There is some good sea fishing around Tintagel. There are good rock platforms at:
- Penhallick point (the headland on the right of Trebarwith Strand - walk along the coast path from St Materiana Church)
- The flat rock on the right of Castle Beach (there is a path down from the Coast Path)
- Barras Nose (the next headland from Tintagel Castle; there is a footpath to the coast path just opposite it which starts next to the Camelot Castle Hotel)
- The headland at Port Gaverne
If you have a good casting rod and feathers, you should be able catch some mackerel and often pollack and garfish. Watch out for snagging your feathers on the rocks though. Float fishing amongst the rocks can also be very productive and you are less likely to lose tackle. Sandeel and strips of mackerel seem pretty good baits for float fishing. Dawn and dusk are particularly good times for pollack. There also loads of wrasse around - they aren't much good to eat so if you catch them, please try to release them. There are a lot of gurnard (red, grey and tub) in Port Isaac Bay so if you're bottom fishing particularly into deeper water off one of the headlands you may catch one.
For anyone brave enough to go night fishing for conger eels, there are some monster congers down there amongst the rocks - we've seen congers with the girth of a dinner plate caught in lobster pots around Port Gaverne. If you go night fishing, please be REALLY careful of hazards such as freak waves, slippery paths/rocks and possibly several feet of angry gnashing conger eel!
The west-facing sandy surf beaches at Tregardock, Trebarwith Strand and around Bude (Crooklets, Sandymouth, Northcott Mouth and Widemouth) are good for flatfish, rays and the occasional turbot, a couple of hours either side of low water. Tregardock in particular is good for plaice possibly due to the abundance of mussels in Port Isaac Bay. Mussel is definitely a good bait if you can get it to stay on your hooks. Having said that, we've caught plenty of flatfish using mackerel as bait. Watch out for getting cut off by the tide on these beaches which have a big tidal range and often you can't get all the way across the beach except towards low tide.
With a beachcaster, or speargun and snorkel it's possible to catch bass off Hole Beach. The bass generally feed on sandeels here, so that is definitely the best bait.
You can buy bait in Tintagel at "Camping Sport and Leisure" next to the roundabout. Alternatively you can dig lugworm at low tide at Daymer Bay and collect mussels at low tide at Trebarwith Strand.
If you have a sea kayak and a handline you can have a lot of success feathering for mackerel. There are also plenty of inshore reefs which are good for pollack.
More info
- SouthwestSeafishing.co.uk
- Kayak fishing
- Fishing tips for Mackerel, Pollack and Bass
