ANGLESEY ADVENTURE
Get to grips with some stunning holiday fishing at this popular destination in North Wales
Stunning places to fish in North Wales.
Anglesey is a popular holiday destination off the north-west coast of Wales, offering some stunning scenery and plenty of great sea angling venues. The island offers good fishing all year, but most marks produce from June onwards.
Here, we’ve chosen nine marks for visitors to try, thanks to some great advice from Telboys Tackle.
Whether you want to cast feathers for mackerel, try lure fishing for bass, float-fish for wrasse and pollack, or leger baits for many species, including rays, conger eels and huss, there are loads of great marks.
1 TY CROES
Ray fishing is favoured at this popular rock venue, which fishes best in the months from June to October.
Mostly, you are casting on to sand, although there are a few snaggy areas to the left-hand side where conger eels might show. Casting a Pennell pulley rig towards the lighthouse can produce rays. ■ Species: Thornback, small-eyed and spotted rays, whiting, dogfish, dabs, plaice, pollack, coalfish, bull huss, codling, whiting, conger eels, wrasse, rockling and mackerel.
■ Best baits: Sandeels, mackerel, Bluey and squid for most species, with rag and crabs good for wrasse.
■ Best times: Early spring and summer. Slack water around low and high water. Night fishing is worthwhile.
■ Getting there: Follow the A55 towards Holyhead, turning off at Junction 5 for Aberffraw, passing Cable Bay, and go up hill until you reach a fork in the road. Take the right-hand turning until you reach a dead end. Park near the houses. Follow the pathway to the rock mark.
2 MACKEREL ROCK
Noted for catches of large mackerel on feathers and lures, this is also a good venue for wrasse and pollack to crab and worm baits.
Expect to catch rays, conger eels, huss and dogfish on fish baits. Codling and coalfish show in winter to worm and crab baits. A one-up, one-down rig is a good choice here.
■ Species: Mackerel, pollack, wrasse, plaice, rays, bull huss, whiting, dogfish, coalfish, ling, conger eels and codling.
■ Best baits: Crabs, lugworms, squid, Bluey, mackerel, sandeels and lures.
■ Best times: April to December. ■ Getting there: From the A5 Valley crossroads, turn left on to the B4545 and after three miles turn right for South Stack and follow this road to the beach. Take the first turning on the left and after half-amile take the second turning left and park your vehicle. The walk to the venue is about one mile.
4 WYLFA HEAD
One of the island’s most popular marks, you can take the long walk to the area below the lookout at the headland, or choose the shorter trip to the inside.
Conger eels to 20lb have been caught at the headland by anglers fishing with big fish baits. Expect pollack, wrasse, whiting and codling too. The inside produces dabs, whiting, dogfish, codling, ling and bull huss. A Pennell pulley rig is a good choice here.
■ Species: Conger eels, bull huss, plaice, dogfish, pollack, coalfish, codling, wrasse, mackerel and ling.
■ Best baits: Crabs, lugworms, ragworms, squid, sandeels, Bluey and mackerel.
■ Best times: June to October. ■ Getting there: Situated on the north of the island and reached on the A5025 from either Menai Bride or Valley. At Wylfa, turn right before the main gates to the power station and follow to another set of gates where you turn right and park. Access to the venue is through the kissing gate on the left. The shorter walk is to the inside of the headland.
5 LLANBADRIGG
Deep, rough and weedy in places, this mark is tackle-hungry, making it ideal for floatfishing with crab or worm baits for wrasse.
The clean sand is further out and will produces rays to crab and fish baits. Conger eels are caught close in too.
Besides float-fishing, try a one-up, onedown flapper or a single hook clipped down.
■ Species: Wrasse, dogfish, conger eels, rays, plaice, pollack, pouting, ling and whiting.
■ Best baits: Mackerel, Bluey, sandeels, lugworms, ragworms and crabs.
■ Best times: June to December. ■ Getting there: Follow the A5025 towards Wylfa and the east side of Cemaes Bay. At the sign for the Gwesty Gadlys Hotel, turn past the hotel and follow signs for Llanbadrig Church, where there is a small car park.
6 BULL BAY
Noted for its species variety, expect large numbers of wrasse and pollack close to the headland to crab, fish and worm baits, while longer casts with worm and crab cocktails to the clean sand will target whiting and flatfish.
Expect to catch huss, conger eels and rays to good sizes from the flat rocks. Conger eels are taken close in. Float-fishing is good here, otherwise use a single hook clipped-down rig.
■ Species: Wrasse, dogfish, plaice, dabs, codling, conger eels, pollack and whiting.
■ Best baits: Crabs, lugworms, ragworms, squid, Bluey, mackerel and sandeels. ■ Best times: July to December. ■ Getting there: From Menai Bridge (A55) follow the A5025 to Benllech and Amlwch and go straight through the village until you reach the golf course on your left. About 200 yards along, you will see a lay-by on the right-hand side. Park here and follow the path through the kissing gate.
7 AMLWCH PORT
This is a noted all-year mark for conger eels, with a mackerel flapper bait ideal fished off the harbour wall. Take a drop-net.
Summer fishing is good for wrasse to crab and rag, while pollack, dogfish and flatfish are taken on fish baits. Winter produces whiting, codling, bull huss and pollack.
Various rigs can be used, ranging from a one-up, one-down flapper to a single hook, clipped-down conger rig or float set-up.
■ Species: Wrasse, pollack, dogfish, plaice, dabs, whiting, codling and conger eels.
■ Best baits: Ragworms, lugworms, crabs, squid, sandeels, Bluey and mackerel. ■ Best times: September to February. ■ Getting there: Take the A5025 to Amlwch, where you turn right and follow the signs to the port. Park here and walk to the fishing.
8 MOELFRE ROCKS
Summer mackerel fishing is a big draw here, where flat rocks make ideal fishing positions. For the best mackerel sport, use light tackle.
Winter produces coalfish and codling on worm/squid cocktails or fish baits, along with dabs, strap congers, dabs and the odd bass.
Fish with one-up, one-down rigs or a single hook clipped down. Feathers for mackerel.
■ Species: Wrasse, mackerel, dogfish, dabs, plaice, pollack, bass, conger eels, whiting, coalfish, codling and bull huss.
■ Best baits: Lugworms, ragworms, mackerel and sandeels.
■ Best times: June to October. ■ Getting there: From the Menai Bridge, take the A5025 to the Llanallgo roundabout, where you turn right to Moelfre. There is easy parking, and it’s a short walk to the beach.
9 PENMON
Double-figure bass are caught every year on crab or sandeel baits, but this is also another good area for mackerel fishing with feathers.
Fishing a float rig close in with crab or rag baits produces wrasse, while further out on the sands you can locate rays. Drifting a float near the lighthouse, where there is a ledge about 200 yards off, can produce bass too.
Fish with paternoster rigs containing one, two or three hooks, but be prepared for tackle losses. The lighthouse is popular, but avoid getting cut off by water coming in behind you.
■ Species: Wrasse, thornback rays, pollack, bass, flatfish, mackerel, whiting, codling, dogfish and conger eels.
■ Best baits: Crabs, lugworms, sandeels, Bluey and mackerel.
■ Best times: June to October. ■ Getting there: Located in the north-east corner of Anglesey, it is reached on the A545 from Menai Bridge to Beaumaris where you join the B5109 to Penmon. There is a short walk from the car park.