[Yak] Morfa Bychan (1 Dogfish)

Morfa Bychan 04/04/2008
Time: 10.00am to 5.00pm.
Tide: LW-1 to HW. Spring, flood tide.
Weather: Overcast, steady cold w breeze.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel.
Fishing: Slow.
Comments: First paddle out on the new yak so spent a lot of time getting used to things and trying things out. Did a bit of fishing and got one dogfish, otherwise no bite and nothing showing on the fish finder. After coming in I spoke to a chap who had been fishing the shore all the time I was out and he had a bag of flounder - about 8. He caught them as the tide was coming in over the lug beads.

Caerfai

Caerfai 16/03/2008
Time: 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
Tide: HW to HW-2. Neap ebb tide.
Weather: Dry and bright, moderate wind.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Usual mackerel.
Fishing: Nothing.
Comments: Went to investigate the ledges as I haven't had a chance before. Good ledges to the right of the bay, and some around the headland on the left. Tried fishing for a couple of hours but it was an ebb tide in the day so didn't expect to get anything - and I was right! Now I know the ledges I can come back for a night session.

Stackpole (8 Dogfish, 1 Whiting)

Stackpole 14/03/2008
Time: 6.30pm to 9.30pm.
Tide: LW+1 to LW+4. Neap, flood tide.
Weather: Drizzle, light S wind.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel strips and whiting livebait.
Fishing: Dogfish!!
Comments: The dogfish have moved in after the big storm this week. Started catching them as soon as I arrived and they kept coming as usual. Put some small ones back and took a few larger ones home. Gave up early as there was some tackle loss - dogs dragging the rigs into weeds and snags - and I was tired of hauling them in. Doesn't seem to be much else around when the dogs take over in such numbers.

Nolton Rocks (16 Whiting, 3 Dogfish)

Nolton Rocks 13/02/2008
Time: 5.00pm to 11.00pm.
Tide: LW to HW. Spring flood tide.
Weather: Clear, cold and no wind.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel flappers & whole whiting flappers.
Fishing: Busy later.
Comments: No bites at all until 8pm when the dogs and whiting came in. Then it was busy up and down the rocks pulling them in one at a time mostly. Excellent weather conditions to be out on the rocks. No wind, dry and the sea was calm, though still with a good swell at times.

Nolton Rocks (11 Whiting, 1 Dab)

Nolton Rocks 09/02/2007
Time: 5.00pm to 9.00pm.
Tide: LW+2 to HW. Spring tide.
Weather: Clear, light SE wind.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel & live whiting.
Fishing: Quite slow, nothing on the live bait.
Comments: Started off at Mussellwick Sands at low tide, but had nothing at all. Weather was good and the sea was relatively calm so I went to try Nolton Rocks for the evening and high tide. Whiting came in slowly and I used the smaller ones as live bait but no bites.

Newgale (1 Coalfish, 1 Whiting)

Newgale 06/02/2008
Time: 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
Tide: HW-1 to HW+1. Spring tide.
Weather: Overcast, light S wind.
Sea: Rough.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel strips.
Fishing: Coalfish just before it got dark, then a whiting, nothing else around.
Comments: Nice to catch a Coalfish as I haven't had one before. The sea was rough even though the weather had calmed down for the day.

Freshwater East (20 Whiting, 1 Dab, 1 Turbot, 1 Dogfish, 2 Pouting)

Freshwater East 30/01/2008
Time: 5.00pm to 9.00pm.
Tide: LW to LW+4. Neap tide.
Weather: Overcast, West winds, some rain.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel strips.
Fishing: Busy.
Comments: Regular bites and a nice variety of fish. Went out after the whiting. There was a strong right to left current that dragged the rigs around a lot. I didn't bother with grip leads and just let them move about to find the fish - seemed to work. Got most of the whiting on the longer distance rod, just couldn't seem to get out far enough with the shorter distance rod.

Druidston Haven (1 Whiting)

Druidston Haven 01/01/2008
Time: 4.00pm to 7.00pm.
Tide: LW-3 to LW. Neap tide.
Weather: Overcast.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel strips.
Fishing: Poor.
Comments: I hate standing on beaches and catching bugger all! Weather is too bad to get on many of the rock marks. The fish have all gone out to deeper water it seems, even the whiting.

Morfa Bychan (1 Flounder)

Morfa Bychan 25/12/2007
Time: 11.00pm to 3.00pm.
Tide: LW-2 to LW+2. Spring tide.
Weather: Clear, light SW breeze.
Sea: Calm, strong current on flood.
Tackle & Bait: 3 hook flappers, mackerel strips and lug
Fishing: Flounder came in at the start. No bites after.
Comments: Really nice day after the bad weather on the weekend. Flounder was a good size at nearly 1lb and was caught on the ebb. No bites after that and the current got very strong on the flood tide taking the rigs quickly towards Pendine.

Watwick Bay (2 Whiting, 1 Pouting, 1 Dab)

Watwick Bay 21/12/2007
Time: 7.00pm to 11.00pm.
Tide: LW+3 to LW+1. Neap, ebb tide.
Weather: Cold, light SE wind, dry.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel flappers.
Fishing: Whiting not a bad size, but the pouting and dab were very small.
Comments: Watwick steps were difficult to fish at low water with too many rocks in front of the mark. Went to the beach instead and caught a few fish as the tide went out. Bites stopped as the tide turned.

Freshwater East (4 Whiting, 1 Turbot)

Freshwater East 18/12/2007
Time: 4.00pm to 6.30pm.
Tide: LW-3 to LW. Neap tide.
Weather: Cold, dry, easterly wind.
Sea: Moderate.
Tackle & Bait: Usual 3 hook mackerel baits
Fishing: Good. Little flattie came in early with the whiting after dark.
Comments: Haven't been to Fresh East before fishing and didn't expect much as I only had time to fish the last of the ebb. Was pleased to get the whiting, 2 of which were about 1/2 lb and good for the table. Had to leave at the turn of the tide and met a few other anglers on the way down from the car park. It would probably have fished well for whiting on the flood and I'll try and get back there this week or over xmas.

Hobbs Point (1 Dogfish)

Hobbs Point 15/12/2007
Time: 5.00pm to 8.00pm.
Tide: LW+1 to LW+4. Spring, flood tide.
Weather: Strong SE wind. Dry.
Sea: Calm in the Haven. Rough elsewhere.
Tackle & Bait: Flappers & whole mackerel for conger.
Fishing: Slow.
Comments: Went to Ceibwr Bay in the afternoon thinking that there was a chance of some shelter from the strong SE winds. It wasn't too windy but the sea was so rough with a large swell that it was not good fishing conditions. Headed to Pembroke to give Hobbs Point a try. Quite a few others there but the fishing was very slow. A few small dogfish were pulled in and nothing else. Lost a few rigs in the rough ground.

Dale Fort (1 Pouting)

Dale Fort 13/12/2007
Time: 4.00pm to 6.00pm.
Tide: HW-4 to HW-2. Spring, flood tide.
Weather: Dry, but very windy from SE
Sea: Choppy
Tackle & Bait: Usual flappers & mackerel
Fishing: Pants!
Comments: One pouting speaks for itself really. Tried Nolton Haven rocks to start with and it was too rough. Thought Dale might be a little better but the SE wind was very strong and made fishing difficult. Had enough of the rods being blown over after a couple of hours. Used the poor little pouting as live bait for conger, huss or maybe even cod, but nothing doing!

St Davids Head (6 Dogfish, 5 Whiting, 3 Pouting, 15 Dabs)

St Davids Head 23/11/2007
Time: 3.00pm to 8.00pm.
Tide: HW-2 to HW+3. Spring tide.
Weather: Clear and cold. Light NW wind.
Sea: Calm. Strong current from right to left at Conger Rock.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel strips, heads and pouting livebait.
Fishing: Had bites straight away from very small dabs that kept coming. Dogs made a good showing with some whiting and the odd pouting.
Comments: Nice mark to fish. Stumbled on the rocks coming down and broke the rings on the GRX rod. Size 4 hooks help to turn bites into hooked fish, but they are all too small so I may change to using size 2 or 1/0 instead as I don't see the point in pulling in very small fish unless they are good for livebait. Ok if catching some pouting for conger bait, but wasn't very good here due to the large number of very small dabs that were about. There was a strong current running from St Davids Head on the right towards Whitsands on the left. Even with 5oz grip leads it was pulling the rigs across very quickly. Lost some tackle after leaving it too long and it got dragged into snags on the left hand rocks, otherwise the ground is clear.

Morfa Bychan

Morfa Bychan 18/11/2007
Time: 11.00am to 1.00pm.
Tide: HW to HW-1. Neap tide.
Weather: Overcast, storm night before.
Sea: Rough.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel on flappers and large rig
Fishing: Pants!
Comments: Nothing about today. Took the boys down for a quick line wetting at high tide. Very cold, and I got a welly full of water as usual! There's always one wave that catches me out!

Wooltack Point

Wooltack Point 16/11/2007
Time: 6.00pm to 10.00pm.
Tide: LW+2 to HW. Neap tide.
Weather: Started overcast, cleared later. Dry, light SW wind.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Large mackerel baits on pully pennels & simple ledgers.
Fishing: Aweful. Some bites.
Comments: Wooltack Point is way too snaggy. Some patches are ok but a lot seem to have ledges which catch the rig on the way back in, and heavy kelp covered area. Started off fishing facing the islands but the rip was still too fast. The wind was cutting across as well. Moved to a ledge on the Martins Haven side that was sheltered and out of the main tidal flow but lost a lot of tackle. Some good bites, but the whole rig was getting caught in snags so even rotten bottom would not have solved the problem. Won't be bothering with it again as there are better places to fish.

Watwick Steps (2 Dogfish, 1 Mackerel, 6 Pouting)

Watwick Steps 11/11/2007
Time: 4.00pm to 10.00pm.
Tide: HW-3 to HW+3. Spring tide.
Weather: Dry, some cloud, NW winds. Cold.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Mackerel on flappers and pulley pennell. Livebait pouting.
Fishing: Usual pouting bites, used them for livebait. Slowed down about 9pm.
Comments: Met another angler who stayed until 8.30. Caught much the same, though he had some very small dabs using size 6 hooks. He had fished the steps for many years and didn't think the chances of conger where very good as he'd only had one strap in that time. Time to rethink conger venues! Walked over to Watwick Point initially but couldn't get down to the rocks. Photo below is looking across Watwick Bay towards the steps. Apparently the steps are part of a landing stage and pier that was used in the construction and supply of West Blockhouse on the headland due to the sheltered nature of the bay.

Stackpole (11 Dogfish, 4 Pouting)

Stackpole 09/11/2007
Time: 5.00pm to 8.00pm.
Tide: HW-1 to HW+2. Spring tide.
Weather: Overcast, light NW winds.
Sea: Calm
Tackle & Bait: flappers, mackerel bait, pulley pennel, mackerel & live pouting.
Fishing: Had about five dogfish in the first hour and they just kept coming!
Comments: Dogfish madness!! Every cast the dogfish were there. Even had a pouting with a dogfish on the same rig. Must admit to getting quite irritated with it in the end so went home with the fish still biting - not something I do very often. Great mark to fish though. Bit of a walk from the car park, but well worth it. Fished well over HW but a lot of rocks started to get exposed as the tide went out and it could get difficult to fish over LW.

Morfa Bychan (1 Bass, 12 Mackerel)

Morfa Bychan 08/11/2007
Time: 4.00pm to 5.00pm.
Tide: HW-1 to HW. Spring tide.
Weather: Clearing after rain, NW winds.
Sea: Calm, good swell.
Tackle & Bait: Feathers & pulley pennel 5/0.
Fishing: Mackerel still coming in after whirebait, bass on livebait joey ledgered.
Comments: Just popped down to try for some more mackerel to eat and use as bait on the weekend. As soon as I caught a joey I put in on the rig and popped it out as usual. Right hand side of the bay and only about 10m out. Next thing I looked over while pulling in the feathers to see the rod and stand pulled over! Rushed across and found a good sized fish pulling on the end. Lovely bass of just over 3lb.

Morfa Bychan (5 Mackerel)

Morfa Bychan 04/11/2007
Time: 2.00pm to 5.00pm.
Tide: HW to HW+3. Neap tide.
Weather: Overcast, no wind.
Sea: Calm.
Tackle & Bait: Feathers, mackerel live bait, mackerel strip.
Fishing: Whitebait shoals still appearing at HW with a few mackerel following.
Comments: Tried using some mackerel as live bait but no Bass interested.