Crofty Point, North Gower
Crofty
Point provides good fishing directly into the sub channels of the
Loughor Estuary. Summer time can offer catches of bass, eels, small
flounder and mullet but it is in the autumn and winter that the fishing
comes alive.
At low water on neap to mid-range tides a rocky area referred to by locals
as ' the slags ' becomes exposed and fishable. On the bigger spring
tides the tidal flow is often too fierce to fish anything other than
dead low water when the tide is slack. Big mullet cruise past the
exposed rocks here but are very rarely hooked by anglers using
conventional spinners. The mullet are probably feeding on shrimps and
prawns which live in the seaweed along the rockface and so a prawn
livebait on very light tackle will probably be more successful.
The mullet look to be 2-4lb in weight but bigger ones certainly exist
elsewhere in the estuary so Im sure they pass through this channel at
some time.
'The slags' is also a popular low-tide mark to fish for bass, some good double
figure fish have been caught here but local anglers never reveal how
the bass fishing is going. Plugs and spinners work well for the bass,
mainly when the water is clearer (after good settled spells of
weather). There is a left - right tidal rip running through this
channel and it is an extremely dangerous area - watch that the tide
doesnt cut you off and also beware of falling in - lives have been lost
here.
Fishing large lugworm baits or peeler crab close in also takes bass
with a good early run, whenever the peeler crabs start shedding their
shells (normally starts in April) and then late season can throw up
some good fish. I wouldnt advice considering fishing this low tide mark
without a local angler who has fished the spot before - it is
potentially very dangerous.
Generally you can fish 'the slags' 2hrs either side of low water. Eels
will snap up peeler crab baits intended for the bass and these can run
to about 3lb in weight. Fishing ragworm baits or lug/rag cocktails can
also give good sized flounder especially in the autumn. Often in the
summer mullet can be seen breaking surface while school bass jump clear
of the water on hot evenings.
The next spot at Crofty is the old breakwater structure. This used to
be accessible for 4x4 vehicles to drive along but the sea has since
crumbled the stone structure and seriously damaged it. It used to be an
excellent mark to fish at night on a big spring tide. I have personally
seen an undersize codling caught here but I think this was a rariety -
codling rarely venture this far into the estuary. Other species are
school bass, flounders, whiting and eels. The whiting generally show
after dark and worm baits tipped with mackerel sort out the better size
fish.
Unfortunately due to structural damage parts of the 'breakwater' now become submerged on big
tides and I am not sure whether it is still possible to fish the bigger
tides from this mark. Do not venture unless you are 100% sure that the
mark is safe!
The main spot that people fish at Crofty is from the salt marsh banks that flank
the channels. These can be fished only on neap tides. Generall 2.5hrs
up to 1hr down. Flounders to about 2lb are frequent especially in the
winter along with odd bass (a 7lb+ bass was once caught in a November
flounder festival one year from this mark). The whiting can also be
caught here - again night tides are best. I have caught bags of up to
15 good-sized whiting here on a few different occasions - though their
presence is unknown by most. Try lug tipped with mackerel or squid
around January time.
The tide floods the salt marsh banks on mid-high tides and therefore
this venue as a whole is a dangerous place. Be aware that strong
SW/W/NW winds can push even a small neap tide further in than it would
normally come resulting in the banks flooding. The banks are also
littered with deep gullies - my advise is never fish alone and always
get a local guide if possible.
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