Last Sea Fishing Visit to Anglesey of 2009

Plas Cymryan - Is this the most perfect place to live?

We spend the last weekend of September on Anglesey searching for Small Eyed Rays and any other denizens of the deep we could find.

Unfortunately no one told the fish that our reason for being on the island was to catch a few of them and the two times we ventured out we didn’t even have a bite – let alone manage to land anything of substance. As it was we weren’t that bothered, we just needed a little break before the mayhem that is the run up to Christmas and if you can’t relax on Anglesey there is something wrong with you.

Perfect bait placement - now where are the fish?

As well as trying at Cymryan we had a go for Bass in the inland sea, which is the large body of water separating Holy Island from Anglesey proper but the only fish we saw were a few small Bass or Mullet jumping wherever our baits weren’t.

So that’s it for Anglesey this year – we’ll be back chasing Bass in the spring but until then it’s eyes to the weather as we hope for a few winter storms to bring in the Cod up here in Lancashire.

Goodbye Visit to Penmon

"Dipping Your Toes"

Penmon Lighthouse

And then it was time to come home.

After packing the car and leaving Ty Cristion behind until late our next visit late September we spent a few hours at Penmon where we had our lunch and our fairwell slice of cake from the café, The Pilothouse.

This was one of the best holidays I think we’ve been on, not due to any spectacular sea fishing achievements, but because we got to do all the things we say we’re going to do instead of fishing 24/7 for nearly 2 weeks. Walking, bird watching, just plain old relaxing and watching the world go by – and fishing obviously – it was fantastic!

I’ve only been back at work 2 weeks and we’re already looking forward to going back to the island at the end of September, hopefully to bag a few Small Eyes Rays, but if we don’t get them we know that Anglesey will once again be the venue of a great break.

Scoping Out South Stack

"Hiding in the Daisies"

As the wind continued to be a bit blustery we decided to go and visit South Stack lighthouse with the cameras and spotting scope to see what bird life we could find. This time we climbed down the cliff path (all 400 steps of it) and went across to the lighthouse where the Lesser Black Backed Gulls still had chicks.

The views back towards the cliffs of the sea birds coming and going were astonishing and we saw all sorts of birds including Guillemot, Razorbill, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed and Greater Black Backed Gulls, Kittiwake, Chough and finally managed to get views (although a long way off and not suitable for photography) of Puffins.

The above juvenile Kittiwake was just sitting by the path, not a care in the world, and with the abundance of small fish in the sea below who can blame him.

It was a struggle to get an in-focus shot of the gulls as they flew past, I never realised just how fast they are until I tried catching on on camera. After spending a few hours just watching the busy cliffs and sea below we trudged back up the cliff, stopping at every bench we could find to catch our breath and continually looking at the cliffs as we ascended a path (yep – all 400 steps going up as well) that seemed a lot steeper on the way up than it was coming down.

Lonely Razorbill with Guillemots

It was well worth a visit but undoubtedly the star attraction of the South Stack area are the cliffs down which the path runs, the lighthouse island is good for sea watching and during the spring and summer has an RSPB presence on it, but if you want to see the birds keep stopping on the way down and just take a few minutes to wonder at the huge number of birds nesting on every conceivable ledge.

Walking Cemlyn Bay to Carmel Head

Racing the tide infront of The Skerries

As the wind continued to be a little severe we sacked sea fishing off for and went for a walk along the cliffs between Cemlyn Bay and Carmel Head. The scenery was stunning, with great views of ‘The Skerries’ over the sea to the north west.

There was an amazing variety of wildlife on show not least being a huge number of Green Veined White butterflies, feeding on the cliffs out of the wind. At least I think that’s what they were – I don’t think ‘Small Whites’ show the veins in their wings as much (I saw some today in Bolton in the park) and ‘Large Whites’ are, well, larger.

We past a couple of huge concrete / stone pillars called “The White Ladies” which are used as a navigational aid as when they are lined up with the marker on the small isle offshore, “West Mouse”, help get a bearing into Holyhead.

As well as the usual sea birds we saw a juvenile Buzzard but as per usual it stayed just out of camera range – damn thing.

The walk was about 6.5 miles and was fairly easy going and easy enough to navigate, although the paths are a bit vague towards the end of Carmel Head. We started at a car park just east of the National Trust owned farm of Mynachdy, headed north east(ish) to Hen Borth then went anti-clockwise along the coast to Porth y Dyfn, came back over Penbrynyreglwys, and headed along the track, through the farm and back to the car park.

Easy Sea Fishing at Penrhos Country Park

Penrhos beach - North of the coastal park

The wind continued to blow and showers were forecast so we elected to try somewhere with a bit of shelter. We’d been for a walk around the coastal park at Penrhos and had seem someone fishing north of the car park, just where the clay cliffs start so we parked up, donned waders and waterproofs and got going.

Weed was a bit of a problem initially as the tide ebbed from right to left and the wind blew the same direction, but once the tide turned everything became a little calmer.

A small Bass for me

This was another one of those infuriating sea fishing sessions where you know there are fish there, made even more so by the fact we could see birds diving for bait fish and we even saw a few fishing jumping, but no matter how hard we tried or what method, we just couldn’t hook into anything.

And then, while sitting and having a coffee, I noticed a slight bump on my rod but thought nothing of it as the weed and wind had been doing that all day, until it happened again – a tiny little knock.

Could this be a fish?

I wound in even more weed to find my smallest Bass yet attached to the bottom hook of my rig, a whole ragworm dangling from it’s mouth.

This was to be my first and only Bass of the hoiday but we’d found a new venue and got a fish out of it in conditions that in all honesty were probably best suited to sitting in the pub and having a pint. It doesn’t look very windy on the photo but believe me, it was blasting along the beach and after a while we called it a day as not only was the weather worsening but the tide was pushing us away from the deeper water.

A Lazy Day Photographing Around Point Lynas

Labyrinth Spider at home in the Gorse.

After Tuesdays late night fly fishing excitement Wednesday was another day for walking around the coastal cliffs in our never rending quest for the perfect picnic spot. Point Lynas comes very, very close, no people, fantastic views and blazing sunshine – yep, almost perfect.

Another good excuse to take out the ‘big’ camera where I spotted a few Labyrinth Spiders (Agelena labyrinthica) which people (myself included until recently) mistakenly identify as Funnel Web Spiders. Labyrinth Spiders aren’t harmful – they just look a bit mean sitting in the entrance of their web in the Gorse.

A few photos of the stunning wild flowers around Point Lynas, all taken using the standard ‘mini zoom’ that came as part of the ‘kit’ with the Canon EOS 450D, the Canon 18-55mm IS.

Sea Thrift on the rocky cliffs at Point Lynas, Anglesey

A few half decent shots – now I’m getting the hang of using an SLR again, all be it digital, I’m finding the quality of even the cheaper Canon lens optics far out perform any compact style camera for close up work although I’m still a bit reluctant to take it when I go fishing.

Fly Fishing in the Rain at Llyn Alaw, Anglesey

Our first fish on a fly - Rudd

Ah, I remember what we did on Monday now. We went for an explore into the center of the island, mainly to find where to get day tickets for the massive man made reservior Llyn Alaw.

We’d not really been in this area before and I was amazed at just how rugged it is in the open spaces. We kept seeing a Buzzard on telegraph posts in front of us but no matter how sneaky we were I couldn’t get a good shot of it.

We arrived after paying at the visitor centre car park and made our way over to the opposite side of the lake and set up our 6 weight fly rods with floating line and a few flies that looked like the bugs in the lake – I’m sure they have proper names but I’ve no idea what they were (the flies or bugs). We’d learned on Monday from another angler that it fishes best from 8pm onwards so the plan was to go from about 7:30 till 10pm.

After about an hour and a half of what I’d like to think of as casting practice (catching trees, my hat, etc.) the weather payed us a little visit and it hammered it down for a good half hour. Thankfully we were wearing waders and waterproofs tops so it didn’t matter that much but it was odd standing in a lake, in the dimming light, in the rain.

Finally the Buzzard sat still

Not long after the rain stopped I heard Wendy yelling from a bit further down the lake. I’m sure they could here her all the way up to Holyhead.

Rushing back to shore, or as ‘rushing’ as is possible in waders, I grabbed the camera and dashed over to grab a picture of her prize.

Not a trout but a small Rudd (or Roach – I think it’s a Rudd). Did it matter to Wendy that it wasn’t our target species for the evening? Did it hell! This was our first ever fly caught fish and although the weather had been a bit pants we were elated.

Happy with our first successful catch we made our way back to the cottage for a well earned brew.

We drove up that way a few more times in the couple of weeks we stayed on Anglesey but the best photo I could get of the Buzzard is still not very good – but at least I got him.

Lazing on the Rocks at Llanbadrig

Long Spined Sea Scorpion from Llanbadrig, Anglesey

Not sure what we did on Monday but we got up early on Tuesday and headed up to Wylfa to have a go at the mini Bass and Mullet that hang around the warm water outflow from the power station. I’m not sure what time some people get out of bed but I thought we were quiet early and yet when we arrived all the rocks suitable for fishing from had people on them – as you know we’re not the social type of fisher-people so we moved clockwise round the island a few miles and ended up on a very comfortable mark at Llanbadrig.

A small Pollack on the float

I was first into a fish for a change although it wasn’t a monster by any stretch of the imagination, a small Pollack (or Colin as I seem to remember Sainsbury’s are wanting to call them for some reason – sheesh…) taken on a Ragworm fished under a float.

We’d fished here before and knew the bottom was a tackle graveyard so although there may be some monsters lurking around in the depths we elected to play it safe and have a bit of light tackle fun with the spinning rods and some floats.

I managed to catch the angriest, spikiest fish in the sea – a long spined sea scorpion, which is not venomous although it looks lethal, just a bit prickly while fishing straight down the rocks below my feet, again on a small Ragworm and for once I was ahead in the fishing stakes.

And then it all went Wendy’s way as she produced Wrasse after Wrasse with a few Pollack thrown in for good measure.

I also had a go at spinning and lure fishing, hoping to snare a bigger fish as the tide started to race past our protected little cove but after loosing a few soft plastic lures and a few leads decided that our choice to float fish was definitely the best thing to do.

A Wrasse for Wendy

I did finally get to use the landing net, which we’d bought years ago specifically for rock fishing as it has a long telescopic handle. Was it for a denizen of the deeps?

Was is heck, Wendy had got snagged on a rock and broken off and as one of her trademark pink floats made a bid for freedom I sprang into action – more like casually climbed down and netted it but the result was the same, one saved float although I’m not sure about her choice of colours…

We spent a very pleasant afternoon where catching small fish reminded me of when we first started sea angling, when every fish was fantastic and new.

I’m glad to have re-discovered that feeling, sometimes I think I get a bit blinkered in the search for bigger and better quarry and forget the sheer enjoyment of fishing and watching the world go by.

Catching a Few at Cemlyn, Anglesey

Sandwich Tern returning to chicks with a Sandeel, Cemlyn

We arrived on Anglesey with two weeks of doing anything except work in mind and thats exactly what we did. Sea fishing, walking, photography and bird watching, Anglesey has never disappointed us and these past two weeks have been no exception.

Sunday started with blue skies and after discovering that there was a supermarket just up the road from where we have stayed for years we made some sandwiches and went for a short walk at Cemlyn Bay to see if the Sandwich Terns were still there. As you can see from the above photo not only were they still there but they were still flying backwards and forwards feeding their young.

There were hundreds of them and even when we walked around the headland you could still hear them calling and see them diving into the sea in search of Sandeels.

Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey

The bay itself is fairly steep and covered in shingle rather than sand which keeps away all but the most hardcore sunbathers so we almost had the place to ourselves. As you can see – hardly a ripple in site and we decided to come back later and have a go at fly fishing in the sea for the first time, more on that later.

Six Spot Burnet Moths on Ragwort

All along the edge of the beach and cliffs the Ragwort was flowering and covered in both the moths and caterpillars of the Six Spot Burnett (Zygaena filipendulae), the caterpillars look identical to the Cinnabar Moth ones I’d spotted in Bolton during the previous week (yellow and black stripes) but where the moths have a red stripe and a dot the Six Spot Burnett has six spots on each wing. Sometimes the simple beauty of our countryside and wildlife amazes me and this first proper day on Anglesey was turning out to be one of the best yet.

A small whiting for me

Later that evening we came back to Cemlyn for a spot of sea fishing.

The fly fishing, although not a total disaster proved a bit troublesome in the evening breeze but we’d brought our light beach / bass gear with us and as the sun set cast a couple of juicy crab baits to the ‘gutter’ formed where the shingle meets the sand which in theory is where food is washed by the tide and hence the fish are to be found.

A lad fishing down the beach from us told us his father had had a few Bass there the previous evening but as per usual this was not ‘last night’ and the Bass didn’t show for us or him.

I managed to save a blank with a greedy little Whiting then a darkness settled we made our way back to Ty Cristion.

A Weekend of Westerlies, Weed and Escaping Bass

The 'Bay' to the Right of Stanley Embankment (A5), Anglesey, Looking North East

We set off on our Bank Holiday journey just before noon last Friday and after stopping off at Colwyn Bay promenade for some lunch called in to Anglesey Tackle Centre to have a quick chat with Gareth and pick up bait for the long weekend ahead. Needless to say after wishing for good weather it had turned a bit blustery but we were fairly sure we’d find somewhere to fish.

Our first stop was to have a go at Broad Beach, we’d been told it would be too windy to fish it but decided to give it a go anyway. It was just on the side of manageable as we fished the tide up but after a while, and after loosing a fish as it snagged me round a rock I’d previously tripped over (yes – I know!!!!), we grudgingly agreed that it was indeed far to weedy to fish.

Anglesey 1, Stuart & Wendy nil.

Saturday morning greeted us with bright sunshine and yes, you guessed it, yet more wind. After quickly working out wind direction we decided to drive down to Aberdaren, at the far end of the Lleyn Penninsula – this turned out to be one of our more stupid choices due to a few reasons;

1. We’d forgotten about the major roadworks between Caernarfon and Trefor where the speed is limited to 30 mph.
2. We got stuck behind the worlds slowest driver on one of the narrower B roads, which meant,
3. We arrived at the mark with little time till high water.
4. The wind shifted and seemed to gain in strength blowing more weed at us.
5. The weed… I’ve never not been able to wind in due to weed before and after both of us loosing gear to rafts and rafts of the stuff we made our way back to the cottage.

2 nil to Anglesey…

We woke early on Sunday, quickly ate breakfast, made our lunch and headed towards Ty Croes where we would fish the tide 2 hours down to low water and 2 hours back up. It looked a little choppy as we drove past Cable Bay but at least from the rocks weed shouldn’t be a problem. We parked up and made our way to the mark only to find we’d obviously not got up early enough! A few guys had beaten us to it, damn! There aren’t really many snag free marks here so we quickly back tracked to Cable Bay where we’d seen from Ty Croes that the mark was empty of anglers. After a short hike we got to the mark and yep, there were people there, double dammit! They’d arrived in the 10 minutes it took us to get from Ty Croes to Cable Bay.

Sod it, lets go for a walk.

We dumped the gear back at the cottage and drove to across the A5 to Penhros Country Park but after looking at the tide flooding into the bay and the lack of weed or wind, we quickly went back for our Bass gear. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours and did actually see some fish swirling on the surface, either Mullet or Bass and then it happened. BANG! The rod tip didn’t just twitch it arced over as a fish took my Peeler crab bait. I struck and I felt it shake it’s head as it dove into the rocks, then after about 10 yards of mayhem I felt it come off as it dived through the weed. I was a little upset as you can imagine and we fished ‘hard’ for another hour but to no avail.

3 Nil to Anglesey.

On Monday the weather showed us that it was not yet summer. The temperature dropped dramatically as the rain and wind lashed the island making fishing anywhere almost impossible, or at least very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. We spend the day reading and drinking hot mugs of tea while praying for a break in the clouds that never arrived.

Tuesday dawned overcast and still windy as we bid our farewell to Anglesey until we return in a couple of months and after a final brew and slice of cake at the Penmon Lighthouse cafe we made our way home.

Did we enjoy it even though the fishing was, to say the least, a bit rubbish? You’re damn right we did. There is hardly anywhere else I know that instills such calm and rest as Anglesey and missing those few fish just makes us more eager to go back and even the score.