This section is designed for people who are wishing to visit the area and fancied a wee fishing session but are not sure where to fish or what they might catch.
So we have created this section so you can go fishing with the right bait and tackle to target the species of your choice.
Tight Lines!
Old house point is a shingle beach with kelpy ledges, some parts of this can be snaggy but a fast retreive keeping your rod high should help avoid these snags.
Warning- High speed ferries can create large waves and can be expected up to half an hour after ferries have passed.
You can expect to catch mainly dogfish, whiting, dabs and small codling with the odd rockling and on rare occasions bass and thornback ray have been caught. In the summer months mackerel can be caught when spinning or using feathers. On very rare occasions tope have been caught nere using mackerel flappers but this is VERY rare.
Any fish bait works here for dogs with mackerel and sandeel being most effective. Dabs, codling and whiting can be caught using worm baits with lug being prefered.
The Scar is a large sandbank with quite shallow waters surrounding it. The ground here is mostly sandy and fairly clean.
Warning- High speed ferries can create large waves and can be expected up to half an hour after ferries have passed.
Species that can be expected here is small schoolie bass in the summer and a few dabs,flounder and the odd plaice. Dogfish have also been caught here.
By far the best bait here is fresh lug worm for the bass and flat fish, with rag also taking the odd species. Fishbaits will catch the dogfish. Also it's worth using plugs for the bass and they can even be great fun on the fly using a sandeel immitation pattern,
!!!!! Warning!!!!!
This is a live firing range so anglers should not enter the range if the red warning flags are flying. LSAA
Species here are bass, flounder and the odd gurnard. Dogfish can also be caught here at night. In the summer months mackerel and herring can be caught.
Worm baits will work for bass with lug being the prefered,also try plugs and lures. Fish baits like mackerel and sandeel will catch dogfish. As with fishing the scar you can catch bass on plugs and the fly or even a small silver spinner.
Chappel Rossan is a beach consisting of quite large boulders, there are snags in places with patches of kelp also rocky ledges can be a pain.
Mainly dogfish here but has the odd good huss to be caught, small pollock are caught regulary along with mackerel in the summer months. Most species of gurnard and rockling are avaliable too with some small codling and coalies.
Again fish baits can be used to target dogfish and i've seen huss taken on lug and razorfish. Lugworm will catch the codling and coalies. Small sections of mackerel or sandeel will catch rockling and gurnard.
The ground here is a mixture of a sandy bottom with kelpy and rocky ledges, this is a reasonably deep area and quite tidal.
Species here vary from dogfish, pollock,cod,wrasse,coalfish,whiting with the odd strap conger and mackerel in the summer.
Ragworm will take pollock and wrasse and dogfish, lugworm will catch cod, coalies. Fishbaits are best for dogfish and mackerel will take conger. Pollock respond well to rubber eels and jelly worms spun as close to the bottom as possible using a slow retreive. Float fished ragworm will catch pollock and wrasse and frozen sandeels will also lure pollock on the float.
The harbour itself has a muddy bottom but should you choose to fish on the far side of the island (not an actual island) you will find yourself fishing quite rocky and kelpy grounds which can be snaggy.
The harbour is popular with families and tourist due to its easy access and being so close to the village, so beware in the holiday periods as this might be a busy wee place.
Small strap conger are taken here along with the old faithfull dogfish but small pollock and wrasse are also quite common. A few flat fish have been caught on the muddy bottom of the harbour itself. Casting out into the Irish sea can produce cod, larger pollock and coalies.
Mackerel will catch the strap conger and dogfish and floatfished rag will get pollock and wrasse. Cod will be taken on lugworm baits, its worth trying lugworm cocktails with squid or mussel and even mackerel. The flatfish can be caught using either worm baits or small sections of mackerel.
Knock bay is a sandy beach which can have a good surf if the weather suits, if you fish on the rocks to the left you will find kelp close in but a decent cast should put you onto the sand.
You can expect to catch bass all year round along with flounder,plaice and dabs. If theres a good sea on then there the chance of cod. Whiting and coalies are taken here too. Fishing from the rocks to the left can put you into pollock and wrasse as well as cod. Dogfish are taken all around this area.
Lugworm will take the bass,flounder and the odd plaice and lug cocktails will take cod and coalies. Fishbaits such as sandeel and mackerel will catch the dogfish. Fishing a float from the rocks using ragworm will catch pollock and wrasse.
Bass and flounder with the odd plaice and dab can be taken from the sandy area of the inside of the pier with mullet making an appearence at times. Casting towards the fishpond and seawards can see cod, pollock, wrasse, coalies, dogfish and the odd huss. Also varied species of gurnard can be caught too. Conger are caught from the rougher areas of the pier. In the summer months mackerel and herring are worth targeting.
Baits can vary depending on the targeted species with bass and flatfish taking lugworm, floatfished ragworm will catch pollock and wrasse but spinning for pollock and coalies can also be effective. Most fishbaits will catch dogfish, large mackerel baits will give you a good chance of conger but these need to be bullied as they will head straight for the snags. Lug cocktails with squid or mussel will lure the cod. Sets of feathers will take mackerel as will small spinners.
Click here for directions to the Cairn Pier
This pier was used during the war as a back-up naval base then used as a breakers yard after WW2, boats and submarines were demolished here, the most famous being the Ark Royal.
Casting towards Cairnryan you will find yourself fishing on clean sand, also sand will be the main ground casting seawards.
I find that the best fishing spot is about a 1/4 of the way up the pier about 60 yards past the first fence, this is where the main tidal run can be found. Dropping straight down the side can be quite snaggy due to the remains of ships etc lying on the sea bed.
I must stress that this pier is very unsafe and really should'nt be used as a fishing platform and its not uncommon to be moved on by the police.
Care must be taken when fishing this pier as parts are falling into the sea and some parts can give way without warning.
LSAA do not recommend fishing here as this is an unsafe platform
The usual dogfish can be caught here in numbers also there are decent conger but patients will be needed as these don't always feed. Bullhuss can be caught here, there are plenty of small pollock and coalies dropping just down the side. Wrasse are a targeted species here but are nearly always small.
In the winter cod can be caught along with whiting.
There are also the odd tope in the summer months taken from this pier but most find it difficult to land these due to the drop from the pier to the water, summer is the month for plenty of mackerel for bait with a dropping tide being prefered .On occasions thornback ray have been landed here but seem to be very scarce nowadays, some blame the high speed ferries for disturbing the sea beds for the decline in numbers of fish.
Casting onto the sand can catch the odd flounder, plaice and dab with various species of gurnard making an appearence.
Baits vary here with most fish baits taking dogfish with rag-sandeel cocktail being effective, for flatfish try lug worm tipped with a tiny piece of mackerel. Wrasse prefer rag on its own as do pollock, feathers here will take pollock, coalies and mackerel but the silvery feathers (tinsels) work best to bag up on mackerel. Try mackerel flappers down the side for conger but don't let them take too much line as they will find the nearest snag.
For tope cast a mackerel flapper towards Kirkcolm (seawards) into the main tide rip and remember to have your ratchet set or you find your rod heading out to sea.
Gurnard will take fillets of sandeel and for the cod and whiting in the winter try lug worm tipped with either squid or mussel.
This ground around here is quite snaggy with lots of kelpy patches and rocky ledges there is not alot of sandy bottom around the point of the mull. The tide race here is amazing with seven tides all joining forces at the point.
The Mull is famous for its catches of Pollock with loads of dogfish and coalies being caught too. Summer can see shoals of mackerel and sandeels and launce which can be seen being chased to the surface by pollock and other larger fish, also in the summer Tope can be caught but mainly from the Charter boats CLICK HERE FOR CHARTER BOATS. Other species include various Gurnard, Bullhuss, Herring, Garfish, Ballan Wrasse, Cookoo Wrasse, conger and many more!!!
Pollock will take floatfished rag, sandeel or strips of Mackerel as well as most spinners and feathers. For wrasse try ledgered rag worm, dogfish will take most fish baits as will bullhuss.For launce try small hockai feathers and for mackerel most feathers and small spinners are effective. Garfish will be taken on small strips of mackerel floatfished, conger and tope will be tempted by a fresh mackerel flapper on a wire or heavy duty nylon trace.Gurnard can be caught using fillets of sandeel.
