new to saltwater fishing

[billytattoo]

hi guys im new to sea fishing , been a carp fisherman for 30 years and decided i needed a change. i went beach fishing at hayling island with a buddy of mine last week and am hooked , want to go to littlehampton area sometime this week, any one got any advice for me. will be most apreciated. many thanks

[scottish_and_mental]

welcome to the world of proper fishing fella
My advice would be to get some hermit or peeler crabs and head for Selsey or Pagham beaches mate..
Very good chance of a Smoothound over 10lb that will pull you along the shore
Closer to home try ragworm tipped with squid on a simple 3 hook rig for black bream during the day
Steve

[billytattoo]

thanks for that scottish, im going tomorrow to buy me some kit, maybe a starter kit any advice cos as i said im a complete newbie, regarding all aspects of sea fishing lol.

[scottish_and_mental]

happy days mate..gonna be doing a tuition sesh down Pompey way soon if not just fishing in general so if you want a lil help gimme a shout
Steve

with regards to kit its all about how much you wanna spend to avoid upgrading every 6 months

you should be able to pick up a 12-13ft beachcaster ( go for a 2 piece one ) and a coned fixed spool reel plus mainline ( 18lb for general shore work ) plus a spool of shockleader ( go for a spool of 'greased weasel' in 60lb orange ) for well under a ton ..you are gonna need a decent tripod too if you aint got one

[billytattoo]

sounds good to me steve, what would be best for me day or night first time out. considering i will be on my own

[scottish_and_mental]

best results are normally after dark but if you end up somewhere like Selseys west beach then you will still get bass and bream about but the crabs can be a pain in the ass..
look for the tide times - for example portsmouth high water today is 17.28 so you would be looking to fish from about half 3 until around half 7 ...deeper water venues and places like piers can be fished at all states of the tide but as a general rule you want to fish 2 hours either side of high tide ..
fish ragworm during the day and avoid baits like mackerel on the bottom - it will get robbed by spider crabs but if you wanna whack a float out you can use fresh mackerel in a small 3inch sliver for some great sport ..
Its a lot to take in but atleast you have the advantage ( or disadvantage ) of knowing the fishing basics all be it for puddle fishing !
Its a shame you are so far from chesil beach as there are mackerel about by the million and its a great way to catch lots of fish without hardly any effort or skill !

[billytattoo]

thanks for that steve, just to let you know my record carp is at 67lb 7oz, dont think i will better that so as you say gonna do some proper fishing . bill