GNARLY NEWQUAY!
Best known for being the UK’s surfing capital, not to mention one of the most popular tourist towns in the South-West, this north Cornwall town between Padstow and St Ives offers some rich and radical fishing opportunities
With easy access via greatly improved roads, a huge selection of accommodation options to suit all tastes and budgets, countless places to choose from to eat and drink and many top tourist attractions within a short drive, Newquay really is the perfect destination for either a designated fishing trip, or a family holiday into which you can include a few days fishing.
CHARTER OPTIONS
You’ll find numerous fishing boats moored within the town’s quaint little harbour, but as you would expect in high summer the majority of these focus primarily on short duration mackerel type trips aimed at the occasional rather than serious sea angler. ese trips, which really are ideal taster sessions for children, can be booked at numerous kiosks at the harbour. Many of the charter boats based at Newquay can also booked for longer duration or even full day fishing charters, offering a great opportunity to experience the excellent sea angling that is available for a wide variety of different species.
MARKS & SPECIES
Several systems of reefs are located just a short run offshore, and these are very popular fishing venues for fishing both at anchor and on the drift. Depending on the time of year, fishing these reefs you can expect to catch plenty of pollack, codling, bream-black, red and couches, ling, conger, huss, wrasse, gurnard and many other species. Fishing the open and mixed ground off Newquay can also be very productive and you can expect to catch rays, dogfish and various species of flatfish. During the early part of the summer charter boats focus on excellent tope fishing, which typically produces dozens of fish per day. And if that were not enough, offshore there are hundreds
of wrecks located within relatively close proximity to the harbour, and a day fishing these can provide consistent sport with pollack, cod, ling, conger and coalfish. Large squid can be very prolific during autumn and winter, and increasingly British sea anglers are targeting these tasty cephalopods!
During the latter part of the winter and early spring the inshore waters off the coast of North Cornwall are one of the very best areas to catch huge porbeagle shark. In recent years numerous very large sharks including specimens estimated as being in excess of 400 or even 500lb have been caught and released in this area. Fish estimated as being in excess of the current world record, which is 507lb, have certainly been caught and released off the north Cornwall coast. Fishing further offshore in deeper water during the summer months, the blue shark fishing is excellent. ■