Around high water only Beach Not yet visited by us
Surf beach where shingle meets sand. Old peat beds and tree stumps snag leads lower down.
Irish Sea · Wales
Cardigan Bay and the Llyn
A long, gentle bay of surf beaches, shingle and low reefs, with the rugged Llyn peninsula at its northern end. Tides are small compared with the Bristol Channel, so the fishing is friendly for beginners. Summer means bass, rays, smoothhound and mackerel; winter brings dabs, whiting and dogfish.
12 shore marks · Rules from Welsh Government, checked 18 October 2026
Stay safe on this coast
- Tides. Know the time of high water and your way off before you go out. Marks that fish around high water or on the flood can cut you off.
- Cut-offs. Sandbanks, causeways and headlands flood from behind. After storms, re-walk even a familiar beach in daylight.
- Rock. Watch the sea for 10 minutes before you go down: big waves come in sets. Wet weed is like ice. Never fish rock alone in the dark.
- Lifejacket. Wear a lifejacket (PFD) on rocks, piers and walls, with the crotch strap fastened.
- Emergency. Call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard. Never go in after someone: call, and throw something that floats.
More in Rules and safety.
Rules
Rules in Cardigan Bay and the Llyn
Last checked 18 October 2026Regulator: Welsh Government. Always check its own page before you keep a fish.
- Bass: minimum size 42cm. Catch and release only from 1 February to 31 March. From 1 April to 31 January you may keep up to 3 bass per angler per day, from shore or boat. The limit rose from 2 to 3 under UK regulations in force from 27 February 2026, so 3 a day applied from 1 April 2026. The Welsh Government's January 2026 guidance still says 2 because it was written before that law.
- Bass nursery areas here: the Teifi estuary at Cardigan (inside a line from the boathouse at Penrhyn to the Cliff Hotel, Gwbert), the Dyfi (Aberdyfi and Ynyslas), the Mawddach (Barmouth) and the Dwyryd and Glaslyn (Porthmadog). From 30 April to 1 November you may not fish for bass from any boat, or fish for anything from a boat using sandeel bait. Shore fishing is allowed.
- Minimum sizes: the old North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee byelaws still apply from Cemaes Head northwards, out to 6 miles. They ban anyone, anglers included, from removing fish below set sizes, listed in the sizes table. The byelaw size for bass is 36cm, but the 42cm UK rule is the one to follow.
- Shellfish: lobster 87mm carapace, edible crab 130mm, spider crab 130mm (male) or 120mm (female), velvet crab 65mm. Return any V-notched or tail-clipped lobster.
- Without a commercial fishing licence you may take no more than 2 lobsters, 1 crawfish, 5 crabs in total (edible, spider and velvet), 1kg of prawns and 5kg of whelks a day. Land them the same day and don't store them in keep pots at sea. Pots or traps need a Welsh Government permit, with no more than 5 pots.
- Foul hooking (snagging) fish on purpose is banned.
- Pollack: the Welsh Government says a recreational bag limit of 3 pollack was agreed for 2026, but we found no law bringing it in yet. Check locally before keeping more than 3.
- The Welsh Government notes that its published byelaw text does not include later amendments, so check locally for recent changes.
- You don't need a licence to sea fish. You do need an England and Wales rod fishing licence to fish for salmon, sea trout, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel, including in tidal rivers.
Rules change, usually each spring. Where a rule says check locally, ask the regulator or harbour office before you fish.
Minimum sizes
Last checked 18 October 2026Regulator: Welsh Government. Always check its own page before you keep a fish.
| Species | Legal minimum |
|---|---|
| Bass | 42cm |
| Cod | 35cm |
| Whiting | 27cm |
| Pollack | 30cm |
| Mackerel | 20cm |
| Plaice | 27cm |
| Flounder | 25cm |
| Dab | 15cm |
| Sole | 24cm |
| Turbot | 30cm |
| Black bream | 23cm |
| Conger eel | 58cm |
| Thick-lipped grey mullet | 20cm |
| Haddock | 30cm |
| Coalfish (saithe) | 35cm |
| Ling | 63cm |
| Herring | 20cm |
| Horse mackerel | 15cm |
| Hake | 27cm |
| Lemon sole | 25cm |
| Brill | 30cm |
| Lobster (carapace) | 87mm |
| Edible crab (across the back) | 130mm |
Tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Use the strictest figure you know as your own minimum.
Rules change, usually each spring. Where a rule says check locally, ask the regulator or harbour office before you fish.
Headline fish
April to October
Thornback ray
Season
Llanrhystud and Tywyn after dark. Sandeel or squid wraps on a pennel pulley rig, best in coloured water with an onshore breeze.
Species guide: Thornback ray
May to October
Bass
Season
Surf beaches from Borth to Hell's Mouth. Ragworm or peeler crab close in, often in the first gully at the top of the tide.
Species guide: Bass
All year, best June to November
Bull huss
Season
Mixed and rough ground at Aberaeron and New Quay. A whole small mackerel or a big fish bait after dark.
Species guide: Bull huss
May to September
Smoothhound
Season
Sandy beaches near Barmouth and on the Llyn. Peeler crab on a pulley rig, with a strong hooklength.
Species guide: Smoothhound
October to March
Dab
Season
New Quay pier and the clean beaches. Small hooks with black lug tipped with squid on a two-hook rig.
Species guide: Dab
Marks
The marks below are researched from public sources and local anglers' videos. We haven't fished them yet, so each is labelled Not yet visited by us. Drive times from your postcode are on the Marks page.
Flood tide only Estuary Not yet visited by us
Bass nursery area, so return small bass. Part of the point is roped off for nesting birds in spring and summer; keep out of it.
Flood tide only Beach Not yet visited by us
Small shingle bay with a caravan park behind it. Best at dusk on the flood.
Fishes most states of tide Pier Not yet visited by us
Easy access from the promenade. Waves break over it in a westerly blow, so stay off it in rough weather.
Fishes most states of tide Beach Not yet visited by us
Shallow clean sand that fishes over low water. The flood races back over boulders, so move up the beach in good time.
Around high water only Beach Not yet visited by us
Less snaggy than the north beach. Free car park and toilets by the yacht club. Walk it at low tide first.
Around high water only Pier Not yet visited by us
Best about three hours either side of high. Family-friendly, but there are no railings.
Flood tide only Beach Not yet visited by us
Long sand and shingle beach with easy parking on the front. Night tides suit rays.
Flood tide only Beach Not yet visited by us
The Mawddach is a bass nursery area, so return small bass. Strong currents near the harbour mouth.
Flood tide only Beach Not yet visited by us
Gentle sandy beach. Summer weed can choke lines; read the surf for gullies and fish them after dark.
Flood tide only Beach Not yet visited by us
Big open surf beach facing south-west. Best in a moderate surf; dangerous rips, so don't wade deep.
Around high water only Rock Not yet visited by us
Rock ledges below the castle. Slippery weed; fish from dry ledges and leave before the swell builds.
Local tips
At Borth, bass took ragworm close in at the top of the tide, even though it is usually called a low-water beach. Lower down, old peat beds snag leads.
In big surf, mono line gets pushed about less than braid. Keep firm pressure on a bass where the shingle meets the sand, as that is where fish come off.
Llanrhystud fishes over low water on clean sand. Follow the tide down, then back off quickly as the flood comes over the boulders. Weigh down your tripod.
For Llanrhystud rays, use sandeel and squid wraps on a pennel pulley rig. Coloured water and an onshore breeze help. Many bites show as the line falling slack.
Tides here are gentle. Check baits every half hour in spring and every 15 minutes in summer, when crabs strip them fast.
To tell a small bull huss from a dogfish, look at the nose. A huss has two separate nasal flaps and a broader head.
New Quay pier: black lug tipped with squid on a clipped-down two-hook rig. A short cast is all you need for dabs, whiting and rockling.
On a new surf beach, breaking waves mark a sandbar and calmer water marks a gully. Fish small ragworm in the gully at night for school bass, and big baits on its edge for rays.
In our own words, cross-checked against local anglers. Rules always come from the regulator, not a video.
Crabbing on this coast: family spots, and the crab and lobster rules for every regulator, are on Crabbing.
Local tackle and bait shops, charter boats and clubs: we're building these lists. Run one? Add it free.
Before you go
- Tide times for the nearest port: EasyTide (UK Hydrographic Office).
- Wind and sea state: Met Office inshore waters forecast.
- Access to piers, harbours and ports changes. Check with the owner or harbour office before your first visit.
Sources
- The Sea Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/105): bass bag limit from 2 to 3, in force 27 February 2026, UK-wide
- Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123, Article 10 as amended (UK recreational bass rules)
- MMO: Bass industry guidance 2026 (updated 27 February 2026, section 6 recreational)
- Welsh Government: Bass fishing 2026 guidance (January 2026, written before the 3 a day law)
- Bass (Specified Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1990
- Bass (Specified Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) (Variation) Order 1999: current schedule of nursery areas, including the Teifi
- Welsh Government: North Western and North Wales inshore fishery legislation
- Saved byelaws of the former North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (byelaws 18, 19, 29, 30, 31)
- The Scallop (Amendment of Minimum Conservation Reference Sizes) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (amends North Wales byelaw 19)
- Welsh Government: strategic approach to Welsh fisheries, progress update (pollack and bass bag limits agreed for 2026)
- GOV.UK: Fishing licences (rod licence for England and Wales)