lofty Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Fished Swanage bay today with a huge haul of 1 garfish. Lost leads and rigs as it was so snaggy. Do any club members rate Swanage because I've never done any good fishing there? Interested to know what works for other members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagypsy Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 There were about 20 species caught in the OK classic in May , difficult to drift fish on the bottom because of snags , try floats in close or anchor further out for rays . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Yes Lofty, I do For inshore fishing I rate Swanage as very good, for the number of species and the potential size of fish I have caught a few PB's within a couple of miles of Swanage beach. but with the tides and snags around the area it is not always easy fishing Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lofty Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 So outside of the bay then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Hey Lofty, If you fish just outside of the bay you get some interesting tides you can use to your advantage. Close in to the white cliffs of Ballard Down you can often find a counter-current that will take you towards Old Harry when the tide is ebbing, or back towards Swanage during a flood, for example. Vary your distance offshore (or depth) to find out what it's doing on any given day. Standing off a little further will get you into the main tidal run. Similarly, you can get some strange back-eddies in Swanage Bay that flow contrary to the main tidal stream outside. To test the actual tidal stream direction, if you paddle a straight course inshore, and can line up two fixed objects...one in mid-distance and one in the far distance, then you can try to steer the straight line "transect" towards the two. You'll soon see what the tide is doing, and whether you're within the counter-current or not, by which way you're pushed sideways. Also, check the current direction on every pot buoy you pass. Some might be different to expectation! Motorboats can and do ignore this, but at my slower speeds, and yours, this can be important for travelling, and setting up drifts over the cleaner ground. We fish a mixture of spots in the bay and just outside, and can catch 8-10 species fairly quickly some days. Also, we fish the Swanage area generally at neap tides, as at Springs, the tidal strength can warrant pretty substantial leads to hold bottom. Others find the spring tides get the fish to feed better, so you takes your choices... One tip - do take care with Peverill Ledge. The tide can howl across there, and overfalls are common, even on calm days. Mike Edited October 9, 2011 by Mike Fox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagypsy Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Great post Mike , very educational for kayaks i must say . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 So outside of the bay then? Well more like the ends of the bay really Lofty Some very interesting fishing on the peveril ledge at slack tide , but as Mike says be very carefull there, also quite good around in durlestone bay in the back water Mike descibes. At the other end towards Ballard, there are some great bream spots in the summer. and some banks that offer at least 4 species of rays. Bass are often seen on the two rock ledges that run out from the beach. Far better around in Swanage than in Studland or even Poole Harbour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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