Aberthaw

[Pross]

Unless I end up going to Devon at the weekend I am thinking about going down to Aberthaw on Saturday evening to try for my first smoothie and bass. I've never fished down there before so if anyone has any advice they can give I'd be grateful. I'm hoping to fish 2 hours up and 2 hours down (HT 10.30pm), my main questions are:-

1. Where is the best place to fish? I assume I can park in the car park near the power station marked on OS maps.
2. Is it reasonably easy to access? I don't want to scrammble around rocks on a mark I don't know in the dark. Is it safe to fish on the spring high tides?
3. Best rigs? I'm assuming it is quite rough ground so was going to use a pulley or pennel pulley. Is tackle loss likely to be high?
4. Bait. I intend using crab for the smoothies and sand eel for the bass, is this the best bet?

Answers and any other info would be gratefully received as I'm hoping to catch my first ever seafish from Welsh waters!

[Pross]

Well, it looks like it's Aberthaw on Saturday night as I can't go down to Devon this weekend. I'll hopefully be there from about 8.00pm so if anyone else fancies wetting a line feel free to join me. Going for a quick look around on Friday to get my bearings first.

[tommy a]

Pross,

I was meant to be there sometime today to try it but work has put a stop to that !! Hoping to try it this Thursday evening if you are around mate and IF me and Shads can get the time off work.

Have read a report recently that both the East & West sides of Aberthaw are getting packed most nights although I guess a Saturday might mean a few are at the pub !! Also one bloke last week used 40 peelers and didnt even have a bite - hopefully that means they have baited the area for you.

If we are going on Thursday Ill PM you and let you know mate.

Tommy

[Pross]

Cheers Tommy. I won't be able to do Thursday myself but if you go I'd be interested to hear how you get on, if there's not much about I might go to Goldcliffe or the lighthouse to try for conger and anything else that may be about.

[JuanPablo]

pross / tommy i have some info which will definately assist your aberthaw visit. pm me for details...

[Pross]

Well, I didn't go to Aberthaw in the end as John advised it is a low tide mark so fished Cold Knap instead. It was my first trip to this mark which is a large, very steeply shelved pebble beach but casting out into clean ground. I'd heard that there were bass being caught there so thought I'd give it a go over my more local marks of Goldcliffe and St. Brides Lighthouse where there have been a few ray caught lately.

Arrived at about 7.45pm and had my 2 rods set up and in the water by 8.15pm. I was fishing one rod with frozen peeler on a single clip down rig with 6oz grip lead and the other rod with a 2 hook flapper baited with rag on the lower hook and sandeel on the higher hook and again weighted with a 6oz grip lead to hold bottom in the strong Bristol Channel tides. I hoped to cover bass, ray, smoothies and flatties with the baits being offered.

There were a reasonable amount of anglers on the beach, probably around a dozen, and the night was overcast but reasonably warm with a calm sea. I fished until about 12.00am with high tide at about 10.20pm without so much as a nibble on the rods and didn't see any fish caught. It was a nice relaxing evening though with the occasional jet coming over Porthkerry Park on the headland to my right barely a couple of hundred feet up as people flew off to warmer climes and fishier waters from nearby Cardiff International Airport and despite the lack of action was worthwhile as my casting improved as the evening went by and I used crab as a bait for the first time having always been put off by the hassle involved in using it.

The upshot is I've still never caught a sea fish in Welsh waters (in fact, I've never seen a sea fish caught in Wales!!!) although I mainly fish in Devon. I'll be back to the Knap though, if not this summer then in the winter as it's renowned as a whiting and, to a lesser extent, cod venue.

[Norfolkboy]

Atleast you were out and had a good time Mark