The Shore Marks of Gower and Swansea Bay
There few
coastlines, anywhere, to equal the Gower peninsular. There are fewer
still that can match the quality of its fishing. From the humble
pouting to the powerful tope or menacing conger eels, Gower provides
for your sport fishing experience. There is something for everyone
of all ages. There is ample opportunity for specialists to practise
and hone their skills or the novice member to learn the basics. From
the South Gower rocky outcrops to the North Gower's estuarine
mudflats nowhere is there more scope for the patient shore angler to
succeed.
West of Mumbles Head, the shore
angler is faced with one of the most beautiful and productive areas
of coast to be found anywhere in the UK. Bass are one of the most
popular species here and are caught from late spring right through
until winter. There are many rock marks, and the fishing at Port
Eynon and Worm's Head is about as good as it gets, whether you favour
lure fishing or legering a succulent peeler crab at short range in
the rock gullies. Llangennith, Cefn Sidan and Pendine are three
classic, west facing surf beaches that in addition to bass produce
plenty of flounders and golden-grey mullet. There is also the vast
expanse of the Loughor estuary, good for flounders.
There are about 160 different kinds of fish that are reasonably
common around the British Isles, but the species around Gower are
mainly, cod on the Swansea breakwater, Garfish at Pennard, Bream at
Oxwich and Langland, Bass and Mullet at Llangennith, Flonder along the
esturies, through to the occasional Tope at the Lynch sand channel at
Broughton.
The more popular holiday beaches like Langland, Caswell, Oxwich,
Port Eynon etc., are crowded during the Summer months, so best to search
out the more secluded bays like Falls, Tears Point, Whitford and the
rock marks.
The other shore mark to the east in Swansea Bay also offer a varity of fishing opportunities. See the shore mark pages for more details.
Safety First
As with most sport there are certain dangers and safety precautions
to be taken when fishing. There are a number of fishing marks at which
to be extra careful whilst fish Gower, especially the marsh areas along
the Burry Estuary, all the way up the River Loughor to Llangennech.
Unless knowledgeable of the marks only fish the marshes on a low tide.
Watch the tides on the three cut-off islands, Worms Head, Burry Holmes
and the Middle and Outer Head at Mumbles.
