Wednesday 2 May 2007

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