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Print versionAberdaron Beach, Lleyn Peninsula, Gwynedd
From Pwllheli, take the A499 to Llanbedrog turning right in the village onto the B4413 which takes you into Aberdaron. There is a large car park to the right of the bridge in the village. A charge is made in summer and parking is at a premium in July and August.
PROSPECTS
A mainly clean, sandy surf beach, but with patches of mixed rough and boulders covered with fine weed. There are continually changing gullies beyond the low water mark.
Bass are the predominant quarry here, with the bulk of fish in the early spring being the smaller school bass upto 3lbs. By early May, then a good surf will hold better fish to over 6lbs. Dogfish move inshore in huge numbers after storms throughout the year.
April, May and June sees thornbacks within range during night time spring tides. The occasional small eyed ray is also on the cards. This same period may add small turbot to a couple of pounds, dabs, small plaice and rockling to your bag.
Mid summer tends to go quiet, though mackerel can shoal inshore in the evenings on the big tides.
The best period is from September to early November for the bigger bass fishing low water. You'll also take whiting, dabs, dogfish and coalies. The latter four species being the winter mainstay. Codling have shown here in years past, but are not a reliable species.
TIME AND TIDES
Due to the shallow nature of the beach and the clarity of water, forget daytime fishing for serious sized fish. Night tides gives the best bass and rays.
Low water on springs can be excellent for bass and for the rays. High tide tends to favour the whiting, dogfish and coalfish. Turbot seem to feed mostly on the ebb here, but the odd bigger fish towards 3lbs comes during the first hour of the flood. Neaps can be very poor, save for dabs and whiting.
BAITS AND RIGS
The school bass take lugworm or ragworm over clean sand, but the better sized bass should be fished for peeler crab casting over the rough ground. Thornbacks in the early season like a mackerel/squid cocktail. Turbot take frozen sandeel or fish strip and the dabs, coalies, whiting and dogfish eat just about anything.
No bait is available in quantity on the beach and bait collection is generally poor throughout the area. Fresh fish is sold in Abersoch and Pwllheli. Worm, crab etc, needs to be brought with you.
A standard 5-6oz beachcaster is ideal for the long range rays and general winter fishing, but in the summer a lighter 2-4oz bass rod is the better option.
Single hook paternosters prove the best. Use a short hook length for the bass, and a long 3ft one for the rays. Both the bass and the rays need a Mustad Viking 3/0 or 4/0 hook. The other species tend to fall to two or three hook rigs with smaller sized Aberdeen hook patterns.
WEATHER
The prevailing southwesterly wind needs to ideally be a 2-4 for the bass. This puts a long, creaming surf onto the sand at low water. A westerly is okay, and even a southerly can fish, but easterlies are poor. Northwest winds are best for the whiting, dabs and rays as these tend to calm the sea as the come over the Lleyn Peninsula.
The beach can carry heavy weed after storms and rarely fishes well when the water is so well coloured.
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