NORTH & ANGLESEY
LLEYNN PENINSULA
e area roughly splits into four – e Lleyn Peninsula on Caernarfon Bay, Anglesey, the Menai Straits and the North Wales coast from Bangor to Deeside. e main port on the Lleyn is Caernarfon on the west end of the Menai Straits, and there is an abundance of good fishing to be had, like at Cardigan Bay. It centres around elasmobranchs: bull huss, smoothhounds, tope, dogfish, rays and tope.
ere are vast areas of sand banks and some good reefs in the bay and it can be a good all round fishing area with settled tides and shallow depths. Spring tides are best, and the bay can provide excellent sport on species hunting days drifting over the many banks in the area for gurnards, dabs, turbot and plaice. A few wrecks around the area provide a great attraction around slack water for elasmobranchs. Along the Lleyn coast around Dinas Dinle there are plenty of decent fish to be caught close in. ere are not a lot of slipways (Nefyn Beach Slipway is one), although some shallow beaches may provide launching for kayaks and RIBs.
ANGLESEY
Anglesey has some amazing fishing both close inshore around the rocky headlands and the north coast or in the bays along the south-west coast of the island. Holyhead has a couple of charter boats including the well known My Way (www.goangling.co.uk / 07971 924046) run by Gethyn Owen, a skipper who really knows his stuff. Smoothhounds, tope, buss and rays are a favourite target. ere is some decent winter whiting fishing to be had plus pollack and the occasional coalfish on the wrecks in the Irish Sea. Amlych has a charter boat called KerryKim (07818 262832) and the spectacular scenery is always a good backdrop to the fishing. Further along the Anglesey coast is Red Wharf Bay, which is a vast bay with a huge tidal drop – the tide goes out miles into Liverpool bay.
MENAI STRAITS
All around North Wales there is some excellent inshore bass fishing, more from the shore than boats but the Menai Straits has always produced decent catches of bass and at the south-west end flounders are regularly caught off Port Dinorwic and beyond. e bass fishing in the straits is generally either using lures or with prawn and crab. e tides are vicious under the two bridges in a place called the Swellies and many people have come a cropper. Make sure you check the local knowledge before taking it on. e Straits offer sheltered fishing and My Way from Holyhead runs trips in the
Straits at certain times of the year. ere are a number of marinas on Anglesey and in the Straits; Beaumaris and Port Dinorwic are two examples. e area is great to explore with a SIB, RIB or kayak.
NORTH COAST
Moving along the coast there are a couple of charter boats in Conway and Rhyl along towards the Dee estuary and the fishing is mostly into Liverpool Bay, Conway Bay or around the headland at Llandudno. Much of it centres around deep sea or wreck fishing – but there is also plenty of opportunity for bull huss and smoothhound. e bass and some flatfish are also targeted.
Bad Boys Anglesey Charter boat fishing Holyhead - www.anglesey-charterfishing.co.uk 07966 061598
Incentive Sea Fishing - www.facebook.com/ incentivefishing / 07515 870026
Rhos on Sea - jack_t383@hotmail.co.uk Genesis Sea Fishing, Ray Crowe, Rhyl 07878 591628