Inn on the beach.Hayling Island bass

[gullyworm]

Not really sure where to post this ,i suppose here is as good as anywhere,

Ive only been fishing this mark for about 5 months now ,so i am by no meens an expert on it but in that short time ive had some excellent sessions here.

The inn on the beach is situated to the western end of Hayling, to the left there is a large car park that is free at this time of year were you can leave your car and walk all of 10 yards to your fishing spot.
The beach itself to the left is free of groins and runs foir about 1 mile past the fair ,past the coastguard and on to the east of Hayling where the groins start.
To the right of the inn the beach has groins,ive never fished there always opting for the clear west beach.
The beach to the right is made up of shingle and sand patches,it slopes gently dropping onto flat featureless sand showing on the biggest tides.

Baits here are very weather and time of year dependent.
At the time of writing slipper is the number one bait and has been for a few weeks now.
When the gales come from anywhere in the south they deposit thousands of slippers on the beach,with this mass of food come the Bass.
Most are small in size but for every 6-7 you will get a decent one and theres always bigger 5-6lbers turning up.
Dont be put off by those strong winds and rough seas ,this is when you must get out there,get yourself a bucket,gather some free bait and if needs be stand on the edge of the surf holding your rod,at times it can be hectic.
If you wait ontill that nice calm sunny sunday afternoon chances are the bass will have gone.
I m not really sure state of tide makes that much difference here,if its rough and the bait is on the beach the bass will be there.

Enough of when its rough.
When its calm the usual tactics and bait work here.
Pompey rigs or short snooded three hook flappers with size 4 hooks baited with worm tipped with macky or squid will pick most fish up.
Dabs,flounders,pout,eels,whiting and the ever present Shoal bass will all fall to this.
From my limited experience i wouldnt say its a big fish beach but the numbers and different species make up for this.
I m sure that the odd big bass do frequent this beach but there are better spots for targetting big bass.
As for snags ,there doesnt seem to be any ,just a very clean bottom.
Tide run is nothing great and a 5oz grip lead easily holds bottom.

Well thats how ive fished this beach in the last months,ive had some cracking sessions with some really large and varied numbers of fish caught.

I hope this helps and you get yourself down there for some good sport.
Remember January doesnt just have to be muddy horrible flounders on the south coast

PS Day or night for the bass.Night for the rest of them

[Rob M]

Great info John, I fished Hayling with Ben and Brett a couple of years ago, wish I knew then what you know now

Rob

[monkey nuts]

great little write up,
i remember fishing it years ago with my dad, if our boat trip was called off due to strong winds we would head on down to the sunny south and give hayling ago. we used to use limpet or hermet crab as bait . i do remember it was great fun and iv got to have ago again soon, another thing that sticks in my head was the old man pulling out a 8lb ish cod out on a 6 foot boat rod and multiplyer but it was about 10-15 years ago, not much chance of it now i know

[cuckoo]

Great info shared there john ,
well done mate ,
im gonna try there soon !!!!!!

lee.

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Who had a cleaver pill then John -- very good post mate thanks

[gullyworm]

Originally Posted by Fishing Forum Admin

Who had a cleaver pill then John -- very good post mate thanks

Cleaver pill

Is there a section on marks Richard?
I couldnt find it if there is.

Dont expect anymore long posts for a while ,my poor matelot brain is steaming

[maghouse]

I have fished this beach for a bit longer than GW but agree with all he has said - one of the Solents great marks IMHO.

There are 4 or 5 great marks on Hayling with the Inn-on-the-beach being one of the top for Bass.

Big bass certainly patrol this shore all along and you will get a biggy there if you stick at it.

December - February are the lean months (although the way the Bass are coming in currently you would not beleive it !) Whiting should show soon.
March/April will likely start producing Plaice ...
During the summer months, the beach does get busy with grockles but those calm warm balmy nights can make for some great fishing sessions.
Autumn fishes really well with Bass galore ....

I have heard of some Tope - now that would be a great night !

[maghouse]

Pics of the beach courtesy of Gullyworm !



The beach looking West - cant miss the Inn !



The beach looking East towards the funfair
.

[gullyworm]

Is that a gost stood next to my tripod?
Theres a strange misty thing
I m scared

[Ben]

good post mate, when are we going?