Poole Harbour & Studland, Studland Beach

Only Google knows why, when searching for fishing in Poole Harbour it dumps you here !
You need to be here, and click on the orange links to different venues

Studland, Knoll Beach looking east towards Poole and Bournemouth.

Studland Beach is one of the best bathing beaches in the country, it is usually crowded in good weather. To the left of Knoll Beach is a popular naturists' area. If you fish here it is best done out of season. Studland is a National Trust property and is reached either by the Sandbanks to Studland Ferry ,via Corfe Castle or Swanage.

Car parking is free to NT members but non-members will pay the attendant during the holiday season. The car parks are closed at night, check times before setting off to fish a late session ! There is a café and shop at The Knoll car park (on the Ferry side of Studland Village ).

looking east from South Beach, Studland.

There are other access points and car parks, South Beach is less popular and is reached by a pleasant walk down a shady wooded valley from the car park by the pub. There are toilets at the head of the valley path and a café/snack bar at the beach during the summer season.

South Beach Studland looking towards Old Harry Rocks.

There is another car park and café in the middle of the two mentioned beaches, named in a moment of inspiration... Middle Beach. A high spring tide will leave you little room, dog walkers can be especially troublesome, The National Trust guidelines state
In welcoming you and your dog to our beaches all we ask is that you keep your dog under control, observe local signs, notices and restrictions, and dispose of dog poo thoughtfully.
Neither the dog nor the owners will have read this and the owners think that a dog nosing in among your tackle and bait is perfectly normal behaviour..... the dog owners may often be seen studiously staring out to see whilst their dog empties itself... so mind where you tread.

Middle Beach, Studland..... High Tide

Fishing here is mainly for bass and flatfish with other fish such as smoothound, black and gilthead bream, gurnard or rays turning up from time to time., it is a gently shelving beach and the water is shallow for a long way out. The bottom is sandy but watch out for mooring ropes to the right of South Beach; more unusual hazards are kite surfers, kayakers and morons on jetskis. Wading and lure fishing using a spinner or plug can be effective in early morning or late evening.
Bait can be collected here on low spring tides, razor fish if you know how to get them, slipper limpets, cockles etc.... especially after rough weather. Any bait you discover on a beach will be the food being looked for by the fish so will usually bring results.

Bait and tackle can be bought at the angling shops in Poole, Wareham or Swanage.


OTHER LOCAL VENUES.....Redhorn Point......Swanage

Tide Times for the next seven days

updated 14th Nov 11

Pembrokeshire, Newgale Beach.

Newgale Beach, looking south.

Newgale Beach is alongside the A487, to the east of Solva and St Davids. There is a large beachside car park with toilets. There is a café, shops and a pub at the north end of the beach. The beach is made of stone and shingle and gives access to fairly deep water at high tide, you will be casting out onto clean sand. The beach provides sport with dogfish..... lots of dogfish, bait for dogfish? ... anything, fish bait, sand eel or worms.

Newgale, looking north as the light fades.

Bass also show along this beach when there is some surf, unfortunately surf also brings out the surfers. Flounders and other flatfish can be caught and shoals of mackerel sometimes put in an appearance to be caught with float fished baits or spinning.

Getting bait is a problem in West Wales, County Sports in Haverfordwest stock frozen baits and live ragworm.... but phone before travelling to check availability. They are at 3 Old Bridge, Haverfordwest SA61 2EZ Tel: 01437 763740.
A nearer source of frozen bait and a limited range of tackle is in Solva, Bay View Stores, up the hill towards St Davids on the right is open til 7 or 8pm.

Tide times for the next seven days.

Pembrokeshire, Freshwater West.

Freshwater West, access to beach from car park.

Freshwater West is an isolated sandy beach off the A4319 West of Pembroke. Nearby is the Castlemartin Range, the sound of gunfire from tanks may liven up your fishing. There is a car park with, well hidden, toilets about halfway along the beach. Bass and dogfish will be the mainstay of fishing here with flatfish and rays putting in an appearance. The ground in front of the car park and to the left is rocky and snaggy with cleaner ground to the right.

North end of Freshwater West beach.

There is a small car park with access to the beach at the northern end of the beach. The sand dunes show signs of severe erosion caused by foot traffic, don't add to it.... fish where there is easier and less damaging access.

Tide times for Freshwater West for the next 7 days,

to be continued

Pembrokeshire, Stackpole Quay and Barafundle.

Stackpole Quay at very low tide.

Stackpole Quay is a tiny picturesque inlet on the rocky coast south of Pembroke. It is reached via the A4319 and then narrow lanes, the Stackpole Estate is National Trust Property, there is a large car park with toilet facilities and a cafe/restuarant which is open during the summer season. NT members have free parking, others have to pay. Access to the Quay and rocks is along a winding path with a final descent over the rock platforms. There is a steel escape ladder structure in the corner of the inlet for those silly enough to get trapped by the tide.

From the cliff top to the left of the Quay.

As can be seen from the photographs, this is rocky, snaggy country ! Fishing is best done by float fishing fish strips or sand eel or spinning. Bottom fished baits close to the rocks will get wrasse and pollack. Most fishing is done in summertime for mackerel and bass.

Low tide, showing rocks that you will fish over at high.

Hardy and agile types can find rock ledges to fish from by exploring the cliffs from the path that leads from the right of the harbour. This is not to be advised for children at any time or anyone at all in rough weather. Bottom fishing from these ledges needs a good cast to clear the rock ledges and kelp which eat tackle, bull huss are the prime target.
Those of more lazy disposition will find the beach at Barafundle more to their taste. A short walk and steepish climb down from the cliff path. Fishing here is mainly done from the rock fringes of the beach.

Tide times for Stackpole Quay for the next 7 days, .

to be continued.

Pembrokeshire, Freshwater East.

Freshwater East, looking eastwards.

Freshwater East is reached via the A4139 and B4584 south east of Pembroke. There is a large pay and display car park a short walk from the beach with toilets on the route to the beach. The best fishing area is said to be far to the left of the bay although fish are caught for the whole length.
Dogfish will be the most common fish caught here with pollack and pouting showing up also, in season smoothound are a possibility. The ground is generally quite clean and tackle loss should be minimal.

Freshwater East, with freshwater stream at the right of the beach.

The beach is popular with other holiday makers so early mornings or late evenings will be the times to fish. Expect the occasional bass, ray, plaice, turbot, flounder or whiting to turn up; use ragworm, sand eel or fish baits. Many of these fish favour places where a freshwater stream brings food items into the sea.

to be continued.

Cornwall, Praa Sands.

Praa Sands, western end.

Praa Sands is a long sandy beach to the south of the A394 road from Helston to Penzance. There is a pay and display car park at the western end of the beach, (with most attentive clampers employed, be careful). There is a café and toilets near the car park.The beach is used by general holiday makers and surfers during the day so fishing is best done after dark or early morning. The ground in front of the car park is generally clean although there are some rock and weed patches in which to lose tackle. The beach is mostly fished for bass so long distance casting will not be required. Turbot show up on this beach and tend to favour fish bait or sand eel, other fish can be caught, try lug or rag worm on a running leger with a smooth weight.

Praa Sands, looking east.

To get access to the eastern end of the beach drive to the village of Ashton back towards Helston and drive down Hendra Lane, it is narrow but there are a few places to park before you get to the beach. The fishing is generally reckoned to be better at this end of the beach. The ground gets rockier and more snaggy as you move towards the headland.
There are tackle and bait shops in Penzance and Helston, but the nearest is Newton Angling on the A394 in Newtown (just outside Praa Sands on the A 394 tel 01736 763721), this is a large shop selling everything you need, and a lot more. They sell a large selection of fresh and frozen bait.

Approximate Tide Times for Praa Sands for the next 7 days.

Cornwall, Mousehole Harbour.

Mousehole Harbour, low tide.

Mousehole is a quaint little harbour west of Penzance. Parking is very close to the harbour and there is a toilet block between the car park and the harbour wall. The harbour can be best fished for say three hours each side of high tide. Like all harbours, give way to boat traffic and try not to kill the children who will annoy you by jumping into the harbour near the signs saying that jumping is forbidden. Float fishing will get small pollock and mackerel, gar and scad in season. Bottom fishing will get the usual wrasse and small species near the rough ground, flounders are caught in the harbour entrance and on the clean ground. The sea is usually clear enough to see the snaggy and clean areas.

Mousehole Harbour, from the car park.

There is easy access onto the harbour arms for wheelchair users but space at areas without a high wall is limited. Bait can be got from the tackle shops in Penzance, you will pass one as you drive out from the town to Mousehole. There are toilets close by and several cafés within easy walking distance.

Tide times for the next 7 days

Cornwall, Portreath.

Portreath Beach, north coast.

Portreath is north of Camborne on the B3301 and B3300, it is a sandy beach which is popular with holiday makers and surfers, You will be restricted to fishing early or late when you will have the beach to yourself. There is a pay and display car park right against the beach with toilets, shops and cafes are a short walk away.
Fishing here is not great but good bass are caught on occasion, dogfish seem to turn up everywhere so one of these is on the cards.. The beach is sandy and snag free in the centre and quite rough ground near the harbour wall. The left hand side of the beach near the rocks is generally snag free.
There is a pier/ harbour arm here but it is closed to fishing; it is possible to fish parts of the harbour that can be reached.
There is a tackle shop in Fore Street, Redruth and one in Camborne,County Angler in Cross St ; Tel 01209 718490.

Cornwall, Godrevy Point.

Gwithian Sands and Godrevy Point, north coast.

You will find this venue off the B3301 from Hayle to Portreath, Gwithian Sands can be fished but it is usually swarming with surfers; head east from Gwithian and you will find the entrance to The National Trust property of Godrevy. If you are a member you can park here free, otherwise pay the man on the gate. The car parks are closed at night so check the closing times before heading off. The cars parked in this car park can be seen as white specks above the white building in the middle distance in the photo above. There is a cafe at the entrance and toilets at the car park.

Float fishing from the rocks at Godrevy Point.

You can fish from the beach which should be surfer-free at this point, fishing worm, sandeel or fish baits will give you a chance of bass, rays, turbot, plaice or flounders, closer to the rocks or bottom fishing from the rocks, will get wrasse or pollock. Spinning is another tactic which can work for big pollock.The ground here is sandy when clear of the rocks.

The rocks at Godrevy, looking towards Godrevy Island.

Float fishing from the rocks will get mackerel gar and scad in season, along with pollock, bass and wrasse. The rock platform is fairly easy to negotiate and is safe, in calm weather, for sensible children... but toddler type kids on the beach only. Do not fish here in rough weather, even in calm weather keep an eye out for the swells which can take you unawares especially near high tide.... retreat to a higher perch or to the beach, no fish is worth the risk of being swept away and drowned.
There are tackle shops in Hayle, one is in a market building near where the road doubles back under the railway bridge, near Foundry Square car park, the other in Fore Street as you pass through the town heading eastwards. Look for their sign on the roadside.

Cornwall, Porthleven Harbour.

Porthleven Harbour, lots of walls to fish from.

Porthleven is just west of Helston on the B3304, it is a convenient fishing spot for children and wheelchair users with easy access to many walls for fishing into the harbour. Fishing is best for three hours over high tide for the inner part of the harbour although you can fish from the long pier on the left at low tide, fishing into the harbour entrance. Parking is free alongside the harbour if you can find a spot, there is also a pay and display car park. 

The nearest tackle shop is on the road towards Penzance at Germoe, TR20 9AE, Newtown Angling Centre, which sells bait including ragworm and lugworm. 

Toilets are up a side road to your left as you walk as you walk along the village side of the harbour passing shops,a pub and cafés, others at the base of the church seen in the picture below near the start of the breakwater.

Porthleven, the inner harbour.

Float fishing along the weedy and rocky fringes of the harbour walls will get you wrasse, there are some big wrasse in here especially from the end of the long pier. Wrasse are thugs, they are strong fighters and will dive for cover when hooked, if they get into the rocks and weed you will most likely lose them.... so hold onto the rod at all times and get ready to keep the fishes head up out of the rough. If they get jammed in the rough it is worthwhile giving them a bit of slack line; they will sometimes swim out of the snag.
Small pollack are also caught, if you are prepared to lose a few weights, drop a bait straight down the wall on a simple paternoster rig, the hook length should be short and a foot or so above the weight to keep the bait up out of the weed. Keep hold of the rod ! Fish such as pout, scorpion fish and others skulk along the wall so keep your hooks small (size 2 or less) and see what is down there. Flatfish such as flounder and turbot can be caught by casting out onto the cleaner ground out in the harbour entrance. Rockling and eels, silver and conger, can be caught. Baits are ragworm for the wrasse or flounder, fish bait of any kind seems to catch anything else. Float fishing for mackerel and gar in season is popular all around the harbour. Be aware of boat traffic, they have right of way so reel in when boats need to pass. The seaward side of the long arm is very rocky and is not good for fishing, leave that area for the kids who surf the breakers that form as the swell passes over the rock table here.

The long arm of the harbour wall at low tide, note the rocky weedy fringe.

There is a long beach to the left which runs to Loe Bar, bass are the quarry along this section but fishing is only possible when the other beach users leave in the evening. Loe Bar is a fishy spot but a cliff walk/scramble is required to get there.

Angling shops nearby, 

Last Stop Tackle Shop, Haelarcher Farmyard, Lizard Head Ln, The Lizard 

TR12 7NN Tel  07896 290869

Bait available from Lizard Rigs who are on the A3083 at Trevelyan Holiday Homes 

TR12 7AS (look for BAIT sign on rhs when heading south.)

                             Newtown Angling Centre Newtown, Penzance TR20 9AE

not Loe Bar !

Cornwall, Mullion Cove.

Mullion Harbour, looking out to Mullion Island.

Mullion Cove is on the Lizard Peninsula, take the A3083 south from Helston. It is reached through the village of Mullion which has shops and places to eat. The Happy Shopper Store as you enter the village stocks some fishing equipment and frozen bait. Parking near the Harbour is possible out of season but from 1st June to 1st October you will have to use the car park and walk about six hundred yards. There are toilets on the route to the harbour, about two hundred yards away. There is a cafe at the head of the harbour. Opposite the cafe is a path down to the inner arm of the harbour wall. This offers comfortable fishing from a wide stone platform into a good depth of water at high tide, at low tide the rocks are exposed and fishing can be difficult; this venue is best fished about three hours each side of high tide. It is safe for older children but is unguarded. The rocky areas are visible in the clear water and, after the rocks there is clean ground until the taller rocks which are visible at high tide. Fishing on the bottom here produces bass, pollock, wrasse, turbot, dogfish, rockling and other bottom feeders. Float fishing will get mackerel, gar and scad in season, use a sandeel or strip of mackerel or squid. At night try float fishing with a starlight on a float or just hold the rod and feel for a bite from pollock which come close in to the wall. If you set the depth to just drag the bottom of the clean ground area you can catch turbot and other bottom feeders also. The path down is steep in parts and uneven but should be accessible to wheelchair users; access to the outer arm is more straightforward.

Mullion Harbour,The outer arm viewed from the comfort of the inner arm.

The outer arm of the harbour has a high wall which makes fishing impossible apart from a short section at the end. There are some steps at the start of the wall which allow access onto the broad sloping top of the wall from where you can cast out onto clean ground or fish the weedy gully; most definitely not for children or the faint-hearted.
Do not even consider fishing this harbour in bad weather, waves can break over the pier and recently two lives were lost to large waves. 'Freak waves' is a term used by reporters who know no better; large waves can, and do, spring up at any time in any weather, nothing freak about them at all. Be safe, be aware of danger. In storms it is known for waves to break right over Mullion Island.

Angling shops nearby, 

Last Stop Tackle Shop, Haelarcher Farmyard, Lizard Head Ln, The Lizard 
TR12 7NN Tel  07896 290869
Bait available from Lizard Rigs who are on the A3083 at Trevelyan Holiday Homes 
TR12 7AS look for BAIT sign on rhs when heading south

Tide Times for the next seven days

Cardiganshire, Cardigan to Aberaeron.

Low tide at The Patch, Cardigan.

This section of coast includes Cardigan Town, the northern side of the Tivy Estuary, The Patch, The Cliff Hotel at Gwbert , Mwnt, Aberporth, Tresaith, Llangranog, New Quay, Cei Bach and Aberaeron. There are plenty of other marks that can be found by hiking off along the coastal paths but these are, in the main, not suited to beginners or children. Rock marks, especially those to the north of the little bay at Mwnt, can be very dangerous places even for the experienced rock angler.

Cornwall, Lizard to Portreath.

Gwithian Beach, looking towards Godrevy.

Cornwall has a great many places to fish but many of them are on exposed rocky coasts and are dangerous places to be for novices and children. Many of the easy places to fish will be very crowded in the holiday season. Beaches are invaded by the surf gremmies during the day so beach angling is best done after dark.
In this section details are given for Porthkerris, Coverack Harbour, Mullion Cove, Porthleven Harbour, Praa Sands, Mousehole, Godrevy Point, and Portreath Beach, more will be added in due course after my next trip.