Southwest Sea Fishing Blog

After the rather dismal fishing session along the Plymouth Foreshore a few days ago, I decided this time to fish Hopes Nose, Torquay, instead. I really wasn’t up for blanking twice in a row and thought Hopes Nose would be the most likely place I would see a dramatic change in fortune.

Today, I’d be fishing the tide up and then back down for an hour. With the sun out and the sea relatively calm, the only thing I could see hampering proceedings slighty was the stiff South-easterly breeze hovering around the 20mph mark. Still, the beauty of fishing at Hopes Nose is that there is usually at least one mark around the old limestone quarry where you can shelter from the wind. Hope Cove would be perfect, however Hope Cove was pretty full. So instead I chose to fish the high ground and cower from the bracing wind between casts!

Fishing alongside me was a local guy - a real Hopes Nose regular – who was having a punt at the Plaice which apparently were now in on the sandy bank beyond the snaggy reef. I thought it too good a chance to pass up, my first Plaice of the season, so I dug out a wishbone with all the beads, bells, buzzers and whistles, loaded it with line-fed and head hooked rag, and lobbed it out as far as my puny arms would allow.

For some reason I felt pretty hopeful for a flattie, but nothing materialised – for either of us. We both must have been fishing for them for about 4 hours yet nothing showed, not even a dog. Inevitably, as is my way, I got a bit bored and went for something else. Fair play to the guy next to me though, he stuck at it all session (unfortunately with no joy). So, no Plaice on the bank today, or at least none that we were able to catch. I did get a starfish though...

I packed up and moved round to sandy point and tried for a few Wrasse and Pollack over the rocks. I used my favourite paternoster scratching rigs right down the wall with no luck, then switched to retrieveing rag over the rocks – again, nothing. I flicked out a float with mackerel strip and then worm, and then both – but still no interest. Incredible. Quickly losing faith in my ability I switched to baited feathers and tried at all ranged tight to the rough ground. Not a sausage. Anyhow, by this time the wind had picked up further and was really starting to bite so I went back round the point to Hope Cove in search of something else.

Whilst I had been freezing around the corner, a few folks had packed up and left Hope Cove, so I got a spot there. Nothing in the way of Pollack or Wrasse, and no dogs on the sand, but thankfully I did manage to pick up a couple of mackerel and avoid the blank! (oh, and I found those bloody lobster pots a couple of times - I can't believe how close they drop them.)

I left a big bait out while I continued to spin for mackerel, but each time I reeled in it was completely untouched. Even the crabs weren’t interested.

As we came up to high slack water the mackerel returned with a vengeance – they were everywhere. With just two of us left at the Cove we chatted and spun and, well, were kept busy enough until we both had bait for the next session and dinner sorted. So, far from a wasted day (but when is a day fishing ever wasted day?)

If I had to sum up Hopes Nose today, it would have to be: “nice pegs, shame about the Plaice.”

To say that today’s fishing session was a peculiar one would be a complete understatement. First off, looking at the forecast yesterday I didn’t think I’d get out at all – ‘they’ said rain all day and only 7 degrees. I like my fishing, but not that much.

I awoke to a blue sky (through the window, that is - I hadn’t just passed out on a park bench after one too many shandys) and bypassed the shower in favour of a last minute muster of the fishing essentials. I thought I’d head out of Plymouth and spend such a fine day at Hopes Nose, Torbay – but by the time I jumped in the van the black clouds were already outnumbering the remaining blue bits. It didn’t look good.

Now thinking that the weathermen may have been on to something I thought it best to stay closer to home – so instead of the camel hike out to Hopes Nose I thought I’d check out a few well known sea fishing marks along the Plymouth foreshore instead.

First stop was to be the Elphinstone car park , just west of the Barbican. I heard that some lucky folks had been picking up Plaice from there quite recently (yep, Plaice!) so I may as well give it a go myself, I thought.

The only thing I came close to catching at Elphinstone was hypothermia. Within moments of unpacking my gear from the van (the beauty about Elphinstone is that you can park almost right on top of the mark) it started snowing! I gave it 20 minutes, scratching around on the bottom with a Plaice rig, but didn’t get a bite so I impatiently switched to a general paternoster scratching rig just to see if there were any Pollack or wrasse about. Still nothing, not even right down by the wall.

Anyhow, the snow got the better of me and not long after that and I retreated to the warm confines of my van, hoping that the black clouds would pass. While the sleet/snow continued to fall I decided to move on since as nothing at all was doing at Elphinstone – not even a little nibble from a baby Pollack or Wrasse that didn’t know any better.

With the weather clearing up and the fishing looking like it was gonna be back on, I stopped off at west hoe pier. Again, I scratched around for what seemed like an eternity and received absolutely no interest from my floated baits, ledgered baits, or lures at all. A put some big doggie baits out there too, only to lose each and every one of my rather shiny penel pulley rigs to a selection of underwater rocks/pipes/shopping trolleys/Ford Fiestas or whatever.
This was turning into a bit of a disaster. I’d already lost loads of gear and had absolutely nothing to show for it. Not one to give up easily though, I held out a bit longer…and lost more rigs! Pah.

Two more hours passed and not so much as one bite all day, so I thought I’d best move on and check another mark out. This time I went to my favourite mark in Plymouth: Devils Point .

Never have I walked away from Devils Point without catching at least one fish (even if it was a poor cod). It’s normally like an aquarium down there. If nothing else bites you are almost still guaranteed a dogfish if you are prepared to put the time in and risk a trace or two. Well, I put the time in, and definitely lost a trace or two but I still didn’t get into any fish (I have a shed load of rig making to do before I head out again tomorrow, that’s for sure!)

I’d fished sunshine, sleet, snow, low tide, two running tides; I’d used mackerel, squid, rag; I’d tried floats, penels, pulleys, bombers, paternosters, lures, feathers, free lines, ball weights, grippers – in fact, short of baiting up with a fresh Chihuahua's nose on an opened safety pin, you name it I tried it. But still not a single bite all day. At least the views were alright, I suppose.

Well, I guess that’s fishing for you.

Tomorrow I’m heading further afield if the weather turns out as forecast. Tomorrow I’m going to fish Hopes Nose - just like I wish I’d done today!