New to sea fishing
Your first trip
You don't need much to catch fish from the shore. One rod, one rig and one bait will catch whiting, dabs, flounder, pouting and codling in winter and plaice, dogfish and more in summer. Here is the simplest plan we know.
One outfit
The all-rounder
A 10–12ft rod casting up to about 4oz
- Rod
- 10–12ft beach, pier or bass rod rated 2–4oz (60–110g)
- Reel
- 5000–6000 size fixed spool
- Line
- 15lb (about 0.35mm) mono
- Leader
- A shock leader if you cast hard: 10lb for every ounce of lead, so 40lb for 4oz
- Leads
- 2–4oz grip leads (the wires hold in a tide)
Also take
- Long-nose pliers and a disgorger, to unhook fish.
- A head torch, a towel and a bucket.
- A tape or measuring board, so you know what's legal to keep.
- A drop net if you fish from a pier or wall.
- Warm, waterproof clothes and boots with grip.
More on choosing gear in Choosing tackle.
One rig: the two-hook flapper
The all-rounder. Two baited hooks flutter above a fixed lead, covering the bottom half-metre where most fish feed. Tackle shops sell them ready-made, and it's easy to tie your own.
- Size 1–1/0 Aberdeen hooks on 25lb snoods, 30–40cm long.
- Tie it to your line with a uni knot.
- Cast a short to medium distance. Most fish are closer than you think, often well inside 70 yards.
In a strong tide or over a muddy estuary, a running ledger lets the fish take line without feeling the lead.
One bait: worms
Lugworm or ragworm from a tackle shop catch almost everything and are sold all year. Buy them the day before or on the way, keep them cool in newspaper, and use small, neat baits.
- Thread a worm up the hook and onto the snood, leaving the point clear.
- A few turns of bait elastic keep it on through the cast.
- Start by checking the bait every 15 to 20 minutes. If it comes back stripped, check sooner.
Small baits on small hooks
Whiting, dabs and flounder come to small baits on small hooks. A big bait on a big hook is for cod and rays once you've caught a few fish.
Where to start
Easiest
A pier or harbour wall
Deep water close in, a rail to lean on and often lights. Drop a bait straight down the side first: fish moving along the coast have to swim round the pier. Check the pier's own rules before you go.
Classic
A sandy beach on the flood
Fish the two or three hours up to high water, when the tide pushes food and fish towards you. At low water, walk the beach and look for gutters and sandbanks: that's where fish feed.
Sheltered
An estuary
Flounder and school bass on small worm baits, out of the worst of the wind. Some estuaries are bass nursery areas, and some need a rod licence for certain fish: see Estuaries and tidal rivers.
Later
Rock marks
Rock gives pollack, wrasse and big cod, but it's the most dangerous ground. Go first with someone who knows the mark, in calm weather, wearing a lifejacket.
The trip, step by step
Check the tide and the weather
Look up high water for the nearest port on EasyTide, and check the Met Office inshore waters forecast. Avoid a strong onshore wind for your first trip.
Pick the mark
Use Marks to find one near you, and read its notes for which tide it fishes on and what to watch out for.
Tie your rigs at home
Tie two or three flappers in the warm, with a knot you trust, and keep them in a rig wallet.
Get one rod fishing first
Before anything else, get one bait in the water. Set up above the high-tide line: look for the line of dried weed, or where the footprints stop.
Watch the rod tip
Waves nod the rod in a slow rhythm. A fish gives a sharp, rattling knock. Lift the rod and wind steadily.
Measure, then decide
Check the minimum size before you keep anything, and return the rest quickly with wet hands. Keep only what you'll eat.
Write it down
Log the session in the catch log, blanks included. After a few trips it shows you which tides and baits work.
Stay safe
Every trip
- Tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back. Take a charged phone.
- Know the time of high water, and which way out you'll take if the tide cuts in.
- Wear a lifejacket on rocks, piers and walls, and studded boots on weed.
- Never fish rock alone in the dark. Watch the sea for 10 minutes before you go down: big waves come in sets.
- Never walk out onto big tidal sands such as Morecambe Bay or the Solway. The tide comes in faster than you can run.
- In trouble at the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.