Well, looks like the boat fishing trip is on tomorrow. Weather permitting I will meet up with Chris at the Titchmarsh Marina, Walton on the Naze at 08:30hrs tomorrow (Tues 30th)

I was up early this Monday morning and down the West End beach at 07:30hrs digging Lugworm. I got my first one, just as the grey light of dawn was breaking through. I had to be there early because low tide was at 06:11hrs so the tide was already coming in and I was not sure how long I would have before the tide chased me off. It was reeeaaally cold this morning (just above freezing) but only for the first 5 minutes or so. Once I had warmed up I felt no cold. The tide chased me off the beach about 08:40hrs which was longer than I expected. I had quite a flock of seagulls waiting for me to move from hole to hole. They were picking over the bits of worms that I either missed or didn’t want. I dug a nice batch of worms. See picture.

The forecast is for light winds from the east and about 3 degrees tomorrow. Must remember to wrap up warm. I hope there is no fog!

Sunday 28th
Well, that is Christmas over for another year. Too many mince pies and chocolate. I just can’t say no.
I got a brand new garden fork for Christmas. One of those heavy duty jobbies from B & Q. Just right for digging Lugworm and quite difficult to bend the tines on the odd rock or three that I always seem to find when digging.

I was going to give it ago today but the low tide was at 5.30am and daybreak was around 7.45am. I am not into digging by torch or flashlight so I dug some of the vegetable garden instead!
Took a quick tour down to the Ha’penny pier but the temp is only 3 degrees c with a 20mph stiff easterly breeze. Surprise surprise, there was no one fishing on the pier.

However, when I returned along the seafront at Barrack lane there was one brave soul trying his luck. See photo.
I asked him how he was doing and he hadn’t had a bite. He said that the sprats are running up the River Stour and the Cod where chasing them instead of taking his lugworm bait. I hope to go fishing on Tuesday in my Cousin Chris’s boat. Weather permitting of course.  Fingers crossed.

No time for fishing or digging Lugworm today of course. I am in charge of cooking the Christmas dinner. Roast Duck and all the trimmings. Maybe get to go fishing next week if I behave myself.

Had a quick meander down the beach today.  Plenty of Lugworm casts to see which is good for the next time I go digging.  The foreshore is a bit bleak this time of year. Even the beach chickens looked huddled up and miserable.

Most of today was spent Christmas grocery shopping with me as the primary Gopher. Still busy with the eBay stuff and this close to Christmas as well. I am not complaining though, far from it. My wife Judy is wrapping all of the Christmas presents. I only have to wrap hers! I am getting the better end of the deal.

It does not look as though I will be doing any fishing this week which is a shame. Maybe next week when the festivities have died down a bit. Bah Humbug.

I had a quick whiz round the town today whilst nipping down to the Post Office to send of another batch of eBay parcels.  It was truly a lovely day down at the beach. Almost low tide with hardly a ripple on the water. I took a couple of photos to prove it.

The Stone Pier is pictured along with the Ha’Penny Pier. The Stone Pier is not really a pier but a long breakwater which was built just after the Napoleonic wars to help calm the waters on the Harbour side. The elf n safety nutters at the council have put up a big sign telling people to keep off but I have been fishing on it since I was a nipper and no’ jobsworth’ from the council is going to stop me. If I get washed off the pier at high water then that is my own silly fault.

You can catch some really nice fish off it, mostly at the end. There are a few old lobster pots within casting distance at the end which can snag you if you are not careful. I say old because I have never seen anyone recover them (if they are indeed Lobster pots). They have never moved position, are covered in green weed and submerged at high water. Maybe some joker put them there to catch fishing tackle! I am not moaning honest. I am basically a happy soul!

So…. no fishing or Lugworm digging yet but I will get there as soon as I can.

Welcome to the shortest day. Now the nights will be drawing out again once more. Seems the older I get, the quicker the seasons change. Family birthdays kept me away from the beach today which is a shame because it is very mild at 12 degrees and with a south westerly breeze. I could have dug some nice Lugworm and had a few hours fishing on the Ha’penny pier. No long walks involved to get  there either as I can park about 50 metres away.

Ho hum, thats another weekend gone. Back to the day business of the self employed eBayer tomorrow!

No Fishing or worm digging now as Christmas is looming. 5 days and counting. We also have two family birthdays this weekend. My Wife’s Grandson James and her god niece Poppy.

I stopped off at the seafront today to gaze over the water to Felixstowe and took this nice picture. Not many folks visiting the beach at this time of year. We have a blue flag beach here in Harwich, England which we are rightly proud of. The blue flag is awarded to beaches that meet a high level of water quality and general facilities. When I was younger it would have awarded the ‘Brown flag’.

On the plus side, back then, there were a lot more Lobsters and Whelks to be found on the low water mark but now that the sewage treatment plants have all been improved there are no whelks to find and very few Lobsters. Funnily enough, there are now thousands of Oysters. Mostly the non native Pacific variety but some local ones can also be found.

This year also seems to be much better for Codling. This is the best fishing that I have seen for 30 years or so. Coincidentally the good old European (don’t get me started) commission have raised the Cod quota for Fishermen. I hope to get down to the beach soon after Christmas to dig some Lugworm and to give it a try fishing. I will fish off the end of the stone pier if the weather is kind. You can just see the stone pier in the distance, behind the Lighthouse!

I must say that I am a bit of a fair weather fisherman. It must be something to do with my age! I love to go fishing at this time of year for Whiting and Codling but I am not so keen on the near freezing temperatures. I went fishing on the local Ha’penny pier in Harwich a couple of weeks ago with my Daughter. We only managed to catch a small whiting between us but it was good fun anyway. I always try to dig some Lugworm for bait as this always seems to catch the fish. This time however all we had was some shrimps that we caught with a dip net in the local boating lake.

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