Instow Schminstow

Fishable at low and high tides, Instow, or so I'd heard. So I went there on two evenings this week, as it's relatively close to home and involves neither scrambling over rocks nor losing loads of tackle on rocks.
I didn't lose any tackle, that much is true. Nor did I have to do anything in the way of scrambling.
But then again I'd have had as little scrambling to do, have lost as little tackle and actually have caught as many fish had I simply gone a hundred yards up the road and cast my line in an empty field on the outskirts of my village. Bleeding useless is what my two evening sorties to Instow were last week.
For bait I tried mackerel and I tried mussels, both of which should be relatively attractive to fish in the estuary. I tried size 4/0 hooks and size 2 hooks. I tried different weights and lengths of cast. I tried near the rocks by the cricket ground and I tried right into the Torridge estuary on the other side of the beach.
It's all very well, and I quite enjoyed my evening on the beach and didn't mind the fact I didn't get home until 1.30am on Saturday. But I would really like to catch something soon. I'm in half a mind to start praying for fish. And I'm an athiest...
Any suggestions on a postcard, in an email, as a comment please...