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.

Scallop fishing, how to destroy marine habitat.

This is part of a scallop boat's gear.

The metal mesh purses are made of interlinked steel rings. The metal making the rings is about nine millimetres diameter so the purses are heavy. There are four of these on each bar making the assembly about four metres wide. The whole lot is towed over the seabed, one from each side of a boat. Many boats are doing this,six or eight in this area, day after day, week after week, dragging these chunks of metal up and down Lyme Bay at more than walking pace, hour after hour. Out in Lyme Bay there used to be slow growing cold water coral patches and weeded areas where fish, including black bream, gather to breed and lay their eggs.

Why drag the seabed bare?, because it is trendy to order scallops in trendy restaurants. A sustainable scallop fishery is one where divers collect only those fit for the table and who avoid damage to the marine ecosystem. The scallops will of course be more expensive.
Still fancy scallops for dinner ?

Further Reading........Marine Conservation Society Press Release.

The Solent, Magazine Lane.

Magazine Lane, Marchwood. Southampton Docks opposite.

The locals refer to this mark as Snag Alley, some parts are snaggy, some not so; if you loose too much tackle a short move may get you to a cleaner patch. Some use plastic lead lifts on their weights to reduce losses; generally a fast retrieve will clear the snags.The deep water channel runs close to this venue, a large variety of fish can be caught here but it is mainly used as a 'fall-back' mark when the weather is too bad to fish other marks. There is a stone apron area in front of the wall with stones and rocks beyond, this can make the retrieval of fish difficult at low water. The area attracts the chav element and litter and vandalism is rife here. The area is backed by an expensive estate and it is possible that the venue may be closed to angling because of the behaviour of the uncaring few. The venue is safe for children with a wall to keep them out of the water, don't be tempted to go over the wall onto the apron. it is very slippery.There are some lights along the paved section. There are no facilities nearby.
Nearest tackle shops, Bells of Hythe or Tightlines 1a Rumbridge Street, Totton.
The venue is reached via Normandy Way, Marchwood. Magazine Lane is immediately after Admiralty Way if approaching from the Totton direction. There is a small free car park at the end of the Lane, the venue is to the left, crossing over a boatyard to get to it.

Danger ! Weever

Lesser Weever, Don't grab this one to unhook it !

This little fish which is usually less than 10cm long is the Lesser Weever that can be commonly caught along the south coast in the summer. The fish in the photograph was caught at Branksome Chine, Bournemouth. The spines on its back, and on the gill covers, contain venom which causes pain and swelling, the spines are black tipped and are erected when the fish feels threatened. It is possible, at first sight, to think that you have caught a small whiting or a poor cod; however this fish is gold-brown and not silver. The weever's eyes are placed for looking up as it spends its time lying in the sand. Most people who get stung by this fish tread on it whilst paddling on sandy beaches.Look carefully before grabbing it, especially if the fish is partially obscured by weed. Hold the fish in a cloth to unhook it and put it back.
If you do get stung, don't panic, treatment is simple and effective. Heat will make the venom break down, use coffee from your flask or hot water wherever it can be got and treat the affected part with liquid, as hot as can be tolerated, on a cloth over the area. The sting can cause problems to anyone with a weak heart but normal heathy people should not be too concerned.
Many other fish get stamped on and killed because stupid people don't know what fish they have caught and kill anything that looks ugly. The Sea Scorpion (or the Long-spined Bullhead) gets this treatment, it is a very ugly little fish with all sorts of spikes on it and a threatening and misleading name. It is not poisonous, just uncomfortable to hold, and the worst it will do to you is grunt and growl at you. Another ugly little fish is the dragonet, I've seen people killing these too.
There is also a Greater Weever which is not often caught from the shore.The examples I have caught from boats have very pretty electric blue colouration among the brown markings.Some people rate them as a food fish.

West Bay Harbour, Dorset.

West Bay, East Beach from the East Pier

West Bay is at the western extremity of Chesil Beach and is the Port that used to serve Bridport. There is a harbour that is home to fishing charter boats and angling and crabbing can be enjoyed around the old harbour or the new pier extensions. East Pier is the shorter of the two harbour arms and forms a stop to Chesil Beach. The West Pier is pretentiously named the Jurassic Pier although it is nothing but a concrete eyesore. There are signs all around the new piers stating that hand lining and float fishing only is allowed; they are mainly ignored, or at best a small float is clipped on the line after casting for appearances sake. Casting out into the main channel used by the boats is not necessary, fish will be close in to the wall and can be caught a few feet or yards from the wall. On rougher days when there is no boat traffic is is safe enough to fish the main channel. Some hardy types climb over the wall at the end of the West Pier, scramble over the large rocks and fish the concrete platform. Be aware that an idiot angler fishing there in rough weather last year was washed off by a large wave, lost all of his tackle, and was lucky to survive; he was washed up eventually on East Beach. It is not a place for children.

West Bay, East Pier looking over to the Jurassic Pier.

The rest of the harbour is child friendly although there are sections with no railings.Light tackle can be used, a carp rod or a spinning rod is ideal, an ounce or two of lead is quite sufficient and long casting is not required. Species to be caught are, flounder, pouting, poor cod, whiting, plaice, dogfish, rockling, scorpion fish, blennies and wrasse near the rocks, pollack, eels, bass, mullet and mackerel, scad and garfish in the summer. The venomous Weever is common in the summer, be careful. If 'stung' then hot water, as hot as you can bear, will alleviate the pain. The lifeguards on the east pier know the drill, they do it often enough. 
Ragworm is the favoured bait for bottom fishing but small strips of fish or squid will catch fish. Float-fishing in summer can be good sport, depth at which the fish will be varies but about nine feet is a good starting depth. Best bait for float fishing is a strip of mackerel or squid or a small whole sandeel.

The Prom, West Bay

To the west of the harbour is the Promenade, this gives access to fish rough, rocky and weedy ground. There will be some tackle loss but the rough ground attracts all manner of species; wrasse, dogfish and bullhuss are far more common here than in the harbour area. There is little tidal flow and the fish can be close in, it is possible to fish this section using smooth (non-grip wire type) weights, an ounce or two can be plenty and weights of this size are cheaper to lose. Use a length of line of lower breaking strain than your hook-length or mainline and that should give first allowing you to retrieve the rest of the tackle and any fish. Casting distance is not a major consideration so 'power casting' with the risk of snapping the weak link during the cast is not required.... a gentle lob is all that is required. A slice of mackerel or squid, or a raw prawn on a size 1 or 1/0 hook will attract the dogfish and bullhuss.... although neither species can be said to be fussy eaters, they will generally take any bait offered. Use a soft wire hook such as the Mustad Nordic Bend and it will bend out of a snag but be sufficiently strong to hold the fish. In summer it can be worthwhile float fishing here for gar, mackerel, bass or mullet.


There is a tackle shop nearby, West Bay Angling Centre, plenty of fast food kiosks, cafés and shops. Toilets are near the café on East Beach and at the rear of the harbour-masters office, ( across the harbour from the sluice gates where the river enters the harbour ) . Car parking is expensive and short-term near the harbour, best use the long term car park that adjoins East Beach or the even cheaper area opposite at the old station yard.
There is free parking on the Prom and in the harbour-side car park after 6pm. 

There is an active Sea Angling Club at West Bay, junior matches are held on Saturdays except during the winter and guests can fish the matches, see website for details of the matches.

East Pier and East Beach, rough day

The picture shows the end of the East Pier, it also shows some children playing 'dodge the waves'; a silly game to play here. The sea when it rushes up the beach pushes through the shingle which then acts as a liquid, running away is difficult. A silly game to play as if you win, you get nothing; if the sea wins..... you drown. I had thought I might get a picture of kids drowning to sell to the newspapers but they did realise how stupid they were when they got wetted to the waist..... no fun in February with a bitter wind blowing.

updated 23.03.2011 The Prom photograph and information added
09.05.2011 Toilet info revised, toilets on the green now closed.

Piers and Prom area have access for wheelchairs,

rocks under the Prom wall could make retrieving a fish difficult, help may be required for this

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.