Fishing in Torbay
Whiting, pout, some flatfish and the occasional bass, mullet or mackerel
- Preston Sands, Marks out of 10: 3, Status: Not recommended
At the top of the tide, with a decent depth of water, Preston can produce a few fish. However, in the winter, these tend to be small whiting with some occasional rocklings thrown in while, during the summer, there seem to be more pout than anything else. Some years, if you keep an eye on the place, big shoals of mullet will gather near the sea wall, usually in early April, while occasionally shoals of mackerel will herd fry at the Redcliffe Hotel. The mullet will be quite challenging - stick to bread for bait - while spinning with light dexters and cebar lures will sort out the mackerel if they do appear. Some flatfish turn up, along with the occasional bass, but, on the whole, the fishing is pretty unexciting.
- Paignton Beach, Marks out of 10: 6, Status: Worth a go
Because of its popularity with swimmers, Paignton is usually only fished early morning and late evening, which is fine because those are the best times to fish anyway. It can be quite good but my advice would be to stick near to a feature. If you fish either side of the pier with peeler crabs or live sandeels, then there is the chance of a reasonable bass. If you can get out far enough, then there are quite a few mackerel around at the top of the tide as well. Personally, it is the sort of place where I would experiment with kayaks. Gurnard are present throughout the summer, along with flatfish, mullet, pout and the occasional dogfish. There are also some surprises with shad occasionally making an appearance although these would, of course, have to be returned since they are protected.
Moving on from the pier, there is a small freshwater stream that surfaces on the beach which is worth a visit, especially since sandeels often dig in close to it, and there is the section of beach closest to the harbour. This is probably the best part of the beach for standard legering while the pier is probably the best part of the beach for the bass. If you go snorkelling, have a cruise around at the harbour end of the beach. There is quite a lot of life down there so really it is a bit of a surprise that there is not more caught. Maybe people overcast?
- Paignton Harbour, Marks out of 10: 5, Status: Worth a go
Quite a few mullet and mackerel at the top of the tide though space is limited and the harbour is busy. Stick to evenings or early mornings - I prefer the former - and be prepared to experiment with both distance and tackle. Bass seem to go for spun lures, especially rubber eels, while legering with rag or lug can be worthwhile. I have seen people blasting out the bottom gear as far as they can but most of the fish caught have actually been sniffing around the rocks where they give way to sand. Since this is only about 10 yards out you can draw your own conclusions as to the effectiveness of long distance casting just here. (The harbour is a rich supply of food. Fish are coming to it to forage, not sending it a postcard!)
Some flatfish, bass, the occasional sole, mackerel, mullet and some decent-sized pout.
Some occasional surprises during both seasons.
Some flatfish, bass, mackerel, mullet and some decent-sized pout.
