Catch Fish in the Thames Estuary: GRAYS WHARF 

Glad you enjoyed it @Bugsy Boy.

@@rodsangleuk6283 very good!

Couldn't reel her in.

Now that does not happen on Workington pier or Silloth Docks.

Can be productive there on the right day.

Many thanks for that @Basshole.

Many thanks for that Dave and glad to hear it.

Glad you like them! Thanks for saying that Lee.

Thanks for that Andy - I'll keep trying.

Glad you enjoyed it

Hi @naughtydorf18 - that's a good result from the pier in such a short time. I understand it can be OK for bass and the odd sole gets caught there too. I believe on occasions there's some mullet there as well. I've been on it several times, but have never fished it myself; so its on my 'buckert list' too! Thanks for watching and commenting.

Sad thing is couple days before I left for London, I fished my usual quay/dock on a lake near my house for an hour with not even a nibble. While I was at Erith pier, I saw scattered bread slices all over the ground so someone before me was after mullet. If I had live worms and an incoming tide, I would've done really well. I brought terminal tackle and a couple reels with me from the states and used the reels on cheap carp rods from Argos. Tidal current and the trash floating down made things tough but I fished a similar environment ( Savannah River in Savannah, Georgia) so the difficulties didn't bother me much and pyramid sinkers I had on me held bottom well and snag free compared to the fellow angler next to me who kept getting his wire sinkers (breakaways or geminis) caught in snags. Savannah river has harbor rubbish on the bottom too. Tried using left over bait under Tower Bridge. I became my own tourist attraction. A bobbie ended that session.

Ive had a mullet at thamesmead and ive seen a 6lb bass come out of erith pier

Thanks for sharing and watching Justin. The weed can still be a problem here!

Many thanks for that David.

Thanks, will do Andrew!

Many thanks @ggwildlife. Yes, those seem to be the best times for me at Grays - others will no doubt disagree!

@@rodsangleuk6283 i actually fish similar times at Putney Bridge it was just good to see someone else doing similar.

Many thanks for that @Sea&Carp Passion.

Thanks for that Simon.

Welcome aboard @RicTic66. Many thanks for your comments and subscribing. The soles are Dover Soles and I believe they breed in the Thames Estuary. I'm not aware of any venues where you can catch Lemon Soles from the beach - perhaps someone could let me know, if they regularly catch them.

Ha, i`m in the same boat as you! We all want what John has but we are trapped in London. I googled thames estuary and found this channel and i like it. I figured i can start some "local" fishing and sometimes go for further marks.

Yes Arfabiscuit - I missed out on that. I believe the black post is no longer there. I do fish Gravesend, but generally for soles - its not what it used to be though. Thanks for watching.

@@rodsangleuk6283 Great videos thank you

Yes, thanks for watching @Starfish Sea Fishing.

Nice one Simon.

Thanks for the info! A better range of species than at Southend and it has been very good to me in the past regarding soles.

Thanks for saying so John.

Thanks for that Stu. Also get them at Rainham and Erith, even further up stream.

A fellow Canvey bod!! Bet the fishing is better up that way than what its like down here now👍😄

@@kf8575 we islanders certainly get around 🤘it's different for sure. Bass in the winter and cod in the summer which is weird. More conger than snotties and I can see the bottom in twenty feet of water 😂 spurdog instead of tope, not so many rays and heaps of mackerel in the summer. I still miss the beach fishing in the winter though. Lug is a 25 mile drive away and difficult to get, rag is even further 😔 peelers are rare because I find more small brown crab than anything else which I don't like taking. I could go on... How's the fishing down there now? it's been ten + years for me.

@@stuart207 Has become a bit different from the shore tbh. Not as many decent Bass through the summer, and Cod, well theyve been renamed unicorns lol. Got to get through the plagues of whiting first though i guess lol On the other hand, since the DPworld port was built on the old Shell refinery site, and the river dredged again to get the ship in to it (some of which are absolutely enourmous!!) Its thrown up a few different species. From Canvey sea wall, near the football club my stepson and me, from June through to early September were catching half a dozen plus smoothhounds from the sea wall on a night tide, the biggest of which we weighed at 9lb 8oz! The look on his face was priceless he was jumping up and down so excited it was brilliant 👏 Hipefully it might become an annual thing rather than a one off? Also, been catching the odd thornbacks right along the island as long as got a bit of deepish water, not massive but a decent size. Had a small one last weekend so even now, theyre still around. If you can get out on a boat, in the summer there are still some big bass out in the estuary at certain marks especially around the towers. Also big hounds, and some monster Tope out between the big sandbanks on the outer part of the estuary. So all in all a bit of variety has definitely come this way. Beach fishing has taken a bit of a turn but on the right mark on a boat on the right day, can really have it off. Anyway take care up there bud, and happy fishing👍👍

Thanks for that Chris.

I've only recently started digging my own lug - mainly from Southend. I do dig in Seasalter, when I'm in that area at low tide. Hampton Bay is another good area and I will also dig at Grain when I'm next there at low water. I need to find somewhere that's good for rag. Thanks for watching Les.

Yes - it's on my very long to do list; but some of the walks are also very long as well! Thanks for watching and your suggestion.

Yes thanks for that Dave - I've not used it myself, but have been told it works whilst boat fishing; but I always thought that it was the slick of oil coming off the bait that attracted the fish. Maybe I should try it, if it puts off crabs, but not fish!

Dave Taylor thanks for that will give it a try ,

Many thanks for that Keith.

We should all appreciate the wildlife whilst fishing Shaun.

Good luck - might struggle lure fishing, since the water is coloured - but you never know and it's worth a try!

Will do at some point - its on the to do list!

Since the water is very coloured, its just as good in the day at Grays, distractions or not. Well done on your catch Ken - I have fished Chigborough a good few years back and used to fish the Maldon Canal (Chelmer / Blackwater Navigation) quite a bit in the past.

Good venue if you are there at the right time. Thanks for watching and commenting Ben.

Many thanks for that. I do all of the camera work and editing.

Not at all, @mud skipper. Thanks for watching and your comment.

Yes @nlo114 - a bad start often leads to more disasters - but you can always edit them out! Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching and commenting again Michael. Yes - I do need to figure out a better way of recording the voice overs - its not intentional and I am aware of the problem! I hope its not putting anyone off - need some training from a sound engineer!

@@rodsangleuk6283 It's not off putting it was just because i had headphones on i noticed it. Tight lines.

Hi - 50lb straight through works well, especially when there's plenty of floating weed - doesn't get caught on your leader knot - because no leader is needed! Yes - I sometimes use 100lb braid as a leader. Many thanks for watching and contributing.

Many thanks @gazellis1961. I use braid most of the time (all of the videos posted so far, I think!), unless there is a strong side wind, or when I'm expecting lots of tackle losses. Leader strength depends on what braid I'm using and the type of ground I'm fishing over. With 20lb braid, I'll use either 27lb or 34lb leader, over clean ground, scaling up to 40lb, if there are lots of snags - any heavier, I tend to get wind knots with fine braid (same goes with nannofil which I sometimes also use). With 30lb braid, I'll use 40lb, 50lb or 60lb leaders depending on where I'm fishing. I don't get on with tapered leaders.

Thank you sanjaya ae👍

Thanks for that Richard - the quiver / sling type rod bag is made by Greys. It's a good few years old, so I can't remember which tackle shop I got it from! Was very cheap. There are plenty around which are similar to this one.

@@rodsangleuk6283 thanks! Got 3 nice bream after trying Shoreham from watching one of you're vids. Thanks for the tips

Except at the top of the tide 170g can be enough, but you may need 210g. Off Canvey's Black Jetty we sometimes had to use 10oz grip leads to hold, but there your are in much deeper water and the main current.

@@rodsangleuk6283 just recently bought 7oz ounce of weight. Its not bad its holding ground under wanter. Only the thing is can fish take that 7oz weight when bite the bait? Or It’s going to be too heavy for them?

Thanks for watching AndaBoss. Yes - that happens in a lot of places I fish; a lot of anglers only fish the flood and pack up just after the top of the tide.

Yeah - I should zoom min to some of my fish to make them look bigger! Thanks for watching Julian.

@@rodsangleuk6283 I'm so glad you knew what I was talking about Rod lol 👍👍👍👍👍

Hi - I find it harder in these months unless the whiting arrive in large numbers, but you never know. Bass could still be there but you are less likely to catch soles. There is a chance of codling - but these are few and far between now.

You can fish whenever you like, but better to wait until the water is hitting the wall. I seem to only catch soles from half an hour before the top to about 2 hrs down.

I would have said Seaford! Video out tomorrow (18.06.20) is from a session there last week (Tidemills) - plenty of plaice. By all accounts Shoreham is fishing well. Thanks for watching.

rickY sanchez unlucky but keep trying, the big fish is waiting for you 😁😁

There's a few where you wont get disturbed by fish! Thames marks are not generally tranquil, unless you want a particularly long walk. It might be a bit further to travel, but if you want to catch and be in a nice peaceful location, you could try Frinton on the Tendring coastline or go south to Tidemills - my favourite get away from the crowds catching, as opposed to just fishing, venue.

Sole? That's a good catch Carla - was that at Southbourne?

RodsAngleUK yes on the boat 😁

There are still pollution events; but generally the tidal Thames has cleaned up a lot. Eels are coming back after a few years when they were thin on the ground and there has been some recovery in flounder numbers, but not as much as I would like. I think the days of catching salmon in the Thames are over and codling have disappeared in the last decade. Oyster beds have replaced mussel beds in Southend coinciding with small bass replacing small flatfish. Others probably more know more than me and may have a different perspective on the matter. Thanks for watching.

I bought mine years ago and I can't remember where! I've not seen one in a shop recently. Sorry I can't help here.

Haha Jason.

Difficult to get hold of nowadays - whenever I see them in shops, I stock up. I think the last ones I purchased were from West Bay.

Hi Tom - I go to Grays for the soles and they are rare in the winter, so tend to avoid fishing here then. However, some years there is a run of codling and you can still catch bass and of course whiting.

Thanks for the reply, I may give it a try. Been fishing the beaches along Southend of late without much success. Enjoying your videos thanks.

Not sure / can't really remember - so nothing really stands out! Probably a bass of about 4lb; though I've had codling from the OJ (when you used to be able to fish it), which might have gone bigger. The best sole I've had was about 1 1/5lb; though I've had 2lbers elsewhere.

There are minimum size limits for specific fish.

@@rodsangleuk6283 ok

Yeah, however, it was too early in the session for bites, so could have been worse.

Thanks for watching Alex. Are you fishing the right places?

Oh the perils of recording your fishing sessions! Thanks for watching @colintraveller.

There can be plenty of whiting there - I tend not to fish Grays after September - although in the past there used to be codling runs. Thanks for watching and commenting Lee.

Thanks for that Les - great info.

Essex girl Paul - they all are.

@@rodsangleuk6283 i used to live in southend know what you mean

So true, Gary. Thanks for watching.

No problem, I understand - apparently some people don't like marmite!