#Anglesey fishing reports

[whatson-northwales]

Top tips for Bass fishing on Anglesey

Top tips for Bass fishing on Anglesey

Bass fishing is one of the most elusive and exciting parts of the fishing game, the thrill you get when a bass goes for a lure and then runs with it, is something rather special. Bass are a very tough species with very strong predatorily instincts, and are a prize catch for an sea fishing angler. Anglesey is one of the best spots in Europe for bass fishing and you can land yourself a double…

[sciencenewsforstudents]

Plastics can enter the food web at an unexpected point: larval fish as small the tip of a pencil.

Larval fish congregate in ocean slicks — ribbons of calm water that form naturally on the ocean’s surface — to feast on an abundance of prey. Prey-sized plastics also accumulate in these fish nurseries, outnumbering the fish 7-to-1 and ending up in the stomachs of many, researchers report online November 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This is perhaps the most vulnerable life stage of pelagic fish,” says Anela Choy, a biological oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., who wasn’t involved in the study. She has documented plastic accumulation in the deep sea (SN: 6/6/19), and says this new study raises important questions about the effects of plastic ingestion at such a fragile life stage.

The researchers set out to study larval fish, not plastics, says Jonathan Whitney, a marine ecologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Honolulu. After eggs hatch, tiny fish just a few millimeters in length spend their first days to weeks feeding and growing at the ocean surface before returning to their natural habitat. But “we know very little about where they go, what they eat, and how they find their way back home,” Whitney says.

Previous research has suggested that ocean slicks concentrate plankton and other nutrients, and might serve as tranquil nurseries for young fish, Whitney says. He and his colleagues decided to investigate ocean slicks just off the west coast of the island of Hawaii, where fish from a variety of ecosystems — open water, deeper sea and coral reefs — converge.

The researchers towed a specialized net inside and outside ocean slicks 100 times from 2016 to 2018 to sample larval fish diversity. But when the researchers inspected their hauls, they quickly realized their study wasn’t going to be just about fish.

A larval fish (flying fish, top; triggerfish, bottom) collected in an ocean slick off the coast of Hawaii Island. In this composite, they’re situated near plastic fragments they had ingested. A dime is shown for scale.

CREDIT: J. WHITNEY/NOAA FISHERIES

After manually picking through the catch, the researchers counted over 11,000 larval fish, including blennies and goatfish from coral reefs, mahi mahi and swordfish from open waters, and anglerfish from depths barely touched by light. “It shows how briefly interconnected these vastly different ecosystems are,” says coauthor Gareth Williams, a marine biologist at Bangor University in Anglesey, Wales.

The nets snagged eight times as many fish in ocean slicks than in adjacent waters, confirming the slicks’ role as an early fish nursery. But inside these slicks, the tiny swimmers were outnumbered by plastic 7–1. “We were shocked,” Whitney says. “A five-minute tow in what looks like crystal clear water can turn up 10,000 pieces of plastic.”

Of those fish large enough to be dissected, the researchers found that 8 percent had eaten prey-sized microplastics. “The vast majority of larval fish die before reaching adulthood,” so the poor diet comes at a time when the fish are already exceedingly vulnerable, Williams says.

Little is known about the consequences of larval fish ingesting plastic. But Jenni Brandon, an oceanographer at Applied Ocean Sciences who is based in San Diego, says it can’t be good for them. Plastic ingestion by adult fish has been linked to liver toxicity, tumors, malnutrition, behavioral problems and death. Without a fully developed liver that can filter toxins, these effects could be even worse in larval fish.

She says the study may even have underestimated the abundance of plastics in slicks. “They used a net that may have missed smaller fragments of plastics, so it could be even worse.”

Larval fish play a big role in the ocean food web. Seabirds skim them off the water’s surface, while larger fish, such as tuna, eat them from below. If larval fish ate plastic, the predators that eat them could accumulate potentially harmful levels of plastic themselves, the researchers say. Humans also eat some of those fish when full grown, such as mahi mahi, and their predators.

To Whitney, the study underlines how insidious plastics are in the environment. “Finding plastics in these little guys was honestly kind of an emotional hit,” he says. “Climate change is a huge punch to ocean fish. Overfishing another punch. And now, at their most vulnerable stages, there’s yet another human induced impact.”

[morganbelarus]

Ice Age evidence bulldozed from beach

Image copyright Gareth Phillips

Image caption The huge boulders on the beach gave vital insights into how glaciers behaved

A "critically important" site of scientific interest has been "destroyed" by council workers on an Anglesey beach, it has been claimed.

Huge boulders dating back to the end of the last Ice Age were moved as flood relief work was carried out on Lleiniog beach at Llangoed, residents said.

They also claimed post-glacial peat beds were ruined by bulldozers.

Natural Resources Wales said it was investigating but Anglesey council said it had a licence for the work.

Gareth Phillips, a member of Friends of Llangoed Community Group, said: "It's one of the most daft and tragic things I have ever seen done in the UK."

Image copyright Gareth Phillips

Image caption Shaped blocks of limestone which have now been moved

Lleiniog beach, which runs along the Anglesey shore of the Menai Strait, was strewn with huge boulders which gave vital information on how glaciers behaved.

Natural Resources Wales says the site provides "some of the clearest evidence in north Wales for an incursion of Irish Sea ice during the Late Pleistocene", the last Ice Age.

It describes Lleiniog as an important site for studies of the quaternary period, the most recent period in geological time when the Ice Age occurred.

Anglesey county council workers had a licence to clear out the mouth of a small river to prevent flooding of a nearby road.

Image copyright Gareth Phillips

Image caption Large diggers on the beach moved the boulders

But after working on the mouth of the stream, "they went down 200 yards on the beach and scooped up boulders of scientific interest", Mr Phillips said.

"They had no reason and no licence to be there," said the retired health professional with a keen interest in archaeology and geology. "The local community has been distraught about it."

Euros Jones, operations manager for north west Wales at Natural Resources Wales, said the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales were investigating reports of damage to the site and looking into whether the work breached the conditions of the licence.

It is also investigating whether the works damaged important features of the site.

An Isle of Anglesey County Council spokesperson said: "A Marine Licence from Natural Resources Wales was in place to undertake these works. We also confirmed to Gwynedd Archaeological Planning Service that we were not working in the area marked protected on their maps referencing the scheduled monument fish weirs."

Related Topics

Archaeology

Isle of Anglesey County Council

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

=> *********************************************** Learn More Here: Ice Age evidence bulldozed from beach ************************************ =>

Ice Age evidence bulldozed from beach was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

[whatson-northwales]

Float fishing is a wonderful sport that is a little more simple than the traditional version of fishing. Unlike fishing with a weight on the seabed, where there is more emphasis on being static and fishing one particular area of seabed, float fishing offers a more dynamic approach where you can move around with simplicity and efficiency, with minimal gear and better catch rates. Welcome to the world of float fishing. Kids can partake easily and you can teach them this style in hours. It’s an easy inroad to beginners of all ages to the world of sea fishing.

Recently, I’ve been starting to do more float fishing on the Island of Anglesey using plastic lures. The fun that I’m having in fishing, has really gone back to childhood levels again.  It’s been more about the simplicity and the ease, rather than a very targeted approach to fishing I normally do.  I’ve been playing around recently with various different configurations of floats, ball weights, hook lengths,  and ultimately the soft plastic lures which I’m using. It’s been quite an amazing experience to go back to my childhood days in fishing, by removing all the large complicated amount of fishing apparatus, in order to catch fish. I urge you to do the same.

Put simply, float fishing is a very simple, but yet effective form of fishing for the beginner fishermen. However its not limited to beginners, I know any of the Welsh team who fish using floats in the summer for various species.

As we speak, it’s the summer in North Wales, and the summer months are best time of year for float fishing. I personally love the Pollock fishing, which occur during peak summer months in north west Wales. Pollock unlike bass are non migratory species and stay put on their favourite reefs during the year. Bass on the other hand, move around and frequent the British and Welsh water in the summer months.

But your not just limited to catching Bass and Pollack, you will also catch, ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, garfish, mackerel, rockling, herring and other fish that will dwell in the mid water column region. You can alternate the height your fishing to target each species, so don’t feel you are pinned to just fishing for the above, you will be surprised at what you can catch at various points in the water column.

As a child I began my fishing journey on Newry beach at Holyhead on the slip ways at the age of 7 using crabbing lines to catch rock gobies and blennies on size 3 hooks. I can remember it vividly, my dear mother would have to come with me, crabbing line in hand. This summer days fishing where what began my journey into the world of rod and line fishing.

  Fast and light fishing

You don’t need heavy amounts of fishing gear tackle, big heavy reels, heavy line and lots of lead weights to to go and be successful in in float fishing. For me, the reason I love  float fishing is the fact that it is very simple, very light  and I can move very quickly with the very little equipment. It’s the flexibility within the style of lure and float fishing that adds more of a dynamic feel to it, believe it or not, static seabed fishing is quite boring, unless you’re fishing for specific species such as Ray, Smooth hound or Tope. In those situations, where you are specifically targeting big fast aggressive species, bottom fishing can be very fun and the wait is worth it.

But its way more fun targeting fast moving more predatory fish such as Pollock, Bass and Coalfish. I like targeting  these predatory fish with plastic baits moving in aerated white water at rock marks. The takes on the lure are incredibly fast and aggressive and the response from the fish is far more powerful.

    It also gives me an excuse to explore coastal rock marks, deep rock crevices valleys gullies in search of an area that holds fish. I put a thick sturdy pair of walking boots on.  Don my over the shoulder rucksack a light spinning rod, a bag full of lures, some floats, some weights, some fine wire Nordic bend hooks and them im off!

You can spend an incredibly peaceful and  joyful evening with the wind on your back, finding beautiful rock marks that you hadn’t explored before with the ultimate promise of bagging a 5 ld Pollock. I can remember many times as a young adult, fishing competitions on Anglesey with Holyhead Angling club, and people routinely catching 8-10 ld Pollock in the areas that I go to, not even float fishing I might add!.

So now turning my attention to this fast and light style of fishing  which I’m getting more and more interested in it. Float fishing holds quite a diverse opportunity for those willing to experiment and to step outside their comfort zones in the fishing world, and ultimately test new tactics and explore different variables, tackles and systems.

For so many years I’ve fished using the static bait and grip lead combination and I might add to great success.  But when the fish stocks in the Welsh waters, became depleted 15 years ago, it got really disheartening to put all the bait preparation, and spend some much time lovingly preparing all your rigs and your fishing equipment and to ultimately go many, many fishing sessions without catching. So after taking a five to six year break, I re entered fishing world, and started exploring bass fishing on the lure with my mentor Richard.

Richard taught me many new facets of fishing, especially bass fishing. In general, we also covered fly fishing, sea trout fishing, salmon fishing, and all these culminated in re-establishing a new status quo and understanding for different fish species and way for me to target them. I learnt that the lure when presented was the optimum and most effective method for fishing.

It opened up such a large new sector of the fishing world in my mind, that I somehow boxed off previously down to just routine and habit. I believe these days, I’m now becoming a more well rounded and versatile angler in the style of fishing that I that I implement. I’m really enjoying float fishing and bass fishing right now and it suits my lifestyle too. Some fly fishing and seabed fishing is also great fun on the side along with some boat fishing.

The best way to get the best results, is to amalgamate all these types of fishing styles collectively, It allows so much more flexibility, better catch success, and ultimately greater enjoyment and fulfilment as an angler.

I absolutely love bass fishing, and I’ve spent the past four seasons, maybe even five seasons, learning my craft, and it is an art, to say the least.  I’m also experimenting currently with fly fishing for migratory species such as sea trout plus mullet and bass. When the waters are clear Im also into doing a lot of spearfishing also as well.  So I hope you can see, I like to keep many options open, in the the area of fishing.

  Why float fishing with a lure

One of the great positives about float fishing is that you do not need to gather your own bait. You can use many of these very sophisticated soft plastic lures, which have been coming onto the market. The use of soft plastic lures, takes a great deal of time, and also skill of bait collection out of the equation. If you’re not a great bait gatherer, then it opens up the possibilities for anglers that are less good gathering their own bait to be able to catch more fish, win win right?

This in turn gives them the opportunity to, to learn to fish with replica baits such as worms, shrimp and plastic fish. Lure fishing also presents us the opportunity to test various types of lures in different locations and learn what the fish are feeding and predating on.

All these points are for me why, lures add up to a fantastic level of speed, and flexibility to the style of fishing. I have a box of soft plastic lures in the garage, my rods ready, and at any  given time I can pick up my tackle and within 5 minutes, be out the door. Maybe 20 minutes, I can have my float in the water, fishing and catching within minutes. How cool is that?

20 minutes from home and I’m fishing ..

Whereas, if I was to have to go and gather my own bait such as prawn, worm or sandeel, I’d have to spend  two or three tides gathering the bait. Sandeels, worms and prawns all requite a lot of tlc to keep alive ready for the hook, this in turn take a lot of time energy to take care of. Bait storage is an art in itself, and for many people, this isn’t an option for people travelling up here fishing. I don’t even have the time to do all the bait gathering sometimes, so for people coming to fish here from away, they most certainly don’t, unless they buy it.

I firmly have got my roots planted in the Marine Biology world and I firmly love  the art of bait gathering, which is a fundamental skill as an Islander.  Having those skills at hand will serve me for life and you know hopefully I can impart and teach those to many people within the community and whatson and readers that enjoy reading about fishing.

  Tackle

How float fishing looks to me it’s quite simple I use a Savage Bushwacker seven foot six rod. I use a an Abu Soron 60 real backed with braid line. I run a standard high vis green float, with two beads at the side and a one ounce lead shot below down to a swivel.

And I have a three foot to five foot length of fluorocarbon hook line to fine wire hook which can vary in size from size one to size eight depending on the fish that I’m targeting and the size of lure I’m presenting. Lately, I’ve been testing, soft plastic worms mostly in my reintroduction to the float fishing world. With some good success I might add.

It seems Pollock really enjoy and take quite quickly to soft plastic lures, when presented on a float for some reasons. I use a drop of 15 to 20 foot drop from the floats to the actual to the hook, how I decide on the level of a depth in which I’m fishing depends on the location that I’m at, and I simply use an elastic band tide and doubled over a certain point in the braid line to prevent the float float going up any higher up the line.

  Water cloumb

This is key to some of the fishing as they feed at a certain heights and levels in the water, sometimes you might catch them on the way down as soon as you flick your float out and its sinking to the bottom. Other times you’ll have to fish at different levels, say the ���mid water coloumn” and this is a key skill to understand and learn that at various heights in the water that different fish are present.

Don’t always fish in the exact depth of the water column that you’re fishing time after time, instead alternate and move up and down the various layers in the water columns, using (timing & counting)  measuring, take note where you get bites and nibbles, snags and catches.

Often when I’m Mackerel fishing and if I’m using a one or two ounce weight, I will count down how many seconds it takes to get to the seabed. Whenever I’m retrieving in. I will keep  a mental note as to where in the water column level I caught the fish and then retarget them at that level on the next cast.

    When to fish on the lure

One of the biggest questions I get all the time is when should I go lure or float fishing. And my answer,  is normally from April all the way till October. Fishing on Anglesey peaks in summer like any other biological life, so follow the cycles.

If we’re talking about times a day, I prefer to go either midday when it’s brightest and also an evening when the sun is setting. If we’ve talking about Pollock fishing and mackerel fishing those scenarios applys. For Bass and Sea trout, we like to go at, dusk dawn or at night.

If I was to try to Bass fish in the midday sun, they probably wouldn’t the lure, as they are far more spooky than most other fish. But Pollock, in general,  will hunt in the day in bright sunlight. If you look at the size of their eyes on a pollack they have very large eyes which means that their hunting bias is predominantly set to sight, which suits day time feeding.

Now for Pollock to see your lures you need the clearest possible water and the brightest sunshine. They fixate on their prey through their sight. Therefore, midday sunshine fishing in clear clear calm waters as long as you’re not spooking the fish can be very productive.

I wouldn’t apply the same techniques for anything like bass, mullet or sea trout though because those other, more sophisticated apex fish, are far more sensitive to their environmental surroundings than Pollock. They will spook far much easier. So, for those fish, you would have to arrange your fishing around dawn and desk sessions.  Full moon or new moon fishing session tend to produce really good results if you’re targeting those species also (tending towards new moon rather than full moon)

In terms of time and tide I like to fish, low tide, for me works well, but this is just one of my preferences, you can fish at high tide medium and low tide.

The reasons I like fishing at low tide are, I can always go and see what the rocks are like low water, and see what the seabed topography is like. I can look at the rock shelves, look where the snags are and I can see where the kelp beds are situated. In turn, this gives me a greater understanding, as to where the fish are going to be, and where the snags are for me to avoid. There’s nothing more frustrating than losing your float fishing gear in the beds of kelp.

  Tips

If you fish at low water, you have got the tide to rise with you. Plus, you can see your entry routes to the rock platforms that you’re fishing in you can also see the exit routes. Often I find that if you go on to fishing rocks or new locations, when the tide is high the swell is normally larger, wind can get up and it can create a more treacherous, dynamic environment for the beginner angler.

Navigate the rock shelfs better at low water.

I have fished these rocky areas here for the best part of 30 years on the island of Anglesey. So I’m very keenly and aware of the environment around me, which, a lot of people are not. Things like incoming swells, tides and the movement of ferries, all can produce kind of tricky environments to to move in safely, if you’re unaware of your locale.

So going at low water, you have all the environmental factors at the lowest in order for you to survey the territory and learn your craft. Also, you can fish deeper in the water column aswell, because you haven’t got that the 30 foot overburden of water beneath you. In the regions in North Wales here we have very large rising tides (upwards of 30 to 34 feet on spring tides) and certainly sometimes bigger on equinox spring tides. The size of tides can be instrumental in success or failure in catch rates. Too much tide, you it can be tricky to hold piston with a float, too little tide the fish don’t feed sometimes, so its a fine balance between the two. Fishing at low water, therfore can prove very successful in terms of getting down to the level where the fish are at, and being able to access better fishing spots on the rocks, holding position with your float gear and finding better areas to land fish too.

Low water exploring and fishing the tide up from low.

  How to avoid loosing tackle

There are some great ways to avoid losing tackle, which I’m just experimenting with right now In fact. One of which is using a section of light line, between your bottom swivel and your hook.

A lot of anglers that I’m referring to it and learning from at the minute use an eight to six pound line, beneath the float with the hook being more of a fine wire pattern (nordic bends). The reason is, if they snag into a rocky bottom or reef shelf, they can lift their rod, and pull back to remove the snag, the fine wire hook will bend out or the small, thin gauged six to eight-pound line will snap first before they lose the more expensive part of the kit which would be the float in the setup.

This can save on morale on many fronts, because one of the most frustrating points for me in any style angling, is losing gear. I really detest losing my fishing tackle as im sure you do. And I do spend many many hours of my vocation time on the rocky shores at low water retrieving tackle lost by many anglers. I must have picked over 1000 weights off the seabed many many many bags full of line, tackle swivels and hooks. Its quite fun because I get to explore and look for crab and lobster and at the same time clear the low tide line of this disposed plastic.

Loosing tackle can be more of a mental game, it can be very frustrating loosing tackle, so if you adopt those two strategies you will minimise the amount of gear you will loose.

1) Using a weaker line for your hook lengths – I would say keep it at eight pound strength, breaking strain.

2) Use a fine wire like a mustard Nordic bent hooked, that you would then place your soft plastic lure on. You have to get out clauses, before you lose your tackle.

  Increase your chances

A couple of tips and tricks that I’m employing at the minute in all my forms of lure fishing. I choose my times and tides very selectively.

Now, I know it’s not going to be that way for you all.. I don’t have any children and dependants on me and my time is pretty much as free as I make it a part from working and doing these blogs.

But if you have spare time use it wisely the fishing, schedule your fishing sessions to tie in with very specific tides and also to tie in with evening or morning fishing sessions. If you’re targeting bass and other other migratory species, then you will find your results will vastly improve.

Look at when the low tides occur, look at when the fish on larger moon cycles so new moons and full moons are very productive in the fishing world, you have a highest amount of magnetism and gravity working which fish in other animals, we now know through the soluna theory. They fish Much better on these points in the moon.

So, by scheduling your fishing sessions, to time with larger tides at low water in locations that you’re maybe familiar with and ones you have done your prior research on, you will increase your results. You need to know your spots hold fish, when the fish move in when they feed.

You can narrow down the variables to give you high catch rates more consistently, look for areas with, you know hold fish with lots of moving visible lines on the surface of the water, such as tidal streams and mixing fronts. Look for birds, look for other mammals feeding such as dolphins or porpoise, they are giving you great clues as to what lies beneath.

  Look for cormorants, herons, and turns feeding, they’re all going to give you signs as to what the environment is providing on a macro level, so that then you know what the environment is showing you what’s going on beneath the surface of the water.

Always look and survey nature to give you the clues as to what’s going on. Don’t assume,  you have all the data in front of you usually. Look at the environment, watch the birds look at the tides.

Check the wind out, if its blowing east- the fish bite least. Follow the moon cycles.Pick your fishing sessions, very specifically. Look up tides for fishing website.

I found that the optimum for me, was picking a two hour window and mastering that two hours on a specific location and tide

  Keep a fishing diary

keeping a physical note in a computer or book as to what the catch rates were. Will give you a starting point and a database to work from in the future. This is really important principle in fishing results – “if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it”, and it applies to every sector in life. Keep a diary of your fishing results.

So if you can’t measure your success, you can’t manage it. By keeping notes on a laptop of what you catch, where you caught it, what the weather was like, what bait you use, what plastic lures you were using, what rods you used,  what the tides were like, all this information will will become a very useful database of catches within two years.

I’ve proved this time and time and time again, and my mentors and peers who are some of the best fisherman in the world, they employ the same tactics and the same systems to create their success also.

  Tackle. Keep it simple,

You don’t need expensive tackle to do flow fishing, you need a basic spinning rod for spinning real simple main line I like to use braid, 15ld pound breaking strength.  You need a float and some beads, a swivel and an elastic band.

You also need some eight pound breaking string line, and some Nordic bend hooks, or other fine wire hooks of your choice. sizes can range from size one, down to size eight. You also need some soft plastic lures.

here are many many many versions to choose from on the market. Currently I’m using some savage ones.

I like to keep a fish bag that’s made by Titan over my shoulder with my tackle him in the fish bag, the kind of things that I carry are :

Scissors, pliers, a priest, a couple of extra floats, a handful of one ounce weights, too. Types of breaking strain line between eight pounds and 12 pounds. Some hooks and spare hooks and tubs of soft plastic lures.

I sometimes also take a pack of frozen squid. If the float fishing is not turning on as I planned. I have a quick means of changing tactics and fishing the bottom. Using a very very basic to work rig with size six to eight hooks and tiny slivers of squid on.

  We hope this blog is a little insightful and gives you a little taste as what the waters of north Wales off for float fishing. The waters are rich with fish beyond belief if you just learn their environment.

Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog we appreciate every single one of you. Feel free to leave us a comment and let us know what you have been catching on the float of late and how?

Please give the blog a like and share guys it really helps

  Tan Y Tro Nesaf  / Until the next time,

  Nick

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        Float fishing on Anglesey Float fishing is a wonderful sport that is a little more simple than the traditional version of fishing. 

[whatson-northwales]

15 Tips for catching Mackerel in (2020)

15 Tips for catching Mackerel in (2020)

The volume of questions I get on the blog regarding Mackerel fishing on Anglesey seems to suggest there is a increasing number of people coming into the sport to learn. There also seems an increasing need for eduction both in a tactical way and in an environmental one. Mackerel fishing is actually the easiest fishing of all, you just need to get a few basics right to start with to get you on your…

[whatson-northwales]

Sea fishing on Anglesey in the winter months is prime. The crowds have left the island and there is not a soul in sight on the beaches most nights. Night fishing is an exciting winter past time for most anglers, with the promise of a big cod for the pan, and the prize is always worth the wait. With winter comes with it north westerly gales and  biting temperatures, it can put most anglers off the sport this time of year. But the more hardened anglers or should I say seasoned anglers, are able to tolerate and even thrive in the cold winter months whilst fishing here on Anglesey. There a just a few tips an tricks to help you stay warm and enjoy the hunt for your winter fishing specimens. Then you will be ready to go out and catch your first winter specimens on a cold crisp night here.

Oceanography and environment

The water temperature here on Anglesey drops to about 5c in late jan early feb,  which is quite cold for most. With these sharp drops in water temperature, come the more cold water species of fish on their migratory routes.

For those of you unaware, the fish, just like the birds, move and migrate to the favourite summer and winter destinations in search of their favourite food. I will do further blogs in the future regarding this phenomena for you all, but needless to say it’s a wonder to imagine the distances that fish cover in order to reach both feeding and breeding grounds. North wales I might add is THE top destination for fishing in the UK, and the fish travel thousands of miles in some cases to over winter in more ambient temperatures.

While the water temperatures are cool to cold in these parts due to the drop in solation from the suns grazing angle, many fish disappear from the shallows and move to deeper waters where they are safer from storms and predators and more insulated from the colder temperatures.

In February and March fishing has its barren two months as the entire breeding cycle is underway offshore, meaning that the fish travel to their respective offshore deep sea breeding grounds to spawn in safety. So just like the hunger gap on the land where your spring greens are not quite ready and the land is otherwise farrow, so too is the ocean is in its farrow cycle also.  Everything in this wonderful world in which we live revolves around cycles.

Needless to say in the winter months of Feb and March we don’t do much fishing. The rivers are discharging very large amounts of cold run off water in the mountains which some fish can find hard to tolerate and the cold easterly winds whistle up, which all make the fish stop feeding and bring them in to a hibernation state. The old saying from when I was small was “ when the wind blows east, the fish bite least” ! So save these months for heading into the mountains.

Quite comfortable cold winter fishing!- Winter fishing from a dock Bach in Holyhead with lots of layers on!

Fish Species on Anglesey 

So what species might we encounter during the cold dark winter months on Anglesey?. Well, fishing on Anglesey during the winter months, you will most likely catch Cod, Codling, Coal fish, Whiting, Dog Fish, Bull Huss, Herring, Bass and a few more smaller species such as ling, rockling, maybe some winter flounder and dab too.

My favourite fishing to do an Anglesey has to be Cod fishing. There are many locations  on Anglesey to head to get your prize fish species here. But few produce the big fish like back in the 1960s, I guess this is a result of over fishing in Europe and scandanavia as a whole.

The cod move down from Norway and Scandinavia to feed on the herring shoals and on smaller fishing like Pouting and Poor cod, (both barbed chinned cousins of the larger Cod) in our local. They also feed on crab edibles and hard backed this time of year.Smaller juvenile fish like these can be easy hovered up by large cod, having caught a couple of double figure cod im my days, I can attest to how large the gape of their jaws are. They could swallow a rugby ball with ease.

The prize catch of the winter months, a grand Cod!

Whiting caught from Holyhead at Dock Bach

Thornback ray caught from a beach on Holyhead during winter.

Anglesey fishing Locations

So the areas to head for Cod are not quite as east as they once where..If you are serious about hunting the cod down you may have to do some legwork. The Menai straits is probably the more certain destination to catch your prized fish. There are many spots both along the Anglesey side of the Menai strait that will produce Codling and Cod. Pwyll Fanog in th Straits is a prime location if you can get past the tackle loss. The Swellies  area between the two bridges I am also told in good faith, fishes very well.

The end of Holyhead Breakwater can produce some beauties the night after a big westerly blow if the winds drop right off…pick your spots well and do some home work by speaking to the local tackle shops and forums these days are rich with information and catch reports.

Treaddur Bay can produce big cod in the winter also and main areas such as Lilly pond bay,  Ravens point, the sewer pipe and Lees caravan park all can produce good Codling and the occasional cod. Tackle losses can be quite heavy at Lees and the sewer pipe from what I can remember. Lilly pond and Ravens point are not so bad as the deep water goes directly onto sand.

Fishing locations in north Wales. Image by http://www.fishingwales.net

Time and Tides for fishing on Anglesey

They say time and tide waits for no man and this is very true. Tides are a key point to think of when you are fishing on Anglesey both in the summer and winter months. Rock marks and beach marks differ greatly, as in when they fish best. There is usually a window of 2-3 hours when the fish are feeding at the optimum and you really have to nail it right or you can be out in the cold for hours wasting your time.

Beaches fish best from low water up to high water, I never fish a beach with the tide down, as the fish are retreating after the maximum tidal flow has ebbed, and they don’t want to get stranded as the tide retreats. (unless you are fishing 1 hour after high while the current is still powerful- I would say that is the exception, especially on a spring tide with a wind direction that is pushing the tide up).

Rock marks I like to fish from low up also but they will fish down towards low water better than beaches as there is more water on their fish’es backs so they don’t have to think abut retreating to safety.

Shore fishing at high water for an hour with a lure over winter.

My tacktick is to fish low up or 2 hours after low up on say 80+% of my trips out. From years of trial and error these time slots work best for me, others will have different data and opinions. Anyhow to fish for cod I would arrive at most locations at Low water in the day light, the reason for this is, I can see where the channels are, where the snags are, look for free tackle before I fish. Arriving in the day light also gives you the added bonus to make a play of where is best to fish how to escape an incoming tide and take some nice pictures and relax! Plus setting up in the dark is not too much fun, things get lots and miss placed and it generally feels more rushed and stressed. I like to have my lines in the water by sundown with plenty of time to spare.

Arriving after dark can create more hassle. Arrive in the daylight and survey the territory.

Tides on Anglesey are strong time it right and you can use them to your advantage. Pick your fishing window right.

Best weather for fishing on Anglesey

Cod and most species will feed after a good blow. The water is churned up and discoloured and they can use their instincts to hunt almost camouflaged. Fishing on Anglesey, if I’m targeting Cod in particular, I will watch for a very strong westerly gale and then they day after it drops I will fish a low water tide, two to fours up depending on the size of the tide and its strength.

For Bass you want to fish the beach in a storm, so windy in fact that you couldn’t walk your dog!! That’s the old saying.. Fish again from Low to mid tide up and cast into the third breaker.

Whiting are a different kettle of fish, you want a calm calm night with not a ripple on the water and you will catch millions, a star filled clear night with a frost is a typical whiting fishing night here on Anglesey. I love the second or third bend on Holyhead break water to fish for whiting in the winter months.

Stormy weather produces great fishing, or the night after..

Keeping warm fishing over winter on Anglesey

So tips and tricks for cod and winter fishing overall. Well lest assume first that we are on a beach or at least a non steep ground location. I like to bring s brolli for wind shelter, this is a must. You can get them for many locations online and don’t cost an arm and a leg to buy. I like ones with detachable wings to keep the wind from whistling through. Leeda and Mustad make good ones.

Next an all in one thermal suit is amazing, I don’t have one now, but im considering it. Companies like Leeda, Fladen and Imax make good ones. The is the option of going for a full flotation suit also at the same time with these models.

Lastly another good tip for keeping warm is have a Tilley lamp. Now there are two different schools of thought on this one, some anglers say the light can scare the fish off, others say not. Anyhow they make a good warm companion and I like them for Winter months, plus if your headlamp gives up. I like Coleman north star and Coleman Power house models.

Tilley lamps made by Coleman are great. Cree headlamps now with LEDs and lithium batteries are very bright and good value.

Headlamps- take two with you in case one runs out, I use now the Cree lamps which are very good headlamps for incredibly cheap. Be mindful when charging not to over charge them though, they have been known to catch fire! I charge mine in the kitchen where I can keep an eye on it!

Thermos Flasks of warm drinks for the trips are a must for winter fishing on Anglesey. I have a couple of types but Thermos or Stanley still produce the best quality ones.

Thermal flask and Tilley lamp are two ways to keep you warm whilst fishing this winter.

Bait for winter fishing on Anglesey

The most east one to answer for you all.. Black lug worm and squid. This works for all three special uniformly and you can juts go with lug if you prefer and a full squid. Second best is yellow tail lug worm and rag worm I guess. I like to what we call cocktails with the bait, by mixing and matching the baits together to create stronger scent trail in the water. The squid acts as a flag to the fish you see and the worm produces the blood scent that the fish can pick up on.

For whiting I use small worm baits on small hooks tipped with squid again. For Cod and bass we try to go with bigger hooks and use bigger baits.

Bait for winter fishing – summery plus some others I haven’t mentioned :

Black Lug, blow Lugworm or yellow tail lug worm, Rag worm- There are the primo in winter baits in my humble opinion, even better if in conjunction with other baits.

Squid, Razor fish, Mussle, Peeler crab, Molluscs and clams – Great for tipping off worm baits

Mackerel, Herring  and Sandeel- I keep these to a minimum as it only attracts the dog fish and Bull Huss.

Tackle for Winter fishing on Anglesey

How it generally works is that we use stronger rods, reels and line sin the in winter months. Why? Because there is more weed, more drag and bigger float some to deal with. Plus sometimes bigger baits to cast out in stormy seas and strong winds to target bigger fish.

Light tackle pairings like my summer style you may have seen like when I’m fishing for Mackerel or Pollack, is very different to this style of fishing.

I like to use two heavy duty rods for my winter fishing  rods for winter fishing a Zipplex HST and Century Carbon metal, these are tough strong rods that can deal with 3 free fish and a strong tide over rough ground if needs be. I used to love the Century tip tornado– my favourite of all time!

To this end in the winter I use a Penn 525 Fishing reel loaded with 18ld mainline and a shock leader up to 70ld for casting  a 5-6oz weight out into the surf.

If I’m fishing beach locations what I will use is my Century rod with the reel low down and a reducer in the base for longer range casting. The reel of choice is always a Abu 6500CT (silver) my favourite reel of all time! I have 5 with varying options abilities- yes I know I’m a bit of a fishing geek. When I’m going for long range beach species, I will use a two hook clipped rig for more aerodynamic capabilities.

I use a Shakespeare seat box (small) with a break away back rest  for transporting all of my fishing goods around. I use a Ian golds dual head rod rest, as I generally like to have two rods for fishing one close in and one far out. I like the Ian gold’s rod rests with the yellow plastic cups and rod supports. I pack two to three rig wallets with pre made rigs for specific species. Mostly Cod, Bass and whiting this time of year. Hooks are paired to match the species that I’m targeting, along with the hook line strength.

Break away beatbox and backrest, with pre made rigs in wallet ready to use for target species.

Rigs that I like to use and two hook Pennell’s for cod, pulley rigsfor cod or one up and one down style rigs, that has a 30cm line running below the weight to make sure at least one weight is on the seabed if the tide is running. If you want to know more about the style of rigs or anything else juts comment below and I can do further blogs for you all on these topics. If you don’t have time to build your own you can buy them here.

Weights are typically 4-6 oz gripper weights either breakaway a firm favourite and also Gemini if I’m fishing off a beach only- I find that they sometimes don’t release their legs on rough ground. I find it best to make your own, here is one of the moulds that I use.

Grip weights are a must this time of year

I take a bucket for the bait and sometimes if I’m fishing over low water I will dig some works also while I’m there. Fresh bait on demand.

 Size limits, ethics and sustainability

Fishing in the UK has had size limits from the shore since I was a boy, these limits have been put in place to safeguard the future generations of the species we have come to know in these parts of the world. I have had countless quiet talks with many anglers who flout these rules. The reason is simple, you take out the large fish and juvenile fish and we will destroy our stocks. So take a look at the size limits for  Bass, Cod, Whiting, Pouting, Coal fish and Dog fish here. You can purchase a fish measurer from most tackle shops or from here.

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Releasing your catch.. If for what ever reason your fish is undersize, unhook and walk it back into the sea, holding it using a rag, (as your heat in your hands can damage a cold blooded fishes scales) and the hold the fish in the water and release it slowly. I wear waders so that I can enter the water up to knee level to do this. Its nice seeing them swim off to fight another day 😉

Litter.. Do I have to mention this even? You have no idea how much littler is discarded by fishermen all along our beautiful coast. It honestly saddens me. If you take plastics out with you, please take them home with you. Discard bait without its plastics in the breakers and take it home to dispose of. Burn it if you will-as long as it doesnt not end up in the marine cycle.

Take a spare bag with you, and if you see marine littler pick a few bits up. It cost you nothing and you can re pay your dues to mother nature in return for the good will she allows to us to live here..

  Winter fishing Locations Anglesey :

Holyhead breakwater: Second bend or end of the beak water proper

Beaumaris Pier : Towards the end casting out into the channel

Treaddur bay : Ravens point,

Rhoscolyn : Lilly pond bay

Porth daffarch : Flat rocks or porth Gurddu

Menai Strait : Pwyllfanog, Swellies and Brynscencin are all good spots

(for the purpose of the blogs I wont link directly to each one of these locations, but if you do a quick google search you will find them easy enough)

  Resources

Weather– www.xcweatherfor wind, and I use www.wunderground.comfor rainfall radar.

Tackle–  Anglesey  Bait Centre Beaumaris, Winnies worms in Holyhead,   Tellboys tackle Amlwch, Valley baits

Tides & Solunar– https://tides4fishing.com/uk/wales/holyhead

Local fishing clubs – Rhosneigr fishing club, Holyhead & District Angling club,

 Fish sizes and catch by laws–

https://beta.gov.wales/sea-fisheries

https://www.nw-ifca.gov.uk/minimum-sizes/

Books

Sea fishing river cottage

Fox guide to modern sea angling

Sea fishing

On fishing at sea

Little book of british sea fish

The rig book

Sea fishing knots

Bass Angling

Hooked on bass

Websites and forums :

 https://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/forums/north-wales-catch-reports.42/

 http://fishingwales.net/regions/north-west-wales/

(quite a good little site to show locations on a map)

  Tuition 

There is no denying I love fishing so much it over spills into other ears of my life! I have been teaching fishing now for a couple of seasons and really enjoy the one on one approach to help developing such valuable skills in others here on the shores of Anglesey.

This winter will will be running some more 1-1 coaching and offering half and full days winter fishing for the more hardy anglers in these brisk conditions. Conditions might be brisk however but the rewards are great with catches that can come. I teach most styles of fishing from Bass, Beach, Rock, Float, Boat and more. If it maybe of interest to book a session, drop me a message and say hello here.

Come and join me for some fishing tuition!

  Summary

Winter fishing on Anglesey is a very productive time of year to bag a good catch this time of year. With the beaches and rock fishing marks on Anglesey quiet this time of year, competition is at its lowest for the fish that grace our shores.

Cod, Whiting, Coal fish, Pouting, Poor cod, Conger, Ray and and many more  all are prevalent along the shores this time of year and are hungry for food. Get good fresh bait, pick your tides and and local well and you will be in for a good evenings fishing.

Pop into the local fishing shops and talk to the patient owners about what being caught and where, to get an inside line whilst your here, they ca give invaluable advice on catches, conditions, baits and tides to fish. Both Malcom at ABC in Beaumaris and Mark at Winnies Worms in Holyhead are both super good guys and will point you in the right direction.

I was fishing last night and whilst thinking about this blog I realised one of my favourite past tie while I was fishing was simply stargazing. The stars last night where juts unreal, it was so beautiful to be out in the cold crisp nights air and to be a part of what felt a pretty big universe. So nature can reward you greatly for just being out there and part of it.

Most of all though, leave nothing but foot prints in the sand and I hope you have many happy hours of fishing here over winter, maybe see you on the shore line. Tight lines.

Nick

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Front cover image by : Sea Angler magazine

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Bit about the blogger : My names Nick Fraser and I’m a local Marine Geologist and Oceanographer. I have moved back to the island of Anglesey for the past five years having grown up here and moved away. I am a passionate outdoor lover with a penchant for all things natural. When I’m not blogging in ofter found climbing, fishing or out in the wild in and around north Wales.

              Winter beach fishing on Anglesey Sea fishing on Anglesey in the winter months is prime. The crowds have left the island and there is not a soul in sight on the beaches most nights.