Get down to Brean
The rays are in now, but this finger of limestone provides top sport all year
Bristol Channel rays provide top sport.
AMare sea front may well have gazed south and noticed an enormous finger of grass-clad limestone that juts into the Bristol Channel. It’s called Brean Down, and it looks close to the town’s beach. It is, in fact, 13 miles away along a particularly winding road.
So, is this as good an angling platform as it appears? The answer is a resounding yes, and throughout the year Brean Down provides consistent fishing for a wide variety of species.
Brean Down is quite a big mark, so to make things easier, I’ll make its north face the focal point for this piece. Although the south side is fishable, it can be dangerous if you are not familiar with it, owing to the tidal range and the very sheer cliffs found here.
High water marks are accessed from the main track that runs the length of the Down, and are easily accessed along goat tracks that wind down between the bracken and out on to grassy slopes.
There are at least five noted marks from the start of the bushes to Sprat Beach bay, and all are fishable over high water. If fishing from the grass ledges over high water, aim to be in position four hours before the top of the tide. This will give you a little time before the tide hits the base of the cliff and it becomes practical to cast a line.
It’s interesting to note that the tide here will always run from right to left, be it on the flood or the ebb, owing to a huge back eddy that forms a false tide within Weston Bay.
For the most part, the ground you will be casting on to is mud, unless you drop a bait at 30 yards or less, where there are numerous small reef systems running parallel with the Down. The high-water marks produce better fishing on a tide of between 9.5 and 10.5 metres on the Weston-super-Mare scale.
Always take a net with you, too, because these ledges have been known to produce some exceptional fish.
SWEEPING BAY
The ground beyond Sprat Beach bay (you won’t miss this huge sweeping bay) is more worthy of effort over low water. From the western end of the bay’s extremity, right through to the boulders below the fort at Howe Rock, the terrain becomes increasingly harsher.
Although you can fish here over high tide, it is generally less productive. Again, there are numerous goat tracks that will take you to the cliff top, and access points to the ground below are easy to spot. If you prefer, you can walk out to the fort, where there are steps leading to the bottom. If you take this option though, you will have to walk back towards the bay if you intend on fishing this area.
Low-water marks here generally fish better on tides of between 10.5 and 11.5 mettrs on the Weston scale.
On the subject of walking, if you intend to fish Brean Down, it is worth pointing out that there is a moderately difficult walk on the cards. You must negotiate more than 200 steps while loaded down with enough lead weights to last a low-water session. The fishing is worth every step, though, and the view both to the north and south is truly spectacular.
THE FISHING CALENDAR
January: There is no better month to try and bag a specimen fish. The thornback ray has become a pest to some, taking baits intended for a seemingly more desirable quarry, but if you have yet to land one yourself, I doubt you’d find a finer venue.
The high-water ledges are always my first port of call, and by far the most productive area for this species. A cast of 60 yards is ample to reach the mud, where you can find the thornbacks, but if you should drop a cast short, a cod could easily intercept your bait.
February and March: The rays increase in numbers, but their general size starts to decrease as the larger fish move offshore. Small whiting and flounders also feature in catches if you are prepared to scale down and use small ragworm baits.
Pulley rigs baited with squid are good, but I have had just as much success with a fillet of Bluey, or even mackerel.
As the weather warms up, bass begin to show, and I get a lot of enjoyment fishing for them at close quarters with an 11ft spinning rod and a small fixed-spool reel loaded with braid. Peeler crabs are essential for bait, and casting just a couple of rodlengths out will leave your bait in the target area. Late codling, and even a rogue conger take baits fished in this way. If it is a particularly calm day, consider freelining a crab; this can be an electric method of fishing.
Summer: The warm months produce as many thornbacks as you could ever want, along with conger eels, dogfish, smoothhounds, eels and flounders.
Autumn/winter: As autumn gives way to winter, the boulders below the fort at low water offer an excellent chance of a big conger, but make sure you are prepared. The ground can be extremely tackle-hungry, and you may lose every lead weight you cast, but this is where the bigger eels usually hang out. Heavy mono or wire traces carrying size 6/08/0 hooks are the way to go. A small whiting or pouting makes a superb bait.
December: This is also a noted time for big cod, and the weeks leading up to Christmas are the prime time to try for a double-figure specimen. Big lug and squid baits are key.
GENERAL TACKLE
Brean Down is a venue where you need to step up your gear compared to what you may use on a cleaner, less-demanding venue.
Reels designed to haul, and rods made for big lead weights are the only practical way to fish, although with the advent of longer rods and improvements to fixed-spool reels, I accept that this is an option for some.
Pulley rigs consisting of 100lb bodies and 100lb traces will cope with everything, and the increased diameter of this trace line will not put off the fish.