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Fishing in Torbay
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Living
Foreshore
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Whiting, pout, pollack, wrasse, conger and the occasional bass, mullet or mackerel.
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  1. Fairy Cove, Marks out of 10: 5, Status: Worth a go
Situated just to the right of Paignton Harbour, Fairy Cove has a very rocky bottom with deep ledges travelling under some of the bigger rocks - perfect for conger to hide in. It also has a good population of prawns, which tends to draw the bass in to investigate. If you decide to fish for the conger, be prepared for a lot of tackle losses and make sure that you use rotten bottom tackle. Alternatively, pour a few ounces of sand into some balloons - or wax into the bottom of a jif lemon - and jury rig a means of connecting these to the line instead of a weight. For the other species, stick on a float and go off the rocks at the side, preferably with live prawns for bait, which should sort out the better fish.
  1. Roundham Head, Marks out of 10: 6, Status: Worth a go
To reach Roundham, you need to go onto the green above the harbour and follow the seaward wall. Eventually, about 150 yards from the entrance to the park, you will get to a patch of ground where the wall is a bit lower and there is evidence of people going over it. Climb over here and follow the path down the cliff, taking a great deal of care, especially if conditions have been damp.
   
Roundham is best fished early morning, popping out a leger in the Autumn and Winter or float in the Summer. There are flatfish on the bottom, occasionally at least, together with the usual suspects like gurnard etc, but the better fishing is to be had on float with live prawns. This will tempt the pollack and wrasse while bass will also make guest appearances if conditions are right.
  
 You can take mackerel on live sandeels or mackerel strip, together with garfish, but the fishing definitely peters off as the sun gets higher. If you haven't had anything decent by 9 or 10 o'clock then it is probably not going to happen. By this time, there will probably be featherers appearing so you can pretty much write off the rest of the day, especially as fishing space is limited.
  1. Goodrington Sands, Marks out of 10: 7, Status: Worth a go
Goodrington Sands is quite reasonable but it does take a bit of getting used to. On the promenade side, at the high tide, fishing can be quite good early morning and evening but the number of swimmers through the day means very little happens then, especially with jumpers from the steps making a lot of noise and commotion. You can float fish for mackerel, garfish, wrasse and pollack but be aware that the promenade can get a little crowded. Sometimes I experiment with poles, which my grandchildren particularly enjoy using, and we have taken golden grey mullet on ragworm.
   
A lot of kayakers launch from here, exploring the rocks at both ends of the beach, although the majority seem to follow the coastline to the right of Roundham Head. Live prawns seems to be the most popular bait but live sandeels can also produce when they are available.
   
Fishing off the beach is worthwhile, especially with a moderate swell running. but stay close to a feature, such as either side of the rocks, where there is the chance of a bass. Whiting and other bottom feeders can be caught through the Winter but the Summer is best.
Sometimes bass, the occasional flatfish, wrasse mackerel, garfish and pollack.

Some occasional surprises during the Autumn.
Some flatfish, bass, mackerel, garfish, wrasse, mullet, whiting, dogfish and pout.
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