SHORE ANGLER RODS BEND AT SELSEY
On the road for an undulate ray.
Even while battling through the traffic on the M27, which can be total madness and often resembles a giant car park, the adrenalin was still flowing as I headed to the east on a fishing road trip. For a change, I was travelling alone, although I would be meeting with Brendon Moon, Darren Dixon and his nine-year-old son Bradley at East Selsey, a venue that I had fished on a few occasions, mainly during the winter.
Quality bait is certainly one of the key elements in any successful road trip; it is never worth skimping. On route I stopped off at Allan’s Marine, in Portsmouth, to collect a variety of baits including large sandeels, squid, mackerel and ragworms.
With all my booty in the cool box, it was back behind the wheel for the final stage of the journey.
Locating the East Selsey section is pretty simple. As you enter the outskirts of Selsey there is a large roundabout with one of the turnings clearly signed for East Selsey. Our target area was directly in front of the skateboard park, where there is a large pay and display car park behind the favoured fishing section. It was the free roadside parking that grabbed my attention because it was only 200 metres from the fishing area.
TOP TACTICS
I arrived half-an-hour ahead of the rest of the lads, which gave me time to get my gear sorted. When out with the camera, I hate rushing around at the last minute.
Having fished East Selsey a few times in the past, I had a good idea how to tackle the venue, thanks to my previous sorties in the depths of winter when I had caught cod, dogfish and pouting. This time, I sought a different target species.
East Selsey is one of those venues that can produce almost anything. Even in the depths of winter you can land a codling on one cast and then 10 minutes later be battling with a hefty undulate, spotted or thornback ray.
A flood tide is favoured along this stretch, with most of the smaller species taken from between 10 and 40 yards, while cod, dogfish, rays and congers normally show between 40 and 70 yards. If you cast too far, you will snag the boat mornings, which are clearly visible.
There will be a moderate left to right tidal pull, which really kicks off about an hour before high water. Weed can also be a nuisance, especially on bigger tides, while marauding crabs might strip baits within minutes when they are present in numbers.
Avoid the really big tides, but 5oz-6oz grip weights will still be required when it pulls from left to right. This is not a casting venue, with the maximum cast needed being around 70 yards. Shorter casts will be a bonus.
This is a venue where a traditional line is recommended because it can be snaggy in places. I used Daiwa Sensor 18lb mainline, along with a 50lb shockleader tied with a bimini twist, which is my favourite when fishing over the semi-rough ground.
EARLY ACTION
Initially, I would be fishing at close range before switching over to the heavy gear once darkness had descended. While waiting for the others to arrive, I just flipped a light trace out 15 yards with two hooks baited with ragworms. I was caught completely off guard as the rod tip immediately showed signs of life. The interest turned out to be from a brace of corkwing wrasse, followed by a small ballan on my second cast, and then a school bass just as Bradley and Darren arrived.
Young Bradley couldn’t wait to get a bait in the water, and five minutes later he was beaming from ear to ear holding aloft a good ballan wrasse for this stretch of coastline, where a two-pounder would be considered an exceptional fish.
Talk about one keen youngster, Bradley certainly looks to have a great future within angling, and later in the evening he managed to land a small black bream.
While Bradley was showing us how it should be done, Brendon Moon arrived. Soon we were landing plenty of micro bream, corkwing and ballan wrasse, along with a fair number of schoolies, but it was Darren who was the first to get stuck into a better bream that took a squid bait on a size 2 hook.
With the light fading, it was my turn to get among the bream by beaching several reasonable fish, but not the real monsters that this venue can produce at times, especially in the warmer months.
IN THE DARK
As the final rays of sunlight were disappearing over the horizon it was time to up-tackle ready for the big fish, with both undulate rays and congers on the target list. I opted for a Pennell rig with size 3/0 hooks, while Brendon and Darren were using size 4/0 hooks along with big mackerel, Bluey or squids baits.
With the tide just starting to pull from left to right, we were hopeful of a few fish, and, minutes later, one of my rods started to show signs of life. The culprit turned out to be one of the biggest scad I had seen for a long time and it had managed to swallow a size 3/0 Pennell along with a big mackerel bait.
Shortly after landing the scad, Brendon was into his first fish. By the time I clambered over the groyne with the camera he was beaching a small strap conger. A tad smaller than expected, at least it was one target species nailed.
Darren, who was fishing in the next groyne with his lad, had already missed one good pulldown bite that looked very much like a ray.
I was thinking of calling time when Bradley came rushing over to tell me his dad was into a decent fish. After another dash (well, a waddle really) I arrived as Darren was playing tug of war with a hefty undulate ray as it entered the shallows. It was a cracking-looking fish, which had taken a large mackerel/Bluey combination presented on a size 4/0 Pennell.
After a few quick pictures, it was back in the sea where it sulked in the shallows for a couple of minutes before moving off.
What a way to finish a superb session with some great company. ■