Brixham Fishing

Brixham Breakwater 

Brixham Breakwater is extremely well known for local angling. A lot of the best fish caught around Torbay have been caught off the breakwater. The first record shore caught conger eel was caught here in 1975 weighing in at 56lbs.

The Breakwater is extremely long (915m) and it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the end. The couple of hundred meters of the breakwater offers the best fishing. Float fishing is advised as the bottom is craggy and its easy to get snagged. Try depths of 5-20ft, depending on tide and fish types. Despite this bottom fishing can produce great results.

The car park next to breakwater beach has quite a number of spaces, but there is also a newer car park across the road behind the and above the cafe. There is well detailed disabled parking and the reach to the end of the breakwater is flat. There are toilets in the car park and a cafe with a webcam.

There is no illumination along the breakwater at night so bring lamps and rod indicators.

Most fish are caught in the summer season when you can expect to catch mainly Mackerel, Conger, Garfish, Dogfish, Bass, Whiting, pollock, rockling, bream and wrasse. Feathering and spinners will generally see mackerel easily caught with the odd school bass and towards evening pollack.

Float fishing with mackerel strip is always productive with mackerel being very cannnabalistic, but expect the occassional garfish aswell. Float fishing with ragworm or ledgering will see some fun with wrasse, up to 4lbs, but not the hardest fighers or the tastiest fish!

Two of the best baits are peeler crab and live prawn!  Both of which can be caught locally with the tide out. Get a good prawn net and a pair of shorts and run the net up through thick rock weed, or use a drop net in a convenient wall spot at night baited with fresh fish.

If you're looking for school bass up to 3-4lbs then float fished prawn or if you can get them and keep them alive, sandeels! Or for the purest try a Rapala lure at dawn or dusk.

Then there is conger! The best baits are fillets of freshly caught mackerel or whole squid. Fishing at night a few yards out. Don't forget your flashlight. Tangling with a conger in the dark isn't recommended! The monsters have long gone, but up to 20lb could be expected.

Flatfish can also be caught here, although not that often but best with baits such as lug or ragworm or peeler crab, but beware the sand can't be reached for 60 to 70 yds.

Mullet is a bit of a specialist fish and if you take your time you will find these fish are extremely hard fighters. Most are in the 1.5.-2.5lb range but 7-8lbs is possible and these will put up a serious fight.

Useful Links

• http://www.tetraplegicliving.com/brixham/fishing-brixham-breakwater
• Durl Head Fishing around at St. Mary's Bay
• Map of Berry Head Fishing
• See ideal holiday home accommodation for keen fishermen here!