The Hunger -October 2025

It's 11 October.

There are enormous numbers of mullet in the river at the moment. It's staggering.

The bass have disappeared. Ive a feeling it's down to these monstrous tides, but we'll see if that theory holds water when the tides reduce in a few days. This morning there were mullet in the margins as far as the eye could see. Thousands of them.

The weather is pretty much perfect. No wind, mild and cloudy ( sunshine is fine too ).

The fish were feeding hard, I was in the right place, but only hooked one fish, which came off almost immediately. That's partial success.

Just as I was about to pack up I saw a group of three or four absolutely massive fish. By this time the water had coloured up, so I couldn't see clearly, but I could see well enough to see they were.....I'd guess no less than 6lb and more likely well over 7lb. Maybe even bigger.

My hunger is off the scale at the moment and seeing those giants merely added fuel to the fire.

I'd love to get a monster.

I'm having another go tomorrow. 

What Do We Know ?

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know"

Donald Rumsfeld

I doubt The Don was an angler, but this is how I'd describe what's going on down the local river at the moment. 

The more I fish, the more I realise I understand very little about what's going on.

At the weekend I fished a reliable mark at a good state of the tide with surface and subsurface lures without a touch. 

I'd got some ragworm in the car and thought I'd try them on a float. Fifteen minutes later I'd landed five sizeable bass in the same spot as I'd been thrashing away with the lures. I was surprised to say the least.

Last week I saw the biggest shoals of feeding mullet I've seen in a very long while. I would have bet a hefty sum that I'd have one or two.

Not a touch, despite having feeding fish all over the flies. 

Yesterday I tried a tiny piece of maddie on a size 14 hook for the mullet, that were feeding a foot out in six to eight inches of water.

After a five minutes I  hooked in to a fish that bolted out in to deeper water. It surfaced and I saw it was a decent bass. The tiny hook was wedged nicely in the jaw, but really, I didn't expect bass to be feeding in ultra shallow water in the middle of a sunny day.

As I say, I now know I know nothing, whereas a few years ago I didn't know I knew nothing.

Thanks Don.

Two Days

Two visitors this week, Bully and The Chubmeister General. 

Bully was determined to get a mullet before they departed for the winter and by chance picked a perfect day, calm, mild and hazy.

I was working in the morning but when I finally got down to see him I saw a rod bent double and an old bloke with a smile on his face. He'd wangled one out on a brandling on the fly rod.

We moved down river to another mark and waited for the tide to flood. I'd got the fly rod, confident of a take at least. The mullet arrived on cue, hundreds of them packed in to a tight area. I totally failed to get a response on the fly but Bully's brandling worked its magic again as he hooked in to what was obviously a very good fish.

It gave him a fantastic fight on the fly rod, until I eventually scooped it up in the net. A real beauty of 4lb 4oz.

He was chuffed, a reward for persistence and the hour plus drive he has to make each time he tries. 

Next day TCG joined me, with all his shiny new camera gear, to make a film. We walked a fair way upriver for a recce, lots of birdlife and I took him to where I'd caught the big carp. Sure enough, sitting in the reeds, in a few inches of water were five carp. There were mullet mixed in with them too.

It was dull and breezy, the weathermen had yet again failed to cover themselves in glory.

I had a couple small bass on the surface lure in the first ten minutes, then a much better fish, which unfortunately threw the hooks after a few seconds.

The mullet appeared. I couldn't get a take.

By this time it was a bit grim, duller by the minute. 

A move downstream. Mullet soup. Loads of them. 

I failed.

That is all.

Chaos on the Mud

Lots of short smash and grab sessions this week.

Several good quality bass, some off the top and a few sub surface. These fish are in tip top condition right now.

Yesterday, I had a beautiful fish on the popper in the morning and also had several hits that missed the lure.

With that in mind I went back this morning to try and catch a few more. As usual, I took a lure rod and fly rod.

If I see feeding mullet I always go for them, as they're a bit less predictable and more difficult than the bass, so you need to have a go whenever the opportunity arises.

Today, several fish were milling about in an ultra shallow bay, but not enough for a concerted effort. I had a break and looked a hundred yards downstream to the mud pit of doom.

This is an area of extremely soft, algae covered  mud that the mullet absolutely love. It is extremely difficult to stand, let alone walk in, but needs must.

There were some very big fish patrolling a foot or so out, fins and backs out. The cast was good and I didn't have to wait long before the indicator slid away and a fish was on.

I went to move towards the waters edge and managed to leave one of my wellies in the mud. My sock and one trouser leg were immediately covered in sloppy estuary mud, all the way up to the knee.

The fish thrashed madly, right on the edge of the mud, beaching itself ( this happens alot ). I went to grab it, it saw me coming ( yes, really ) and managed to get back in the water, speeding out towards the far bank. It looked massive, I was thinking upper five, maybe six pounds.

Despite the chaos, I eventually netted it, to great relief. Covered in mud, wet, but very happy.

It went 4lb 12oz, but looked much bigger to me, a real corker.

I went home after that, even I'm not daft enough to fish with one boot on.

A mad hour, lots of fun and a quality fish. 

I'm definitely having another go tomorrow,  some of those mullet were huge. 

Making Hay

As Waaak Baines always says.

Well, it's certainly getting colder, as you'd expect for the end of September. North westerly wind, nippy first thing in the morning. 

For the last couple of weeks we've suffered from a deluge of cormorants. They work at low water, in groups of ten to twenty, strung across river.

I absolutely hate the things, the damage they do is devastating. How long it can go on before they vacate the area to annihilate another place is anyone's guess.

Yesterday, I retired the season's most successful lure, a tiny hard plastic shallow diver, about 5 cm long, bought from Nine Seven Tungsten. They do a great range of lures and the best braid I've used.

Those little lures were the princely sum of £3.50 each and the braid was only a tenner. You can't beat that.

The lure had been repeatedly cast against walls and concrete ( accidentally of course ), the little eyes had come off, the lip was broken, as was a piece at the tail. I must have had in excess of thirty of forty bass on that one lure.

Today I decided to have a go on the ebb for a change. It was late afternoon and had warmed up a bit. Lovely in the sun when sheltered from the wind.

As I was standing on the mud fishing, I heard the sound of stones being thrown around me. 

"Bazza, you twat, I know it's you" 

Silence.

He carried on hiding behind a bush for ten minutes before coming out as I hooked a fish. Just in time to take a photo for me.

I had another one shortly afterwards. As the wind dropped the mullet showed. Time for a go on the baited spinner.

I had some flatworms in the van. I opened the bait box and gagged. They'd been marinating for several days. I just about managed to thread one on the hook without being sick.

First cast a follow. And the next one. And so it went on, but they wouldn't take, until out of the blue one did, right under the rod tip.

A cracking fish to end the session.

I may well have another go tomorrow.  Happy days.

The Grand Slam

In Florida and the tropics The Grand Slam is a bonefish, permit and tarpon on the same session. 

In north Essex/Suffolk, it's a fly caught mullet, bass and a sea trout. Well, it is as far as I'm concerned. 

Bully wanted a mullet on the fly, although he started bass fishing, whilst I had a wander, looking for fish. It didn't take long, I found a couple of dozen mullet patrolling the shoreline a foot or two out.

I whistled to him and beckoned him over.  He gingerly made his way across the mud and cast the fly in the right spot. After what seemed an age he had a take, struck and lost a fish. Shit happens.

I set up further long. There were a few fish about, but not many. However, from my slightly elevated position I could see exactly where they were swimming. Several fish passed over the flies without interest, then out of the blue, the indicator was pulled off the mud ( I was ultra close in ) and across the water.

I struck and pulled into a nice mullet that plodded about a bit, but came in fairly easily. A good start.

We moved to different mark, further upriver, Bully on the fly and me after a bass on the lures. A surface stick bait to be precise.

Second cast I was in. A cracking fish of 3.5lb or so.

The tide continued to push in and we were forced off the mudflats, just making it, across two creeks which were filling up quickly.

As the flow increased, the water coloured up. A change from a surface lure to a tiny shallow diver resulted in a savage take under the rod tip.

An absolutely beautiful sea trout of about 3lb. 

We moved a short distance and watched as a couple of sea trout repeatedly hit bait fish in the three to four inch range. We tried for ages, changing lures and retrieves, but failed to hook one.

I did have another nice bass on the little sub surface plug though. It hit the lure with such ferocity I was sure it was another sea trout, but not so.

A brilliant session.

On The Munch

Isn't that what the carpies say when the fish are feeding ? Well,they are.

Yesterday was cool and windy. I drove over the bridge and pulled over, "just for a look".

Ahh, I'll just give it twenty minutes I thought, as I grabbed the lure rod, already made up, from the van.

Four top water hits and every one missed.

On went a small, slow sinking plug. First cast, WHACK, a bass was on.

Another bass of a similar size followed quickly.

Today I had another go. Mullet were feeding in the mud pit. I toppled over and broke my fall by flinging out an arm and went up to my elbow in mud. Oh well, that's part and parcel of mullet fishing here.

I was due to meet Waaaak a bit further down river, so jumped in the van and moved to the next mark. The tide was already pushing in and after having two half decent bass on a small surface lure I went on the hunt for a mullet.

I found a group that looked like they were feeding and put the fly in the right place. A minute or two later the indicator slid away and a fish was on. It thrashed around a bit as I hustled it in, I couldn't hang around as the tide had begun to flood a couple of small creeks and I was in danger of being cut off.

Waaaak arrived and we tried for a bass. We failed, but had two hits on the surface lure and saw a sea trout strike twice, so an interesting session.

Plenty of fish about at the moment,  it's a great time of year.