Eyemouth

Eyemouth is situated only 50 miles from Edinburgh and carries a fleet of boats that concentrates mainly on commercial fishing, but take rod and line anglers out at the weekends. A scenic part of the country with many of the inshore marks having dramatic cliff and rock backdrops.

WHERE TO FISH
A variety of ground here. Deep water lies close in to shore with much of the ground rough reef and rock. One of the most popular reefs is that of Spittal Hirst which is to south and a noted cod venue. Good ground also lies just off St Abbs Head to the north and off Caldingham Bay.

There are numerous inshore wrecks within only 10 miles of shore and rarely do vessels need to push further out to find fish. Some huge wrecks do lay out beyond 10 miles and hold huge potential for massive cod and ling. Patches of cleaner ground can also be found.

SPECIES
This is predominantly cod country. The bulk of the fish inshore run between 2 and 6lbs with occasional 10lbers from the reefs. The wrecks give a similar stamp of fish, but 20lbers and even 30lbers can show, too. Summer is a good time, as can be the pre and early post Christmas period, but the latter depends very much on the weather.

Ling show from both the wrecks and rough ground, and both hake and haddock are possible. Catfish also put in an appearance. Some pollack and coalfish, mainly small ones, but they can run over 10lbs, show up over the rough ground and reefs, with rays, flatfish and whiting on the cleaner ground. It's highly likely that the wrecks further offshore hold immense pollack over 20lbs and possibly coalfish over the same weight. Summer time sees some good wrasse landed by both dinghies and charter boats fishing tight in to the cliffs. Mackerel can show close to the rocks during high summer.

The subject of conger is interesting, for divers repeatedly report seeing big conger resident in the reefs and rock thanks to the clear local water, and undoubtedly some big fish live in the inshore wrecks. As proof, back in the early 70's a commercial boat trawling for prawns off St Abbs Head brought up a conger weighing 150lbs. All this considered, conger prove almost a rarity on rod and line hereabouts. A specialized approach with suitable baits and tackle would eventually be rewarded, but with such a quality and consistency of cod fishing
few are interested.

TIDES
Thanks to the deep water running close to shore the size of the tide is not so important. Fish will be taken on both small and large tides. Some locals do prefer the middle to smaller tides for serious wrecking though. Fishing on the drift over the reefs and obviously the wrecks is the normal method and makes most use of the tide to cover as much ground as possible.

TACKLE
Both 30lb and 50lb class rods have their uses here. The 30lb rod is a good choice for general inshore fishing over the reefs when used with a multiplier holding 300yds of 30lb line. The 50lb may be a better choice when wrecking and matched to a reel taking 300yds of line.

A few anglers prefer a spinning rod and small fixed spool reel when chasing summer pollack with lures and sandeel baits.

BAITS
For an inshore drift baited white feathers work well for the cod as do muppets, both worked above a pirk. Red and black muppets being the favourite colours. Pirks range in size from a few ounces upto a pound. Top cod baits are lug, ragworm, mussel, cockle, razorfish and squid. Even mackerel takes cod here. Wrasse take crab when available, worm baits and again fish strip.

On the wrecks a single pirk works well for all sizes of cod, though adding a muppet above can help the overall catch. Pollack will hit Toby and Dexter Wedge lures, but a silver jig lure like the Mustad Jensen can be excellent worked lift and fall. Hokkai's and other luminous feather type lures are consistent takers of both cod and pollack.

ALTERNATIVE SHORE VENUES
Excellent rock fishing right along this coast, especially around St Abbs Head and south of Eyemouth at a cliff mark called Horses Head. This is good mark for cod. Peeler crab is the best summer bait, lug or mussel in the winter. Check with locals regards sea conditions regards some of the more exposed rock marks and access to them.