Dover

Dover pulls the bulk of it's anglers from the London catchment area, but also from much further afield too, such is the consistency and variety of sport available. It has a small, but very experienced charter fleet catering for all types of fishing, including wrecking.

WHERE TO FISH
Best known of the inshore fishing grounds are those off Fan Bay and Warren Bay. Inside Dover Harbour can be fished in bad weather and proves a top plaice mark on an ebbing tide, as does Fan Bay again.

To the west and off Shakespeare Cliffs the water deepens quicker than it does to the east of the harbour and gives mixed ground with wrecks littering the seabed from close inshore seawards.

The Goodwin Sands, an area of lifting sandbanks, again littered with wrecks, lies just to the east and the Varne Bank roughly southerly in direction. Both marks proving reliable throughout the angling year.

SPECIES
Summer fishing consists of rays, plaice, smoothound and tope, with bass shoaling over the Goodwins on the spring tides. The inshore marks hold good plaice, pout, dabs and even sole over clean ground, with rougher marks good for bass and smoothound. Mackerel arrive inshore during June.

Wrecking in the summer and autumn produces big conger, cod to 20lbs, pollack to 18lbs and bass. Black bream are possible too, with several recent fish reported around 4lbs. Spurdogs can show from the deeper water during the autumn and run to 16lbs.

Cod move in around the end of September, peaking in numbers towards Christmas, then thinning out as they move back onto the banks and wrecks for spawning. Whiting catches inshore can be excellent from September to late December, but deep marks give big channel whiting to 3lbs even in the summer.

Porbeagle sharks have been seen over both the Varne and Goodwin banks in past seasons, but few anglers, and even fewer skippers seem interested in trying for shark. Yet the food supply available suggests big hidden potential.

TIDES
The spring tides run fast, especially over the offshore banks. Spring tides fish best over the inshore marks, but the neaps are obviously best for wreck fishing. The ebb tide is the strongest direction generally.

A spring tide during November has proved consistently to give the best chance of a big winter cod. After this, they have past through the channel and moved on.

TACKLE
Inshore fishing sees a 20lb class rod or the uptider pressed into service, though most would choose a lighter rod when chasing the plaice.

Uptiding is popular for all species winter and summer over the sandbanks taking particularly good catches of rays and cod. You'll rarely need more than 8ozs to hold down, even on the ebb.

Downtiding is the established method for the bigger cod fishing whole squid baits, but you'll need to up your weight size to 1lb. Carry a few slightly larger ones too, just to be safe.

Wreck fishing for pollack with redgills is successful with most anglers choosing an uptider or 20lb class rod for this. General inshore wrecking needs only a 30lb class rod for general species, but the deeper offshore wrecks and when congering will see the 50lb class blank as being the better choice.

BAITS
Local yellowtail lug proves the best cod bait and will take plaice, dabs, sole,and whiting inshore. For smoothound fish crab or ragworm. Mackerel is good for rays, tope, spurdog and the bigger bass. Wreck conger take whole squid, a flapper mackerel, whole whiting or pout.

Over the wrecks pirks are good fished in conjunction with a muppet or a rubber eel for the cod and pollack, with the latter hitting medium sized artificial eels. Rubber eels trolled over the banks and over the shallower inshore wrecks takes large catches of bass. Black, red
and white the best colours.

The biggest channel whiting fall to Hokkai or standard white feathers baited with fish strip.