Penrhos on Anglesey as the tide floods

We’ve just returned from a couple of weeks sea fishing, walking and generally relaxing on Anglesey, one our favourite places to unwind. We stayed in a cottage at Ty Cristion which as usual was excellent and as the schools hadn’t broken up was very quiet so when we needed to just sit in the sun and watch the Buzzards circling overhead or read, our rest wasn’t shattered by the screams of “can we go to the beach now” from hordes of kids.

To say the weather was unkind would be a slight understatement as halfway through our break Anglesey and the North Wales coastline was battered by winds of up to 84mph and more rain in a couple of days than usually falls in an entire month but we still managed to get out a couple of times to wet a line, as the saying goes.

One of our favourite beaches on the island is Broad Beach (Porth Nobla) just South of Rhosneigr, where we fished a couple of hours either side of high water in darkness hoping for a Bass.

The sea was was almost flat, for once, and although it looked like weed may be a problem it only became an issue as you wound back in to re-bait.

Unfortunately no Bass were showing even though we tried every bait under the Sun (or Moon) – ragworm, sandeel, lugworm and crab, and it was looking like even Wales’ most infamous denizen of the dark, the Dogfish, wasn’t going to play until Wendy managed to land a small one then proceed to repeat the feat not much later while I was still staring at my motionless rod like a fool. Finally, about a half hour before we packed up, I managed my own Dogfish – not the target species but a fish is a fish and anything is good when you’re a bit desperate.

We had a few more trips out to various places including Penrhos to fish from low tide up, using ragworm to tempt a Bass but on this occasion even though we saw the odd small fish splash about near the surface the Bass were not to be tempted – outsmarted by a fish – again…

Before the chaos that the wind brought we had a quick go at Fly Fishing in the inland sea, a large tidal lagoon that separates Anglesey from Holy Island and although our skills and techniques are definitely improving the fish weren’t impressed and obviously found something better to eat rather than a hook covered in feathers and fluff.

Wendy snares a Three-bearded rockling at Cemlyn Bay

Another of our favourite beaches is Cymyran Bay, on the North West side of the Island, this beach has been fairly good to us in the past but our timing was off and we arrived at low water and looking back at it there really wasn’t much depth to the water. We’ve been told (local knowledge is everything) that the state of tide doesn’t really matter here, it’s more to do with the time of day as the Bass move in as the sun sets.

This was not to be and we’re now convinced it needs to be fished over high tide into darkness.

The Dogfish were quite obliging once the sun set and Wendy managed a couple of other species; a Five-bearded Rockling and a larger Three-bearded Rockling (her first) so although my tally was more Dogfish a new species was caught and a pleasant evening was spent watching the sun set over the headland.

And then the weather arrived and the fishing went on hold. In fact everything to do with outside went on hold for a few days until the sky cleared.

The wind had made the West coast beaches almost un-fishable due to the amount of weed in the water and the rains made rock fishing a little dangerous as the paths were now slick with mud so we spent the rest of our break going for walks around the island.

We didn’t get anything like as much sea fishing done as we’d hoped and for once never did any fishing off Anglesey’s  rock marks but we did, as always, have a great time and there’s always next time…

Saturday we did much the same thing except forced ( oh how tough it was!!!! ) ourselves to have a bash at the Bass entering the Menai Straights at one of our favourite locations just North East of Beaumaris. As the sun set you could certainly tell that the seasons are a bit late this year with snow still on the mountains of Snowdonia opposite us and a distinct ‘nip’ in the air – in fact it was bloody freezing. The Bass obviously thought so as well as our wonderful peeler crab baits came back in untouched so after a couple of hours we called it a night.

The following day we did much the same, a whole load of relaxing.

Towards the evening we again got ‘that itch’ that sea anglers get towards dusk and we headed of towards Cemlyn Bay, a place that has never thrown up a big fish for us but there’s always a chance.

We arrived just as the sun was setting and the tide starting to flood but damn, was it windy, blowing straight at us and making it feel even colder than the previous evening.

I’d brought my light rod but that stayed in the car and my normal beach caster went onto the beach with us. We tried all sorts of bait combinations, lug, rag, mackerel and crab but the first hour was mainly spent trying to keep our hands warm.

Finally a tell tail nod on my rod indicated a fish and I brought a tiny codling to the shore. Not long after Wendy had a more substantial bite and we both had the thought, BASS, but the tell tail glow of yellow eyes coming through the surf revealed the first of a couple of Dogfish for Wendy that evening.

With the Dogfish feeding I changed to a single hook pulley rig as they can really mess up clip down multi hook distance rigs as if you don’t see the bite they’ll swallow the bait and you’ll end up cutting the hook off rather than trying to remove it – the hook will eventually rust where as removing it will almost certainly kill the fish.

I lashed a big crab onto a size 2/0 hook and placed the cast just behind the breakers, or my approximation to that anyway – it was dark after all. A few minutes later and thump! the tip arches down and then springs straight as a fish picks up the bait and runs with the lead – this had to be a Bass! But no, another Codling, slightly bigger than before but still no monster – back he went and after a final coffee we left Cemlyn and headed back to the cottage.

And that was all the fishing we did – we were just far, far too relaxed to clamber over rocks or do anything remotely strenuous over the few days we were on the island but that was exactly what we both needed, a few days doing nothing at all.

We did do a bit of exploring and I’ve a few photos to download yet but they’re on the other camera which is currently under a load of other stuff.

Pollack for Wendy

Not entirely sure why I stopped blogging, a few other things going on but no particular reason but I’m back now and hopefully I’ll get some more fishing done and some walking done. So without any more mumbling what have we been doing fishing wise.

Well, to be perfectly honest, not a whole lot, we went to Anglesey for a week at the beginning of June and stayed at Ty Cristion, was fantastic.

We didn’t really catch much but as it was going to be the end of September when we had our main summer break we needed a week’s break just to get away.

Anglesey is a fantastic place and the weather was stunning. I don’t know how we manage it but once again it was shorts and T-shirts weather and we spent almost as much time just relaxing in the sun as we did fishing.

We caught a few of the usual suspects. Namely Dogfish, Wrasse, Pollock and an early Spider Crab and as always, I was out fished by Wendy although I did manage to grab a few Bass from a beach we’d always tried but never before had any luck at.

A Sunset Bass

Cemlyn beach is the seaward side of an important nesting site for many types of seabirds which, as we waiting for evening to fall and to start fishing, were a fantastic sight to see diving into the bay after fish. We fishing an hour before and an hour after dusk using simply gear and peeler crab as bait and managed to snare a couple of Bass before the dogfish turned up – at which point we left.

We fished to the right of the bay, just in front of the car park, casting no further than 20 feet out.

As usual we either got bait ourselves or from Gareth at fishing4u who’s website seems to change more than the weather on the island. If your thinking of going to Anglesey fishing I thoroughly recommend giving the forum a look and maybe popping into the shop at Menai Bridge.

Dogfish from Caim Head

We set off last Friday (just over a week ago) for our first trip to Anglesey this year, looking forward to a bit of fishing and a long weekend away. Our first stop was at a new tackle shop in Menai Bridge owned and run by Gareth, the founder of the fishing4u.co.uk sea fishing forum, where we picked up some bait and as usual bought some bits and pieces.

We spent our first evening targeting Bass out of the Menai Straits but all we could catch was weed as the wind was blowing strongly down the Straits, even if we’d had a bite I doubt we’d have seen it! A shame really as last year this venue produced my best ever Bass.

The following day (Saturday) the wind was very strong which made it impossible to fish anywhere on the West of the island, which is what we had planned so after a quick trip to see Gareth again for some advice we ended up on the East side on a beautiful headland called Caim Head.

Caim Head Dogfish, Anglesey

The place was magnificent and very sheltered from the wind so we proceeded to empty the area immediately in front of us of Dogfish. No matter what bait we put out the call went up – Dogfish! We had a fantastic time and probable caught about 10 or so in total, some up to about 2lbs and we stayed until the light started to fail – another great venue on this beautiful island.

Sunday arrived and with it came the rain…

Rain doesn’t really matter to sea fishing but the wind hadn’t dropped at all so a very lazy day was had by us both, doing nothing except a bit of reading and watching the snooker final of all things.

Monday – time to go home. We stopped off at Penmon Lighthouse cafe for tea and a lovely slice of lemon sandwich cake and just sat, read and watched the birds and the boats go by. Not many fish this time but who cares – in such fantastic surroundings catching fish is almost a distraction.

Small Bass for Wendy

After the long hot and wind free July we were looking forward to some lazy days fishing from the rocks on Anglesey. Alas the weather gods had a different plan for us and after lazing around in the sun on, of all things, Sunday (what else…) we woke on Monday to rain and a strong Westerly wind which dented our plans a little so we did a bit of walking instead.

After a while, I’m not sure which day we meandered over to our favorite spot of the year, a mark called ‘flagpole’ near Beaumaris where we found shelter as the wind was blowing over our heads.

The bait we took was frozen sandeel but no bites were forthcoming so i had a rummage around the rocks and found 2 crabs and, almost exactly the same as in may, Wendy managed to land her first proper Bass, only a small school fish but as you can see she was very, very pleased. I didn’t get a bite but this fish more than made up for it.

Ballan Wrasse

Our next attempt at a few fish was Ravens Point on the west side of Holy Island. Here the water is very deep and although the weather didn’t look to promising, with quite a swell on the sea I tried a bit of bottom fishing for rays or even dogfish while Wendy as per usual got the first fish, a sizable Ballan Wrasse on a small hard crab.

She then proceeded to catch a mackerel and it was looking little desperate for me so in desperation a got out the feathers and had a bash until I got one as well. At this point the rain came down and it started to become a bit precarious on the rocks so as the heavens opened we made a scramble up the rocks, back to the car.

It was beginning to look more and more like I wasn’t going to catch anything of quantity or quality as the holiday progressed and to make matters worse the wind picked up even though the rain stayed away.

In our quest to find calmer waters we ended up doing an afternoon / early evening session at Llanbadrig on the rocks to the north side of Anglesey. The scenery here is stunning and the church itself is well worth a visit as it tells the story of St. Patrick being wrecked on ‘Middle mouse’ and later founding the church.

It was a good job the views were good because the fishing itself was grim although I did manage to break my duck with a couple of dogfish.

Pollack for Wendy

As the sun dropped and it looked like packing up time Wendy had a last ‘chuck’ with a Storm rubber sandeel and even though I’d done exactly the same, in the same spot only half an hour earlier, managed to snag this lively little pollock.

You can see by the look on her face that she was a little bit chuffed. As the sun set we made our way back up to the church where we watched some other people fish on the rocks below for a while (thankfully they weren’t catching either so I didn’t feel to bad!) before heading back to the cottage.

A new day dawned, still a bit breezy but sunny so we planned another session to the flagpole as we’d managed to acquire a score of peeler crabs. Bass lookout – here we come!

The weather was perfect for this venue and again, what little wind there was was over our backs so it felt calm and hot. We tried everything but even though we were getting bites we just couldn’t hook into anything until I managed to hook this little fellow – finally – a Bass – although not the size we wanted so back he went.

Small Bass for me

We watched the boats drift by, also fishing for Bass I think and continued to miss bites all afternoon but the bigger fish just weren’t there and the only fish we saw was the small one in the photo to the left. I think the reason we kept missing the fish was due to the fact we were after the big ones with size 3/0 hooks and the only fish there were to small to get their mouths around the bait properly. Unlike our May visit where the mouth of the 2lb+ fish could have swallowed a tennis ball.

Throughout the holiday we also fished a mark called ‘Whitebeach’, park where it says Fedw Fawr an walk east (right on the map) over the field and down to an old quarry, where the swell made fishing almost impossible but once again Wendy caught a Mackerel and I blanked. We did see a couple of Porpoises chasing some fish though – only about 100 feet or so out so that more than made up for the lack of fish.

We even tried Llandona beach, fishing the high tide into darkness with freshly dug lugworms from Sandy beach (the best lug digging beach on the island) but after an hour of fighting with the weed on the line we gave up.

So overall the fishing wasn’t very good and we’ve put it down to a couple of things; the massive change in the weather for the beginning of August and our increased knowledge of the area. This may sound odd but where as when we first started fishing any fish would do, we now tend to target specific areas for specific species of fish and this method inevitably leads to either good days or bad days – unfortunately we had more of the bad than good but did we enjoy ourselves, you bet we did. Will we do it again – oh yes!

Ready to Fish Trefor Pier

After a full english breakfast at the B&B / pub in Pwllheli we motored over to the other side of the Lleyn Peninsula for the second fishing match of the weekend. We were fishing the tide down at Trefor pier, not ideal but its getting increasingly difficult to find piers that you are able to fish from and as BLAS have a pier cup it seemed a shame to waste a trip to the Lleyn without giving Trefor a go.

The venue is fantastic and although the weather was atrocious Dave, Shacky, Wendy and I had a great time although not many fish came out. The final tally was Dave with 4 dogfish, Shacky with 3 me with 2 and Wendy with an eel. As mentioned – not the best fishing but the company was great and seeing a porpoise just off the end of the pier and the baby Bass feeding among the piers legs more than made up for the weather.

Discussing The Tide

We set of from Preston early enough so that we could pickup some bait from Victoria angling at Colwyn Bay Pier and have enough time to book into the B&B ( The Victoria hotel ) before meeting the lads from Blackpool and Leyton Angling Society and Wirral Sea Fishing for the customary natter before the match. Paddy had made a huge pot of Chilli which was very welcome and even tempted some of the guys out of the pub were they were watching the FA Cup!

At about 4.30pm we all moved down to the venue which was to be at the golf course end of Pwllheli South Beach. The weather was clear with only a few clouds in the sky but the lads from BLAS didn’t believe me when I said it wouldn’t rain so donned waterproofs and sweated out the afternoon and early evening in style.The water was crystal clear and although this concerned a few people I was the first in with a fish on my light rod – a dogfish, not very big but still a fish.

Time passed and neither Wendy or I could get another bite no matter what bait, distance or end tackle we used while up the beach from us Dave was getting into more doggies by blasting his bait out that little bit further than should be possible.

Pwllheli Beach

The tide got higher as the sun dipped lower and with the tide the weed became a problem until the only realistic way to fish was close in if you wanted to retrieve your gear without it getting covered. Shacky, fishing next to Dave also got into some fish and as the final call was made the results were Dave, Shacky and Big Kev – joint first to scoop the pool of £38 each. I came in joint fifth.

In all 23 anglers signed in, which for a match so far away from home on FA Cup day was a great turn out, 14 people caught fish, unfortunately Wendy wasn’t one of them. Another great day out at a great venue that looks like it should produce some good fish but never has for us.

Digging Lug on Sandy Beach

After a leisurely journey from Preston we arrived on the island a little to early to get into the cottage so we stopped for a cup of tea and some cake at a cafe in Beaumaris – the weather was fantastic and the views across the Menai Straits of the mainland were beautiful.

We arrived at the cottage and as soon as we’d unpacked all the gears set out to “Porth Tywyn-mawr” or “Sandy Beach” to dig some lugworm for the first fishing session on Anglesey this year.

We’d already collected the rest of the bait; frozen sandeels, squid, peeler crab and mackerel, on the way from Victoria Angling so after a good feed and making up a couple of flasks of coffee away we went.

We arrived at the chosen venue, “Porth Nobla” or “Broad Beach” I think it’s called, ready to do battle with the denizens of the deep.

Broad Beach Sunset, Anglesey

Wendy and I took almost identical gear, a normal surf casting rod – capable of blasting out a bait a very long way, and a lighter ‘Bass’ rod for closer in work. With 2 rods each – we weren’t messing about.

After a few practice cast I launched a frozen sandeel and squid bait out into the depths then quickly assembled my lighter rod, baited up with a big fat crab and plopped a bait just behind the surf line. Wendy had also set her traps up but had bating up her long distance rod with lugworm.

Darkness descended upon us like ink from heaven, stained only with the red afterglow of the sunset. We re-baited and waited…. ….

I noticed out of the corner of my eye Wendy shift her attention to rod tip. “Strike” – got one! But what manner of fish was it to be, the fabled silver bar of Summer – a Bass?

Dogfish

Unfortunately not, during the summer, after dark the coasts of Wales come alive with dogfish and that’s what she’d snared. But, a fish is a fish and she was 1-0 up. I re-baited, this time with lugworm on the long rod and sandeel and the close one.

Waiting…. drank some coffee, more waiting. Not again! Got another came a delighted, and a bit smug, cry of victory. Only a whiting this time but now it was 2-0. I was beginning to think it was going to be another of those nights.

“We’ll make this the last cast then” – it was after 1am and we wanted to be up early tomorrow for a scout round to find some new fishing spots in the daylight.

Did the tip move then? No, just wishful thinking, just the wind. There is no wind! Finally! “I’m in!!” Careful – i can’t afford to loose this, the drive back to the cottage would be unbearable. I feel a head shake as I get the fish to about the 20 meter mark, could it be? Then, the tell tale yellow glowing eyes stare at me out of the waves. Yep, I know what this dogfish is thinking. I unhook him and return him to his home to fight another day. We call it a night with the scores a 2-1 to Wendy.

Another Dogfish

We’d been hoping for a late Thornback Ray or maybe an early Bass and got the usual dogfish and small whiting but at least we didn’t blank on our first outing. We got back to the cottage put the unused bait in the fridge or freezer accordingly and got some rest. Tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow……