Local Fishing
Fancy a days fishing in the Bristol Channel? Listed below are a few of the popular local marks with details of how to get there and what you may catch.
The Bristol Channel is subject to the second highest tidal range in the world and therefore a degree of care is needed on some marks. Fishing at high tide is normally fine but if you fish some of the low tide marks you must be fully aware of the rising tide and ensure that you exit is not cut off by the incoming tide.
The upper channel marks are particularly dangerous and we would not recommend venturing out on to any of the mud banks and sand bars without expert local guidance.
Great Local Fishing Spots
Spot:Watchet
Access:Sign posted off of the A39. Drive through the town and park in the big car park opposite the West Pier which is the best spot to fish. The pier offers easy fishing for 3 hours either side of high tide. It dries out at low tide and this gives an ideal chance to see the ground you will be fishing over.
Tides:Neaps are best as the strong ebb tide makes springs hard to fish.
Species:Cod, codling, whiting, conger and dogfish.
Spot:Blue Anchor
Access:From Watchet follow the coast road westwards and it will bring you onto Blue Anchor sea wall where you can fish from the car boot if you wish. Parking is available along most of the wall but do not block the pavement or you may find your fishing interrupted by a visit from the police. The wall itself others easy fishing for 2 ½ hours either side of high tide or you can fish from the shingle beach past the café. A walk to the stakes between here and Dunster can be rewarded with good bags of codling in the autumn
Tides:Can be fished on all sizes of tides but small neaps are generally not very good.
Species:Codling, dogfish, conger, pouting, whiting, bass and occasional thornbacks.
Spot:Dunster
Access:On the A39 go straight through the traffic lights by Dunster Castle and look for the sign to Dunster Beach on the right. Take the first turning left and turn right when you go over the bridge. Follow this lane to the beach pay and display car park. Good fishing can be had from directly in front of the car park or you can cross the river and fish the beach to the right.
Tides:As this is a fairly shallow mark a good sized spring is needed to give you about 2 hours in and 1 � hours out.
Species:Codling, pouting, conger, dogfish and bass.
Spot:Minehead
Access:This popular sea side resort is on the A39 and well signed from junctions 23, 24 and 25 on the M5. When you reach Minehead turn right at the first roundabout and this will take you on to the sea front near Butlins. There is pay and display roadside parking along most of the sea front. Since the work finished on the sea defences the area from Butlins to the Carousel now offers good easy fishing during the autumn and winter for 2 ½ hours either side of high tide. If you park at the Butlins end of the front and walk eastwards along the path in front of the golf coarse there is good fishing over high tide anywhere between the club house and the chalets at Dunster. If you turn left at the Butlins roundabout and then turn right by the railway station it will lead you to the harbour wall which can be fished for about 3 ½ hours either side of high tide. If you carry along this road past the harbour to the end and park the beach in front of you is Gasworks beach. This used to be a favorite cod hot spot but since the redesign of the towns sewerage system the cod fishing is not as good as it once was. Gasworks can still however fish very well at times and is best over low tide and for about 4 hours in. The area between the shelters and the lifeboat station can also be fished over high tide as the sand is much closer here. White mark is another popular low water mark and is reached by walking westwards from gasworks and taking the last path onto the beach before the footpath goes into the woods.
Tides:Spring tides are best for the high tide marks whilst the low water marks tend to fish best on neaps.
Species:Cod, codling, dogfish, pouting, whiting, rays, bass, flatfish and mullet in the harbour.
Spot:Bossington
Access:Take the A39 from Minehead towards Porlock. Look out for a sharp left hand bend on which there is a right turn marked Allerford. Turn right here and follow the lane through the village and carry on to Bossington village. If you keep going through the village the road becomes a rough track which leads to the beach. THIS TRACK IS VERY NARROW AND POTHOLED. IF YOU LOVE YOUR CAR BE WARNED IT MAY NOT LIKE IT! There is a car park in the village and the beach is about a 10 min walk from here. The beach is a very steep shingle bank and can be fished at any state of tide but the area in front of the car park is very snaggy at low water and best fished over high tide. This is the furthest up channel that you can find clear water so it does allow the chance to fish for different species. The clear water also means that bottom fishing is often best at night.
Tides:All tides are fishable but the flood tide on big springs is very strong.
Species:Any fish in the channel is possible here but the most common catches are dogfish, conger, codling, pollack, pouting, smoothhound, rockling, bass and in the summer some mackerel and garfish.
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