Weymouth, Preston Beach.

Preston Beach, looking back to the town beach

Preston Beach is the shingle beach that extends from Greenhill to Bowleaze Cove; the A353, signposted to Wareham, runs alongside the sea wall and beach. Parking is limited to the car parks at Greenhill , one about 400yds further on at the rear of the Sea Life Centre and then nowhere until you get to the cove. Here you may be lucky to park free on Bowleaze Coveway.

Weymouth charges , day and night, for parking.... and enforce it rigorously, don't overstay. Recent changes mean that parking overnight is now free rather than the punitive rates formerly charged

Fresh water outlet

The beach is fine shingle and is sheltered from westerly storms, it is often used as an alternative venue for matches when Chesil is too dangerous to fish. The beach is gently sloping once you are over the man-made bank and the water is fairly shallow. The beach is generally clean ground and snag free. All manner of species show up here and it is a greatly underrated spot. Anything from smoothhound to golden grey mullet can turn up. Ragworm is most widely used but mackerel, sandeel or squid can catch well. If you are after smoothhound then hermit crab is reckoned to be the bait to use.

Bowleaze Cove end, notice the reef.

If you fish the Bowleaze Cove end of the beach, be aware that there is a reef close inshore, otherwise you will lose tackle to it. If you look back landwards and line up with the edge of the last building on the other side of the road you are at the end of the reef. If you are after bass then you may well want to fish the reef although this is best done early morning or late evening as when you venture into the cove you are into swimmer and jet-ski territory.

There is little lateral movement to the water so light tackle and plain leads can be used. Fish can be caught very close to shore so long casting is not a requirement.

The nearest tackle shop is the Weymouth Angling Centre near the Town Bridge.

There are toilets at the Greenhill car park and at the junction of the main road and Bowleaze Coveway.

OTHER LOCAL VENUES Ringstead Bay Pleasure Pier

Tide times for Preston Beach for the next 7 days

Poole Harbour, Baiter.

Baiter, looking back towards the car park off Labrador Drive.

Baiter Park is an area of reclaimed land in Poole between the Quay and Poole Park. It was once the site of an isolation hospital* built on a spit of land surrounded by water or salt flats. The remaining portion of the building can be seen in the picture above. The park is alongside Labrador Drive and Catalina Drive and has a large car park off each road and a toilet block between them.
This is a noted spot for flounder fishing, the venue is fishable over high tide from the comfort of a paved path and benches. There is a long section of water that fishes much the same over a large part of that length.... this makes it a popular site for matches so you may find it busy. The hot spot is said to be the area where the culvert allows water flow into the pond within Poole Park.

Baiter, looking towards Poole Park.

The bottom here is silt and mud with some weed patches. Flounders, eels and small bass are the most likely catch so use ragworm baits on smallish hooks. Distance casting is not required, fish can be very close in. Boats fishing just offshore catch black bream in late summer, and smoothound are said to turn up on occasion.

There is a public slipway off the car park which is very popular with the jet-ski users who in turn are not very popular with anglers. There is a dedicated area for them to play in over the water but many prefer to show off around the launch area.

There are no cafés nearby, you will need to go back to the Quay area or rely on a snack van that appears on occasion in the car park.
There is good level wheelchair access but some assistance to get fish back over the rock fringe may be required.

The nearest tackle shops for bait are Sea Fishing Poole at the eastern end of The Quay, then the Poole Sea Angling Centre near Poole Quay or The Wessex Angling Centre on Wimborne Road.

* update 11 Sep .2012.... skulking around the internet, as you do, I came across this site which, although about windmills, gives the history of the area. As usual answers to one question lead to another question....the area that is now Poole Park boating lake was once called Hole's Bay...why is Hole's Bay now in another part of the harbour ?


OTHER LOCAL VENUES Holes Bay Evening Hill


Tide times for Baiter for the next 7 days.

with assistance

Pembrokeshire, Hobb's Point, Pembroke Dock.

Hobb's Point showing the pontoon in place.

Hobb's Point is signposted once you get to Pembroke Dock, look for the brown tourist information signs. It is at the end of Pier Road, don't expect to find a pier, it is the ramp that was used by the car ferry service across the River Cleddau before the bridge was built.
Winter fishing is done from the railed section at the top of the ramp, during the summer a pontoon is erected which prevents the landing of any fish caught. Cod and whiting are targeted by putting large baits out more than eighty yards or so to clear the horrendous snags which result from cars off the old ferry, supermarket trolleys, benches, litter bins, paving slabs and any other rubbish the locals can find to lob in there. If you are prepared to risk losing tackle and fish rotten bottom rigs then conger can be caught here in the rough, close in. Dogfish are likely to put in an appearance at some stage, in the rough or out on the clean ground.

Hobb's Point, the ramp.

Fishing close in is a technique to increase your 'species caught' list if you fish the sloping ramp section. There are snags, kelp and other weed but the bottom is teeming with fish species, four types of wrasse, umpteen of gobies, butterfish, sand smelt, pollack, tiny codling, eels, and others. Use a light rod and small hooks. I use size four fine wire hooks that will bend out of snags under pressure tied to hook lengths about half the breaking strain of the main line, using one ounce leads keeps the cost of lost tackle down. Small pieces of ragworm, stale or dead and dying works better than fresh... or small slivers of fishbait or sandeel will work as well. Fish within a yard or so from the wall ....... and do not be too surprised if in August or September you catch one of these...especially around low slack water.

Trigger fish caught in September, Hobb's Point

Float fishing can reduce tackle loss and can result in pollack or bass, with mackerel in season. The area off the end of the ramp where the water swirls as the tide moves is favourite.
If you bottom fish parallel to the ramp out from the end towards the boat moorings you will be onto generally clean ground with clumps of weed you will pick up bigger wrasse and school bass. Cast over into the shallows to the right and mullet are possible; you can watch the swirls they make in the water as the tide advances over the mud, I'm told they will take ragworm but I haven't the patience for mullet fishing....

This venue has the advantage of being fishable at any state of the tide although heavy grip leads will be needed to hold in the tide if casting out to the main channel.

Be very wary of the green slime on the ramp, it is very slippery when wet... and the ramp drops off suddenly it does not taper gently down to the sea bad.... it was made for a car ferry, not little dinghies.

the ramp, the green bits are slippery !

There is ample parking at this venue, you can park at the top or on the ramp itself. There are toilets at the top of the ramp, food and drink can be got at Lidl or Asda which you will have passed to get there, both are within walking distance. There are several cafés a little further on in the town.

Local tackle and bait shops are

Pembroke Angling Address 31 Meyrick Street, Pembroke Dock SA72 6AL 01646 622712.

Anglers Corner in Milford Haven

Unit 46, Honeyborough Business Park, Neyland SA73 1SE 01646 601300

OTHER LOCAL VENUES....... West Angle............ Brunel Quay
Tide times for Hobb's Point for the next 7 days

easy level access to railed promenade
and from the sloping ramp with a levelling device.

Pembrokeshire, Porth Clais

Porth Clais harbour, from the cliff path to the west of the inlet.

Porth Clais, sometimes written as Porthclais, is a picturesque inlet with harbour a short distance from St Davids. The road to Porth Clais is signposted from the main roundabout in the centre of the city (anywhere else I would have written village, such is the size of this city), turn down Goat Street.
There are two car parks at the head of the harbour, one owned by the Harbour Trust and one, adjoining but further away, owned by The National Trust*. For anyone used to parking charges in Southern England, £2 a day comes as a pleasant surprise. There are toilets in the National Trust car park and a kiosk that sells ice cream, drinks etc alongside NT souvenirs.

The Harbour wall at Porthclais.

There are rock ledges which offer access to deep water for float fishing for bass, wrasse and pollack; these are not for the faint hearted, take local advice before you venture down the cliffs; there are climbs well known to the keen rock-climber so the going is not likely to be easy.
Access to the harbour wall is to the eastern ( left ) side of the inlet along a well defined narow path that climbs up and along the top of the low cliffs and descends by a steep slope and steps onto the broad flat wall.
The water can be crystal clear, as can be seen in the photograph above, and the rock fringes to the inlet can be seen under the water, ideal territory for wrasse and pollack. There is little tidal flow within the inlet so float fishing is a leisurely affair,use a small strip of silver mackerel belly as bait, or a head hooked ragworm. Letting the float drift down the right hand side near the rocks should get results although you will need to look out for other harbour users, kayakers and small boat users have right of way through the entrance.
There are a great many small fish to be caught along the wall, drop a small hook baited with ragworm among the rocks and weed and very soon a blenny or small wrasse will be on it. Large wrasse can also be caught close in, along with small pollack. The ground further out seems to be mainly snag free sand and ideal ground for flatfish; after dark should see dogfish or maybe bull huss moving in. Some nice bass are caught here, try an early morning session when there are fewer people and boats to spook the fish. Light tackle can be used here, distance casting is not required and a light rod can be used for spinning, float fishing or legering.
The venue is safe for children above toddling age, there is no railing to the wall but the inner wall should provide plenty of crabbing opportunities to keep them occupied.

As with most fishing spots in West Wales, buying bait can be a problem; there is a tackle shop in Haverfordwest, County Sports at 3 Old Bridge, Haverfordwest SA61 2EZ, tel: 01437 763740. They have a range of frozen baits and stock live ragworm. It would be best to phone and order ragworm as supplies can be erratic.

There is a shop in Solva, just down the coast, ( Bay View Stores on the left as you go down the hill into Solva) that sells fishing tackle and frozen baits and is open until 7 or 8pm.

OTHER LOCAL VENUES ......Newgale.......Fishguard

Tide Times for the next seven days

* note, being in Wales you may not recognise the wording on the NT sign, luckily the NT Logo looks the same in Welsh, there is free parking for NT members

Pembrokeshire, Neyland - Brunel Quay

Low Tide, Hobb's Point across the water

Original Brunel railway lines make a handy rod rest

memorial to Brunel

Brunel Quay is an easy location to fish. Find it by heading for Neyland Marina which is well signposted; you will find the entrance to a large free car park among the trees on the bend in the road. The water retreats at low tide so fishing is only possible for a few hours either side of high water unless fishing from the beach. The venue is railed and is safe for children.
The picture taken at low tide shows the nature of the sea bed, it is generally quite clean but there is a large mussel bed running out from the corner; this can snag tackle but wrasse, bass, eels and several mini species can be found feeding here.Target species here will be bass, wrasse and mackerel in summer and whiting and codling in the winter. Trigger fish can show up here on occasion in August and September. Dogfish are present all year round and thornback rays can be caught.
Long casting is not necessary so light tackle can be used for summer fishing. The tide pulls hard on the ebb so grip leads will be required if you cast out into the main tide run. I have seen people fishing from the beach at low tide but I have taken the easy comfort option of fishing from the Quay.

Bait, ragworm, sandeel and mackerel can be got from Angler's Corner in Milford Haven ( Pill Rd, Milford, Haven, SA73 2NS tel.01646 698899 ) which is conveniently close to the back road from Milford Haven to Neyland and is easily spotted from the main road into Milford have, it is on the left to the side of a large garage/workshop.
There is another shop on a small trading estate just down the Tenby road from the London Road roundabout in Pembroke Dock. Shops come and go in West Wales with alarming frequency, it's hard to keep up.
There is a long established shop, West Wales Angling, 

31 Meyrick St, Pembroke Dock, Dyfed SA72 6AL 01646 622712 Edit, this is now closed.

Try  

Raven Trading

• Tel: 01646 279117

Unit 16, London Rd Shopping Mall, Pembroke Dock,Dyfed, SA72 4RS

There is a café/bar in the complex of buildings near the marina and shops back in the town. There are no public toilets nearby.


OTHER LOCAL VENUES......... Hobb's Point.............. Milford Haven

Tide Times for next seven days

easy level access to railed promenade

Bait: Slipper Limpets

Slipper Limpets, the larger ones are about the size of a man's thumb.

Slipper limpets can be bought shelled ready to use and frozen, these make a good bait but they are too fresh; a better bait is got by collecting your own after a storm has washed them up on a beach. Birds are quick to find them, shells on the promenade at Weymouth and crows on the beach were the sign that the bait in the photograph was there for collecting, thanks to a storm three or four days earlier.
Do not rush to freeze the bait, the slipper limpet works best when it is 'a bit ripe'. The meat of the limpet is quite easy to remove from the shell, a fairly blunt knife like the one in the photograph is used to twist under the shell to lever it from the one it is clinging to and then the tip is run around the edge of the orange 'foot' where it attaches to the shell; when this is loose the knife can be used to gently pull the dark body portion from under the white shell dividing section.
Slipper limpets are a very good bait to use for species that patrol the beach looking for such a bait, bass, flounders, sole and plaice are very keen on them, on their own or in a cocktail with lug or ragworm.If you are fishing from a pier, harbour wall or jetty you will find that most fish will readily take this bait.
The limpet flesh is soft and will not take hard casting, but then.... if you will realise the fish are coming in close to find just the bait you are offering, it would defeat the object of using it if you cast it a long distance. You can bind the bait on with bait elastic to stop it flying off or tiny fish pulling it from the hook.

The Solent, Weston Shore.

Weston Shore, morning sunshine and a rising tide

Netley Abbey is fairly well signposted on brown signs from the M27 exit at Burseldon via the A3397;Travelling from Netley back towards Southampton you come onto Weston Parade, a road that runs alongside the shingle beach. There are free car parks and additional parking on the road. There are toilets at the far end where the road swings sharply inland. West of this bend is the area known as The Rolling Mills section, the mills are long gone, they used to roll brass for shell cases for WWI. The area is now a grassed public area leading around to Woolston.

About half tide, water has reached the shingle

This is a fairly shallow venue, there are extensive mudflats at low tide where worms can be dug. The venue becomes fishable when the water reaches the shingle at about half tide. Species caught here are flounder, eels and bass all of which are quite happy to hunt in shallow water. Fish can be caught very close to shore so it is worth a cast of a five or ten yards if you are not catching further out.
Light tackle such as a carp rod set-up will work well here as heavy weights are not required to hold in the tide. At my last visit two ounces was enough to hold.... and a fish came at five yards.
Best baits here are worms or shellfish such as slipper limpet, razorfish or mussel. larger flounder and school bass will readily take fish or squid bait.
There is a tackle shop in Bridge Road, Woolston and another, coincidentally, in Bridge Road, Burseldon on the A27. There are some shops in Netley. A fairly child friendly venue, there is a playground half way along the road where it is possible to fish and keep an eye on the kids.


OTHER LOCAL VENUES.... Netley.....Magazine Lane

Approximate Tide Times for the next seven days

A short distance across loose shingle to fish at high tide

updated 27 June 09 tide time link added
6th July note re. Rolling mills added

Poole Harbour, Redhorn Point.

Waiting for a flounder, Redhorn Point

Redhorn Point, Witch Farm Oilfield across the water.

As you head from Studland towards the Ferry you will drive uphill around a long sweeping bend and then as the road levels, see a long straight; on your left about 200 yards on is a metal gate ( FP5 on a sign on the gate) with large a rock each side of the gateway. Coming from the ferry, if you've started going downhill and turning left.... you've missed it. Parking is available at the roadside but keep clear of the yellow line. A broad path leads down to the point it is an easy walk with a few muddy patches after rain. There are usually a few boats moored near the point which provide a visual marker to head for.

January day, with ice along the shoreline.

Fishing from the side of the point is onto silt and mud and a good pull on the line is needed to move the weight from the bottom, from the point casting out to the right of the green channel marker pole the sea bed is more sand and shingle. There are some weed patches to negotiate when reeling in to avoid snags.
You can fish this venue with light tackle as distance is not needed, ragworm, mussel or slipper limpets will catch the usual Poole harbour species.... flounder, school bass and eels.

There are no facilities nearby, there is a cafe and toilets back at Knoll Beach (NT) at Studland. Nearest bait and tackle shops are at Wareham, Swanage or Poole.

The venue is child friendly, there is a strip of sandy beach or a close cropped grass area for the ankle-biters to play on within sight of where you will be fishing.Like all fishing marks along this part of the harbour please observe the fire safety rules.... no fires or barbecues. Adders are quite common in heathland, leave them alone and they will not bother you; keep out of long vegetation, there are a great many deer here and they carry ticks which lurk on the long growth waiting for another host to brush against it.



OTHER LOCAL VENUES......Studland................Jerry's Point

Tide Times for the next seven days

updated 17th August 2010
Parking warning !

Parking Warning. The signs say 'no overnight parking'.... this means you may get a ticket for parking at any time during the 'night', even if you stay just a short time.
check the signs, I believe it is between 11pm and 06.30 am

Pembrokeshire, Milford Haven.

The Mackerel Landing

Milford Haven is on the north bank of a large natural harbour that serves the oil and gas industry. It is reached by the A4076 from Haverfordwest if travelling south or over the Cleddau Toll Bridge on the A477 from Pembroke Dock if heading west. The Marina is well signposted, at the bottom of a steepish hill you will need to turn back sharp left and follow that road until the junction where a right turn will get you onto the road along the containing wall of the dock. There is plenty of free parking alongside between the road and the wall.The venue is good for disabled access and fishing can be done from the back of a car along the sea wall or from a wheelchair on the Mackerel Landing ( so called as it was built to service the Russian ships that once worked the area hoovering up the shoals of fish).
There are signs saying no unauthorised access affixed to the landing, I have yet to see anyone take any notice of them..

Fishing from here is over fairly clean ground although you will lose some tackle to snags stones and seaweed. The yellow post with a cross on top, in the above picture under the middle of the sailing ship,marks a large cube of concrete ( 8' cube maybe ?) that will snag tackle. Legering fish or worm baits will get pout, codling, dogfish, eels, whiting, bass, pollack , wrasse and flatfish. In summer float fishing for mackerel and gar is the most popular method.

The sea wall provides a handy rod rest; although if you do this be aware that a bass is quite able to flip your rod over the wall. Fish can be caught right up to the wall so distance casting is not required.

The Lock Pit.

If there is no boat traffic you can fish into the lock pit for mini-species or if you are optimistic a conger eel. Bait and tackle can be obtained from Anglers Corner which is on Pill Road, on your left and visible from the main road if coming in from Haverfordwest. ( opposite junction with Coombs Drive...... tel 01645 698899).
There are no facilities at this venue, there is a Tesco supermarket not far from where you turned off the road to skirt around the marina and some bars and cafés have appeared in the new buildings that have sprung up around the marina.
If you are prepared to put in the effort, soft or peeler crabs can be found on the beach to the left, seek them out among the weed covered rocks but put the stones back how you found them if you move them.

Tides Times for the next seven days

Tackle, Setting up a standard sliding float.

A standard sliding float set-up

Fish will be caught at various depths and to catch them you will need to adjust the depth at which you present your bait. Trial and error will be needed so the length of line between the float and the bait needs to be adjustable.... hence the sliding float.
To set up the standard kit that you will get from the tackle shop put the parts on to your line in this order, bead, float (coloured end first ), ball weight, bead and then the swivel. Tie up a hook length, about 30 to 40 cm long and attach this to the lower eye of the swivel by putting the double overhand loop through the eye and then passing the hook back through the loop and pulling up tight.
The stop to prevent the bait and weight sinking right to the bottom is formed by the small elastic band you will find in the kit; put the band around the line above the float and put one end of the band through the other and pull up tight. If you have large eyes on your rod you can leave it like that.... if the band catches on its way through the eyes you will need to trim off the free end of the band.
You can now slide the band stop up the line to set the fishing depth.

stages in setting up the float stop.

Improved version.

The picture above shows an improvement to the basic set up. A problem with the standard set up is that the sharp edges of the ball weight wear the line away and eventually you will lose your float and weight..... and worst of all, your fish. This variation involves putting the bead and ball weight onto the loop in the hook length, this gives double the line to resist wear, but check frequently and discard and tie another hook length if you see any chafing of the line. You can make life easier for yourself by using a snap swivel ( like a safety pin clip ) instead of the swivel supplied.Experience, or looking to see what other people have done when they catch a fish, will determine the depth you fish at: for mackerel and gar the books usually say about four feet and two feet, but I catch most of mine at a depth of about nine feet for both species. Pollack are found deeper while bass can show up any any depth.

For a cheaper and more versatile set up have a look at my rig here