Whitstable Harbour Bass Fishing – A 62cm PB and a Cracking Session

Whitstable Harbour Bass Fishing – A 62cm PB and a Cracking Session

We’ve been so busy working behind the scenes building Tides & Tribe that, ironically, we haven’t had nearly as much time to actually go fishing ourselves!

Sometimes, though, things just fall into place.

A couple of cancelled bait orders left us with some spare worms, so me and Connor decided there was only one sensible thing to do — grab the gear and head down to Whitstable Harbour for a few hours.

We were hoping there might still be a few bass hanging around. There certainly were.

Testing Some Affordable Beginner Fishing Gear

This trip wasn't only about catching fish.

We also took along some cheap, basic rods and reels from NGT Angling Pursuits that we've started testing.

One of the things we would really like to do at Tides & Tribe is put together a genuinely affordable beginner sea fishing setup.

Getting into fishing can look expensive from the outside. Rods, reels, rigs, line, tackle, bait and all the other bits soon add up.

But someone trying sea fishing for the first time shouldn't need to spend a fortune just to discover whether they enjoy it.

Our aim is to find equipment that is affordable enough for a beginner while still being gear we'd be comfortable recommending.

We're not there yet.

We want to properly use and test the equipment ourselves before we put the Tides & Tribe name behind it. This Whitstable session was another part of that testing.

The Penn Tidal Nearly Disappears!

Early in the session, things suddenly got interesting.

My Penn Tidal rod absolutely hammered over and very nearly went over the harbour!

Straight away, it was obvious this wasn't one of the little bass we'd been seeing.

After a brilliant fight, we eventually got the fish in.

62cm of beautiful bass.

A new personal best for me and an absolutely cracking fish.

Those are the moments that make all the blank sessions, bad weather and hours spent waiting completely worthwhile.

Then Connor Gets His Bass

Not long afterwards, Connor's rod went.

Another good fish.

After getting it safely in, we measured it at an impressive 58cm.

Two cracking bass in one session — a 62cm and a 58cm — and two lovely fish to take home for the table.

It doesn't get much better than that for an afternoon we hadn't even planned to go fishing!

Smaller Bass and the Dreaded Dogfish

The session wasn't finished there.

We picked up several smaller bass as well, and naturally it wouldn't be a proper sea fishing trip without the dreaded dogfish making an appearance!

Connor also landed another lovely bass measuring approximately 40cm.

With the minimum size being 42cm, there was no question about that one. It went safely back into the water to hopefully grow into one of the big Whitstable bass we'll meet again in the future.

Whole Squid Was the Winning Bait

One of the most interesting things about the session was the bait.

We were fishing several different baits throughout the trip, but the bass really only seemed interested in one thing:

Whole squid.

We experimented with a variety of rigs, but the main catches came using a 5/0 Sakuma dongle rig.

It's another good reminder that sometimes keeping your bass fishing simple can be extremely effective.

Location: Whitstable Harbour, Kent  
Species: European bass and dogfish  
Best fish: 62cm bass  
Connor's best: 58cm bass  
Successful bait: Whole squid  
Main successful rig: 5/0 Sakuma dongle rig

Bonus Bass From Aaron and Ryan

We've also added something extra at the end of the video.

Our friends Aaron and Ryan had previously fished the same location and caught some lovely bass.

There wasn't quite enough footage from their session to turn it into a complete Tides & Tribe video, and we didn't want the catches to go unseen.

So stick around until the end of the video and you'll see their fish too.

An Unplanned Session to Remember

This trip summed up a lot of what we love about fishing.

It wasn't a carefully planned big session. We had some bait left over, found ourselves with a little spare time and decided to go fishing together.

A few hours later we'd landed a new 62cm PB, Connor had caught a beautiful 58cm bass, we'd tested some potential beginner fishing equipment and we'd had another brilliant father-and-son session on the Kent coast.

That's what Tides & Tribe is really about.

Getting out there, spending time together and enjoying fishing without feeling like you need the most expensive tackle in the world to do it.

Now we just need to beat 62cm…