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Fishing in Torbay

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Foreshore

Bass, pollack, mackerel, wrasse and garfish in the summer.

Dogfish, whiting, rockling and pout in the winter

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4. Ansteys Cove, Marks out of 10: 5, Status: Worth a go

At the bottom of a steep, gated hill, Ansteys Cove is a small, stony cove where dogfish can be caught on leger, albeit tackle losses can be pretty high and rotten bottom tackle is recommended. In the Summer, it is worth having a fish from the rocks at the side where mackerel, garfish, pollack and wrasse will occasionally turn up on float.
 
Spinning from the top, by the collapsed walkway across Redgate Beach, will yield the occasional bass with rubber eels by far the best. You are really too high up for plugs to be as effective, especially since you need the distance to have much of a chance. (The bass will often be right in amongst the waves on the beach itself with 80 - 100 yard casts necessary to put you in with a chance.)

5. Hopes Nose, Marks out of 10: 8, Status: Recommended in Winter, Worth a go in Summer

This can be a lovely spot to fish but does tend to get a bit crowded. There is a steep walk down, probably around a mile or so, and parts of the path can be very slippery, making it completely unsuitable for wheelchair users and many other disabled anglers. The left hand side of the Nose offers all the usual range of bottom species plus mullet, bass, mackerel, garfish, scad, pollack and wrasse in season. It used to offer significant numbers of flatfish but these have not been present for several years now due to its popularity with trawlers. Morning and night, you will see these scraping the bottom so that it remains a wonder that anything decent ever appears.
   
In the Summer, if you like float fishing, you should be okay but be aware that featherers flock to it so that daylight fishing can be very frustrating. Anything other than dogfish left on the bottom soon moves out of range of the continual barrage of leads hitting the water, as do the bass. Legering becomes almost impossible and probably not worth the effort anytime except during the night or early morning. Float fishing is possible off the side, on Mackerel Pier, which, traditionally, has been left for people wanting to float fish, a custom which is still mostly respected by those in the know at least. It can be good.
   
In the winter, fishing on leger is probably best off the high ground, especially to people capable of casting a long way. (There is a reef that their tackle needs to clear upon the retrieve.) People do fish off the side, with mixed success, but there are usually plenty of whiting and dogfish. In years gone by, peeler crabs and ragworms used to account for some pretty decent fish, which still turn up on occasion, but the numbers of dogfish are such that they usually reach peeler crabs before anything else has a chance. To the right of the Nose, at Sandy Point, there are some big wrasse to be had while bull huss turn up on leger, for which you will need to use rotten bottom gear. Float fishing is possible here in the Summer but space is limited so try to get here early. Conger can be found here as well, as they can from most of the spots around the mark.

Bass, pollack, mackerel, wrasse and garfish in the summer.

Dogfish, whiting, flatfish, rockling and pout in the winter.

Some occasional surprises, probably would be more if trawling and pressure from featherers eased off.

As the photos show, it is a great place to experiment with light tackle!