Once again we took our 2 week summer break on Anglesey where we intended to do a bit of walking and sea fishing. The weather was exceptional and we managed to get out and about on every day we wanted too, some days though we were so relaxed even fishing seemed hard wrok – I know – even I was amazed but Anglesey does that to you, you turn up and all the worries in the world just vanish as the island casts a spell upon you.
We tried a few new locations this time round, some completely new to us, others where we’d been before but never fished.
The first was Sandy Beach where, if the conditions are right, either Bass can caught (if there’s a surf) or Smooth Hound (if it’s mirror calm). Both times we were there it was neither rough nor flat with only a slight breeze making very small waves. Neither of the target species was caught but we managed a few Dogfish which saved the blank on our first sea fishing venture of the holiday.
We tried another beach just South of Sandy Beach but again the conditions weren’t in our favour and only a solitary Dogfish was landed.
Our next session was at a well known venue near Anglesey Race Track, Ty Croes where, after having a chat at Valley baits we were prepared for the mark we knew being occupied (which it was) so we tried a new one a bit further South known as Three Points (I think). This mark was very shallow compared to the favourite Ray hotspot but I managed a few Mackerel from the fast tidal waters about 80 meters out while Wendy got a few Pollock on float fished Ragworm closer in. What made this particular trip special was a pod of Harbour Porpoise ‘fishing’ about 100 meters off the rocks – we sat for a while and watched the experts, the fact we hadn’t landed anything spectacular completely forgotten.
A venue I’d found while looking around our maps was a tidal lagoon where Afon Alaw flows into the bay formed by Penrhos on one side and the Gorad rocks on the other. We saw plenty of Mullet cruising around but even after chatting to the local experts we still couldn’t catch any, either on float fished Ragworm or fly fishing a sand shrimp type lure. We tried all sorts but they just wouldn’t take any notice of what we were doing – they’re there though and next time we’ll be a bit more prepared.
Once again we tried an early evening stint from the Gorad rocks where we fished from a couple of hours after low water for two hours – any longer and we’d have been stuck on the rocks. We’ve always been told to bottom fish Ragworm here but the crab activity meant the baits were stripped before the fish could find them. The most exciting time was just sa the water started to flow, you could see the fish breaking the surface so while Wendy tried a few plugs I again tried the fly rod with a sandeel pattern. We both had a few follows but no hooks ups – it was good fun though and a great way to spned an evening.
A new venue for us was Porth Aels, West of Aberffraw, where the water was so clear you could easily see to the bottom of the gulleys we were fishing into. We caught a few Wrasse, Ballan and Corkwing as well as a very plump Blenny and spent a very pleasant afternoon baking in the sun watching the floats bob up and down in a mirror calm sea.
This is an area we intend to explore a bit more and it looks to have huge potential for both Wrasse, the bully boys of the rocks and Bass as they chase the bait fish into the shore.
Apparently the bay you walk past where there is ‘the church on the rock’, St. Cwyfan’s Church, is full of Mullet on calm evening so again – somewhere new to try in the future.
We had a few walks, nothing to strenuous and spotted a few likely haunts for Mullet or Bass but mainly we either fished, relaxed or fished and relaxed – perfect.
Once again we stayed at Ty Cristion which was excellent and as we were fishing mostly on the North or West side of the island we got most of our baits from Valley Baits with a bit we collected on our way through to the cottage coming from Menai Angling – both excellent shops with good local knowledge.
So… did we have a good time?
You’re damn right we did, Anglesey never fails to deliver no matter what the weather does and this time we had truly amazing weather, caught a few fish and even got a bit of a tan.
Plans are already hatching for our next visit in a few months for our annual Small Eyed Ray hunt…
