Cornish anglers do have a bit of a reputation for being less-than-forthcoming when it comes to sharing information about the fishing in their home county. There are a few reasons for this, most notably that many anglers subscribe to the ‘loose lips sink ships’ way of thinking, but also the fact that many marks and areas are not safe for those who do not know them, and that most rock marks will only accommodate a small number of anglers and get crowded easily. There are, however, a few places out there that are well-known – I’ve already covered one: Loe Bar, which I wrote about at the beginning of this blog’s life. To hopefully go some way to dispelling the belief that Cornish anglers are all take and no give, I’ve decided to cover another equally-famous location in this piece. My hope is that some of the info might help people who are visiting north Cornwall and want a decent place to fish, or those who are already aware of the venue and its reputation, but not necessarily what’s on offer there in current times. I’ve also produced a short video that identifies the main marks I’m going to be detailing, as well as a couple of bonus ones that I’ve not covered. You can find the video at the end of the post.
When it comes to venues that enjoy legendary status in Cornish sea angling history, there is arguably one that stands out as top dog, a place capable of churning out specimen fish of a variety of species and always having the potential to surprise. I am of course talking about Newquay Headland. Universally lauded as awesome in its heyday, this particular area was as desirable a place to be of a rough winter’s night as the Playboy mansion (RIP Heff), to the point that when I first started sea fishing, I never even got to fish the premier marks – there were always people already on them. Of course, these days the sewer pipe is no longer churning out gourmet mullet food and the glorious era of donkey plaice and stacks of cod are just a fond memory, but there are still fish to be caught and the better marks still retain a mysterious magnetism that sees the occasional cracking fish caught from them. In fact, I would go so far to say that if more good anglers visited the Headland more frequently, there would be some real surprises caught from there. As it is, the place has fallen into a bit of a downward spiral, dominated by shockleader-less mackerel maniacs and the kind of anglers who just go to drink beer and leave their cans strewn all over the rocks. These factors are as much a turn-off for serious anglers as the plagues of dogfish and thieving seals that can ruin the fishing here. However, the fact remains, the place can throw up quality fish and is still deserving of your time.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Newquay Headland is home to a fair few named marks but undoubtedly the most famous are the outer pair: the imaginatively entitled high place and low place. Low place is the easier of the two to tackle and can be fished on the flood or ebb. A lot of people choose to fish right down on the bottom rock but I tend to opt for the grass bank above, both for the sake of safety (you are well clear of the water up here) and the fact that it prevents other people setting up on the grass bank whilst you are on the bottom rock and potentially casting over you. It sounds cynical, but it is best not to trust that other anglers fishing the Headland at the same time as you will fish with consideration and not repeatedly cross your lines. I can tolerate people who are inexperienced doing this, but people who are wilfully ignorant and should know better are a different story. I tend to only fish the Headland in such a way and at such times as I can to avoid this particular breed of angler.
Compared to low place, high place is a slightly trickier proposition, being situated at the most seaward point of the peninsula and subject to a powerful run of tide that sweeps across the face of the mark. High place is much easier to fish on the flood than the ebb, with it being practically impossible to hold on a backing spring tide with virtually any lead. Whether the sand is too tightly packed for grip wires to get a steady purchase in I can’t say, but on the ebb, no matter whereabouts you cast on to the clean ground, the current will inevitably carry your end gear towards and into the reef on your left. Despite these challenges, high place is definitely my favourite of the Headland marks as its turbulent waters do seem to attract the better quality fish, particularly those that are lovers of strong currents such as cod and smoothhounds. There is also a cool ‘end of the world’ feeling about fishing off high place, particularly on a rough night.
The main problem with high place through the warmer months is the fact that it is a very good mark for catching mackerel. This makes it a magnet for those anglers who have little interest in anything else and also our fat whiskery friends who like to pinch the fish off our lines. Daytime sessions at high place at any time during mackerel season can be very challenging indeed. I have tried to fish for plaice a few times off here and ended up having my sessions cut short by the inability and/or reluctance of the tinsel brigade to fish around me rather than over the top of me. Coupled to this, the constant presence of seals means that any decent fish you might catch off the bottom is likely to be snaffled on the way in. I’ve seen the anguish in the eyes of anglers who’ve told me stories of losing good fish to seals and it’s not an ordeal I want to put myself through. For these reasons, high place is usually a spot that I fish at night or in the depths of winter in rough weather. I must admit that I do use the mark for gathering mackerel also, but again, the seal factor often makes me turn to other spots for this.
The hordes of mackerel bashers and seals aren’t the only things that are unpleasant about the Headland; the place is absolutely infested with rats. Fishing off the grass bank at low place can become as much about trying to keep the vermin away from your bait as watching for bites. I am not fond of rats at all and it can sometimes put me on edge when I turn my head and see a pair of rodent eyes reflecting in the light of my head torch. Adding to the unpleasantness of the rat problem, a lot of the time when you visit one of the more popular marks, the place will be absolutely covered in bait wrappers, and food and drink waste. Although the sewer pipe is no more, the general vibe of the Headland is still best described as ‘dirty’.
So far, I have painted a bit of a grim portrait of Newquay Headland (and I haven’t quite finished yet), so I think it’s time that I talked a bit about some of the good things that the venue has to offer. To start with, the history of the place and the stories that you can hear if you ask the right people are absolutely fascinating. Because the area has been fished for so long by so many people, you often hear lots of different peoples’ experiences of the same phenomenon, like the winters when the Headland produced as many 5lb+ coalfish as you wanted to catch or the group of huge red mullet that used to live on the reef below the grass bank at low place. Much of this historical stuff relates to the time when the Headland was a functioning sewer outfall, with the brown cloud of poopy goodness and various floating delights surrounding the outer marks and serving as the most extraordinary attractant to mullet, as well as feeding the mussels, which in turn fed the plaice. Large mullet and plaice used to be a real feature here, and it’s common to hear people say that the general fishiness of the area as a whole was far superior when the ‘shitpipe’ was working. I remember fishing the mark known as Lenard’s Rock when I was a teenager, kidding myself that as it looked like I was on the edge of the brown water, the fish that I caught would be less contaminated and better to eat than the ones the anglers on low place were pulling in. I also remember talking to a woman at a party once who happily told me that she’d caught a nice mullet out in front of the sewer pipe that afternoon and it was now sitting in her fridge with all her food. Note to self: never accept an invitation to dinner at that lady’s house.
The Headland also enjoys a reputation as being, historically, the most amazing fish-producing factory; being a top spot for many of the most desirable species as well as throwing out a wide array of others. Many anglers will talk about the once-brilliant cod fishing, particularly from high place. More than once, I’ve heard a story about anglers from a particular club taking it in turns to sit on high place in groups every night while the cod were in, working in a rota to keep other anglers off the mark. Although big cod were reportedly never a feature from high place or the Headland in general (the best fish being in the teens of pounds rather than the twenties), the volume of codling and cod that could be caught meant that anglers from around the county coveted the venue (along with Loe Bar) as the crown jewel of Cornish cod fishing.
Other, slightly less glamourous, species also used to show from the Headland. Packs of spurdogs, large rays, big congers, triggerfish… the list goes on. What is notable now is that this list has dwindled considerably; you can forget about spurdogs and any species of ray is now a rare capture. Congers are still present, but don’t expect them to even 20lbs, never mind larger beasts. Triggers may still be realistic, although I have tried a couple of times and haven’t caught any. The species that has come to dominate is the same one that has slithered its way to prominence throughout the south of the UK as the larger predatory fish have declined: the dogfish. High place in particular can rapidly turn into dog hell after dark, and I’ve got to the point now where my heart breaks a little if I catch one before the light has gone as it is a sure sign of torment to come. That said, one of the real wins about the fishing in current times is that, on the right night, the dogs can be pushed out by a much more desirable member of the shark family. High place can fish well for hounds and seems to be one spot where you stand a chance of a rare Cornish double, although I’ve only had them to 9lbs or so here. Cod also still frequent the venue in years when there are a few inshore. Only last February I was lucky enough to catch one of 7.7 from high place in a spur-of-the-moment session. Even the plaice have not gone and some decent quality fish can be caught in the right conditions.
Other species that are still realistic targets from the Headland (in season of course) would be things like bass, gurnards, black bream, ballan wrasse, rockling and whiting. Every now and then, the Headland will produce a very nice bass, usually to someone fishing over low water in rough conditions. Good whiting to 2lb or so can also show, and there are still some sizable ballans resident over the rougher patches. One of my favourite spots is the little gully behind high place. I have had some nice sessions here catching wrasse on soft plastics. Starting at the mouth of this gully and running immediately below the grass bank at low place is a small patch of boulders, which is easily visible at low water on a clear day. This is worth fishing for congers and rockling in rough conditions and I often knock a spare rod out into this ground with a mackerel bait.
As far as tactics go for fishing high and low place, I tend to think about fishing close to either the structures, or in terms of whether I want to have the bait in, close to, or well out of the main run of tide. The main reef at high place runs out nearly at a right angle on the left and then cuts back inside to just below the ledge that you fish off, before running out to a small point on your right and turning back into the bay. Personally, I’ve found it tricky to fish to the reef on the left as the perspective makes it difficult for me to judge where the reef edge is and how close I can get to it. I’ve had better luck casting short to the section of reef on the right. This is easy even at night as you can aim at the lights from Porth/Watergate Bay and feel out the range until you are happy. I’ve had my best fish from this mark doing exactly this. Alternatively, you can cast long out into the flow of water that moves laterally across the mark. The universal advice here is to aim the cast out due right as this will put you uptide and well clear of the tackle-grabbing main reef. If you are casting medium length, say around 50-60 yards, then you can get away with straightening up a bit. I seldom bother casting long from high place any more unless I am trying for something like a plaice or a gurnard and wanting to drift the tackle over the sea bed.
Low place is different again, to reach the strongest part of the current, a longer cast is definitely favoured here. This seems to be the winning tactic if you want codling or cod. Shorter range is often better for whiting and school bass, with shorter still good for the rough ground species. In the event that high and low place are occupied, the third best option would probably be Lenard’s rock. Some people even choose Lenard’s over high and low place, maybe because it picks up less swell and is much easier to fish. You can still catch good fish here though; a long cast puts you out into some current and potential cod territory. This mark is also particularly noted for plaice, which can be caught from very short range out to as far as you can throw it.
The final words about fishing the Headland should be cautionary ones; you might have noticed that I’ve mentioned fishing in rough weather quite a few times through this piece and that ought to give you a clue as to when the place fishes at is best. Whilst calm daylight conditions can produce in the warmer months, in the winter the Headland is best fished after dark with a good sea running. Being sheltered from the prevailing south westerlies and with many marks giving shelter from westerlies, the wind conditions are not such a big factor here, and you can often fish in pretty severe storms in relative comfort. The sea, however, should be given your full attention and the standard advice of fishing high off the water, taking no risks and never turning your back on the ocean is absolutely spot on. I would strongly recommend some sort of studded footwear, particularly for those less experienced in rock fishing - all the marks can be slippery in the wet and even well-seasoned anglers have had nasty falls out here. A long handled gaff may also be something that proves useful, if not for actually plucking the fish from the sea, then definitely as a means of dragging the fish to safety once it has been grounded on a rock.
When it comes to venues that enjoy legendary status in Cornish sea angling history, there is arguably one that stands out as top dog, a place capable of churning out specimen fish of a variety of species and always having the potential to surprise. I am of course talking about Newquay Headland. Universally lauded as awesome in its heyday, this particular area was as desirable a place to be of a rough winter’s night as the Playboy mansion (RIP Heff), to the point that when I first started sea fishing, I never even got to fish the premier marks – there were always people already on them. Of course, these days the sewer pipe is no longer churning out gourmet mullet food and the glorious era of donkey plaice and stacks of cod are just a fond memory, but there are still fish to be caught and the better marks still retain a mysterious magnetism that sees the occasional cracking fish caught from them. In fact, I would go so far to say that if more good anglers visited the Headland more frequently, there would be some real surprises caught from there. As it is, the place has fallen into a bit of a downward spiral, dominated by shockleader-less mackerel maniacs and the kind of anglers who just go to drink beer and leave their cans strewn all over the rocks. These factors are as much a turn-off for serious anglers as the plagues of dogfish and thieving seals that can ruin the fishing here. However, the fact remains, the place can throw up quality fish and is still deserving of your time.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Newquay Headland is home to a fair few named marks but undoubtedly the most famous are the outer pair: the imaginatively entitled high place and low place. Low place is the easier of the two to tackle and can be fished on the flood or ebb. A lot of people choose to fish right down on the bottom rock but I tend to opt for the grass bank above, both for the sake of safety (you are well clear of the water up here) and the fact that it prevents other people setting up on the grass bank whilst you are on the bottom rock and potentially casting over you. It sounds cynical, but it is best not to trust that other anglers fishing the Headland at the same time as you will fish with consideration and not repeatedly cross your lines. I can tolerate people who are inexperienced doing this, but people who are wilfully ignorant and should know better are a different story. I tend to only fish the Headland in such a way and at such times as I can to avoid this particular breed of angler.
Compared to low place, high place is a slightly trickier proposition, being situated at the most seaward point of the peninsula and subject to a powerful run of tide that sweeps across the face of the mark. High place is much easier to fish on the flood than the ebb, with it being practically impossible to hold on a backing spring tide with virtually any lead. Whether the sand is too tightly packed for grip wires to get a steady purchase in I can’t say, but on the ebb, no matter whereabouts you cast on to the clean ground, the current will inevitably carry your end gear towards and into the reef on your left. Despite these challenges, high place is definitely my favourite of the Headland marks as its turbulent waters do seem to attract the better quality fish, particularly those that are lovers of strong currents such as cod and smoothhounds. There is also a cool ‘end of the world’ feeling about fishing off high place, particularly on a rough night.
The main problem with high place through the warmer months is the fact that it is a very good mark for catching mackerel. This makes it a magnet for those anglers who have little interest in anything else and also our fat whiskery friends who like to pinch the fish off our lines. Daytime sessions at high place at any time during mackerel season can be very challenging indeed. I have tried to fish for plaice a few times off here and ended up having my sessions cut short by the inability and/or reluctance of the tinsel brigade to fish around me rather than over the top of me. Coupled to this, the constant presence of seals means that any decent fish you might catch off the bottom is likely to be snaffled on the way in. I’ve seen the anguish in the eyes of anglers who’ve told me stories of losing good fish to seals and it’s not an ordeal I want to put myself through. For these reasons, high place is usually a spot that I fish at night or in the depths of winter in rough weather. I must admit that I do use the mark for gathering mackerel also, but again, the seal factor often makes me turn to other spots for this.
The hordes of mackerel bashers and seals aren’t the only things that are unpleasant about the Headland; the place is absolutely infested with rats. Fishing off the grass bank at low place can become as much about trying to keep the vermin away from your bait as watching for bites. I am not fond of rats at all and it can sometimes put me on edge when I turn my head and see a pair of rodent eyes reflecting in the light of my head torch. Adding to the unpleasantness of the rat problem, a lot of the time when you visit one of the more popular marks, the place will be absolutely covered in bait wrappers, and food and drink waste. Although the sewer pipe is no more, the general vibe of the Headland is still best described as ‘dirty’.
So far, I have painted a bit of a grim portrait of Newquay Headland (and I haven’t quite finished yet), so I think it’s time that I talked a bit about some of the good things that the venue has to offer. To start with, the history of the place and the stories that you can hear if you ask the right people are absolutely fascinating. Because the area has been fished for so long by so many people, you often hear lots of different peoples’ experiences of the same phenomenon, like the winters when the Headland produced as many 5lb+ coalfish as you wanted to catch or the group of huge red mullet that used to live on the reef below the grass bank at low place. Much of this historical stuff relates to the time when the Headland was a functioning sewer outfall, with the brown cloud of poopy goodness and various floating delights surrounding the outer marks and serving as the most extraordinary attractant to mullet, as well as feeding the mussels, which in turn fed the plaice. Large mullet and plaice used to be a real feature here, and it’s common to hear people say that the general fishiness of the area as a whole was far superior when the ‘shitpipe’ was working. I remember fishing the mark known as Lenard’s Rock when I was a teenager, kidding myself that as it looked like I was on the edge of the brown water, the fish that I caught would be less contaminated and better to eat than the ones the anglers on low place were pulling in. I also remember talking to a woman at a party once who happily told me that she’d caught a nice mullet out in front of the sewer pipe that afternoon and it was now sitting in her fridge with all her food. Note to self: never accept an invitation to dinner at that lady’s house.
The Headland also enjoys a reputation as being, historically, the most amazing fish-producing factory; being a top spot for many of the most desirable species as well as throwing out a wide array of others. Many anglers will talk about the once-brilliant cod fishing, particularly from high place. More than once, I’ve heard a story about anglers from a particular club taking it in turns to sit on high place in groups every night while the cod were in, working in a rota to keep other anglers off the mark. Although big cod were reportedly never a feature from high place or the Headland in general (the best fish being in the teens of pounds rather than the twenties), the volume of codling and cod that could be caught meant that anglers from around the county coveted the venue (along with Loe Bar) as the crown jewel of Cornish cod fishing.
Other, slightly less glamourous, species also used to show from the Headland. Packs of spurdogs, large rays, big congers, triggerfish… the list goes on. What is notable now is that this list has dwindled considerably; you can forget about spurdogs and any species of ray is now a rare capture. Congers are still present, but don’t expect them to even 20lbs, never mind larger beasts. Triggers may still be realistic, although I have tried a couple of times and haven’t caught any. The species that has come to dominate is the same one that has slithered its way to prominence throughout the south of the UK as the larger predatory fish have declined: the dogfish. High place in particular can rapidly turn into dog hell after dark, and I’ve got to the point now where my heart breaks a little if I catch one before the light has gone as it is a sure sign of torment to come. That said, one of the real wins about the fishing in current times is that, on the right night, the dogs can be pushed out by a much more desirable member of the shark family. High place can fish well for hounds and seems to be one spot where you stand a chance of a rare Cornish double, although I’ve only had them to 9lbs or so here. Cod also still frequent the venue in years when there are a few inshore. Only last February I was lucky enough to catch one of 7.7 from high place in a spur-of-the-moment session. Even the plaice have not gone and some decent quality fish can be caught in the right conditions.
Other species that are still realistic targets from the Headland (in season of course) would be things like bass, gurnards, black bream, ballan wrasse, rockling and whiting. Every now and then, the Headland will produce a very nice bass, usually to someone fishing over low water in rough conditions. Good whiting to 2lb or so can also show, and there are still some sizable ballans resident over the rougher patches. One of my favourite spots is the little gully behind high place. I have had some nice sessions here catching wrasse on soft plastics. Starting at the mouth of this gully and running immediately below the grass bank at low place is a small patch of boulders, which is easily visible at low water on a clear day. This is worth fishing for congers and rockling in rough conditions and I often knock a spare rod out into this ground with a mackerel bait.
As far as tactics go for fishing high and low place, I tend to think about fishing close to either the structures, or in terms of whether I want to have the bait in, close to, or well out of the main run of tide. The main reef at high place runs out nearly at a right angle on the left and then cuts back inside to just below the ledge that you fish off, before running out to a small point on your right and turning back into the bay. Personally, I’ve found it tricky to fish to the reef on the left as the perspective makes it difficult for me to judge where the reef edge is and how close I can get to it. I’ve had better luck casting short to the section of reef on the right. This is easy even at night as you can aim at the lights from Porth/Watergate Bay and feel out the range until you are happy. I’ve had my best fish from this mark doing exactly this. Alternatively, you can cast long out into the flow of water that moves laterally across the mark. The universal advice here is to aim the cast out due right as this will put you uptide and well clear of the tackle-grabbing main reef. If you are casting medium length, say around 50-60 yards, then you can get away with straightening up a bit. I seldom bother casting long from high place any more unless I am trying for something like a plaice or a gurnard and wanting to drift the tackle over the sea bed.
Low place is different again, to reach the strongest part of the current, a longer cast is definitely favoured here. This seems to be the winning tactic if you want codling or cod. Shorter range is often better for whiting and school bass, with shorter still good for the rough ground species. In the event that high and low place are occupied, the third best option would probably be Lenard’s rock. Some people even choose Lenard’s over high and low place, maybe because it picks up less swell and is much easier to fish. You can still catch good fish here though; a long cast puts you out into some current and potential cod territory. This mark is also particularly noted for plaice, which can be caught from very short range out to as far as you can throw it.
The final words about fishing the Headland should be cautionary ones; you might have noticed that I’ve mentioned fishing in rough weather quite a few times through this piece and that ought to give you a clue as to when the place fishes at is best. Whilst calm daylight conditions can produce in the warmer months, in the winter the Headland is best fished after dark with a good sea running. Being sheltered from the prevailing south westerlies and with many marks giving shelter from westerlies, the wind conditions are not such a big factor here, and you can often fish in pretty severe storms in relative comfort. The sea, however, should be given your full attention and the standard advice of fishing high off the water, taking no risks and never turning your back on the ocean is absolutely spot on. I would strongly recommend some sort of studded footwear, particularly for those less experienced in rock fishing - all the marks can be slippery in the wet and even well-seasoned anglers have had nasty falls out here. A long handled gaff may also be something that proves useful, if not for actually plucking the fish from the sea, then definitely as a means of dragging the fish to safety once it has been grounded on a rock.