Beach fishing help

[TomLinley]

Is anyone on here any good at beach fishing?

I have recently moved to a house in Budliegh Salterton and being on the beach thought I would start up fishing as its popular here.

I went out and bought a 12ft carbon beach casting rod, good quality reel and good tackle but have caught zilch!!

First evening around 6.30pm I fished for mackeral with spinners, this did not work out as there's been a land slide and the water was too sandy. However, next to me a chap was pulling dog fish using rag worm.

Yesterday I decided to come back and use bait with a anchored 4oz weight. Waited until high tide at midnight and cast out, it was blowing a force 3ish. Again nothing, this time using mackeral as bait.

Is there something I am doing wrong or have I just been unlucky with weather/sea state. Complete novice to beach fishing.

Thanks again.

[whisper]

There is a beach fishing club at Calshot activity centre, there are loads of people that fish near the RNLI slip there. You have to become a member which I think costs £5 plus the centre membership.

Lots of people to ask for advice, bells of hythe are good for bait and rigs etc.

[Tim&Linda]

Morrisons are just up the road

[Nos4r2]

Go onto a fishing site, WSF for example.You'll get some good advice.They can be a bit...errrrm...odd.... though so prepare yourself for masses of txtspk,people who genuinely spell like wIllfish and some very odd opinions.

Grab yourself some bait elastic and try the beach when the waves are breaking,cast into the surf line with a whole small mackerel fillet lashed to the hook with bait elastic. No weight, nothing, just let it move with the surf. If there's Bass around, you should score like that. If it settles somewhere, leave it there as the Bass will be looking there as it'll be a point food is washed to.

(If you haven't caught any mackerel, get it from a bait shop not a supermarket-bait is fresher than the crap the supermarkets sell)

[wavelength]

However, next to me a chap was pulling dog fish

you're already halfway there! Most sea anglers spend their lives trying to avoid ***** dogfish!

[DanExe]

Hi there, Tom.

I'm a novice myself, but the members at South West Sea Fishing | Sea Fishing in Devon,Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset are really helpful and there's lots of great info on there.

Personally, I always fish on an incoming tide on the Exe and have had some success catching Bass with peeler crab. Not yet though this year, the season has been delayed due to the chilly spring weather and we still have the "May water" foaming up the shoreline. The fish don't like this, so they stay nearer the mouth of the estuary.

I'm sure there's much more knowledgeable people than me, on here though.

Dan

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by TomLinley

Is anyone on here any good at beach fishing?

I have recently moved to a house in Budliegh Salterton and being on the beach thought I would start up fishing as its popular here.

I went out and bought a 12ft carbon beach casting rod, good quality reel and good tackle but have caught zilch!!

First evening around 6.30pm I fished for mackeral with spinners, this did not work out as there's been a land slide and the water was too sandy. However, next to me a chap was pulling dog fish using rag worm.

Yesterday I decided to come back and use bait with a anchored 4oz weight. Waited until high tide at midnight and cast out, it was blowing a force 3ish. Again nothing, this time using mackeral as bait.

Is there something I am doing wrong or have I just been unlucky with weather/sea state. Complete novice to beach fishing.

Thanks again.

If you live at Budliegh CHUCK the Beach Caster!!!! Get a Spinning Rod-Braid or 10lb line and some Plugs pluss a few Toby's Fish Early Morning and Evening...Anywhere along the Beach...(Both ends are even Better) and you'll catch!!!
If you DO fish on with the Bottom gear Big Blows-or just after with whole Sqiud,on a Pennell.. close in!
If you can get any of Hugh Stokers books on the area it will help.. Alot...or Mike Ladles Hooked on Bass is another Great learning aid!..persist it's a Great Venue!

[Hightower]

Like all sports, it'll take time and patience to become proficient at catching regular. My advice is to join a club and fish in company, however I realize that clubs aren't everyone's cup of tea. If this is the case there are forums that will help, but don't expect them to tell you where to fish. These are kept pretty well secret and are only revealed by your hard work by asking questions in angling shops or getting on the right side of some fishing friends.

Then there is the end tackle. Lots of variations here, but the running ledger is far the simplest to use. I prefer to buy my rigs ready made up and there are loads of websites that cater at pretty reasonable prices. I use an ebay company called Tackle Art, you can select line strength/length and hook size on many different types of rig. Go for a 2 hook flapper or a Portsmouth Rig.

Then there is the bait. Find out what is fishing well. I'm surprised the guy had a Doggy on Ragworm, more likely to get them on Mackerel. Hardback crab baits for smooth hounds or soft back/peeler for more or less anything else. Wrasse like shellfish or prawn, squid in the winter months might produce Cod or in summer use a small size 2 hook and small bait on a flapper for Bream.

As you can see the list is endless.

[Ian_st]

Been there many times, a reaaly good spot. Further into the Exe there is Starcross angling club.

The tackle shop at Exemouth is really helpful with local knowledge and advise.

Also if you look at the water after storms, you can often see the brown tide line a good way off the beach..... When like this, unless you can cast further outyou are on a hiding to nothing.

Finally if the guy next to you was successful, ask, in most cases they are more than happy to share advise.

[whisper]

Dogfish! I can't keep them off, caught one on ragworm the other day off Calshot pontoon!

They're fun the first few times though

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by whisper

Dogfish! I can't keep them off, caught one on ragworm the other day off Calshot pontoon!

They're fun the first few times though

Taste good too, as long as you gut/skin them quickly.

[TomLinley]

Thank you guys for all your help and advice, much appreciated. Will give this a shot. Patience is needed. The Ribeye will be finished tomorrow, so will have a go from this too.

[hardnose]

Tom , the fish are only just starting to return due to the cold spring and the water temp, but the bass are starting to return and we catch from the beach in Norfolk with lugworm or peeler crabs .
The mackerel are slowly returning too and these are mostly caught on black feathers from my rib .
It has been a really slow start to the season but practice and local area knowledge is always the way forward .
Good luck .

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by TomLinley

Thank you guys for all your help and advice, much appreciated. Will give this a shot. Patience is needed. The Ribeye will be finished tomorrow, so will have a go from this too.

Boat fishing is much easier. Just keep an eye out for anchored fishing boats and anchor up close by.

[wavelength]

Taste good too

The word good should never be used in relation to a dogfish!
Having said that the first time I dived with the guy who became my more or less permanent dive buddy I picked up a doggie from the seabed, gave it a bit of a shake and then let it swim off. He was horrified! Swam after it like a thing posessed, knife out, doggie pinned to a rock and beheaded He collected another few of 'em and then found the bag of swimming headless dogs was becoming a bit of a hindrance. We were only in 15m or so, off up to surface and handed to girlies in the boat. Now they were expecting lobsters so as we left the surface again it was to the sound of screams from the boat crew. We let him eat his doggies alone that night (yuk!), scallops and lobsters for the rest of us.

[Nos4r2]

Nah, a boneless fish that tastes that good shouldn't be ignored

[whisper]

So good intact fish n chip shops call it rock salmon to disguise what it really is!