Marks

I describe marks by type and by general area rather than by exact name. Some of that is courtesy — a mark that appears on a website stops being quiet within a season. Some of it is safety: a few of these need local knowledge that a paragraph can't supply.

Beaches, Mount's Bay

Clean sand, gentle shelving, easy access. Bass through the summer evenings, flatfish, occasional rays after dark in late summer. The most forgiving fishing in the area and the right place to start.

The weed is the problem. A week of onshore wind puts enough into the water to make fishing pointless, and there's no way to tell without going and looking.

Rock marks, the south coast

Deeper water close in, better fish, considerably more risk. Wrasse in numbers through the summer, pollack, bass in the white water. Most need a falling tide to reach and leave, and a couple cut off entirely.

I won't publish directions to these. If you're new here, go with someone who knows the mark or join the local club — that's not gatekeeping, it's the difference between a good day and the lifeboat.

Harbour walls

Newlyn, Penzance, and the smaller ones west. Unglamorous, safe, fishable in weather that closes everything else, and better than their reputation. Mackerel through summer, and in winter the walls are sometimes the only thing fishable for a fortnight at a time.

Estuary, Hayle

Flounder in winter, bass on the flood in summer, and a bottom that's forgiving on tackle. Good place to take someone who has never fished, because something usually happens.

A note on ground