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Planning a trip, then and now

cap'nhaddock

cap'nhaddock

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Back in pre-internet times planning a trip was a bit hit and miss.

Find the latest Angling Mag or newspaper to find weeks old reports on local beaches.
Find the tide times, find a newspaper,
Find the tide times at London Bridge or Dover which were hidden away somewhere in the small print.,
Try to remember how many hours to add or subtract
Listen to the weather forecast on the radio.
Look out the window to see which way the clouds were going and whether tree twigs were moving
Walk to the phone box and order bait.
Hope all the way that your car wouldn't break down causing you to walk miles to find a phone.
Get to the chosen venue and find it closed/unfishable/wrong state of tide.

Now you can check forums for very recent reports
Click on a webcam to see the sea state at or near the venue
Check the tide times.
Check the wave height
Check the weather radar
Check the forecast on several sites.
Order bait
Reserve parking etc

All sitting at home in the warm.

And still not catch any fish when you get there.
 
A few things that made old better than now!

You fished local marks because you had the knowledge!
The chances of catching were greater then, even with all the modern tech and info now
You had just 2-3 local baits to dig or catch for use
The expectation was higher and so the enjoyment was greater
You could fish locally all for under £10
You had just 2 rods & reels that covered all eventualities

The good old days(y)
 
Back in the 90,s that's exactly how I went about it, then one day it twigged that it didn't matter if I didn't plan, more so it seemed that the less thought I put into it the better the session and enjoyment of the session. Most likely as I'm not the most competent angler out there, so more like beginner's luck perhaps?
 
I still insist on buying my tide table every year, I probably only open it once - the day I buy it.

Then I go on my tide app and see the tide times (low tide for my favourite mark) have a look to see where we are at the “tide height” (spring, neap etc) whether it’s leading to springs or dropping to neaps.

I still dig and forage my own bait, I don’t like buying the stale wraps on offer when I can pump my own.

I’ve never thought to check of my marks are covered by webcam, I can see what the sea state is like when I walk into work.

I think that I can become too reliant on my app, I can look at it and talk myself out of going, without even casting a glance at my chosen mark, let alone casting a line!
Not too many years ago, a quick glance at the tide times and off I went, sometimes I’d just load the car and go, sod the tides, I just wanted to be lounging on the shingle, watching the tips. In the army, I’d finish a days work, call Poingdestres, order a load of rag, fly out of tidworth garrison like my arse was on fire (not exceeding camp speed limits sarnt major… ahem) nip down the back roads to Southampton, collect the bait, shoot to magazine lane and fish til midnight, nip back to camp, hit the rack, up at 7am to go to work, then repeat! Tides? Sea state? Weather? Screw it! I’ll work it out when I get there! As a kid, I could only fish weekends, so I’d go and if the tides and weather were against me then so be it! Still managed to catch. Maybe I need to delete my tide apps and just go when the whim takes me.
 
mole trapper said:
Back in the 90,s that's exactly how I went about it, then one day it twigged that it didn't matter if I didn't plan, more so it seemed that the less thought I put into it the better the session and enjoyment of the session. Most likely as I'm not the most competent angler out there, so more like beginner's luck perhaps?
Click to expand...
I do sometimes like picking a mark I don’t have a clue about and then fishing it from low up, or whatever.

Usually a little rock ledge somewhere that looks inviting or just a patch of sand I’ve found.

Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it turns out to be a right pig and not worth the effort, but I try and find spots the average angler won’t know about and that you won’t find on the internet.

I will still heed the weather though, because no point turning up and it’s obliterated by eight foot swell!
 
I'm just getting back into sea fishing after a long, long break.
I remember looking for tide times in the local paper and use whatever bat I could get on the shore on the day.
Weather reports were after the news the night before and we just went regardless.
Catch reports were scraps of general information from Angling Times.
Rigs were very simple, we thought we were sophisticated using Paternosters!
Cheap kit was generally crap and good kit was expensive.
Sometimes we caught, most of the time we didn't. It was always good fun though 😁

Fast forward to 2023.
Coming (disillusioned) from a year of coarse fishing, where Anglers are using bait boats and siege tactics, and done commercial fisheries are like aquariums full of square-mouthed fish.
(For me) sea fishing has moved on, but from what I can see, generally in a good way. Techniques have advanced and good kit doesn't need to be expensive, which is a bonus.
There are less fish, but information can be shared and used much easier.
This forum has been BRILLIANT for helping me find my way back into it.
Different times, but I've been away from the sport for 30yrs, so everything is still need and exciting for me 😊

Counting down here the hours to Saturday 👍🤞🎣
 
Ladfromtad said:
P.S. I have a tide table in my tackle box 😁
Click to expand...

I only fish locally, and the state & times of the tides, plus sunrise/sunset are always shown on the King's Harbourmaster list of daily shipping movements. All of the tide information mysteriously vanished over Christmas & New Year, but normal service has now resumed! 👍👍
 
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