Fishing Spots

Seaton

Seaton Beach is a mile long shelving shingle beach. It is between the chalk cliffs of White Cliff to the West, and the red Haven Cliffs to the East. The shingle beach starts at the sea wall, shelving down to a distinct gutter which is visible at low tide, this is where the sea bed changes to a sandy bottom. The sand continues to shelve to a depth of 20′, after this it levels out. You can access the beach easily with parking directly on the seafront pay and display until 6pm.

Fishing Off The Beach

You are able to fish off the beach both during the day and at night, this includes spinning, feathering as well as bottom baiting. To cast amongst the fish, you should be casting between 70-100 yards, however the gutter is a rich source of food which brings some fish including Bass, close to the shore. A lot of people make the mistake of overcasting which means they miss the fish feeding in the gutter which is only a few yards out. You can solve this problem bu taking two rods with you, one long and one short. In calm conditions, the gutter can be fished from using a float rig, grip leads can also be useful as there is a strong lateral tidal slow in the bay. The sea bed in the bay is free of rocks so rotten bottom tackle is not needed.

Fish

When using peeler crabs for bait, smooth hounds are regularly caught off the beach. During the high tides and fine evenings during the summer months, large catches of mackerel can be taken. Due to the increase in casual anglers because of the mackerel shoals being in, this prevents anything other than feathering until night fall.

In the middle of summer, large shoals of whitebait can appear in the bay, usually on a fine sunny evening. Large mackerel and Bass target the whitebait.

Good sized Bass are regularly caught off the beach, although the numbers can vary from season to season. A really good spot for fishing good size Bass is just round to the west of the harbour month, a small rough ground patch.

Another way of producing results is spinning with light Bass rods and Dexterʼs into the gutter, particularly when there is a surf. Live prawn on a float rig have also caught some reasonable size fish as has bottom baiting with lug, rag and squid cocktails. Using fresh mackerel fillet pieces can work well.

Other Bass marks include Seaton Hole which is at the west end of the bay and also East Beach which is the other side of the harbour. Both of these are very rocky and best fished with plugs and Dexterʼs.

There is a mud stone reed opposite the Chine Cafe on West Walk which is also known to attract Bass where they can be taken off the bottom.

Between the harbour mouth and noosing area, try for mullet midway either with a light tackle on a float rig with a small hook baited with bread or with a small spinner baited with harbour rag. The seafront has also seen some donkeys landed in some recent competitions!

Exmouth is a frying harbour so that at low tide, it will empty showing the bottom of the harbour. Boats tend to leave the harbour on a rising tide and return with the tide still high so that they can get past the harbour bay.

Fishing off the harbour wall will mean that when it is mid tide, landing your catch can be a bit of a challenge, you need to keep an eye out for moving boats. Flounder are caught the other side of the road bridge and crab and rag are the preferred baits fishing the tide up. This is not a renowned Flounder mark but it definitely does produce fish. If you are planning to fish the landward side of the bridge, you will need a licence, these are available from the Seaton Tackle Shop on the quay side, we recommend to stay the sea side of the bridge as it is better.

Species

Bass, SE Ray, Smoothhound, Plaice, Gurnard, Mackerel, Garfish, Mullet,
Dogfish, and more.

Budleigh Beach

Budleigh Beach is around 2 miles long of shelving pebble beach into a fair depth of water. Access to Budleigh Beach is very easy with roadside parking alongside the eastern end of the beach. Further east is a large pay and display car park.

Fishing Off The Beach

When fishing around the mouth of the Otter, you can find a lot of Bass and Wrasse, finding the most Bass at night time.As the tide comes in, you will also come across a vast amount of Mullet. Approximately 1 mile up the stream, fishing is permitted and a licence is not required. Budleigh Beach can be a great spot for fishing with a light rod and a Mess spinner loaded with worms which will help you find Thin lipped Mullet. Big Mullets can also be seen cruising through taking bread which is meant for the swans and ducks as this area is part of a Nature Reserve. The centre of Budleigh Beach is clean ground for as long as you can cast, you will find little patches of weed here and there. Although shingle is sometimes lost on the western flank of the promenade, it becomes a little patchy but still remains tackle friendly. A lot of people will also be seen feathering for Mackerel in the evenings. In the right conditions, big Bass can also be found in Budleigh, however there is no tackle shop in Budleigh.

Species

Bass, Smoothhound, Plaice, Gurnard, Mackerel, Garfish, Thick/thin lipped Mullet, Wrasse, Dogfish, and more.

Branscombe Beach

Branscombe Beach is a long shingle beach that starts below the beautiful village of Branscombe and continues east for about 1 mile, to Beer Head. The beach is a long way from the main road through ling and winding narrow roads. There is also a large pay and display car park and other facilities right next to Branscombe Beach.

Fishing Off The Beach

When fishing the clean ground, you should find Smoothhound, Bass, Plaice, Sole, SE Ray and all of the usual summer species. Nightfall at high tide can be a really good time to get down there. Fish the rough ground for Huss, Wrasse and all of the usual fish found around the rocks. On the far western flank rotten bottom rigs are advisable, fishing a whole squid close in can attract big Huss, Bass and Conger. The Huss from this area are generally around 5lb-10lb. The eastern side of Branscombe Beach is rough but is a little more forgiving than the West. Early morning spinning can also be productive for Bass.

Species

Smoothhound, Bass, Plaice, Sole, SE Ray, and more.

Exmouth Beach

Exmouth Beach sits at the rivers mouth, making it a fantastic fishing area with good all year round venues and species to be caught for anglers. The nearby sandy beach can produce good catches of Plaice and Dover Sole as well as Bass when there is sea running.

Fishing Off The Beach

Exmouthʼs sandy beach is mainly clean ground where you can find a good amount of Bass and flounders most of the year. To the east of the lifeboat station lays a group of rocky edges ledges that run out to see. Over low or high tide, these can be fished, taking note the direction the ledges run and casting shorts. Using large baits in front of these gullies during a rising tide at night can result in good size Bass. There is a mussel bed that lies around 60-80 yards from the shore and this can be a productive mark for a good size flounder and you might also see the odd Plaice.

Further to the East, there is low water reefs which can be comfortably fished from during the daylight hours. A short flick will put you onto patches of sand, again for a chance of good size Bass or Flounder. At the far Western side of the beach, there is the old docks where fishing is not permitted. However, from the docks entrance around the hard standing is permitted and can be extremely good for Wrasse close in. If you fish any further than a short lob then you will need 10lb lead to hold bottom. Just inside the estuary, in front of the large orange and blue apartments is a favourite spot for the local anglers to fish the moorings for Mullet and Flounder. A couple of hours either side of low tide always produces the best results.

Species

The species you will find at Exmouth Beach consist of Flounder and Bass.

And More!

In between the above places are various beaches and coves. Weston Mouth and Salcombe Regis are both very good secluded beaches however, a long, steep walk is required for both of these. Ladram Bay, Sidmouth, Jacobs ladder and Beer are easy accessible spots but not as productive as the other beaches mentioned. Lyme Regis, Charmouth and West Bay are not too far away but still are extremely good fishing venues.