Tor Bay, Berry Head.

Berry Head, old quarry and stone loading jetty.

Berry Head lies to the west of Brixham, access is by foot only unless you are registered disabled in which case you may drive down. It surprises me how many disabled people can walk briskly down to the plarform from the lower car park after parking and spend all day at the strenuous activity of feathering for mackerel; perhaps the sea air does them some good. This is not a venue for small children, the water is deep and help a long way off. There is a car park at the top of the headland from which you can walk although it is an easier walk from the car park by Shoalstone outdoor swimming pool; go past the hotel and take a pleasant walk along the footpath up through the trees until you neet the tarmac road which leads down to the base of the old quarry and the fishing platform. Travel light, it is a bit of a slog back up this hill. Most people will be feathering for mackerel which they keep, ungutted, in a plastic bag, in the sun, for hours. Most of them will be thrown away later, what a waste. Float fish with light tackle or flick a single lure around and you will have great sport with mackerel, gar. pollock and scad. The bottom here is patchy sand rocks and weed, cod, whiting, dabs, dogfish etc are caught here in winter. Fishing a worm bait or a small sliver of mackerel on the bottom close in can get all sorts of fish but there are quite a few snags and you will loose tackle.
Please take your litter home, and if you can manage it, some that others have not taken home. This venue becomes a stinking hell hole because people discard cans, bottles, wrappers, disposable barbecues, old bait and fish.
Tip for hot days, take plenty of frozen squash or juice drinks in a cool box. This keeps you and the fish you retain cool..

Disabled allowed to drive down ( a facility much abused ), from car park a fairly steep rough track to the concrete platform.

Tor Bay, Brixham.

Brixham Harbour, loosing the light.

Brixham was at one time the most important fishing port in England. Trawlers from here went under sail to the cod fishing grounds off Newfoundland, The Grand Banks. There is still a fishing fleet based here; to the visiting angler it would appear that the purpose of the fleet is to make a lot of noise and spill diesel fuel into the harbour. Most fishing here is done on the breakwater, fishing the outside of the wall is mainly by float. The bottom is snaggy and a lot of tackle will be lost. If bottom fishing, bass, conger, wrasse, dogfish, pouting and pollack can be expected. Most people are content to floatfish for mackerel and garfish. If you are prepared to experiment on float depth ( up to thirty feet or so) you can amuse yourself species hunting; ballan, corkwing, goldsinney and rockcook wrasse can all be caught here. Fishing on the inside of the breakwater is limited by access over the rocks, if you can find a spot, summer evenings are productive for mackerel and scad on floatfished mackerel strip. Children can catch small gobies, wrasse,blennies and rockling from the stone jetty at the start of the breakwater by the lifeboat mooring. This is also a good spot for mackerel and scad. The scad tend to turn up as the light is fading.

From the rocks.

If you park in the car park in Blackball Lane you will find a few spots along the harbourside where you can fish. If you head out past the research lab buildings you will find the coast path which leads up through the trees to a grassed area; there is fairly easy access down onto the rocks here for a bit of float fishing or fishing a worm bait among the rock gullies for wrasse. The rocks can be slippery when wet. If you continue around the path you will come to a pretty little cove with a cafe and public toilets.

Brixham Harbour and breakwater, the holiday flat was clean but the window wasn't.

Fishing is not allowed in the inner harbour area but the walls will have a population of keen young crab catchers. On the seaward side of the breakwater is Breakwater beach, when the swimmers and divers have gone home this can be a sheltered and quite productive place to fish.

Brixham Bait and Tackle are on The Quay, just across the road from the replica of The Golden Hind at the innermost corner of the harbour.

from stone jetty near the lifeboat mooring

Tor Bay, South Devon.

Brixham Harbour, evening sunshine, evening mackerel.

Fishing spots in this popular holiday area include Brixham, Berry Head, Babbacombe, Paignton, and Torquay.