Tides and weather
More important than tackle, more important than bait, and the part beginners skip.
Tide
Most shore fishing here works on movement rather than on a particular state. Slack water is usually dead. Two hours either side of the change is when things happen, and that's true on beaches and rock alike.
Spring tides move more water and fish harder, and also cut off more marks. Neaps are safer and slower. I fish springs when I can get to a mark safely and neaps when the swell is up.
Swell — the thing that kills people
Tide tables are published and predictable. Swell isn't, and it's what washes anglers off rocks. A one-metre swell at a sheltered beach is nothing; the same swell on an exposed rock mark on the Land's End side puts water where you're standing.
Check the swell forecast, not just the wind. And understand the lag: swell arrives from weather that happened hundreds of miles away two days ago, so a calm sunny morning can have a heavy sea running under it.
Wind
| Direction | Effect here |
|---|---|
| Southwest | Prevailing. Onshore for most south coast marks; brings weed and colour |
| Northeast | Offshore on the south coast. Flat water, clear, often harder fishing |
| Northwest | Fishable on the south coast, unpleasant on the north |
| Anything over force 5 onshore | Beaches only, and only the sheltered ones |
The rules I keep
- Never fish a rock mark alone on a rising tide.
- Tell someone the mark and the time you expect to be back.
- Watch the water for ten minutes before setting up — one set in twenty is bigger than the rest.
- A flotation aid on rock marks. Unfashionable and I wear one anyway.
- If in doubt, fish the harbour wall. It's a poorer session and there is always another day.