WORTHING PIER ADVICE PLEASE

[sam-cox]

I heard off a good bass coming from the above last week.

I fished there as a boy a few times, but that was 23 years ago.

Can anyone tell me opening hours,(can one night fish) how much it costs to fish, and what else apart from bass can be caught in mid to late January.Could I catch pout for live bait?

This would be very much appreciated.

[Norm B]

sam-cox:

I heard off a good bass coming from the above last week.

I fished there as a boy a few times, but that was 23 years ago.

Can anyone tell me opening hours,(can one night fish) how much it costs to fish, and what else apart from bass can be caught in mid to late January.Could I catch pout for live bait?

This would be very much appreciated.

:cool: Ring Mike Perfect of Prime Angling on 01903 821594 for up to date info.

[sam-cox]

thank you m8

[A Norfolk Boy]

Sam, are you Essex based? Just that I know people have recently fished Southend (presume the pier) with size 12 (fishskin) lures for herring and then livebaited for bass.

[sam-cox]

Do tell me more, I caught bass to 7lb from Southend Pier last summer on livr mackeral, but havent heard of any bass comming from the pier on live herring.

Please tell me more....

[A Norfolk Boy]

This was from an article in the EDP today by 'Percy Trett'. He does a sort of observation on nature. He wrote of a conversation with a friend who, it transpires fishes live mackeral from Cromer Pier for bass. He is now to try for herring and bass when the conditions are right. This friend was at Southend and saw some people fishing, who were catching herring and had some in a bucket, then fishing them live for bass; they had caught two. He noted that it was unusual to take herring on a hook, indeed he thought they were having him on at first. They were using fish skin and small shrimp imitation lures. This is reported as having happened very recently. Obviously conditions would have to be right. I often see small inshore boats throwing nets for herring and they operate quite close in so they should be within casting range. As this is obviously unusual, then I would imagine few people try it if only to avoid ridicule, but there is no reason why it should not work. We're still getting bass as doubtless you are though the big ones have gone for the winter. Given that the cod are now chasing spratts, one never knows, though it does seem that you have a bit of a drought of them at the moment.

[sam-cox]

I have made a few call and it transpires that some thinking anglers were catching herring on fish skin fethers and using them live for bass. They were catching fish until they stopped in late November. They didnt stop because they had stopped catching fish, they stopped because it got to cold to fish in comfort.

[Graeme B]

There is no night fishing on the pier at Worthing. (some locals do climb on but that invariably leads to being asked to leave by the security patrols ) There is a nightclub at the end of the pier and clubbers are allowed on later but they pay at the entrance. Fishing by the way is free.

 

In the Summer the pier closes at 10 p.m. this time of year I believe it closes at 6 p.m.

 

There are occaisonal good bass taken all year but probably not a bass venue this time of the year. Later in the year the bass will show in larger numbers and can be taken on live smelt/wrasse. There has also been a good run of smuts the last few years once the crabs (especially the spiders ) start peeling.

 

This time of year it will mainly be flounders, jims and maybe channels. If the water is coloured there will probably be dogs as well. If I was travelling down this way I would probably head for the Marina at Brighton instead

[sam-cox]

The only time any kind of feather or luer will work is genrulaly when the waters clear, this means neap tides with very little wind. The problem is that bass fishing is often better when there has been a gale of wind, so catching the herring would be imposable if the water was coloured. Although pout could be used.

[A Norfolk Boy]

Same detail here, but this also applies to the summer with mackeral. I guess if there are herring around then the bass may be chasing them. I do reckon live pout would be worth a try. Might have to get up to Cromer at some point myself, when it's rougher there are some cod come from there and a small live pout or whiting might do the trick.