hurst

[trooper]

hello all, new to fishing and hope i could get a little or maybe a lot of advice from a few of you that have the experiance already, i am dying to get out in the next few weeks to the likes of hurst castle, ideally i would like to spend the best part of the day and the whole night there and hope some of you could answer a few questions for me so here goes

security, how safe is your vehicle likely to be all night as its a fair walk, is it a place where yobs gather at night ect ect (may get dropped there and then picked up if im lucky) am i right in thinking there is no charge for parking by the bridge that crosses over to the shingle

what types of fish would be around this time of year from what ive read not too much would be around but i am determined none the less, plus it gets me out the house for a night missus and kids are driving me loopy

how far should i be aiming to cast if i am fishing from this point (right side of castle as you are looking at the castle in between the rows of sleepers) i have seen a few older men fishing from here but didnt want to bother them and what size hooks would you suggest me using

have any of you spent that long there and if so what did you take with you (essentials) i have a quick fold up tent, small gas stove for tea and frying pan for a munch a lantern...

as for rods i have a cheap fixed spool beach caster a cheap boat rod also if i have been reading right some of you use carp rods is this right if so i have a friend who owns a few of these and would lend them to me if they were any use to me

bait, is there any bait there to be dug if so what, where and how, im not overly fussed about this one but would like to try if im going to be there for a bit and would certainly help me in the future i will probally take ragworm and mackeral with me how many rag would you suggest for that kind of time frame, i may hit weston to see if theres any crabs, rag limpets anything

i think thats it, i realise im asking a lot and any help would be greatly appricated,

[tonybolton]

I'm certainly no expert, but if you're new to fishing I'd be tempted to try some different marks before taking on Hurst Castle, the tide at Hurst can be an absolute bitch and to be honest I'd question whether the walk along the shingle is worth it, this time of year. If it were me I'd try a couple of marks where you can get your line in the water without too much grief, such as Eastney, Warsash or even good old Town Quay in Southampton, that said February is traditionally the poorest month of the year so most marks are a bit hit and miss at the moment. Good Luck wherever you go.

[trooper]

cheers tony for the reply
i realise its a bit of hit and miss nearly everywhere at the mo down this way but i got to get out none the less as for hurst i know its a good trek to the end but if its an all nighter i think its worth the hour struggle although i might not think that on the way back
to be honest just looking for somewhere half quiet so as to get a feel for it and not look to much of an idiot lol
i dont really expect to catch anything for the first few outings and well if i do bonus
just hope the weather gets a touch better for the end of the week but still think id end up going even if it was gale force winds, i got a pass from the missus and im gonna use it no matter what lol

PS. i replied about an hr ago and couldnt see it anywhere so posted reply again, dunno where its gone so if theres an identical post floating around out there sorry

[geejayy]

hi trooper,
big spring tides peaking this sun/mon at around midnight/midday,

winds are forcast approx 10 mph southerly which aint so bad. 25+ from the south or southwest will make the surf interesting to say the least

current wind conditions here-

http://www.weather-file.com/hurst/

current sea conditions here-

http://argus-data.wldelft.nl/argus/index.html

you'll have to select 2008 then milford- cam 5
this shows the beach from hordle across to hurst shingle bank.

good luck, that tide will rip through this week end.
personally with that tide i'd give it a miss.

[trooper]

cheers geejay
im looking to hit there thursday around mid day and stay untill friday mid dayish maybe bit longer, would that be better, i noticed theres no moon if i looked at the chart right, does that make it any better for fishing,i am just going through some of my gear now and trying to figure the least to take with me lol
i was also thinking about taking the two kids with me as there off school on those days but that idea soon went out of my head, so maybe take one of the dogs with me as there good as gold well the bitch is, where as the dog is into every thing so he'll definitly be staying at home

[geejayy]

thursday 6th,
high water 10am ish, the tides are going to be strong for the next 7 days or so,
but if your determined to fish this mark it will be difficult,

experience tells me that the flood tide will most likely be unfishable along the length of the bank, and the ebb unfishable up by the castle on the lighthouse side.
and vice versa.

[Gremlin]

Why don't you wait 3 weeks, pick a nice sunny day (!) and go to a user-friendly beach like Eastney or Hayling (or South Parade Pier) and have a better than even chance of a good plaice.

Daytime at the present is a waste of time on the usually productive marks and after dark there's only pout, pin whiting, schoolies, 'slugs' and sea scorpions.

Sizeable winter species are gone and spring/summer fish have yet to make an appearance.

Given nice weather at the beginning of March, there should be some nice plaice about. Return the thin ones though, as they will be 'spent' after spawning.

[Gremlin]

Like I said to 'Robafish' ... what more can I say???????

13.2.08 1-7-0 (just a 'babe')