Kent Coast Pier Fishing - Deal Pier or Admiralty Pier, Dover or somewhere else?

[samhainapples]

Hello All,

 

New member and relative beginner to sea fishing - please be gentle!

 

I have a weekend away in Lyminge, Kent next week and hope to do some pier fishing. Heading down there Friday evening, so mainly looking for somewhere to fish late Friday night / early Saturday morning (but may also head out late Sat night / early Sunday morning).

 

Recommendations so far are:

 

1. Deal Pier; and

 

2. Admiralty Pier, Dover.

 

I understand both of these are open for fishing all-night / early morning Friday night through to Saturday mornings, but that tickets must be purchased at the piers on arrival.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Would you recommend anywhere else relatively nearby (30-40 miles from Lyminge) for late Friday night / early (dawn) Sat morning pier or equivalent (i.e. drop-off from promenade rather than beach-casting) over Deal or Admiralty Piers?

 

2. If not, which out of of Deal and Admiralty Piers would you recommend for this time of year and why?

 

Cheers in advance,

 

samhainapples

[JOHN.H]

Hi Sam , do not do a lot of sea fishing now ,but as a beginner you would be way out of your comfort zone on the Admiralty. Big tide runs and heavy gear required and I am sure someone else will tell you this .Deal pier would require a less practised technique i.e. not too much casting effort required. Small hooks size 1`s with worm bait for flatties , pouting and whiting Perhaps some kind soul can tell you about Folkestone pier( no knowledge myself) but it does produce flatties at this time of the year and if the water is coloured ,the chance of a dogfish to baits such as sandeel. Good luck.

[samhainapples]

Thanks very much for the informative reply, John - Deal Pier it is!

 

Have now got some lugworms and a mackerel in the freezer ready to take down (going to be heading there too early for local tackle shops being open).

 

I will also take your advice and sound out some locals about Folkestone Pier when at Deal.

 

Cheers again,

 

samhainapples.

[samhainapples]

Folkestone Pier actually looks like a real contender based on this site's review:

 

http://www.gofishing.co.uk/Sea-Angler/Section/wheretofish/England2/Kent/Folkestone-Pier-/

 

I have a further query about charges for pier fishing generally though - absolutely no problem paying them, but my situation is I am visiting the area and have limited opportunity / times to fish (late night and very early morning, i.e. midnight to about 6am).

 

Above site says of Folkestone Pier: "The wall is open day and night, but fishing is only available from the outside wall with tickets £4.50 a day from the local tackle shops before you enter the venue. The pier is regularly patrolled by a steward."

 

I will be arriving late Friday night after the tackle shops are all closed. Does this mean I just cannot fish Folkestone Pier late Friday night / early Sat morning because I cannot get an advance ticket in person as I am not there to do so? Or in reality can I just pay the steward when he comes around? Or do local tackle shops allow people to purchase a ticket in advance over the telephone then vouch for them and their advance ticket purchase if there's a problem later when they don't physically have a ticket?

 

(I realise I need to call Folkestone Pier and/or the Folkestone tackle shops with this query really, but they're all now closed and just venting in case anyone else has had similar experiences of this problem. I have called Deal Pier today and at this time of year it is only open Sat night / Sun morning for overnight fishing, hence I'm at loose end for Fri night / Sat morning).

 

If all else fails I will find some beach / rocks around the Folkestone area instead for Fri night / Sat morning, but having read the above link am quite keen to actually get on Folkestone Pier then if I can sort a ticket purchase in advance without actually being physically in Folkestone when the tackle shops are open.

[JOHN.H]

Hi Sam, can understand how frustrated you must feel . Try ringing the guy who runs Folkestone Angling Centre on 01303-253881 . He is a nice bloke who maybe able to help you out ,Hope this helps.

[samhainapples]

Thanks John - gave him a call and very helpful. Biggest development was he told me that Folkestone Pier is no longer open 24h on Fridays and Saturdays. Apparently there was some trouble/incident (nothing to do with anglers) by the railway station and as a result the Harbourmaster took the decision that the Pier is now only open 7am-5pm until further notice.

 

So that seems to have settled my options for me - will try some beach fishing at Rotunda Beach, Folkestone and maybe further along towards Sandgate instead on the Friday evening and then probably head to Deal Pier for Saturday evening / early Sunday morning.

 

Thanks again for all of your help!

[samhainapples]

Hi - trip came forward a bit! Just to update I ended up fishing Rotunda Beach, Folkestone the first night (no bites, but was useful practice to get familiar with the kit) and Sandgate Beach the second (lots of bites using black lugworm tipped with mackerel but no catches). In the end I gave Deal Pier a miss altogether as was advised the local sea anglers club tends to have lots of members fishing it on Friday and Sat nights and thought I'd be better off learning the basics and getting to know the kit without worrying about disrupting others' fishing.

 

Have since also fished Hove beach (some bites, no catches, very snaggy - lost four sets of tackle ) Shoreham Pier - caught 4 small rockling over about 3 hours (returned all). Great fun and really enjoyed it!