LONG QUARRY

BURNHAM-ON-SEA

Fish over 2lb are specimen

From my experience I can tell you that the fl ounders generally feed in diff erent intervals at Burnham and not necessarily all the way through the tide. It can seem really strange at times, you won’t catch any on the fl ooding tide, then catch a couple really quickly when the tide begins to ebb. Having said that, it could easily be the other way around and also can come down to casting diff erent distances. Either way, perseverance is quite often one of the keys to success. Fish to your bites and vary your casting distances. It’s much easier to mix up your casting distances when fi shing two rods. You also shouldn’t be afraid to fi sh a bait right under your rod tip at times, especially on the fl ooding tide and around high water.

BAIT AND TACKLE

Lugworm and ragworm are your best two baits when targeting the fl ounder. Straight ragworm can work, but a big lugworm bait is my personal favourite. Sometimes tipping off your lugworm baits with a couple of head hooked ragworms can also work well. It’s worth noting that small codling and whiting also love these two baits, so for that reason I always opt for multiple hooked rigs because it will increase your chances of hooking up with a fl ounder. Regular bait changes are also recommended, try and fi sh to your bites, but retrieving and changing baits in twenty-minute intervals is often a good benchmark.

TACTICS

You won’t go far wrong with a simple two or three hook fl apper rig. It’s also worth taking some two and three hooked clipped rigs for casting out a bit further when needed. Personally, I like my hooks above and below the lead when fi shing for fl ounder and will use loop rigs when I want to clip up my hooks for casting. When it comes to hook choice for fl ounder fi shing here, my favourite is a size 2 Cox and Rawle Aberdeen match, coupled with a 25lb Asso Oblivion hook length. e sea is also coloured in this area of the Bristol Channel, so I wouldn’t worry about fi shing putting fi sh off with heavier snood lines. If you’re wondering about snood lengths, I rarely fi sh shorter than 18in, going up to around 2ft in length. When casting further out on Burnham you will fi nd a fair bit of tidal run at intervals. e tidal currents can be particularly strong on spring tides and you will need a 5- 7oz lead with grip wires in order to hold and fi x your baits on the seabed. Waders are recommended for this beach as they can assist with casting and will help keep the mud off your clothes. is venue can sometimes get quite busy windsurfi ng and Kite boarding but you will generally fi nd plenty of room to fi sh on the right-hand side of the beach.

FLOUNDER TRACKS

Keep an eye out on the sand for fl ounder tracks. Sometimes the fl ounders can leave an almost perfect impression of themselves (see left) in the sand and mud. is will obviously give you a good indication that there are fl ounders on the venue and may even give you a clue on where to cast when you are fi shing for them ■

NEED TO KNOW

GETTING THERE

Leave the M5 at junction 22 and pick up the B1340. Continue straight over the roundabout and follow Love Lane up to the next roundabout. Turn left at the garage and join Oxford Street and then third right-hand turn onto College Street. Follow College Street up to the seafront and the Esplanade.

TACKLE SHOPS ■ Thyers Fishing Tackle

1A Church St,Highbridge, TA9 3AE Tel number: 01278 786934

LONG QUARRY TO NATURAL ARC

A series of deep-water marks close to shore scream specimen conger – or even, perhaps, blue shark LONG QUARY POINT

Late 18th and 19th century coastal quarrying at many places along the Torbay shoreline in south Devon left a legacy of notable shore marks. Long Quarry Point is accessed from the Walls Hill area in the Babbacombe district of Torquay by a steeply descending and heavily overgrown path. SPECIES

e mark’s most famous fi sh is an electric ray of 47lb 8oz caught by Brixham SAC member Roger Pearce, beaten only once in the many decades that have elapsed. Deep water up against the quarry edges is a feature and only a moderate cast is necessary to put a bait into 20ft of water during a low tide for a wide variety of species in their respective season. Bass to 11lb 07oz have been caught between May and October and wrasse are plentiful along with mackerel, garfi sh, and moderate pollack in the same months. Congers are available during the night hours, but the quarry fl oor must be reached in daylight due to the diffi culty of the path. Winter fi shing is all about codling, the occasional cod and pouting, plus lesser and greater dogfi sh. Walls Hill has a substantial car park but it becomes very crowded in the holiday season.

Long Quarry Point

Hopes Nose

Garfi sh provide good sport

HOPES NOSE

A short distance away is Hopes Nose, designated an Site of Special Scientifi c Interest due to its geological history. It is below the mid and high point of Torquay’s Marine Drive, along which there is limited car parking, otherwise in the nearby estate of very expensive properties is is best avoided if possible – the owners tend to become tetchy! e old quarry workings have left a sizeable area of fl at rocks edged by the sea at the front and left-hand side of the peninsula. Mackerel are seemingly always about in the summer months and holidaymakers fi shing with feathers are an absolute curse as many of the fi sh that are caught are wasted. ere is the possibility of a catch limitation being introduced and an £80 fi ne for miscreants but how it is to be policed is anyone’s guess.

REA T SEAANGLING VENUES●GREA T SEAANGLINGVENUES●

GLONG QUARRY TO NATURAL ARCH Your insight into the best shore and boat fi shing that the UK and Ireland have to off er THUNDER HOLE TO NATURAL ARCH

A mile or so away is under Hole, a noted conger mark a short distance from Meadfoot Beach. Both marks can be relied on for winter species in January and February with whiting much to the fore if the cold weather has set in.

SPECIES

Natural Arch, also for some reason called London Bridge, is an area of fl at rock left by quarrying. Some years ago, in a winter gale, a barge loaded with pipes broke away from the tugs towing it and sank little more than a hundred yards from the shore. Conger were swift to take up residence and in the years that have followed several fi sh in the 60lb range have been caught, the best a fi sh of 67lb 01oz caught by Torquay’s Albert Lander, beaten only once in the history of conger fi shing from the shore. ere is little doubt that very large eels are available; however, for some reason, conger has lost much of its popularity. If you are a dedicated shore angler who likes a real scrap, Natural Arch is the place to fi sh.

Thunder Hole

Specimen congers can be caught

SPECIES

Garfi sh appear from June on and provide excellent fl oat fi shing and spinning. Large numbers of mullet are on the right-hand side of the Nose and the set up is light fl oat fi shing after a good amount of ground baiting. is is by far the best area for conger which are plentiful but to reach the forward rocks a dangerous gap has to be negotiated. It is wise for tackle and bags to be passed over to the fi rst man across. e biggest eel I know of weighed 41lb and twenty pounders are fairly easy to achieve. Wrasse are at the mark now throughout much of the year. Sliding fl oat fi shing tends to take the smaller ones and legering the specimens. Such is the depth of water that washes the nose, blue shark have been seen cruising within casting range. Dedication and a hefty bait punched eighty yards out on a substantial size fl oat rig could produce the fi rst ever in the shore category. Sandy ground off the right side of the peninsula off ers very good ray fi shing but only at night with small eyed ray the target species. ere is a well authenticated story of a gigantic ballan that would have smashed the British Record, then standing at 12lb 12oz, out of sight. e anglers involved lacked a net and this fi sh was lost while being pulled up by the line.

Hopes Nose is a popular deep water mark

NEED TO KNOW

GETTING THERE

The quarry is accessed by a path running to the rear of the Imperial Hotel, a short distance from Torquay’s Harbour.