READER STORY

After reports of good numbers of smoothhounds and some stingrays being caught on our local beaches in West Sussex, I decided to take my 12-year-old son Alfie for a Friday night fishing session near our home at

Bognor Regis.

With high water at 6.30pm, we headed to our venue at around 4.30pm. Both being keen to devote some time to targeting colossal stingrays, we soon had large ragworm baits deployed at various ranges. We sat back and stared at our rod tips and hoped for that elusive pull down. Unfortunately, high water came and went with nothing to show for it. The tide was dropping rapidly, which is normally the time to end the session.

However, in an effort to actually catch something, we decided to fish into darkness. Having each packed up one of the heavier set-ups, I got my Trabucco Supanova 4.7 out of the bag and Alfie opted for his Yuki Saiko A6. We were both fishing with 16lb braid, tapered leaders and two-hook flappers loaded with size 2 Saltwater Champions and single ragworm baits at around 60 yards.

As we wondered when our first fish would appear, Alfie’s rod slammed over. Jumping into action, he played what showed all the signs of being our first hound of the evening. With our headlights focused on the dirty inshore water, several minutes later we got the first sight of the hound’s fin as it travelled along the shoreline. As I grabbed its tail, a little voice from behind me cried out “Get in there” as he realised it was probably his personal best… and so it proved at 7lb.

Soon after releasing his fish, my Supanova bent forward and line stripped from the reel. After a spirited fight I landed a fish of around the same size. That was the signal to switch to size 3/0 up-and-over pulley rigs baited with squid. Sport was hectic from then on, with Alfie beating me by five fish to four. At 1am, we decided to give it one more cast.

Before we could retrieve our rigs, Alfie’s reel screamed as line was stripped from it. We made our way down to the shoreline with the youngster determined that he would land what appeared to be a much better fish. Five minutes later his line crossed in front of us as the fish made another bid for freedom, but a determined young man steered the large fin into where I was waiting to beach his prize. His face was a picture when I handed him his new personal best, a superb smoothhound weighing 13lb 2oz. As the happy 12-year-old carefully released the catch and watched it swim away into the darkness, we ended the session, but knew we’d return.

BACK FOR MORE

Still armed with a little bit of bait remaining from our previous night’s fun on the Sussex shingle, we decided to try again for the stingers. This time we were joined by my youngest lad, 10-year-old Freddie, who wanted a piece of the action.

Alfieandmeheadedoutfirst,withhisbrother and my wife following after we had decided on a venue, which would still be at Bognor.