looks beyond hope. Cheers for now, Simon. PS. AAaaaaaaaaaGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Fingers firmly crossed!!!

A little bit of surf ( 4 February)
I had this report in this evening from Paul Belli...
"Hi Tony,

Just thought I'd drop you a line. You told me Littlestone by the wall could be productive when i popped into the shop to buy some forceps. Well, I fished over the high tide from 12 until 4. Very windy but dry. Sea became rougher and rougher during the session.

I caught 5 bass, 2 of which were of a size for supper. 1 good sized Flounder. 1 small flounder. 2 small codling and numerous small whiting. No DABS though!!

Kept me busy all session. Very enjoyable but a little wind blasted - nearly fell asleep once in the safety of my car for the journey back to Rye. Cheers, Paul"

Size limits...do you measure up? ( 4 February)
I keep trying to remind myself that people take up sea fishing every day, we all have to start from the beginning, we all have to learn, none of us know it all...hopefully we all carry on learning and developing, fish size limits are part of this. In our area we have the 'Kent & Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority' (IFCA)who have responsibility for enforcing the byelaw's ( website...kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk). If you pop in I can give you a card with the fish sizes...

Loads of baby cod ( 4 February)
If you have been reading this blog for the last few weeks you will have seen the reports of 'hords' of baby codling being caught. I have no doubt they are right, cod goes in cycles and hopefully in a couple of years we will see the benefit! I had this report in from waqs...yes I know its Deal but its a nice photo of a 'baby' cod...Remember the legal take home size for codling is 35cms...
"Hi Tony 02/02/2014 my name is waqs,its the first time weve messaged you but we regularly read the daily reports!here i am with my fisher lady Naz on deal beach in kent! we are regular fishers in dungeness but this time we thought we would try deal. weather was beautiful,bit chilly but low winds.

we caught 22 whitlings 5 codlings and one rock fish,all decent sizes!!

had a brilliant day! "

It's the big one ( 3 February)
Here is a bit off facebook from the excitable Steve Harvey our DAA match captain...
"YAB-ADABA-DOO
This coming sunday 9th feb sees the return of the south of Englands most popular charity match ...yes folks THE World dab champs is nearly upon us and with the forecast improving everyday it should be a good day ... Dont forget you can have a breakfast at the pilot whilst booking in .. booking in from 7.30 a.m and fishing from 11-4 ... £10 to enter 100% of entry goes to the RNLI ... £5 optional pools which in previous years anglers finishing 30th have won themselves £30 .... Plus an absolutly fantastic raffel table which includes a zzipplex rod ... Each entrant gets free raffel tickets so if you think youre a Dab hand at catching Dabs come down to Dungeness and give it a go ... All DABS OVER 25 CM COUNT ... Hope to see loads of you there .. tight lines for now"

Jack's being dogged ( 2 February)
Here is a report from Jack fishing today...

"Hi tony
Fished just down from the boats today, thought I would practice for the dab comp 
next weekend! All I had was whiting, flounder and loads of dogfish! 
I do hope there are a few more dabs showing for next weekend otherwise we will 
have to have to call it the dogging championships!!!
Regards Jack Feaver"

Don't worry I have had reports of more dabs being caught from...oops I will tell you Monday!

The sun came out ( 2 February)
Dungeness, very busy today after after a very quiet week...not easy massive tide, weed and a strong tidal flow. One angler reported to me (because behind the boats was so busy) he fished Littlestone wall...getting fish every cast, whiting, codling, dogfish and dabs lovely fishing great conditions!

The quiet before the storm ( 31 January)
The few reports I have had or seen have been quite good, plenty of dogfish, whiting a few dabs and codling around 1 1/2lb...but the beaches are so quiet...so few reports. With the world dab championship coming up Sunday week then we will be fighting for places!...lets hope for a gap in the weather...this morning has been calm dry and warm!

Bye bye...( 30 January)
As the month comes to an end ( the wettest on record) we have the first of the really big tides of the year 8.3 metres at Dungeness with some interesting weather...Sunday looks good?

United Kingdom - Dungeness (wave: NWW3 50 km 30.1. 2014 06 UTC)

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Shingle movement & codlets ( 28 January)
Here is a email from Ted Gower...

"Hi Tony
My name is Ted and I used to drive regularly from Salisbury to fish Dungy 
although I now live north of Colchester but still a member of DAA. I read with 
interest the comments on your web site re the shingle extraction. It's not 
surprising that planning permission was granted as this application was 
submitted by an energy company. I would be interested what stance  the  RSPB 
take on this issue.We anglers are very often at odds with the RSPB and 
twitters(birds) but on this issue both of us should lobby EDF to continue to 
have access at all times. I believe that there are certain sites on our coast 
that need protection form large corporations and access remain unrestricted for 
all to enjoy
On the subject of these small codling being caught( I call them codlets) you are 
absolutely correct on the identification issue. I went fishing on Walton peir 
two days ago and caught over a dozen. Tony,they are all over the east coast 
right down to Sussex. like you I believe that this is natural cycle which occurs 
when the sea temperature is just right.It does bode well for the next two years 
where they should be 2 to 3 pounds after that,they then get decimated by the EU 
commercial fleets.
Keep up the good work tony and hope to see you at the world dab championships.
Regards Ted.

Just for the record Ted RSPB opposed the application which is joint between the EA & EDF our main area of concern is NE and the SAC (special area of conservation)...but that is another story!

I want to tell you a story ( 27 January)
Here is a report from Paul...'pin' whiting...tell me about it...

"Hi Tony

Not been fishing for a while had lots of work on and with the lack of Cod around I haven't really had the inclination or motivation to go. However last Saturday I pulled myself together and went fishing from 7am to 7pm. The weather was good and I was fishing where I wanted to be (boats) albeit the tides were small and I wasn't sure of how the tide would run. During the day there was little tide and very little action tbh. All the usual suspects showed up Whiting, Dabs, Dogfish, Rockling and the odd Pouting.

The fishing was very slow indeed, lots of Pin Whiting a few sizeable and the odd good Dab (7 X 25cm plus) but all in all the fishing wasn't up to much. I tried all day with 2 rods out at distance (120 to 130 yds) with 4/0s rigged for that elusive cod, and one in closer for Dabs.

As the day progressed and the tide began to Flood the weather, well the wind picked up too as did the tide. I have to say for such a small tide there was an awful lot of flood tide which gave me some hope that a Cod may show up. I fished with Fixed wire 8oz and these were being dragged. There was a little bit of weed but not a lot and no sign of MR Cod or Codling anywhere for the day.

I had fresh Blacks and Cuttlefish and old Blacks for the Dabs, I also tried a variety of tipping baits from shellfish, mackerel, sprat, sandeel and squid but made no significant difference. All the fish cam at a variety of distances from 30 to 120yds and no where seemed to be more prolific in catches. will try again hopefully when there is a break in the weather and a much calmer day.

only lost two sets of gear all day so it isn't very snaggy.

Regards Paul Hodges"

After two matches ( 27 January)
Here are full results from last night plus the league positions after 2 matches...

1st codling of the year ( 27 January)
Here is the report from last nights DAA match from our chairman Malcolm Jones...

"DAA match result Sunday, 26th January 2014 – Full Rover – 4-00 pm – 8-00 pm

1st Paul Gunner 2 fish 3 lb. 2 1/2 oz. Heaviest fish 1 lb. 14 oz. dogfish

2nd Steve Harvey 3 fish 2 lb. 1 oz.

3rd Martin Swinyard 1 fish 1 lb. 11 oz.

4th Nathan Elliott 5 fish 1 lb. 9 oz.

5th Richard Yates 4 fish 1 lb. 9 oz.

Dabs, dogfish, whiting and rockling weighed in. Blustery SW winds easing.

21 fished and 15 weighed in.

Full result to follow tonight."

The weather was very bad at first so five competitors re-located down to Littlestone wall...interestingly this supplied the top three places. As usual all I managed was 'pin' whiting...and a seven inch codling (my first of the year!) more were caught by Steve Field.

Is it a cod? ( 25 January)
Here is a report from Jose...
"Hi tony,

I fished Dungeness today but caught no codling, caught around 25 whiting though. at the time i thought they might be cod but they were all whiting. are you sure people aren't just mistaking the whiting for cod? how do you tell them apart? none of my fish had the single barbel under the mouth. but they did have gold colour markings?

best regards. Jose"

The easiest way to tell a cod is the chin barbel, but pouting have one to as do 'poor cod'...cod are usually mottled with a more distinctive lateral line, colours can very, whiting have a bigger eye and a 'slimmer' feel...but at first glance a big 'fat' whiting has fooled an experienced angler more than once!

Yes people could be confused, but every tide is different and baby codling can appear in large numbers...I give them a kiss and put them back.

Hot of the press ( 25 January)
I attended the planning meeting at KCC (Maidstone) yesterday to consider the application to restart shingle recycling at Dungeness, I spoke against the planning application on behalf of my local Town councils but it was passed with a large majority, here is a response from the DAA...

"Dear all,

I have been made aware that KCC yesterday granted planning permission to EDF Energy and the EA, with conditions, for further recycling of shingle from the Dungeness Borrow Pit. During the consultation period we asked for conditions to be placed on the application to ensure that anglers continued to have access to the foreshore during operations to remove the shingle via the haul road.

At present DAA have no further details of proposed commencement date and operational details but we will be closely monitoring the situation and keeping you suitably informed.

Shingle movement will now be added to the agenda for the AGM, Friday 21^st March 2014 @ 7.30 pm – venue Heysham Hall, Taylor Road, Lydd On Sea TN29 9PA

Regards, Malcolm Jones – DAA Chairman"

Very interesting ( 24 January)
I just opened this report from Nigel Grieve...
"Hi Tony, wondered whether you had any thoughts on the numbers of small codling this early in the year. Friends keep asking me "Why" as they have not experienced this before. I remember numbers further round the coast appearing around March and April and that would be generally our equivelant to a spring run of fish. As for the present numbers my thoughts are that due to the cold snap after Xmas last year this is the result of the Cod spawning much later by several months. If indeed this is the case why are they so small or is it simply the case of a shortage of food? One consolation is that with the disappearance of our cod stocks at the end of November(mystery) there are no shoals of Cod hovering up these precious juvenile fish. The big question now is will these huge numbers of juvenile fish return in October around the 2lb mark. If so happy times again. History in the past suggests it will happen depending on our South Westerly air flow. You may like to share these thoughts with your fellow anglers and see if they have any other ideas as to why we have this invasion. Regards Nigel."
A lot of people think that cod numbers go in cycles, I remember when the cod suddenly appeared about eight years ago, we had all these small codling being reported! The big question was...where did the parents come from? With all the whiting how did the eggs and fry survive?...all that said all cod do is eat and make little cod...so the fish follow the best food source...but great news!

As long as you enjoy yourself ( 23 January)
Here is an email from Bob on his away day...

"Hello Tony, my son and I plus two of his friends came in on Wednesday and 
bought some tackle, a rod and a couple reels. I would like to thank you for 
your help and advice. You did warn us that it might be very windy on the 
beach near the power station and to go to the boats instead, but we decided 
to go near the power station and after two hours of strong winds lashing 
rain into our faces and strong waves pushing our tackle back onto the beach, 
we took your advice and went over to the boats, where the wind was at our 
backs and less strong and within a couple of minutes we began to catch. It 
was all small Codling and between the four of us we caught 43 and my son 
James caught a nice rockling. So it turned into a pretty good day, thanks 
mate. Bob Pembroke Dagenham."

Same old...same old ( 23 January)
The reports coming are much the same this week...dabs, whiting, rockling and baby codling...but at least the weather has improved...here is a photo of Greatstone beach this morning...spring like!

Great for the future ( 20 January)
Here is a report from Bob Pembroke...lovely to hear it...

"Hi Tony, My son and I came in on Sunday and bought some traces and weights. 
We had an enjoyable day helped by the good weather. I caught three very very 
small codling and my son caught one rather small Dab and thirteen small 
codling. Although all the fish were small it was nice to get out onto the 
beaches this time of year, we are returning on Wednesday, this time we are 
hoping to pick up the small codlings bigger brothers. Cheers Bob"

Calm Sunday ( 18 January)
What a great forecast...a weather window, good for the VBC boat match and for a change we are spoilt for choice where to fish around Dungeness!

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Wet and wetter ( 17 January)
Not a very nice day...lots of rain (dryer tomorrow even better on Sunday) but the reports coming in from those keen anglers returning from behind the boats...whiting and dabs...no surprises!
Dinner for two ( 16 January)
Just had this email from Kevin Warden...all in the best possible taste...
"I fished behind the boats and caught 3 dabs of 25cm and a 32 cm whiting plus a rockling and pin whiting. My daughters shared the whiting for dinner! "It tastes like fish fingers"

Thanks Wayne ( 16 January)
Here is the bit concerning the Herne Bay Open at Dungeness on Sunday...

"Hi Tony,
Re Herne Bay match (Penn pts)..........book-in opposite The Pilot. from 
about 7.45am.
(Info source, HBAA website).
Regards Wayne

Dave's dabs ( 15 January)
Here is a report from Dave Wood-Brignall ...lovely dabs...

"Here are some of my better dabs caught on Saturday . The largest was 32cm , 31 & 
29 and weighed 13oz , 10oz and 9 oz . All caught on month old lug , rotten 
queenies , and manky cuttle."

Wayne's world ( 15 January)

I had this email from Wayne...great day...sounds like some pre-match practice...I will email Wayne for 'booking-in' details...sounds like it should be a good event...

"Hi Tony,

Had an early start at Dunge yesterday (14th), got there for 3.30am, the rain was lashing it down, but not to be dederred...i set up at the waters edge to get the last hour of the ebb. Sticky blacks, queen cockles and razor picked up on the beach last week.

With hardly any ebb flow i started to catch pin Whiting 3 at a time with a few Dabs for good measure. then as the tide turned, it went quiet for a while but by the time it was daylight the (small) fish were back. One hour before HW quite a bit of weed coming through, however the fish did get a bit bigger, with decent Whiting (to 35cm) and some 'dinner plate Dabs. After HW it all went quiet again.

I fished till 2.30 by which time i was having to cast to my maximum range to contact the fish.

Queenies were the best bait, accounting for most of the bigger fish.

It turned out a lovely sunny day and a few fish for the table....perfect.....thoroughly enjoyable.

Herne Bay Angling Association are holding a match at Dungeness on Sunday 19th.....9am - 2pm.... Its an open/rover and anyone can enter. £10 entry..... Flatfish Only.

42 anglers attended their last match....so could get busy down there specially as the weather forecast is looking good. Regards Wayne

PS I almost forgot.....i also had a small Codling too. LOL"

Feeling a bit peckish? ( 14 January)
Had this email this morning from these lads...I was speechless...

"Hi, We fished Sunday morning from 6.30 until 2.30 pm. We had a lot of small fish 
including one tiny codling. The best fish was a 2lb Bass, caught right on high 
water. The bait used was common lug. We also found a lot of rubbish on the 
beach, shame really. Did see a party of four anglers beside us catching small 
whiting and cooking them on the beach. Takes all sorts I suppose.
Kevin, Daryl and David."

Just to remind people that Dungeness is a National Nature Reserve and the rules say...no fires on the beach...as I always say take back all that you bring! Don't leave a trace that you have been there!

Cracking dab ( 14 January)

Just had this email from Chris ...I would have loved one of these Sunday night...

"Just a quickie, 
Thought we'd let you know, we fished greatstone late last week, plenty of dabs 
and whiting.
As you can see from this picture, ( hope it loads) the dabs were of exceptional 
size, this one weighed in at 1lb 1oz. A stonking fish caught on straight lug.
Happy New year! Chris Voller."

What a night ( 13 January)

This DAA match was posted on 'facebook' by our match captain Steve Harvey...
Hi folks....well....what a cracking start to the new members league season 20 anglers turned up in fairly cold and windy conditions to fish a rising tide.... Fish were fairly few and far between .. with dogs whits slugs and dabs weighed in
1st ....c.brenan 4lb +
2nd ....d wood brignall 2lb 10
3rd .....n.elliott 2lb 3
4th ......s lacey 1.13half
Heaviest fish dogfish of 1lb 9half
For the record 5th place went to mr f :)
Next match 26 jan 4-8 so if you want to get involved then all you need is to be a,member of the DAA tight lines
Just for the record 14 out of the 20 weighed in...sad to say I was plagued by pin whiting nothing sizable!...The best fishing was deeper water...challenging conditions...strange started off very cold and got warmer as the cloud built up.

Good and bad ( 12 January)
Here is a report posted on 'facebook' last night by Jovan Djumic...
"Just back home from fishing the point with some mates. 6 rods out and loads of whiting and dabs to keep us busy. I personally had my beachcaster set up with a 3 hook boom rig and a carp rod fishing live/dead whiting on a pennel. Both rods fished between 10-30 yards out but alas no bass. Did discover that a 2.5tc carp rod with a multi loaded with braid makes for a wonderful combination! Lastly sadly though I must say I'm thoroughly discussted with the group next to us who seem to think its ok to leave loads of s**t everywhere and dead fish dotted around the beach. F**king idiots need shooting"...I know its difficult but by example and through education we have to make anglers aware that every time they leave rubbish behind they damage us all...we have to change the mind set that good behavior and keeping the venue clean only applies to other people!!!

'Dabbin' around ( 10 January)
Here is a report from Kevin Warden...I think he was fishing Wednesday...
"Tony

We fished from 10 until 4pm. I caught a couple of dabs and about a dozen whiting, 3 keepers. There were a few people fishing, I saw plenty of dabs and whiting caught as well as a several dogfish. It was a beautiful day and I collected razor and cockles to freeze as bait. Kevin"

...yes the dogfish are moving back in and we are getting more reports of the odd flounder!

As for codling the reports are mostly small fish.

Signs of life ( 8 January)
A few anglers are starting to fish Dungeness again after being a bit quiet with the bad weather
one of our DAA members John Smith posted this on 'facebook'...
"Fished at the boards today had 1 codling st 20 cm. 5 dabs and loads pin. Whiting and slug." about par for the course...we should see more flounder soon in the catch reports.

A bit of a battering ( 7 January)
I popped down to Dengemarsh today...

It has had a real battering and the car park is full of shingle (but the road is OK) so be careful this weekend...with Sundays match and the weather calming down (flat seas!!!) ...it could be good for a few dabs?

The first of the year ( 7 January)
Just a reminder that the first DAA match of the year is this Sunday 12th January
book in on the EA road between 2.15pm and 3.00pm. fishing from 4pm to 8pm, its a 'rover' on a rising tide. If you need any more info contact Steve Harvey on 07786 538103.

Codling ( 5 January)
Malcolm Sargent just popped the key to the DAA gate back...fishing last night had a couple of codling (one sizeable) plus some doggies.

Greatstone beach ( 5 January)
This morning on the beach with the dogs...what a difference a day makes...

Rucksack lost ( 5 January)
I had a phone call this morning from Murat, he had left his rucksack outside the the Britannia pub last night...with his beach multipliers in it! If you find it please give the shop a call 01797 366837.
Not very nice...but ( 4 January)
The weather today has been horrible...squally winds and heavy showers...but wait what is this I see, a weather window...the forecast, lighter winds sunshine and no rain till Sunday evening!

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...and more bass ( 3 January)
Just had this email from Darryl Nicholas...nice fish...

"Early morning bass caught at low water in the dark on sand eel which were found 
on the beach.  Fishing behind the boats. 50 centimeters long and weighs 3lb 
10oz."

High Tide ( 3 January)
Here is a photo of Dengemarsh car park this morning at high tide ( thanks to Roy and Steve Harvey)...

More bass ( 3 January)
Customers coming in this morning (fishing last night) reported bass to 5lb with the usual bits & pieces...the surf has been immense when the squalls came through...but very mild? Better weather tomorrow.

Today's report ( 2 January)
With a break in the weather Dungeness was 'heaving'...catch reports coming in this afternoon have been whiting, dabs, flounder the odd dogfish and codling. Breezy again tomorrow...I thought we might see more bass, we will have to wait and see?

What a start to 2014 ( 1 January)
Here is the forecast...a better day tomorrow...a chance to dry out!

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Happy New Year ( 31 December)
The year ends very 'damp' at Dungeness but very mild!
To those guys fishing tonight I hope you finish the year on a high note.
Lets hope 2014 brings you some great fishing...and better weather!

Ending the year with a bass ( 31 December)
Just had this email from Andy...fishing tough conditions yesterday but it payed off...
"Hi tony .
After a tour of the point, Galloway's where we could hold the bottom with 8oz leads we decided to try Taylors road ,whiting and a 2lbs 44cm bass all on lug fished different locations from 18.00 to 00.30.
All the best for new year. Regards Andy Heslop

Great dabs ( 29 December)
Had this email from Darryl Nickolas what a great day...
"Just got back from a good days fishing from the point Dungeness. Plenty of large dabs biggest measuring 35 centimetres weighing 1.5lb. Also plenty of Chanel whiting biggest being 39 centimetres weighing 2lb. Being a very productive day ! Fish for dinner make a change from Turkey ."

Good news ( 29 December)
I had this report come in this morning on facebook from Matt...
"Hi bud fished beach last night plenty of whiting some over a lb plenty of dabs and 3 coddling biggest about 12oz. Best wishes matt"
Thanks for that Matt...the good news is that little codling soon grow into big codling!

Dab-in around ( 28 December)
The only reports from the beach today are some big dabs and whiting...no reports of codling...yet...or bass but we have a weather 'window' tomorrow and rising tides (8.1m!!! next weekend) and with all the 'blows' marching through I'm still hopeful of some more cod.

Reports in today ( 27 December)
Those few brave anglers who have been out 'dodging' the showers have reported mostly whiting, dabs the odd flounder, small bass and some small codling. With weather conditions easing over night and a calmer weekend forecasted lets see what the weekend brings...

More Christmas Reports ( 26 December)
Rob Perfitt send me this report on facebook today...

"Hi Tony,

Well we got down to the gate at about 7 Christmas day morning and ventured out to the back of the last boat (point end), set up base camp with a full day in mind and started fishing! The amount of razors and other ex-shellfish getting caught on the line, rigs and weights was unbelievable, the huge ball of hemp rope my friend caught got us excited for a few seconds as did the sheet of canvas I caught! After 3-4 hours the Cod showed up.............................. Well one did (see pic). We gave it a couple more hours and gave in, what with having issues holding bottom and all the bits and bobs getting in all the gear and the 3 broken eyes we had had enough!

Ive thrown in a couple of shots of the day. There were about 20 odd fishing down there today, even Christmas cant hold us back!"

Christmas day ( 26 December)
I got down the beach (behind the boats, bottom end) just 'pin' whiting...still plenty of shellfish washing in...all 'de-shelled' mostly 'sand gapers' and queen cockle?
customer came in this morning told me he had a 7lb bass from the same area yesterday!

Dengemarsh Heroes ( 25 December)
I hope you are all happy and having a great Christmas...just checked the emails and one from Derek Maplesden came in last night...

"Hi Tony yes me and my mate Vince tried     our luck only bass I'm afraid not 
complaining two keepers sham no cod/coddling merry Christmas 
Derek"

Fair play, it was looking very 'bassy' if you could hold out...it was seriously rough! Very heavy showers down here...still deciding if I can 'creep' down the beach before having a very late lunch?

Dengemarsh ( 24 December)
I 'popped' down to Dengemarsh this afternoon to see the damage after the last nights storm. The car park is full of shingle again and the crest has been flattened...but 'respect' to the two guys fishing by the 'container' down towards Galloways...Merry Christmas.

Yummy! ( 23 December)
Thanks for the photo Alex and the report...It makes me feel peckish...
"Hi Tony,

Pic attached of the mentioned shellfish washing in last night. Mountains of the stuff! Just Dabs & Whiting for me as well.

Filled my freezer with Queenies for the new DAA match season though....you never know, it could be the 'killer bait'! ;)

Happy Xmas. Alex

Merry Christmas to you Alex....you never know...flounders love queen cockle!

Shellfish? ( 23 December)
Here is a email in this morning from Shaun...

"hi tony..

fished back of boats last night, plenty of whiting and dabs but no cod..
as the tide started coming in we noticed literally hundreds of razors, clams, queens etc being washed up...
would that be our answer to no cod??

cheers Shaun."
No...the opposite with all that lovely bait washing in it will attract all the fish around about to gorge themselves on the 'freebies'. Always worth a go...pick up any cockles, razorfish or clams tie them on a pennel rig with a bit of lug and launch it back of the surf and hope you get lucky!...the only problem will be that the fish are spoilt for choice!

In Phil Tapp's memory ( 22 December)
This letter from me appeared in the local press this week...

In Memory

As the year comes to a close I look back over the past year...sadly in November 2013 Phil Tapp passed away, who was Phil, well Phil was a retired farm manager living at Lydd- on-Sea, Phil was a lifelong keen beach angler who loved fishing and loved Dungeness. Now Phil was a determined man some might say stubborn, but like so many of his generation he had a ‘never give up’ attitude to life...a dogged determination.

In 1998 the Coastguard decided to sell off the lookout tower at Dungeness, Phil and his friends of a certain age with mobility problems used to park alongside the tower to get easier access across the shingle to the beach for their fishing. The tower once sold, one of the first acts of the new owner was to dig up the hard standing to prevent anglers parking there. That could have been an end to it, but not for Phil he wanted to carry on fishing so he decided to approach the EA who controlled the shingle haul road to the point to get access to the point without the long walk.

So Phil formed the Dungeness Angling Association so that anglers could join the DAA and get easier access to the beach, he worked with Owen Leyshon of the Romney Marsh Countryside Project and with the consent of the EA to manage the gate.

After all the battles to get the DAA accepted we now have a respected association with over a 1000 membership that makes a major financial contribution to beach cleaning through the RMCP and Dungeness RNLI, with beach fishing at Dungeness now at a level not seen since its ‘hey day’ in the sixties, this is to the major benefit of the wider local economy.

So thanks Phil for your commitment, determination to make this happen, supported by your wife Maureen you have helped make Dungeness a better place, we will remember you.

Tony Hills

We wish you a merry Christmas ( 22 December)
If you think its windy down here...you have to feel sorry and concerned for those up north who have this early Christmas present...
Surface pressure chart - Forecast T+60 - Issued at: 0000 on Sun 22 Dec 2013

Surface pressure chart - Forecast T+60 - Issued at: 0000 on Sun 22 Dec 2013

Things are looking up ( 21 December)
With the strong south westerly winds this week giving us some really big waves it's not surprising that I have had three reports today of big cod being lost in the surf...for those who haven't had the lucky experience of big fish on the beach here are a few hints.

Don't rush or 'bully' the fish, keep your clutch slackened...use your finger on the spool.
Get close to the water so that you can 'clean' your shock leader knot of weed while your fish is still beyond the surf.
Let the fish swing down the tide so that you can get it parallel to the beach then let the waves roll the fish in...don't try and drag it through the undertow (as the water runs away) just hold it and wait for the next wave.
Years ago we used to carry gaffs, nowadays out of fashion...so watch the sea carefully and go in between the waves and get your finger under the gill plate and drag it up the beach.
Be careful no fish is worth going into the surf for...never under estimate the strength of those waves.
...and more codling ( 19 December)
Just had this email come in via facebook from Dan Sanger...
"just got home from denge marsh. had the beach to myself. also had 6 codling. nothing of any size though. 5 whiting 3dabs 1 flounder and 1rockling. a hell of a lot of weed too. and got the car stuck in shingle. big thanks to 2 well known locals for pushing me out. "
Well done Dan...it has been quiet with the weather but these south westerlies should push more fish onto the beach...the weed is a pain but it should work its way through...at least the 2 well known locals didn't charge you!

Yet more codling ( 19 December)
Nick (No Fear) Burton popped in this afternoon after fishing behind the boats...nice dabs and a two pound or so codling...according to Nick the beach is fishing better than the boats!

Warm and wet ( 18 December)
Here is a email from Andy...it came in last night so i guess he's talking about Monday in the wet...

"Hi tony we fished last night in terrible rain near the life boat 1 small codling 
and whiting from 19.00- 00.00 all fish fell to lug 
Regards Andy Heslop"

The wind from the west ( 17 December)
Yes the fish bite best...a couple of reports today of small codling being caught...not amazing but at least its going in the right direction.

The final positions ( 16 December)
Here are the final results and placings from Malcolm Jones the DAA chairman for 2013...
"First of all, congratulations again to Gavin for his win with over a 1000 points - impressive! As for runner up I checked and rechecked, then I thought, then I looked at the rule again, then I thought for a while to see if I could interpret it any different but it is as it is!!! Well done Steve and Tony but commiserations to Tony. For those that don't do rules it is - ' The lowest three matches, including matches not fished, will be discarded from the final results table at the end of the year'. Steve did not fish 2 matches and Tony only missed 1 match so he had to discard 2 blanks to Steve's 1 - hence the 5 points difference."

What a night ( 15 December)
Well that was tough...12 'hardy souls' fished the last DAA match of the year...won of course by Gavin Smith that catching machine and a stunning second place for Steve Harvey our match captain! Like a 'loon' I chose to fish the point in a gusting force eight with a two metre plus surf! Scary or what...my big baits failed and I blanked, you have to feel sorry for Steve Field who had an undersized cod...and bass!...he has had a tough year!
The only fished weighed in were dabs ( I think only five caught sizable fish) ...to rub salt into the wound...Steve Harvey could have pushed me into third place...we will let Malcolm 'statto' our chairman to sought out the points!

Enjoying Christmas down under ( 15 December)
Here is a email from Chris Dennis on his last trip to Dungeness before catching a flight down under..
"Hi Tony bit late, because our current immigration of Oz is manic. Me & my wife had our 1st but last coddy bash on dungy on the 26th Nov. Well planned for 2 lowtides, I wanted a cod to go with me santa hat. Fished the end of the walkway & very calm but nice colured sea. Put cuttlefish out & blacks at extreme range with live bait rigs all the go. Few anglers not catcjing much near us, but the cod gods were with us as always. 2LB 6 & 8LB 8 with big whiting aswell. Wicked session with my wife 12ish am till 9pm, so many good times at dungyvfrom 16 till 48 yr old. 21lb & 11lb in 2 casts kept me returning yearly LUVIT WE DO. Thanks for the memories Dungy tightlines you all, thanks Tony from Chris & Debbie Dennis we are off to catch mega fish in Oz now BIG BOYS."

Scores on the doors ( 13 December)
Reports coming in today are a bit of a mixed bag, whiting, dabs and rockling, I hope the wind will come to the rescue...with a strong south westerly airflow starting to 'kick-in' to give the water a bit of colour...time will tell?

DAA match ( 12 December)
This weekend we have the last DAA match of the year, here is a reminder on facebook from Steve Harvey the DAA match captain...
"Our final match of the year is on Saturday ... Booking in at the gate 5.15-6 fishing 7-11... Lets make it a good turn out ... But have no fear the new improved league starts in a months time :)"

Enjoy the day ( 11 December)
Here is a report from Phil Goodsell fishing yesterday...

"Hi Tony

First of all apologies for not having my card yesterday and thanks to your mate in the shop who helped me out.

Three of us fished the point from about 3.30pm to 6.30pm last evening. 3 different baits: squid, lug and whiting. No cod, a few whiting and dabs. One dab and one whiting taken home – both caught by John on lug.

Regards. Phil PS have now found my card."

Harking back to the 7th of December ( 10 December)
Here are a couple of photos from our 'mystery' anglers...

"Here are some photos Tony Regards Shirl"

A nice fish ( 10 December)

Here is a report from Steve Barry...a very nice and tasty dab...

"This was at 18.30 monday night at dungeness Regards Steve"

It's not Dungeness...but ( 10 December)

I was skimming through today's Angling Times and I saw this report...
Dave Jones landed a cracking 13lb 7oz bass using squid off Lepe beach (Southampton)...
"We were using live whiting but to no avail, so I pinched some friends' old bait which has been defrosted twice and within two minutes my rod was rattling like crazy"
So what I hear you say...when the going gets tough don't ignore the pulling power of an old big 'smelly' bait...just a thought?

A run of codling? ( 9 December)
I have had reports of some small codling coming out over the weekend including small fish 8oz upwards! These fish up to 5lb are to young to spawn so hopefully they will spend Christmas with us?...it all depends on the weather.

Nice night for Alex ( 8 December)
Here is a report from Alex Veel one of our DAA match heroes...
"Hi Tony,

Fished through Low and up and over High last night. No real flood tide until an hour before high which died about an hour after. Did manage the x1 Codling of 3lb 6oz at bang on high- water.

Some lovely fat Dabs showing as well, had a dbl shot both at 30cm on the livebait rig.

See you at the match next week.

Cheers Alex"

Fun in the sun ( 8 December)
Young Lee Waterhouse (14) fishing behind the the boats had this cracking cod in the sun at high water on lugworm...it went 10lb on my 'avon' scales...a beautiful well conditioned fish.

Yes...I have had a report of cod ( 7 December)
A very friendly local 'hotelier' has informed that a few cod were caught last night...one 'secret squirrel' had three to ten pounds and the other (a new resident to Lade) had a two pound codling...no photos to get us excited...but as I always say...you got to be in it...to win it!

Well that was exciting ( 6 December)

Went out last night to watch the tide cut through the sand dunes...like a knife through butter!

Catch reports today from last night...whiting and dabs and the odd codling to about 3 lb's.

Some good news ( 5 December)

I had this email from Ralph Sommerville on face book...

"Good morning Tony. Just to say that I did manage to find some cod on Tuesday evening. One over 7lb, one 2 1/2lb and one of about 5oz! Also missed one on live bait as both hooks were masked. There's some great fishing coming soon I think."

Thanks for that Ralph lets see what the 'weather' brings...

At Last...( 4 December)

Our DAA chairman Malcolm Jones has at last caught a 'coddy'....

This was posted on our members page on facebook...but no photo...

"Hurrah, first cod(ling) of the year for me! On the power station stretch today. Couple of dabs and some reasonably large whiting, all returned. Did not need my big blue bucket! It might improve on Friday after tomorrow's blow."

Very disturbing ( 4 December)

Men in black to the rescue...

"Hi there
Had my rear car window smashed with a stone while fishing behind the
power station. Nothing was taken and no sign of trying to steal
anything. I parked up at 1.30pm at the car park next to the power
station and got back to the car just before midnight. Power station
police came around when I arrived back at my car and provided a strong
police evidence bag and tape. They helped to tape up the window so I
could drive back to London. A big thank you to the officers involved,
they went far beyond the call of duty to help me out!
If anyone saw anything please let me know.
Fishing was ok, some good sized whiting and dab.
Best Joachim"

Please keep your eyes open and if you have a problem call the police and let me know.

Those were the days...( 4 December)

John Strange popped in this morning and while we were chatting John said he would email me the photo of the cod he had in 2010...so just for who have forgotten what a cod looks like here's the photo...

...with big tides and a bit of a blow tomorrow lets hope we see a few more cod about!

All gone a bit quiet...until... ( 3 December)

No cod reported to me over the weekend but loads of whiting and big dabs...a customer this morning told me that last night he retrieved a well 'chewed up' whiting...cod damage he thought? Well with these massive tides and a short blow from the west by south west on Thursday anything can happen...we will have to wait and see!

Looking good for 2014 ( 30 November)

Here is a 'facebook' update for 2014 from the DAA match captain Steve Harvey...

"Hi folks .. THE MEMBERS LEAGUE 2014
Because the league has had its best year so far ive decided to add a bit of a carrot to dangle for the 2014,league ... Instead of a hoody the league winner will now recieve £100 in tackle vouchers ... Runner up £50 and third place £30 plus minor prizes and a nice prize for heaviest fish of the year .....
The first few dates are as follows
Sunday 12,jan.......booking in 2.15-3 fish 4-8
Sunday. 26 jan ......booking in 2.15-3 fish 4-8
Please dont forget the world dab championships on 9th feb
Sunday 23,feb .......booking in 1.15-2 fish 3-7
Sunday 9 mar ........booking in 1.15-2 fish 3-7
Saturday 29 mar ....booking in 5.15-6 fish 7-11
Sunday 6 april.........booking in 1.15-2 fish 3-7
Saturday 26 april.....booking in 5.15-6 fish 7-11
Venues or rover to be confirmed later in december .... Im hoping to keep up the high attendances with a few extra so hopefully another good year is on the cards Id also like to thank you all for attending/helping throughout this year ... I think its been a very good league well attended and a good atmosphere between all involved .. lets hope it stays that way ... Tight lines for now"

Not everybody blanked last night ( 29 November)

Nigel (no surname to protect the innocent) popped in this morning to give me a photo of his cod. He had three fish in the early hours on lug and hermit (picked the crab up from the beach...wise man). The best fish he estimated about 9lb, one he threw back because it was ulcerated.

What a nice fish ( 28 November)

Thanks for the email Noel it all helps to keep people informed...

Hello Tony,
My report from Dungeness 24/25 th November.
We arrived at Dungeness At 23.40 pm.
We had a look around spoke to a chap fishing west of the walk way
gleaned some info from him so decided to fish straight of the end of
the boardwalk.
It took us a little while to set up the camp lanterns,shelters etc...
At 1 am i Decided it was time to start fishing,so cast my pennel live
bait rig out no more than 50yds,it wasn't long before it started to
rattle with a Whiting on the trace,great just what I wanted.
Well i didnt have to wait long no more than 10 minutes infact before I
received a Classic cod bite nod nod nod and then slack line.
Tightened down and cod on was the shout given to my mate.
it didnt take long untill I had beached my Prize a 16 lb cod all be it
a little skinny but very welcome.
Cant wait to go again. Kind Regards Noel Luck

Well done Andy ( 28 November)

A nice eating size Andy...

"Hi Tony fished of the point this am I caught a 8.5 lbs cod with whiteing live bait with a pennel dropper well chuffed. Regards Andy heslop

The real deal ( 27 November)

Thanks to Paul Belli for this email...

"Hello Tony
I fished back of the boats yesterday 26th from low to high water at 5pm. Caught 2 bass not of any great size but keepers. The larger one had a pin whiting in it's mouth, so it wasn't the lug but the live bait i had no idea i was using!.
Small Dabs and whiting and a small plaice along the way but no sign of any cod. I didn't notice any of my fellow anglers pulling any cod out either.
All the best Paul"

A flurry on the internet ( 26 November)

I'm getting reports off the internet some good cod being caught...but I have to say speaking to my customers I have had loads of whiting and dogfish reported over the last couple of days but no cod? So please you 'secret squirrels' out there if you have a catch report and photo...don't be shy!

The full result and DAA placings ( 26 November)

With one match to go (14 December) I think we can say that Gavin's won!!!

The DAA result from last night ( 24 November)

Here are the results of the match from Malcolm Jones our Chairman...

DAA match result Saturday, 23rd November 2013 – Full Rover – 7-00 pm – 11-00 pm

1st Gavin Smith 37 fish 22 lb. 4 1/2 oz. including 4 lb. 11 oz. cod

2nd Martin Swinyard 35 fish 16 lb. 1 oz.

3rd Paul Jarrett 29 fish 14 lb. 2 oz.

4th Tony Hills 11 fish 14 lb. 0 1/2 oz. Heaviest fish – Cod – 9 lb. 9 1/2 oz.

5th Steve Foster 21 fish 11 lb. 10 1/2 oz.

Whiting, dogfish, dabs and 3 cod/ codling weighed in.

12 fished and all weighed in.

Even I get lucky ( 24 November)

Here is a photo of my cod in the DAA competition last night, thanks to Alex...

...and here is the DAA cod team...

Great match last night ( 24 November)

Here is a email from the DAA match captain after last nights match...

"Hi folks ... Just a quick mention of last nights match ... Full result willl follow later
Amongst all the whiting there were 3 cod/codling caught .... Tony hills had the best fish with a cracking cod of 9lb 9 half oz .... Gavin smith had a codling of 4lb 11 and fozz had a 2lb 2 oz codling ... All caught from the lookout tower area around low water
The winner was gavin smith with 22lb 4half oz
Runner up martin swinyard 16lb 1oz
Heaviest fish t hills 9lb 9half oz a very enjoyable evenings fishing 12 fished"

Here is Gavin's cod...well done Gav!

DAA match tomorrow ( 22 November)

Can't wait...here is a reminder from Steve Harvey our match captain...here coddy...

"Hi folks tomorrows match is a rover but is over low water so it may get crowded on the point/boats area ... So we are getting the key to go behind the power station as a precaution ... If enough people want to fish there then those who want to fish the point area can do so and the others can go behind the powerstation so you have a choice ... Booking in will still be at the normal gate ... See you there(hopefully)"

What a cracker ( 22 November)

Chris has just popped in to show me his cod caught today, 2 fish the best being a 19lb...yes a nineteen pound cod caught from the beach! I weighed the fish on my 'Avon's' and with Chris's help the needle just flickered past the nineteen pound line!

It was a big fish...not rowed up so as we all think things are a bit late this year...will December be the new November? Thanks to Simon for the report and a cracking photo...roll on tomorrows match! Here's Simon's report...

"This is an 18lb 8oz cod, caught today at Dungeness, Kent. (1230, about an hour before HW)

The angler is Chris Radley Rod: Zziplex M4 EV Reel@ 7HT Line Sakuma

Rig: 5/0 pulley pennel baited with a lug and squid cocktail. The cod had a whiting also in it's mouth which was on the top hook of the pennel therefore we can safely say the cod ate the whiting!

Also attached is a picture of my much smaller (seemed decent at the time) 6lb 12oz cod caught on Wednesday night on half a cuttle and lug wrap just before low (no whiting were eaten in the capture of this one!). I also had a smaller codling of 3lb 10oz just as the flood started to run.

Chris said he would probably pop in to see you later."

Simon's picture is a bit further down the page ( 21 November)

A example to us all ( 22 November)

Here is an email from Fred Brown...

"Tony,

Just a quick Email to let you know how it went today. After picking up your excellent worms l decided to drop in behind the power station rather than my favourite mark by the boats (had nothing to do with the strong NE wind and heavy rain!!) 7 others there and it was a bite a chuck. No debris coming through and loads of colour. Probably had 30 fish all dabs and whiting but of a good size and great sport. 2 elderly men to my left asked me if it was always this good!!!

See you again soon my 2 whiting are nearly cooked Regards Fred"

Things are looking up ( 21 November)

Simon Newman ( of Casterways B+B fame) popped in this morning and told me he had two codling last night to about six pounds...good news...if I get a photo I will put it up.

One of his B+B guests told me that Simon's special anti whiting technique is to use a bloody big bait...on a 8/0 pennel!!!...respect...he only had two bites...both cod!

Well done Lily ( 21 November)

I had this email from Ian, a trip a couple of weeks ago...

"Lilly Wade late summer Bass 5lb last cast of the day!!!!

Dad looses again........nothing new then

Ian wade(dad) ps late in coming file lost on laptop Tony

Still whiting, whiting and more whiting ( 17 November)

Not much to report this weekend, some small cod (up to about 3lb) from around the point, but we have loads of whiting...and some big ones up to 3lb!!! Plenty of dabs and dogfish being reported, quite a few bass on the rising tides.

Not much to report ( 15 November)

Plenty of fish about...but not many codling reported...but lets see if these bigger tides help?

Results...at last ( 14 November)

Here are the results from the last DAA match on Sunday...only two to go!

...and behind the power station ( 11 November)

I had this email from Paul, didn't they do well...

"Tony, Many thanks for a great website, took my son fishing yesterday Sunday 
10/11/13 at the back of the power station in what could only be described as 
warm and calm afternoon, he cast out 20 yards with a single black and then wound 
this nice plump 6lb cod in after a bit of a tussle.
Dad did manage to winkle one out just before dark and high water albeit it was 
half the size of my boys.
You have my permission to publish the picture of my son Kieran (aged 8) on your 
web site if you so wish. Tight Lines. Paul Harper of Ashford

Just back from the match ( 10 November)

Just back from the DAA match...lovely evening...

loads of whiting, dabs and a few dogfish, nothing exciting, but it was fun, even my 6/0 pennels rigs didn't put the whiting...

Full results to follow...

Have you lost...please call ( 10 November)

I had an email from Elliot today...

"hi there i found a blackberry phone last night was wondering if it can be returned to the owner

i found it at the car park by the lighthouse if anybody reports it let me know thanks"

...you know the number!

It 'aint half' wet ( 9 November)

Well not surprising it has been a bit quiet today with the heavy rain, those hardy souls fishing have reported mostly...you guessed it whiting. Lets see what comes out tomorrow, we have a better forecast for the DAA match.

Slowly things are picking up ( 8 November)

I had this email from Mark Bell...I'm getting an increasing trickle of codling reports...it will be interesting to see how we get on (DAA match) on Sunday...

"Hi Tony,

Fished in front of the old coastguard station yesterday, 2 hours up 6 hours down. Estimate 90+ whiting caught by two of us, with just one dogfish. Lug, squid, mackerel, close in or banged out, small baits, huge baits, high tide or low tide, non-stop action. Saw one small codling caught that the guy returned. Mark"

...that's a lot of whiting!

The next best thing ( 7 November)

One of my regulars returned a key to the gate this afternoon...and I asked how did it go, he fished the point side of the four boats, lots of whiting fairly close in, a bit of weed further out...but he did see a cod around 6lb come out!

Whats new ( 6 November)

Reports coming in, whats being caught on the beach...whiting, flounder...whiting, bass...whiting, dogfish...whiting, dabs...and the odd codling!

Here is the latest on facebook from Steve Harvey DAA match captain...sounds great...

"THE MEMBERS LEAGUE 2014
Hi folks with this years league coming to an end plans have already started for the 2014,league which starts early January... Next years league will hopefully be our biggest one yet ... I'm happy to announce that the winner of the 2014 league will receive £100 in tackle vouchers with the runner up receiving £50 and third spot receiving £30 plus a couple of minor placings prizes ... Also there will be a biggest fish of the year prize ...the format will remain the same and so will the entry fee ... Just remember you gotta be in it to win it .... The first few dates will be available from here or the DAA website in the next couple of weeks ... Be sure to check them out tight lines for now"

Near miss ( 5 November)

Flood alert yesterday...spoke to the Rye harbour master yesterday and he told me they had a small surge at high tide yesterday .4 of a metre! Walking the dogs at Greatstone beach this morning you could see how much of the dunes had been cut away...like a knife through butter!

What a good day ( 3 November)

Just had this in from Marie Day...

"fished dungie today 2 bass 1 approx 3lb 2 flounders 1 about 1lb whiting in masses 2/3 per cast no size all to neat lug good sport but real pain"....I know what she means!

Flood alert ( 3 November)

Just had a automated phone call from the EA issued at 7.33pm of a flooding risk from Dungeness to Rye tomorrow morning over the high tide so those at Galloways and Dengemarsh be careful...don't get cut off.

Another alert for Littlestone to Dungeness issued at 7.40pm of over topping over the high tide period. I will get this put up on facebook so some of you guys might get a warning on your phones!... so be careful out there!

Wet, wet, wet ( 2 November)

It was not nice last night...respect...I hope Scott had a good set of waterproofs...

"Hello,

Fished Dungeness last night (1/11/13) in tough conditions. Along with lots of Whiting I managed to catch this 4lb 8oz Cod to whole squid and lugworm combo, well worth the hard work! Regards, Scott Down.

Whiting, whiting more whiting ( 1 November)

Here's a report from Dan Hayes...

"Hi tony me and my mate niño went fishing on the 29 oct 2013 fished by the boats 
and caught loads of fish all great size we had a dozen or so of dabs 65 whitting 
and a very nice size bass all on lug worm and washed up bate tipped with razor 
clams and queen cockles all washed up from the storm lovely weather will 
defiantly be going again soon  Regards Dan"

What a good start ( 31 October)

Here is a report from James Palfreyman, Its nice to hear of a young angler getting off to a good start...

"Fished behind lighthouse with my nephew Jamie on his first cod trip and managed 
to winkle these 2 out along with some big whiting, on lug and cuttle supplied by 
yourself, conditions were perfect hopefully this is the start of a decent run!!"

The bass are back ( 30 October)

Reports coming in today after the 'weather' on Monday are more bass (mostly small) being caught on a rising tide behind the boats...I had the odd bait cancellation because lugworm was washing up on the beach!!!...needless to say...loads of whiting.

No news...is no news ( 29 October)

Plenty of phone calls...after the blow...any cod reported...not yet, loads of big whiting and we should see more bass on the growing tides from low water up...as for the cod...just the odd fish...unless you know different?

Well that was breezy ( 28 October)

After the blow I wondered down to Dengemarsh...strange nobody was fishing, I had a look at the sea defence...the shingle bank...its a bit flat & a bit 'moth eaten', keep an eye on the weather for next weekend...big tides...the big question will this 'stir-up' bring a few cod in?

Clive was in the right spot...( 27 October)

Here is a report from Clive Smith...

"Hi tony I popped in your shop yesterday and kindly let me have 1&half score of 
lug which I put to good use by catching ten bass I fished opposite castaways 
with my son who helped to wind in one of the fish he was over the moon
Many thanks Clive"

Whiting, whiting and you guessed it...( 27 October)

Here are full match results from Malcolm...my 'big bait' for a bass (or cod) only caught whiting!!

It was good of Steve Harvey to have a minutes silence prior to weighing-in for the passing of Phil, if you want to know more about our DAA founder see below...

"DAA match result Saturday, 26th October 2013 – Full Rover – 7-00 pm – 11-00 pm

1st Simon Lacey 31 fish 13 lb. 13 1/2 oz.

2nd Alex Veel 28 fish 12 lb. 4 oz.

3rd Michael Smith 26 fish 11 lb. 11 oz.

4th Gavin Smith 21 fish 8 lb. 15 oz.

5th Steve Harvey 18 fish 8 lb. 6 oz.

Paul Ottoway Heaviest fish 12 oz. whiting

Whiting and dabs weighed in.

Fished in fresh SW wind.

17 fished and all weighed in.

One minutes silence at the weigh-in in memory of Phil Tapp, DAA Founder, who passed away that morning.

regards, Malcolm Jones DAA Chairman & Membership Secretary"

Sad news ( 27 October)

I heard yesterday that Phil Tapp had passed away...you might ask who was Phil Tapp, well Phil founded the Dungeness Angling Association (DAA).

In 1998 the Coastguard sold off the 'lookout tower' at Dungeness and the person that bought it promptly closed off the access and 'dug up' the hard standing to stop anglers parking to get easy access to the beach. Phil was a regular fisherman using that spot, like many of his fishing friends who were getting on a bit he had mobility problems and needed easy access to the beach.

Phil approached the EA workers on the shingle haul road to allow fishermen to park their car closer to the beach, they agreed as long as they didn't get in the way.

Phil went round the beach signing up members (I think I was number 7) and it grew quickly, I designed a club logo to give us an 'image', we worked with the Romney Marsh Countryside Project to control and manage beach access for fellow anglers.

The EA allowed us to put our padlock on the barrier to 'police' it, the original members were key holders.

There were major problems with damage and vandalism to the barrier leading it to be cut in half! But the EA came up 'trumps' and put a stronger barrier in (the one we have today). The shingle movement ceased in 2006 and has not yet restarted.

Membership has grown to over 1250 a year and all those anglers owe a debt to Phil, without his drive and vision angling at Dungeness would be a lot more restricted!

So thanks Phil for all your hard work and caring about natural justice...a true gentleman.

Interesting weather forecast ( 25 October)

The wind forecast is strengthening through the weekend culminating in gale force eleven on Monday...the good news is that the direction is south west , great for 'behind the boats' (wind on your back) but on Monday...six metre waves thats scary!

Reports from the beach...lots of small bass, lets hope the weather brings in a few codling,

Just a reminder ( 24 October)

Here is a reminder from Steve Harvey (DAA match captain) for the forth coming match...

"Hi folks... We have our next instalment of the best league in the land ... Forget the premier league .. we've got the members league ...
Saturday evening booking in at the gate 5.15-6
Fishing 7-11.... Its now the business end with 4,matches remaining .. can Gavin hold his nerve and see it out .... Or will the chasing pack of 4 or 5 anglers push him all the way to the end ... Its still all to play for ....last match we had 21,attend in less than ideal weather ... Hopefully get the same sort of numbers again and with the wind had been blowing south westerly all week there could be a few codling about ... Anyway hope to see you all there ... Tight lines for now"

Here coddy coddy ( 24 October)

Here's a report in from Simon Newman...

"Hi Tony

Team castaways was joined this week by Colin and Sally from Bournemouth. In "challenging" wind conditions at times they managed bass, whiting, dogfish and weaver!!!!!

I joined them for 3 hours down to low behind the boats last night and sneaked out my first codling of the season. Just over 2lb and caught on half an ammo cuttlefish wrapped with a couple of worms. Off out on the fair chance now hunting the little fellas grandpa and grandma. Cheers for now, Simon.

Its all a bit late ( 23 October)

It been a bit strange this year...sole were early...eels late as well as the main run of codling...but bass have been superb...here's a report just in from Ken Gifford...

"hi tony had a good 4 hours at littlestone
good size whiting some small bass and a nice eel [returned] ken&terry

The bass keep coming ( 22 October)

Plenty of bass being reported...along with this cracker caught by Saulius Privorius...

"Saturday I catch this nice 10 lbs sea bass next to the power station!"

I'm getting a lot of phone call concerning...you guessed it 'COD'...don'y worry they are out there just (check out the boat reports!)...it won't be long!

Wind = bass ( 21 October)

Here is an email from Jenny...

"Hi tony a friend of ours. His nickname is ' catcher', he caught lovely 7 pound 
bass at Dungeness on Sunday. Asked us to send u pic.
Regards. Mick and jenny"

Its warm out there...its bass ( 21 October)

Here is a great report from Matt...the enthusiasm shines through...

"Hi Tony had a good night on the bass last night. Got to the back of the boats for 6.30pm and managed to get a spot right on the edge of the tide. Nice surf rolling in and was not long before I pulled a nice plump 5lb bass , Shortly after had a lovely take and was pulling in fish number 2 but it came off gutted, Fished for a bit and thought it would be best to move down the beach in towards the bay and follow the surf. Parked by the pilot, tide was still out so had a coffee something to eat, walked down and tide had just reached shingle. Cast first rod out and was baiting up second rod and bang fish on this one around the 4lb mark. Baited both rods together and cast, only waited about 5 min then was into another this one was around 2lb. After that it went quiet for an hour then had 2 dogs and a couple small whiting. Packed up for the night drove back down to the boats and had a kip and was up at 5.00am for another shot at the bass had a couple of small tugs and a bass of around 1lb then decided to go home. All in all a great night and good fun. Matt..Tonbridge"

Its a mystery ( 20 October)

I had this email this evening but they didn't leave a name...just had another email its Jack

"Hi Tony, I fished near the lifeboats I caught a 3lb bass about 80 yards out on a pulley rig with lug, I also caught 2 dogfish, 8 whiting and 1lb flounder. I fished today 20th October"

Watch out for weever's ( 20 October)

Here is a email from Donatas about his unlucky experience...

"Hi Tony

Just wanted to say a very big thank you for help after the weever fish fin puncture into my finger (18/10/2013) (Hot water really takes off pain)

I want to share the photo the fish has caused me big pain .

We caught a few small flatfish and whiting . Donatas"

Be careful out there...carry a fishing towel or cloth to wrap around the fish whilst you get the hook out...my personal record is forty in one weird night at Dengemarsh! If you are not sure what a 'weever' looks like Donatas has sent a picture (below) of the offending fish...

Great photo...watch out for the gill covers as well as the dorsal fin!

South southwest ( 18 October)

The weather forecast this weekend is looking interesting...strong south by southwest winds with these spring tides should push some food and 'colour' into the surf...and maybe a few cod...they are out there (check out the boat reports)...lets see?

The latest DAA match results ( 16 October)

Sorry for the delay in putting these up...been away for a few days!

I know I failed again, I will have to try harder (...a cunning plan?) the surprise is that I'm still in second place...come on the Steve's...you will have to try harder...Paul's breathing down your necks!

What a load of rubbish ( 16 October)

Here is an email from my old friend David, volunteer beach cleaner ...

"Hi Tony

Seeing Waynes comment about litter, this little lot was left Saturday into Sunday in front of the Power Station, the bag of rubbish included 37 beer bottles and cans.

Cheers David Gower"

I'm not shocked...I'm not even surprised...just very disappointed that there are still so called fishermen out there who can treat Dungeness like a toilet and let us all down...this is a national nature reserve, are you surprised that the other users (RSPB, walkers, etc) think we are rubbish!

Back of the boats ( 16 October)

Here is an email from Jamie Pankhurst...

Hi Tony

Just wanted to say a very big thankyou for the bait on Saturday. We fished behind the boats (near Fair Chance) from low tide up (12ish on 12/10/2013), my mate Andrew had a schoolie bass on lug tipped with cuttle on a two hook flapper fished about 30 yards out in the surf, his first ever bass and only his second time sea fishing! I had a flounder at about the same distance on the same bait. We had two more savage takes which must have been small bass but never connected. It went quiet as the weather got better, sea cleared and tide came in. I’ll definitely be fishing this spot again on a rising tide in bass season! Jamie"

A nice day out ( 14 October)

I had this email from Qasim...

"Hi Tony,

Thanks for the great bait. We managed to get a nice spot behind the boats on Saturday and fished from the start of the flood around midday until low water around midnight. Started of a bit slow with the odd whiting but as the tide flooded the numbers went up and we also had some good size dog fish. We continued to fish hard and at one point had 7 rods in the water but only whiting was to be had except for one of my mates who was fishing for the first time on the beach and he landed a bass weighing a couple of pounds just 2 hours after high tide, it went safely back after some nice photos.

Overall it was a real fun session and the weather was great as well.

Best, Qasim

Plenty of fish for Wayne ( 14 October)

Here's a report from behind the boats...

"Hi Tony ive never posted before but felt the need as was disappointed how many fishermen who left the back of the boats sat night in such a state,empty plastic bottles and litter,no need for it,giving us a bad name,come on lads it aint hard bagging up and taking away,on a positive the fishing was great,i stayed later than most and as the tide turned in the early hours,4 nice bass,3 doggys,1 small codling,and mega amounts of whiting,kept me busy."

In the match last night I had a word with Chris the RMCP beach cleaner, he does a fantastic job (which DAA help fund) but Wayne is right we should clean up more and give Chris less work to do!

Not everybody wins ( 11 October)

I had a report from Ian concerning fishing in the gale yesterday...

"Hi Tony thanks for putting by the bait yesterday.....just to say I fished behind 
the power station catch report was the last half an hour before high tide was 
the only action I saw with four whiting on your lug. One catch the fish had a 
belly full of squid.
Thanks for the tip to go there as the wind was full on, yet again another boat 
close in and it was sitting there for three hours.
Back soon for more action. Kind regards Ian Florey"

It will be interesting to see how it will fish tomorrow in the weather window?

Just in ( 10 October)

Chatting to customers this evening who braved the weather up Dungeness today (it was flat calm behind the stations) plenty of whiting and dabs and a report of a 3 1/2lb codling.

Doing it for charity ( 10 October)

Here's an email on facebook from Alan Downes trying to raise sponsorship...

"hi m8 is there any chance of u sponsoring us 4 this 24 hour fishing charity event 4 cancer research uk all u have to do is click the link to donate plz ty"

http://www.justgiving.com/Alan-Downs2013

A DAA reminder ( 10 October)

Here is a reminder of the next DAA match from Steve Harvey...

"Next members league match
Sunday 13th oct booking in at the gate 2.15-3
Fishing 4-8"

Also the rest of the dates for the year...

"The last match dates of the year are as follows
Sun 13 oct....4-8
Sat. 26 oct....7-11
Sun. 10 nov...3-7
Sat. 23 nov....7-11
Sat.....14.dec...7-11
All of the above are rovers ....booking in times will be published the week before each match ....the presentation of the winners will take place on the first match of the 2014 league ... I thank you all for your co-operation"

What a forecast...it must be the cod season ( 8 October)

The wind is getting up tomorrow (gusting 36kts) then dropping on Friday to give a 'stir' up for the weekend...the odd bit is the wind is forcasted to start north west and then swing south east by Saturday and drop away by Sunday!

You have to tough it out ( 8 October)

Here is a report this morning from Paulo...

"Hi Tony
Lots and lots of weed in Dungeness.
Whiting up to the 120/140meters... loads of it! I had 5 big ones and over 30 returned. The farther we cast the bigger they are!
Excellent opportunity to train the pendulum cast though :) as the weather was fantastic. Best regards Paulo

Energetic Bass ( 6 October)

Had this encouraging email from Stooey Griffin...

"Had A nice Bass Friday morning , Big sea and weedy , nearly ripped the rod from the

Rest ., 6 Lbs 13 oz , Awesome."

Having a good time ( 5 October)

Here is an email from Stu...who's being enjoying himself...

"Hi tony just a quick message to say thank you for your advice this morning about giving denge a bash, the missus and I had a brilliant day the bait was suburb, plenty of bites all day, I managed a few whiting, the missus, what can I say, first time out and a bass over a pound, so there goes my peaceful fishing. Anyway again a big thank you. stu taylor"

It's in the net ( 5 October)

I had this email from Marie concerning nets close to the beach...

"fished dungeneess in day low water trawler came in yards beach to right side of blow hole dropped nets as motored back out thought blow hole was bass preservation area the 1st buoy was that close in to start with could have walked in and grabbed it is the a set distance for netting"

Sorry to say there is no ban on nets close to shore...you are not allowed to take bass or use sandeel for bait from a boat in the controlled area that is there to protect bass stocks.

If you think that commercial boats are fishing illegally call the Kent & Essex IFCA ( 01843 585310 ) try and get a photo and the boats registration number.

It's not all good news ( 5 October)

I had this email this morning...

"Hi Tony

Fished by the power station last night and didn't get a bite for 5 hours had some great bait and even peeler, Weed was a real problem but didn't affect bait on the bottom did try out far at around 150 yards and in close in, nothing the surf was great lovely swell and the wind light I didn't see a fish come out after 8PM along by the power station.One interesting thing was that a trawler came past at about 12.30pm and came from around the point and straight out alongside the power station, I am kidding you not he was only 250 to 400 yards out from shore. He definitely had a net out as you could see it trailing out the back. I am no expert but he could have been shrimping or something but don't think it did the fishing any good. Never mind was a lovely clear night and may try behind the boats next time."

...that's the way it goes, there is no guarantees, I don't think bait was the problem...but I am surprised that you weren't 'hammered' by the whiting once it got dark? As for the trawler...I don't know what he was fishing for but I think it was just one of those nights!

Wet...Wet...Wet ( 4 October)

Had this email from Tim Stretton...great fish...

"Hi Tony,
Fished the boats with Gary and managed to land two lovely Bass!
Great advice as usual, caught 20-30yds out on lug.
Got absolutely drenched on Thurs night in the thunder storm but it was worth it!
They weighed the next day at home after being cleaned 6 1/4lb and 5 1/4lb no idea what they weighed on the beach as i had no scales with me.
Regards, Tim."

Front page news...( 4 October)

Just had this email from Val Stephens...

"Bass caught today at Dungeness on Tonys brilliant lug!"

...very cryptic...nice picture, but where's the chips?

The hunter and the hunted ( 3 October)

Here is a report from Ravin...I know its not Dungeness...but it is a nice photo...

"Hi Tony. Here's a fab catch of a Bass using a live bait...It paid off.
This is what fishing is for me...the hunter gatherer. RAVIN.

The whiting are biting ( 3 October)

Just had the email in from our new DAA members...

"Hi Tony

Good to meet you in your shop yesterday afternoon when I joined DAA.

Thanks for your help and advice, also for the tapered shock and excellent looking tripod. A bit cheeky of me but would you be interested in my new ‘old’ one from Veals for £20 worth of gear – (cost me £30 and unused)?

John and I fished behind the boats (as I think you suggested) from about 4.30pm till 10.30pm when our bait ran out. About 50 whiting between us (one rod each with two hooks each rod). Kept four and returned the rest. John had a Dab later on (returned).

Once again thanks for being so friendly and helpful.

Phil and John"

I think its 'ebay' for you Phil?

Off we go again ( 2 October)

Mark Harvey popped in and showed me a photo of his catch from last night.

The codling weighed 5lb and the bass was 6lb. They were taken on the 'wooden walkway' an hour before high tide last night using lugworm on a three hook flapper rig armed with size 1/0 hooks....Mark also missed another 'slack liner' about the same time!

Wow what a bass ( 1 October)

I had a phone call from John Smith (the DAA Champion) who was fishing the Seabrook Competition at Hythe last night...He was fishing whiting livebait...and did it pay off!

He had a 9lb12 1/2 oz bass...I believe beating the old 'Seabrook' record by three pounds...

Well how was it for you? ( 30 September)

Here are the results from yesterdays match...I 'bombed' out on undersized whiting, time for a rethink...I can feel the 'Steves' breathing down my neck!...Well done to the new members Colm & Simon...great result.

DAA match result Sunday, 29th September 2013 – Dungeness Rover – 4-00 pm – 8-00 pm

1st Colm Brennan 19 fish 8 lb. 11 1/2 oz. Heaviest fish 1 lb. 7 oz. dogfish

2nd Simon Lacey 18 fish 8 lb. 0 oz.

3rd Cieron Bull 14 fish 6 lb. 14 oz.

4th Graham King 16 fish 5 lb. 14 oz.

5th Paul Gunner 14 fish 5 lb. 12 1/2 oz.

Whiting, dabs and dogfish weighed in.

Fished in fresh NE wind.

17 fished – 14 weighed in.

regards, Malcolm Jones DAA Chairman & Membership Secretary

Seagull Fishing Tackle Dungeness

Beach Catch Reports

If you get a good catch let me know, you can also send me your pictures! ARJHills@aol.com

24 hour forecast:

He had a 9lb12 1/2 oz bass...I believe beating the old 'Seabrook' record by three pounds...