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Please send in a report if you've fished any of these marks lately
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If you've got any photos of any of these marks please 
them to me, thanks.
The beach it self is mainly gravel/mud with an abundance of crustaceans and quite shallow with a few larger rocks and tyres, but snags shouldn't be a problem. In summer the water comes alive with shoal Bass, little Black-Bream, the odd larger Bass and some Smoothhounds though seldom above 8-9lb. There is a spit which creates a sheltered lagoon which, in the summer months has lots of Mullet, Eels and a few larger Bass. Come winter you can fish on the reverse of the spit onto mud for flounders with variable success, and likewise from the beach itself. Top baits here are usually Rag/Squid mixes although rag on its own often works well, if you are targeting Smoothounds then Hermit Crab is the best. See below for the latest reports.
28/08/07 : Tom (tomjbrain) caught a 2lb 10oz Mullet between 7 and 8.30 using bread crust and flake for bait, he says "Fished from the Hamble jetty, not very hard to hook, took two pieces of bread off the hook before finally hooking, used light fly tackle and 6lb line."
11/08/07 : Jamie caught 2 Bass to 3lb during the day using Plugs, he says "Fished the lagoon, weed was a problem, managed 2 Bass one about 3lb and gave a good account of itself and another of about 1lb,both fish came within 10 minutes of each other."
20/05/07 : Alex (alex100a) and Chris caught a Bass and a small Pollack during the day using various lures, they say "Fished around Hamble entrance from LW up for a few hours and had a nice Bass which I reckon was just over the size limit but went back to fight another day, also had a small Pollack. Moved further up river later on and although we saw plenty of fish move/jump/swirl could not tempt any with the lures. Overall a good day especially as it was our first spinning trip."
05/05/07 : Aaron only managed to catch a 4" Bass during the day using Mackerel, Slipper Limpet, Ragworm, Peeler Crab, Squid and Cockle 'tippets' for bait, he says "Nothing! Useless, the baby Bass was caught on a spinner in the lagoon!"
01/05/07 : Chris (ChrisM) didn't catch anything at night using Ragworm, Mackerel, Squid and Peeler Crab for bait, he says "Very poor nights' fishing, arrived at 10pm and fished 'til 2.30am, HT 12, only had a couple of small knocks on the rod all night."
16/05/08 : Mike caught 3 small Smoothhounds in the evening using Peeler Crabs for bait, he says "Very quite until high tide then caught the smuts, got snipped off twice by spider crabs."
05/01/08 : John (joc128) and Graham caught 3 Bass and 2 Rockling at night using Ragworm, Squid and 'bluey' for bait, he says "Graham caught all between 19.00hrs-21.30hrs on 'rag', high tide was 21.06hrs. All fish well undersize and released safe and well."
18/02/07 : Dave, Ian and The South Coast Rock Hoppers caught 19 Flounder during the day from Rolling Mills using Ragworm for bait, they say "Fished from 9am to 3pm, busy most of the day, Dave weighed in 5 while Ian weighed in 4."
18/02/07 : Martin and Jack caught a 4lb 15 1/2oz Bass during the day from Rolling Mills using Ragworm for bait, they say "Jack caught the nice Bass on his first cast of his comp' on a size 1/0 hook."
20/11/06 : Mike (sparse_fisher) didn't catch anything during the day using Ragworm, Mackerel and Squid for bait, he says "Fished by Southampton Sailing club, 10am to 1500, high water 1015. Used predominantly Rag, .not a bite all day, and not much else being caught by others either!"
19/08/08 : MG and Dave the Raver caught a Smoothhound, 6 Pout and a Spider Crab at night using Ragworm, Squid and Crab for bait, they say "An ok trip but the hound could been a better size."
29/06/08 : MG caught a Bass and 2 Pout in the morning using Ragworm for bait, he says "It was ok early at 4 am but by about 6am the weed started to come down river."
08/06/08 : MG caught a 4lb Carp in the evening using a spinner, he says "Yeah I know hard to believe but I really did catch a carp weighing 4 pound off Eling, it put up good fight!"
15/05/08 : James caught 2 Smoothhounds and loads of Pout in the evening from Magazine Lane using Peeler Crab and Worm for bait, he says "Lost another Smoothhound."
18/12/07 : Simon (Big Si) caught 6 school Bass during the day from Magazine Lane using Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished for a few hours after low water (1030-1330). Bites every cast from 6 inch school bass and 1 incredible long, slow bite which I missed as I was standing 20 yards away trying to sort out the kid's reel..........don't you just love fishing with kids? Clear, cold weather made it very pleasant until a brisk easterly started blowing just after midday and the wind-chill dropped to brass monkeys. Tides were all wrong but it beat the socks off a usual days teaching!"
19/04/08 : John caught 4 Pout and a small Bass at night using Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished Shore Road, 4.4 tide, only fished 2 hours."
23/03/08 : Tony (shy tangler) caught 3 Flounders and a Sea Trout during the day using Ragworm for bait, he says "Had two flounders in the first hour and then picked up a sea trout about one and a half pounds just afterwards, fished for a further couple of hours and managed to get another flounder just before I packed up, all flounders were small, largest weighed thirteen ounces. I fished about one hundred yards past the concrete pier just before the first barge"
13/01/08 : Keith (oxgull), Rick and Quinlan caught a 1lb 6oz
Flounder during the day from Hythe Reclaimed Land using Ragworm for bait,
Keith says "I drove down from Oxford, met up with Rick Quinlan at
Basingstoke and fished near the marina. Rick had two bites and caught one
flounder around 1lbs 6ozs. Saw one other fish come out but heard reports of
several others but it was another difficult day. I had no bites once again but
it still beats shopping with the missus!"
14/11/07 : Simon (Big Si) caught 2 Flounders during the day using Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished by the concrete block today, HW at 1245. Got there at about 1030 having been in to Bell sports in Hythe for bait (excellent shop, bloke knows his stuff!). Not a sniff on the rising tide until 1245 (almost exactly) when I hit two flounders of about a pound each on consecutive casts. Then nothing again till I went home at 3. Chatted with a passing cyclist who fishes it regularly and he says that it's fishing better up toward the barges so it might be worth the extra walk! Three guys in a boat fishing about 50 yds off the beach weren't having any better luck, only saw them boat one small flattie. Car park at the end of Endeavour Way is permit only so park just outside the entrance to the marina for free!
26/09/07 : Neale caught 4 very small Bass during the day using Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished Dibden 2 hours either side of high tide, 500yds from red gate, pleasant few hours, first visit, managed to pick a day when the wind was from the north! Will go back at some point."
16/08/08 : Dave (firefox) caught a 2lb Thornback Ray at night using a Ragworm and Squid cocktail for bait, he says "Fished from 8pm till high tide at 11.45pm, lots of weed, only had 2 bites but it was hard to tell with all the weed."
31/07/08 : Gordon (geejay) caught Pout and Bass at night using Ragworm, Squid and Sandeel for bait, he says "All a bit quiet really, just about managed 3 pout over high-water and 3 schoolies on the last of the ebb."
21/06/08 : Scott caught 4 Black-Bream, 2 Pout and an Eel at night by the beach huts using Ragworm for bait.
14/06/08 : Scott caught 3 Black-Bream at night by the beach huts using Ragworm for bait, he says "Loads of bites but to be honest I missed most of them, I think that my hooks were to big (3/O). Caught the bream before high tide, as soon as high tide hit it went dead for the rest of the night, not even a crab bite."
17/05/08 : Scott caught nothing but Spider Crabs at night by the beach huts using Ragworm, Squid and Prawns for bait, he says "What can I say CRABS, CRABS and more CRABS all night. Kept on bringing in loads of spider crabs about the size of footballs or we were getting bitten off. At one point I caught a pout about 6" long and didn't see it at first because it was being cuddled by a CRAB........might have to get myself a crab pot."
16/08/08 : MG and Dave the Raver didn't catch anything at night using Ragworm, Squid and Crab for bait, they say "Not a very good trip, the wind blew up with rain, had a couple of bites but nothing."
12/07/08 : Rich and Connor caught a 3 1/2lb Bass and a 8oz Wrasse
in the afternoon/evening using Ragworm and Mackerel for bait, he says "I
took my son Connor on a fishing/camping trip for his 13th birthday and he was
lucky enough to catch a 3 1/2 lb bass, what a birthday present! Fished the
rising tide, all bites were to hooks with mackerel, ragworm was useless."
17/05/08 : Gordon (geejay) caught a Pout at night using Ragworm, Squid and Crab for bait, he says "It was damn slow with just 3 bites the best of which came to the fresh crab, I just about managed to avoid the blank with a small pout on squid. Crabs are very active down there and baits were stripped in minutes."
20/12/07 : Adam caught a 3lb Codling and a small Pout at night using bunches of Ragworm for bait, he says "Caught the pout at the start of the session and the codling at the start of the ebb about 9:30."
02/09/07 : Dave (b1zki7) caught a Black Bream during the day
using Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished Stone Point, strong current kicked
in at high tide and the cross wind made life difficult but a good day anyway (ps
it was my other half that caught the Bream 
)."
22/06/06 : Gord (Geejay) caught a Smoothhound in the evening using Crab, Squid and Sandeels for bait, he says "Only Smoothhound showed here to crab baits, squid/sandeel got ignored, weed was a problem as the tide ebbed, several fish caught by the 10 or so anglers there, mainly small ones, eastern Solent a better bet at mo' for quality fish."
Aug/04 : Plankton Boy caught over 30 Smoothhounds averaging 9lbs
in three evening sessions using Ragworm for bait on a pulley rig, he
says " Went again last weekend but the Smutts seem to have
gone now, normally they reckon there will be another run of females and they
are a lot bigger but they can be there a week or gone in just one tide, cant
wait 'til next July now, what a fish !
A rather isolated but consistent mark providing the opportunity to dig your own bait and catch in summer Smoothhounds, Stingray, Pout and Bass and in winter Flounder, Whiting and if you are really lucky Cod. Parking (at own risk) is available about 600yds away from the shore, as soon as you reach the shore (sea wall) there is an old pipeline outflow, to the left is good for digging lug and the right ragworm. Most people fish a few hours before and after high water but it is possible to fish the tide all the way up and down, as with most Solent marks it has its good and bad days concerning weed, the currents are moderate at best with 5oz leads quite adequate. The sea-bed consists of mud, shingle and stone gently sloping and is fairly stable under foot. See below for the latest reports.
14/01/07 : Stefan caught a Flounder and a 1 1/2lb Bass during the day using Ragworm tipped with Squid for bait, he says "Two of us fished for 3 hours on a rising tide in the afternoon, only 2 bites all day resulting in the Flounder and Bass.".
22/06/05 : Geejay caught 2 Bass in the evening using Lugworm, Mackerel, Squid and Sandeel for bait, he says " Baits fished on the bottom were hammered by crabs in seconds, saw fish on the surface, caught one on a float and one to a fly which was a first for me in salt water. Moved to Milford where me mate Dave had a Doggie but nothing else showed."
A 1 1/2 mile long shingle bank sticking out into the western entrance of the Solent with Hurst Castle at the end provides a good variety of fishing in most weather conditions. At Hurst Point just south of the jetty near the lighthouse "Hurst Hole" is an area of very deep water with strong currents which yields sizeable Cod, Dogfish, Conger, Pouting, Garfish, Mackerel, Dabs and Plaice. The shingle and sand spit at the eastern end of the castle is an excellent spot for Bass, particularly when conditions are rough. In front of the castle the sea-bed is snaggy in places, but the end facing the Needles yields Cod at high tide and Bass on the east running tide along with Sole, Plaice, Pouting and autumn Codling. The north side of the jetty (facing east up the Solent) has a sandy shore and is good for Sole, Dabs, Plaice, Flounders and Bass. Milford Shingle Bank itself has deep water on the outside becoming progressively deeper with stronger currents the nearer the castle end you go, because of these currents an ebbing neap tide is the best time to fish here, especially after dark, expect big Cod, Whiting, Dogfish, Bass, Conger, Flounder, Plaice and in summer Mackerel, Stingray, Smoothhound, and Bream. The castle can be reached by ferry from Keyhaven or some parking is available at the beginning of the spit, although this may become covered by water depending on the tides. See below for latest reports.
14/08/08 : Andy (Fishboy) caught an Undulate Ray, a Thornback Ray and Pouting at night using Sandeel, Squid and Ragworm for bait, he says "Fished the tide from high down to low, with weed a problem to begin with. That said the I picked up the Undulate and Thornback in the first 4 four casts. Pout proved active all the session to rag fished on a 3 hook flapper."
26 - 27/07/08 : Chris (2muchweed2fish) caught Bream and Mackerel throughout the days using Mackerel for bait, he says "Decided to do the long walk to Hurst point again on Saturday. Got there for first light and it was already hot. Was hoping to get a few fresh mackerel for bait, but they just didn't show. I baited up a 2 hook flapper with size 1's with some mackerel I had in the freezer and caught loads of small bream as the tide ebbed - nothing above half a pound though. Some where grabbing the bait before it hit the bottom! Fished one rod in the hole with a half mackerel fillet the whole day and not a sniff from fish - just spiders! Loads of weed at times - but generally O.K. When the tide stopped running out - it was as flat and still as a millpond! Thought I'd try the shingle bank on Sunday afternoon /evening. Again, loads of small Bream on mackerel. Then when the tide had fully flooded the mackerel showed up - so got a few on feathers for our tea. Nothing special - but a great weekend in the sun on a beautiful beach."
25/07/08 : Alan (blanker) caught Scad at night using Ragworm and Squid for bait, he says "Arrived at Milford Haven just before low tide intended to fish it up, there was no weed until the tide turned and then I found it nearly impossible, gave it a couple of hours and after catching only scad, went home for a early bath."
28/06/08 : Chris (2muchweed2fish) caught 2 small Black-Bream and 2 Mackerel during the day using Ragworm and Peeler Crab for bait, he says "Got the ferry over to the point. Lovely hot day with a strong warm wind behind me. Fished low tide up - current strong as always with loads of weed. Two little bream caught on rag just as tide turned and 2 mackerel on feathers near high water. Lovely day on the beach!"
09/05/08 : Phill (Burt) caught Black Bream and Bass during the day/evening using Ragworm, Squid and Peeler Crab for bait, he says "Fished from high water (14:15) through to low water at about 20:00 about 250 yards from the castle. Weed was a big problem and kept pulling our lines to the left as soon as they hit the water. Lost a couple of hooks to crabs as well. Despite that still managed to land two nice bream and a decent bass."
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of
Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
Thanks to Stan, Rob, Dave, Ben, Tom and all the forum members who contributed or made suggestions for their help in compiling this page.