Llangennith Beach, Gower
Llangennith is a true surf beach
running north to south and facing westerly. This means that after
strong storms there are usually loads of razorfish and clams washed up.
It is after these storms that the bass fishing really does well with
the biggest bass being a cracking 16lb 3oz former welsh record caught in
the 80's. Lug and shellfish baits do well for these bass.
Unfortunately the bass fishing isnt as good as it used to be, although
good bass are caught each year they are not as commonplace, however in
the right conditions they are there for the taking, my best bass at
this mark was a 4lb fish caught in November when fishing small worm
baits for flounder in the surf.
(Picture courtesy of the Welsh Surfing Federation Surf School http://www.wsfsurfschool.co.uk)
Llangennith is a shallow beach,
always popular with surfers and so night fishing is normally best. The
ground is nearly all sandy with the main hotspot being a small
stream which joins the sea near Hillend. This spot fishes well for
flounder and bass throughout the summer whilst late autumn provides the
better fish.
On occasions it can be worthwhile taking a light spinning rod down in
the early morning or late evening and working a silver coloured plug
through the surf tables - this is more effective when the water is
clear so avoid using this tactic after rough weather when the
water gets coloured, instead concentrate your efforts on fishing big
worm and razor baits to pick out the better bass.
This beach also provides golden
grey mullet up to potentially record weight. A slight to moderate swell
works best and the fish are only in the first few tables of water -
normally between 0 and 50yds distance from the sand. Try bunches of
harbour rag fished on a paternoster with size 4 hooks and a plain bomb
- light enough to drift along the seabed. The mullet tend to appear
around August and September and their presence is often very clear with
them being a large shoal fish you can see them in the surf and
occasionally they even beach themselves temporarily (this is an
indicator of how close these fish are to the shoreline!).
Long distance casters may find
dogfish and whiting after dark during the winter but fishing is
primarily for flounder. Incidentally I have witnessed some local
netters catching a box full of grey mullet (up to about 3lb in weight).
They were concentrating further left toward the Rhossili end and were
netting at low tide on a very big spring tide. Within 2hrs they had
caught masses of grey mullet, one flounder and some reasonable bass. We
were fishing from low tide up to high and I remember it was on November
5th (bonfire night). We blanked spectacularly whilst the netters
removed several fish-boxes within 2hrs....
Smoothhound are caught from nearby Burry Holms Island (far right end of
Llangennith) and so during calm hot night sessions a long cast with
peeler crab from this beach will probably put you in touch with these.
Their average size is up to about 5lb realistically.
Very small turbot can be contacted in the surf throughout the warmer
months - usually taking sandeel or fish baits presented on a running
ledger rig intended for bass. Be aware of minimum size limits for turbot because 90% of
these will be undersized and should be returned.
Razorfish and clams can be gathered from this beach - either by picking
them up along the high tide mark after a big storm or by collecting
them along the mean low tide mark. There are also scattered beds of
small lug that can be dug or pumped - their availability and size
doesnt make the walk worthwhile in my opinion though.
Medium to big tides work at this venue however because the beach is so
shallow the tide floods and ebbs very quickly - stick to just one rod
when fishing on the very big tides! Fishing is best on the first 1.5hr
of the flood and also picks up over top water. Although the beach looks
uninhabited the sand is full of food which is ripped out by the wave
action of the tide. Avoid the small stream area if there has been a lot
of rainfall - the freshwater can cause this 'hotspot' to be a deadspot
for a few days!
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