Down Your Way
Bass, rays and wrasse are some of the many species available from these Cornish marks
The spotlight falls on a Cornish shore mark.
G enerally, this is a benign 10 miles of coast, and its many named beaches are easily accessed by paths down the cliffs, which have been in use for centuries.
The Whitsand beaches and rocky areas produce fish good enough to satisfy the average shore angler. You will not catch the quality of fish taken by specialist anglers, who descend to the bottom of sheer cliffs with the aid of ropes in areas that most would not even contemplate. RAME HEAD Our tour begins at Rame Head (shown as the Ram Head on many old maps). At its peak is a stone chapel first consecrated in 1397, which also acted as a lamp-lit beacon for mariners.
Conger eels at night and ballan wrasse by day are the main species taken from the base rocks, some of which at low tide stretch quite a way out, so presenting a danger of the flooding tide filling the lower areas behind, and cutting off the unwary.
It would require a mix of wading with water up to the neck and a short swim to reach safe ground after the gear had been thrown across the gap if retreat was delayed by an obstinate conger eel.
The best wrasse gully is on the eastern flank, but the congers are holed up everywhere and they emerge to hunt as the light begins to fade.
On the west side of the headland, gullies always holding water are a wrasse angler’s dream. Access is via the coastal path from the
headland, then down to Queener Point, and from here it’s a scramble over rock bastions to reach the chosen mark.
Fishing around the point will also produce pollack and bass, and mackerel are usually about at first and last light.
POLHAWN AND FREATHY
The next beach along is Polhawn, where you cast between the rocky outcrops for bass as the tide makes. The next beaches are more open, with much less rock, and it is straightforward beachcasting for bass, with baits put beyond the third breaker.
It’s a long walk down the cliff path to the beach at Freathy that yields bass, usually at first light during a big flood tide, and it’s the one area where the occasional turbot is taken.
On the right-hand side of the beach is the Grotto outcrop, reached from a flattish area, but a wide gap in the rocks has to be crossed to get on to the point itself. It gives an opportunity to cast way outside the line of breakers, where big bass are likely when a big sea is running.
Car parking is available in a rough ground area (designated) off the main road and, ideally, placed to fish Freathy and the Grotto.
TREGANTLE AND PORTWRINKLE
Tregantle beach yields bass and rays, but produces very little during daylight. The army shoot over this beach, so watch out for the warning flags during daylight; if they are flying, access is banned.
Portwrinkle beach has produced many good bass. Fish under the Swiss Chalet, and aim baits for the deep gully bordered by rock that appears when the tide is low.
Close by is a small jetty, which makes a good station when the tide is well up, and the beach to the right of it can be productive during the winter when whiting and codling are available.
Beyond are the beaches of Longstone, Downderry and Seaton, and all are good for sizeable bass, with the best on record a fish of almost 13lb.
Roughly 800 metres off Longstone is a patch of reef called the Brawn, a haven for very big wrasse. Until the advent of kayak angling, it was a long way in a small craft from either Looe or far away Plymouth. Launch at Portwrinkle, and it’s a 15-minute paddle.
Some time ago divers who visited the mark in an inflatable said one of the wrasse in residence was an absolute monster and, as this species is so long lived, it could still be there.
A former UK boat-record spotted ray of 8lb 10oz was taken a short distance off Downderry in 1998.
There is a slipway handy for kayaks.