Tenby Harbour, rising tide.
Tenby Harbour dries out at low tide so is fishable only a few hours either side of high tide. The venue is comfortable and easy to fish and would enable wheelchair users to access fairly deep water over a low wall. Parking is a long walk away, as you arrive at Tenby take the road out towards Saundersfoot, then take the road signposted North Beach and Hospital. There is a large car park signposted on the left at the bottom of a hill (Hospital sign is more visible.) You will have to walk along the top prom, down steps or slopes down to the lower prom and around to the Harbour. At high tide it is possible to fish from this prom, and, out of season from the beach. The beach is clean sand apart from a patch near the visible large rock. There is disabled parking near the harbour entrance.
Tenby Harbour, The low section of wall.
As with most working harbours you may not fish the inner harbour. Boats have right of way so do not cast from the end into the area used by boat traffic. Long casting is not required from here, the fish are as likely to be close to the wall as a long way from it; bottom fishing will get a variety of fish, dogfish, flounder, dab, whiting, bass, gurnard and other species. Summer season brings mackerel, garfish and the crowds. Float fishing is the most sporting way of catching mackerel, catch only as many as you need , mackerel die after being handled with dry hands or a cloth so if you have enough, stop fishing for them and go back to bottom fishing. This is a venue suitable for children although there is either a long drop to the water or deep water depending on the state of the tide. Crabbing can be done in the inner harbour. All the usual facilities, shops, cafés etc. are a short walk away.
Butlers Horse Rocks
If you walk around to the right as you walk down the slope towards the harbour wall, following the sign for The Lifeboat station, you will see some stone steps leading down to a small rock platform. This goes by the quaint local name of Butlers Horse. Why I don't know. There is only room for three or four people to fish from here and you will be fishing over clean sand for the same species as from the harbour wall.. The current can pull quite hard around this point so grip leads will be needed at some states of the tide.
Rocket Rocks or 'The Bandstand' at low tide.
Further around the headland, it's quicker to approach from the other side past the Museum and Gallery, you will come to 'The Bandstand' mark which the old local I was chatting to called Rocket Rock..... and just as he didn't know who Butler or his horse were, he didn't offer an explanation for this name. From the path you will need to carefully climb, slide, tumble or fall headlong onto the rocks below. Fishing is said to be good from here at night, I haven't personally fished here, I'm too old for this climb, slide, tumble or fall headlong business.
There is a tackle shop close to the harbour but you may have to travel to Pembroke Dock, Raven Trading on the small industrial estate before entering the town, to get livebait of any sort.
Harbour Wall only
