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

Swanage, Stone Jetty to The Mowlem Theatre

The Promenade towards The Mowlem Theatre,nearly low tide.

This section is not fished much during the day as there is the problem of pedestrians using the prom. If you fish here please look out for other users of the prom when casting. The angling club has evening competitions along this section from time to time with flounders, rockling, pouting, blennies and wrasse being the target species. Near The Mowlem there is the outfall of a small river, flounders and eels favour such places as food is washed down by the fresh water.
At high tide small fish can be caught very close to the wall, use small hooks ( 4 or 6 ) and small pieces of ragworm or fish strip legered near to the weed patches
Bait and tackle can be bought close by at The Swanage Angling Centre.

good level access with toilet on the quayside

Swanage, Ocean Bay & Shep's Hollow

Ocean Bay, Swanage looking back towards the town.

Just to confuse people the Restaurant that gave this area the local name of  'Ocean Bay' is now called the Bull and Boat, the bay is still called by its former name.... after all, this is Swanage, and things change slowly in Swanage.

This beach runs under the low cliffs that form the northern part of the bay, there are hotels above which leads to the locals referring to marks such as under The Grand or The Pines. There is a concrete wall and walkway serving the chalets here which can be used for easy access along from the town beach. Alternatively you can walk down a footpath at the side of the Grand Hotel in Burlington Road if you can find somewhere to park there. There are toilets at the bottom of this path near the beach. A large reef stretches out from the area under the Grand obliquely towards the point of Ballard Down, fishing is good here if you can guess where the reef is and measure your cast accordingly. You will be able to judge the proximity to the reef by the number of small wrasse you catch if using ragworm, if the water is clear the reef can be seen as a dark patch.
 The beach here is private but you should find no problem if fishing after the other beach users have left in the evening or out of the holiday season.
Access to the remoter part of the beach is a long trudge along fine shingle or via a section of the coastal path that is signposted from a small private estate.. To drive to this mark take the road towards Studland; you will enter a one-way system, do not take the left to Ulwell and Studland but go straight on up to the junction, turn right (back towards Swanage) and in front of you is Ballard Way with a shop on the left hand side as you enter this road. Parking will be a problem here, Ballard Lee is a private estate with private roads and has a barrier pole across the entrance, but parking is available on the roadside on the public roads nearby. Walk through the estate, the coast path is signposted, you will cross a small grassed area and to the left are steep steps which bring you down onto the beach at a place known locally known as Shep's Hollow,

Low tide at Shep's Hollow, looking towards Ballard Down.

The beach is shallow as the photograph shows, but is good for bass and sole and in summer can produce gar and mackerel to float fished mackerel strip baits. Various flatfish and rays are also possible from here. On very high tides the sea can reach the soft unstable cliffs and you can become cut off; take care, otherwise a good place for children.

updated 16/08/07

Swanage, The Beach

The Beach at Swanage, from the Banjo Pier.

The beach at Swanage is gently sloping sand and in summer can only be fished when the holidaymakers leave the beach. The beach from the Mowlem Theatre to the Banjo Pier is not fished much, most people concentrating on the beach from the Banjo to Ocean Bay. There is a small reef that runs out from the beach near the 'Third Shelter' ( in the photo above the shelter appears as a small white rectangle along past the blue kiosk and by a white van) The shelters are numbered from the town end of the beach, the one by the Banjo Pier being the second. The reef and rough ground are fish holding features but can cause some tackle loss. The section between the third shelter and the point where the road bears away from the seafront can be productive for bass and sole. There is a small freshwater stream that enters the sea near the Ocean Bay cafe, this area is a favourite for people looking to catch flatfish.
As the beach is used by small children and bathers please be very careful not to drop hooks or line on the beach and as always take your litter home.There are toilets across the road near the third shelter. The beach is very well lit from the street lights along the promenade with quite sufficient light for baiting hooks etc.

Swanage, The Banjo Pier

The 'Banjo' Pier, Swanage.

This short stone pier is located opposite the Junction of Victoria Avenue with the seafront. It forms the storm-water outflow from the road drainage system so in times of heavy rain there will be a lot of fresh water entering the sea here. This can attract flounders looking for food washed in by the fresh water. 
The water off here is shallow and the tide recedes from the end on spring tide lows but a wide range of fish are caught from here, with bass being the prime target. Other species caught are various flatfish, small rays, pout, rockling and dogfish. It can be worth putting out a popped up fish strip* if there are any gar or mackerel about.
Mullet are often seen shoaling in the shallows to the side of the pier but are seldom tempted to take a bait.
The sea bed is clean sand with very few snags although sometimes after an easterly blow there will be 'banks' of weed formed. 
Some big spider crabs can be caught from here, a nuisance for anglers but fun for the kids. If a child is wanting to catch a fish then a scrap of worm on a size 6 hook dropped down to the base of the wall will most often result in a Shanny, the Common Blenny or a small Wrasse 
Safe for children, toilets, cafes, takeaways and car parking a short walk away.

* a pop-up rig... a running ledger trace perhaps 3 or 4 feet long with the addition of a small float ( usually a 12mm floating bead or two ) a few inches from the bait to 'pop-up' the bait into mid water and away from the crabs; this rig does not work well in strong tidal flows as the drag of the current forces the float down to the bottom.

Swanage Pier. The Prom.

The Prom area near the shop.

This is the area from the entrance to the toilet block near the Dive Centre. It will usually be crowded along here with cars, divers and their gear. If you can find a space to fish then you will be fishing on rough, weedy ground with a few clear patches which can be seen if the water is clear. You can catch wrasse, pout, blennies, rockling, mullet, bass, small conger and if you cast out a bit further into the clean ground, flounders. The area is very shallow at low tide and dries out on the lowest tides.

Swanage. The Stone Jetty

The Stone Jetty, Swanage

Opposite the end of Seymer Road near the pier is a small stone jetty where boats sometimes tie up to take on passengers. It is a popular spot for people intent on catching crabs. When it is not crowded there is a good chance of catching fish from the end of the jetty. Short or long casting or float fishing in the summer will usually get fish. Light tackle, size four or two hooks baited with ragworm, squid or small mackerel strips works best. Fish caught from here are, pouting, wrasse, rockling, pollack, bass, mullet, scad, mackerel, shad*, red mullet, flounder and garfish... these are just the species I have seen caught from here. Comfortable fishing, safe for kids if you can stop the ankle-biters from going over the one unguarded side of the jetty, although if they do there are steps to get down to fish 'em out again..Close to the shops with toilets along the prom towards the town.

*Shad are on 'the red list', ie, they are an endangered species.... put them back carefully.

Swanage. The Pier.

. Swanage Pier

Swanage Pier is operated by The Swanage Pier Trust and is largely staffed by volunteers. There is a charge for fishing and for strolling. At times you may be able to get a parking space on the pier, £9/day or £5/half day, but the divers tend to get there early and bag most of the space at weekends. The pier is generally open from 9, ( 7:00am weekends ) and closes at a time depending on the season...4 or 5pm in winter, 5pm or later in spring or autumn depending on whether a boat is due in at a later time. During high summer the volunteers usually try to keep the pier open until 9pm.

There are toilets on the pier and a café/restaurant . Within the shop building there is a small aquarium, museum and exhibition. 

Swanage Pier is a major centre for diving and diver training, divers seem to be completely unaware that others have a right to enjoy a day out. They will swim through your lines even if they do bother to look to see where you are. Don't expect to find a parking space on the pier at weekends, each diver will expect to have another half a car space to store all of his or her gear. Do not expect them to move their cylinders dumped in the way when you try walking through them on your way out to the pier. Did you know .... you can lift a diver, who has been stupid enough to swim through your line and get himself tangled, right from the bottom to the surface on 12lb line? They are mostly too engrossed in what they are doing to realise that gravity has suddenly started working the other way round.

A summary of the fishing spots here is best split into sections, The prom section ( gate to start of wooden deck), the stem, the top deck and the lower deck.

The Prom section, usually inaccessible due to parked cars.

The Prom section is fishing shallow weedy ground with mooring ropes; wrasse, bass, rockling, flounders, silver eels and mullet are your targets here, be prepared to lose some tackle. It is un-fishable most of the summer due to parked cars limiting access and diving boats, divers and weed in the water. Best fished in winter and early spring when the weed dies back, although there are occasions when black bream have been caught by float fishing at high tide near the Pier gates.

The Stem of the pier.

The stem of the pier is fairly safe for even small children, the sea bed is patchy weed and sand; there is little reason for long casting on the pier, after all, the fish are attracted to the pier structure so there is no need to fish elsewhere. The area between the pier and the remains of the old pier is particularly weedy, most people will float-fish to overcome this weed problem. Set the float to just clear the weed (trial and error...about 8' to 10') and you can get pollack, black bream, mackerel, gar, wrasse and bass. Dive boats come and go on the other side where there is a landing platform and on this side to the pontoon at Divers Down.; watch out for them because they won't be paying much attention to you or your needs !

Lower Deck...north side... that is, towards Ballard Down

The Lower Deck allows fishing nearer to the water level but is unguarded, so not good for ankle-biters. You will need to be aware of the ferries and cruise boats that come and go from these landing decks. You will not be able to fish when the boat is tied up. You can fish down under the pier where the centre section is not decked....watch for divers though.

Top Deck

The Top Deck is the favoured spot, there is usually a rush to get spots at the end. Fishing off the end allows float fishing for more of the tide as the current takes the float away from the pier...letting your float drift into the pier structure will usually result in lost tackle. The current runs in different directions at different states of the tide so you may have to swap sides if float fishing to take advantage of the flow.The top deck is well railed and is fairly safe for even small children
Bottom fishing very close in with small hooks, size 6 baited with an inch of ragworm, will get corkwing and ballan wrasse by the dozens along with many other species ( a small group of us counted up to 45 species we have caught there between us. ) The pier is very popular with LRF anglers.
Bigger baits will perhaps get a bass, and if you cast a sand eel further out towards Ballard Down and find a sandy patch maybe a ray. Undulate Rays seem to be the type most often caught in the bay but are caught mainly after dark when the pier is only accessible to fishing club members..
Float fishing is most productive in summer and is the tactic used by most anglers there... if you want to be unpopular cast out a bottom fishing line right in between a group of people's floats that are drifting in the tide....fish close in on the bottom and you will not be spoiling other people's sport.
One fish that is caught quite often during the summer is the shad.... these are recognisable by the way they shed large scales, 5p size, as you get it off the hook; minimise handling and put it back as they are a protected species.
The top deck has small bait cutting tables at intervals on the railings and a table and litter bin in the middle of the deck, attached to the steel light support is a disposal tube for old line. Please use the bait tables and do not use the seats or the pier decking..

Beachcasters are too heavy and cumbersome for this venue in summer, a carp, flattie, bass or spinning rod will do fine and give you the opportunity to enjoy float fishing, bottom fishing and spinning. You will not need more than an ounce or two to hold against tide or waves, grip leads are not needed and will add to the tangle of lost gear in the weed.

Feathering is not a sensible idea on a crowded pier, in any case the mackerel seldom shoal in great numbers near the pier to make feathering productive...it is much more fun to catch them singly on light float tackle.Bait and tackle can be bought close by at The Swanage Angling Centre 6, High Street, Swanage, Dorset BH19 2NT tel 01929 424989. which you will find about 200 yards from the pier entrance on the right hand side of the road.
If you approach Swanage through Wareham there is a good tackle and bait shop there...... Purbeck Angling.... 28 South St, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4LU tel 01929 550770 which is on the right as you approach the river bridge; there is sometimes a parking space in front of the shop.

Swanage. Peveril Point to the Pier.

This area is known as Buck Shore,there is a footpath that leads to Peveril Point, access to this path can be found around the lower side of the futuristic looking building that is up the tarmac slope between the pier entrance and the grassy area.
The path leads past the Lifeboat Station and the Swanage and District Sea Angling Club building adjacent to it ( where the public can get hot and cold drinks, crisps etc in the summer. )
The sea bed along here is rocky, weedy and snaggy. It is best fished using float techniques or by using a spinner or plug. Surface-popper plugs that skim over the surface are good for bass along here and reduce tackle losses. Some big ballan wrasse live in the weed here.
Please do not attempt to fish from the lifeboat slipway, the lifeboat crew have enough to worry about without you, so keep off! There is a concrete jetty in front of the Angling Club, no one minds much if you fish from here but please be aware that boats have the right of way, and don't get in the way of the commercial fishermen who are trying to make a living. It is snaggy ground and you will lose some tackle.

Swanage Bay

Fog forming over Ballard Down.

Swanage is a venue that can be fished when weather is too foul to fish at other places, the bay faces east and is protected from the prevailing southwesterly winds.
Peveril Point to the Pier, The Pier, The Stone Jetty, Stone Jetty to The Mowlem Theatre, The Beach, The Banjo Pier, Ocean Bay and Shep's Hollow are all marks which can be fished with light tackle, a carp rod or nine foot spinning rod will be fine for most of the marks.. Many of the marks are child friendly and most are close to all the facilities of the town.
The Pier is a great spot for absolute beginners, safe and convenient... and using the correct tactics it would be difficult not to catch a fish here during the summer months.
There is a Tackle Shop a short walk from the Pier, or if you pass through Wareham on your way to Swanage there is a good tackle shop, Purbeck Angling, close to the bridge over the River Frome, there is a car park to the side of the bridge, by the Quay.
Parking in Swanage can be a problem in the summer and is expensive in the car park near to the pier. There is parking on the pier but the divers usually nab all the spaces at weekends, they start queueing at 7am or earlier.