welcome to dymchurch angling club

After several weeks stuck on shore because of persistent Easterly's, 'Halcyon' crewed by Andrew Fisher and Paul Wealend at last managed to venture out to the inshore wrecks in search of bass. A fish which has proved to be somewhat elusive this year, possibly because of continuing problems with visibility caused by 'May water'.

However, as things were fairly slow. Andrew and Paul took the opportunity to try for a flatfish and tried a drift across, open ground in dymchurh bay. Previously this area had produced the odd plaice,caught by accident and they were keen to see if the species could be targeted. Within half an hour they had boated a large dab and one small plaice, both taken on fresh lugworm. Needless to say, they will be trying this again during the coming summer months.

Tim Knight also landed a fine pollock of nearly 9lb.

Getting a trip in this spring has been a case of snatching it when you can if there is a gap in the weather. As a result fishing activity has been pretty low but boats that have been getting afloat have found some good sport. Colin has been one of the few to find the thornies whilst Andrew has found a few smoothhounds, which provided a rod bending session!

Dave(who normally targets Goldfish) has made a recent return to boat angling! Wecome back pal... In his recent trips during February making the most of the settled weekends he and his fishing buddy Bill have found some good form with both decent size and quantities of cod. See below!

The Annual Dymchurch Cod Open was an excellent day for all with 32 boats attending. Please check out the Boat Comps pages for a full report.

The cod fishing is now in full swing with plenty of fish being caught from the Dungeness marks off Kerton Road. Most fish are in the 3-8lb range with a few better specimens being landed also. Please send any pictures of your catches to tim@dymchurch-angling.co.uk.

Fishing today on the Mid-Varne was very productive using live sandeels and freshly caught mackerel strips. A good variety of fish were caught including tub-gurnards, small bass, garfish, small codlings, turbot and a few cuttlefish which came in handy for winter cod baits! Heres a picture of a turbot I caught on live sandeel weighing in at just below 4lb. Sorry but no other pictures were taken on this day - if you have any please send them to tim@dymchurch-angling.co.uk.

During a break in the weather I got afloat last week with Tony Dean and his son Matt in Tonys boat 'Old Trout'. After a fruitless hour drifting some artificials over a local wreck we decided to drop anchor and have a try for an early cod or two. The sea was flat calm and with the tides on the make we had a lovely bit of tide too. Local reports of codling being caught from the beach gave us hope but we were a little disappointed with our first small codling which was returned alive. As the tide slackened a touch Matt had a promising looking bite which resulted in his first ever cod weighing in at 9lb 12oz! Another smaller codling was caught later but we were more than happy with Matts monster. Its a great sign for the coming season and if the weather plays ball expect some nice catches of cod in the coming weeks.

The weather this summer has been unseasonal to say the least. Hot spells have been few and far between and the windy periods seem to go on forever. Getting a trip in this summer has been a case of snatching it when you can if there is a gap in the weather. As a result fishing activity has been pretty low but boats that have been getting afloat have found some good sport.

Many boats opt to anchor the numerous wrecks this time of year in search of black bream, conger, bass, cod and pollack. Fishing this way can turn up just about anything and its not uncommon to pick up big specimens when fishing bream rigs with small baits.

Paul Wealand and Andrew Fisher (Halcyon) fished a local wreck and found some bream and pollack. Although the sample of fish was not the best even small bream give an excellent scrap on light tackle.

James Bateman and his dad Dave had a nice mixed bag of fish including bream, codling, pollack and plaice. The best bream of the day topped 3lb and shows the quality of fish that can be caught.

"Fifty-Fifty" also targetted the bream but only managed to find 6 fish amoung massive numbers of pouting. If fishing parts of the wreck that hold so many pouting the bream just don't get a chance because 3 hook rigs become "full" of pout in a matter of seconds.

"Fifty-Fifty" and "Kraken" had another go at the bream on a different wreck west of Dungeness. This trip proved far more successful with Derek Cripps, Frank Gallager and myself taking 23 bream for the session as well as a couple of decent sized (3-4lb) codlings and a few pollack. Dave Knight and Eric Betts aboard "Kraken" also caught bream but found greater numbers of pouts and small codlings. The small codlings were becoming a pest in the end for Dave and Eric but we never moan about too much cod!

Well thats about it for now, sorry for the delay in getting these reports up. Looking forward its only about 4-5 weeks before the first of the autumn cod will be showing on the usual grounds. If the latter part the last season is anything to go by we should be in for another good year.

Spring wrecking in full swing and good numbers of fish being caught (06.05.08)

Firstly I must apologise for the lack of reports and general web updates during the past couple of months. I have been quite busy doing one thing and another but must admit that this includes a fair bit of fishing! The fishing has been excellent with the codling still on the ground through till the end of February and into March. From March onwards boats have been targeting the wrecks and finding good numbers of fish keen to take the lures.

There has been a good showing of pollack this year, a fish that has been quite scarce in recent years and its good to see them again as they provide excellent sport. Some better specimens of 5-6lb have been caught along with good numbers of 2-4lb pound fish. There has also been the odd cod caught from the wrecks which is hardly surprising given the numbers seen during the late winter period.

The bass have also been feeding hard and good numbers of quality fish have been taken during the past month. This is really encouraging and it looks like 2008 will be a good year for them. At the time of writing the weather is nothing short of outstanding for the time of year so get out there and sample some of the quality fishing to be had off Dymchurch. Now for the pictures. These have been posted in the order in which they were taken with the most recent first - Tight Lines to all - hope to see you out there soon.

The cod fishing of Dungeness continues to provide excellent sport and "Fifty-Fifty" and "Kraken" to advantage of a settled spell to great among the fish before they move off the ground. The cod were still on the feed, although the action dropped off a bit with a very strong flood tide. Tim Knight aboard "Fifty-Fifty" caught a nice whiting that was bang on specimen size at 3lb. Its great to see such a fish and several other large whiting have been reported this year. Tim also had a 10lb 8oz cod and this was a welcome capture among the numbers of smaller codlings. Spring is fast approaching and boats will soon be looking to target other species on areas of rough ground and the wrecks.

Despite strong ENE winds the previous day the fishing off Dungeness continues to produce outstanding results. New member Tony Dean (welcome to the club mate) and Tim Knight got afloat in "Old Trout" along with Dave Knight and Eric Betts aboard "Kraken". It was a beautiful day to say the least with a slight sea becoming glassy and bright sunshine. The fish were in the mood for a feed and there was solid sport to be had all day. 34 codling for Tony and Tim is the best catch so far by a club boat, not a bad start for our new member. Heres a picture of new boat "Old Trout" and part of the catch. Its the first competition on Sunday so hopefully see you all there. Tight Lines.

It was good to see a nice turnout of boats this week and all had excellent fishing. The big tides did little to slow the fishing and more good bags of codling were taken by all boats. The majority of fish were in the usual 3-5lb bracket with the odd better specimen for good measure. Heres some pictures taking during the cracking weather we have had recently.

Del and Tim got 2 sessions in this week and both were pretty hectic. Their first trip on Tuesday produced 16 cod to 11lb. Most of the fish were in the 3-5lb bracket with just the one larger specimen. Taken on lug and squid baits the fish we caught all through the flood tide which was running nicely for most of the day. Fifty-Fifty also had a good day on Sunday catching 18 codling to 5lb. Lug and squid were catching the fish despite large quantities of sprats in the water. Most of the fish were "coughing" up sprats when bought aboard. Its great seeing the cod fishing so productive, and the numbers of 3-5lb codling is really encouraging to see. The next few years could see some of the best cod fishing for quite a while, long may it continue.

Del Cripps took Fifty-Fifty afloat on Sunday and found the big cod in the mood for a feed. After a slow start a small bite produced this cracking 22lb 7oz cod. This is the best fish caught by a club member this cod season and is also one of the biggest cod caught in the region as well - well done Delboy. He and his brother Carl added 2 smaller fish before calling it a day, well happy with the result. Heres a picture of Del on the beach and one of Carl holding the fish just after capture. Hopefully we may see some more fish of this quality in the next few weeks. Tight Lines for all in 2008, lets hope its a year to remember.

Tim Knight fished Littlestone beach on Boxing Day night during a big spring tide and moderate westerly breeze. He caught 6 codling upto 3lb 4oz on fresh and frozen lugworm baits. Most fish were caught at varrying ranges an hour either side of high water.

The cod fishing on the beaches local to Dymchurch is some say "the best for 20 years". There is certainly a good number being caught all along our part of the coast with most coming from popular locations such as beaches at Dungeness and Hythe and pier venues at Folkestone and Dover. Most fish are in the 2-3lb size range but better specimens into double figures have also been reported. In addition to the cod there are good numbers of dabs, whiting and also some bass willing to take the baits. So get out there guys and get among the action. Please remember to photograph your catches and send the pictures to tim@dymchurch-angling.co.uk.

Halcyon and Fifty-Fifty headed out for some cod after Sundays Cod Open was postponed. Del Cripps and Tim Knight caught 8 cod (off Dungeness), but all of the fish were small with only a handful of keepers. Andy Fisher and Steven Piper had try inshore, just a couple of miles from the slipway. They found a better stamp of fish and returned with 3 keepers to about 7lb.

Fifty-Fifty headed out to the Varne Bank to have a try for some turbot. Despite being quite late for targeting this species after a bit of persistence Del managed to connect with a small turbot of around 3lb. No other turbot were caught but they did manage a nice size tub gurnard before heading inshore off Folkestone. Fishing about a mile from the harbour they caught untold dogfish and a handful of small codlings.

A few boats got out this weekend with more good cod coming to the net. Despite the small tides and very little run Sid Homewood and his son (Dorado) had nice catch of cod up to 15lb whilst fishing near Dungeness. Andrew Fisher (Halcyon) fished a patch of rough ground and found some smoothhounds, which although not big provided some excellent sport. Mark Bostock (Predator) tried a few wrecks and caught a good variety of fish including bass, pollack, cod and tub gurnard.

The settled weather of late has continued to give cracking conditions for targeting the cod. The weekends weather combined reasonable tides have resulted in some good catches for the boats. Halcyon got out on the Saturday and caught 6 codling to around 6lb. 4 boats turned out on the Sunday (Fifty-Fifty, No Worries, Kraken and Bluefin) and all got amoungst the fish. The best of the day was a 15lb fish for Del Cripps. I am getting a steady stream of entries for the upcoming Cod Open so hopefully the weather will be kind on November 11th and we can look forward to good event.

Dorado, Fifty-Fifty and Kraken got afloat today for a bash at the cod. The weather was perfect and a few cod obliged as well. Fishing of Dungeness both Kraken and Fifty-Fifty caught 8 cod each with a couple of the fish in double figures. It's an encouraging start to this years season and it looks like it's going to be another cracking Cod Open. If you have not booked in yet send me an email and I will get an application form off to you.

Tim Knight and Del Cripps sneaked out midweek in search of conger and some late bream. After dropping a solitary eel and getting only a couple of bream, they spent the last hour trying for a cod off Dungeness. 3 fish were caught and hopefully this indicates the start of a promising season. The Cod Only Open is scheduled for the 11th November so send us email and we will get an application to you. Tight Lines.

Mark and his mate fished from the newly completed Predator and caught a 12lb bass in cracking condition. The deep bodied fish caught at anchor is the largest caught by a club member this year, well done lads. This time of year often throws up a few biggies and they are quite often caught on baits intended for the cod which should start showing in the next few weeks.

Andy Fisher and Paul Wealend managed to find some black bream to 1lb 8oz from a local wreck as well as a couple of reasonable size cod (5-6lb). Caught on small baits intended for the bream the cod were a welcome bonus and is an encouraging sign. They also caught a bass of 3-4lb and good numbers of the ever obliging lesser spotted dogfish.

The format of the Varne Boat Clubs annual Lifeboat Open was changed this year due to the poor number of entries. Only 8 boats entered the competition which was fished on the reserve date due to the continued unseansonal weather resulting in the original date being cancelled. 17 anglers fished for the 2 prizes of Best Specimen and Heaviest Fish. Despite good weather conditions fishing was generally poor with few fish being bought to the scales. Dymchurch entrant Fifty-Fifty (Derek Cripps and Tim Knight) took both prizes with a conger eel of 41lb taking the best specimen prize (136%) and a black bream of 2lb 4oz taking heaviest fish. Apologies for the lack of photos from this competition.

Its been a while since this page has been updated. The main reasons being the unseasonal weather and marginal fishing giving little to report. Sid and Andrew sneaked out on the first day of August and managed to find a few bream and a decent bass of 7lb. The fishing was hard but its encouraging to see some bream showing, a species which offers good sport on light tackle for the time they are present. The Lifeboat Open is being fished from the Varne at the weekend and I will report on the outcome (weather permitting) after the comp. Tight Lines.

The weather has been beautiful this week and boats with the opportunity to get in a mid week trip couldn't have asked for more. The may water is still present but not as thick as the weekend. Small tides resulted in very little run and the bass didn't seem to be interested in chasing a lure. Many of the inshore wrecks were netted pretty heavily so it may be a case of net dodging for the next few weeks to find a few fish. One wreck (without nets) provided some excellent pollack fishing with the fish hitting the lures very hard and giving excellent sport. Although most fish caught were not big they are good fun on light rods and a few better sized fish were also present.

The recent rough weather has finally eased off a bit and seems to have done the fishing a world of good. The may water is very thick in the bay but offshore the water clarity is far improved from what we had when the last report was written. Boats fishing the wrecks found a few bass hungry to take the lures with some nice specimens up to 8lb coming to the net (nice one Andy). Derek also managed a reasonable pollack. New members Mark and his mate fished some rough ground and caught skate and tope at anchor. Looks like things are hotting up a bit now so we are all looking forward to some good fishing in the weeks to come. Many thanks for the pictures from this weeks comp (cheers Paul, think you are now the official comp photographer!!), keep em coming.

A few boats got out for the competiton on Sunday. Fishing was poor and all boats struggled to find the fish. See the boat comps page for details. Here's a picture from Sundays luckiest angler Steve Savage who managed to hook this 6lb 10oz bass in the nether regions, hence it wasn't eligable for the comp! This is the best bass seen this year proving there are some better fish around to be caught. Another boat reported a catch of 15 bass to 6lb on Friday most of which were returned alive.

The weather for the Easter Bank Holiday was as good as we could have wished for with high pressure dominating giving light winds. However the fishing proved pretty difficult for those who got afloat and in general the results were poor. Boats which opted to fish baits struggled to find anything decent but one boat managed to find a thornback ray amongst the ever hungry dogfish. The East Roads mark was quiet and the codling seem to have moved on with only very small ones present.

Boats which opted to fish the wrecks had mixed success, mainly down to the poor water clarity in the bay, but clearer water further west at least turned up some fish. The some bass and pollack were caught but most fish were small. A number of small codling were keen to attack the lures and is an encouraging sign for future years. Hopefully the settled weather will continue and the water conditions will improve, along with the fishing. Please remember to email pictures of your latest catches.

The weather during February and March has been pretty bad and as a result there have been few opportunities to get amongst the fish. Boats which have been sneaking out during the calmer spells have found codling still present at Kerton Road and the East Roads marks. The mild winter may well herald an earlier than usual arrival of the spring and summer species and this was proved true when one boat caught 6 bass to 5lb and a few nice pollack on one wreck. Its an encouraging start and hopefully an indication that the bass fishing this year will be better than 2006 which saw fewer fish and mostly smaller specimens. Please remember to email with your latest fishing reports and pictures to enable me to keep this page right up to date.