Aberdyfi Beach, Gwynedd

Approach via the A470 taking the A489 at Cemaes Road to Machynlleth. Turn right at the T junction by the clock tower at the end of Machynlleth high street, then at Dovey Bridge turn left for Aberdovey on the A493. Drive past the harbour on entering the town and there is a large car park on the left hand side. This is a pay and display parking area with a very conscientious attendant system so do pay!

The main Dovey Estuary channel runs directly in front of where you park and offers the best fishing.

PROSPECTS
An excellent early year venue for flounders. A 2lber is a good fish though, but catches of upto a dozen fish per session are not uncommon. These remain a target through February and into March.

By late March school bass will be getting back into the main estuary channel and accompanied by the first thin spawned out flounders. Late April sees the first bigger bass working this outer end of the estuary, the eels are beginning to appear, numbers of flounders are high and occasional plaice are also taken. Dogfish are common over the estuary bar and work deep into the estuary itself.

May and June are the peak bass months with the fish moving in on the flood tide. Mullet move in to the estuary at the same time with some big fish working underneath the wooden jetty just on the left hand side of the beach. Small turbot to a couple of pounds can also be taken from the outer estuary bar banks.

Bass, flounders, mullet and eels remain the main species through July and on into September, though mackerel can also come right into the main channel here on big spring tides.

Early October sees whiting and dabs close in over the sandbanks towards the mouth of the estuary, but the bass and mullet have thinned out. Up to Christmas most anglers target the dabs and flounders, with any late bass a bonus.

TIDES
Fishes best from low water to one hour on the ebb. The spring tides are best for bass, but the flounders and eels feed all the time. Turbot prefer the bigger tides with the first two hours of the ebb best for these.

WEATHER
A steady force 3 to 5 is best for bass, or a strong northwesterly blow that colours up the water which also suits the flounders. Calmer conditions are needed for the plaice, dabs, whiting and turbot. This mark does not fish well after heavy prolonged rain which floods through the estuary and pushes the fish seaward. Weed can also be a problem in unsettled weather.

Being quite deep, this mark will produce fish in daylight, but surfboard and water craft activity can make fishing difficult at times. Dark hours are the best, especially for the bass.

TACKLE AND RIGS
Even in rough conditions you need nothing more than a bass or carp rod and a reel filled with 12lb line. Leads to carry range from 1oz to 3ozs. The odd 4oz grip may be a wise addition if you intend fishing the main spring tide flood period.

A standard two hook rig with 9-inch (23cms) hook lengths is good for the whiting, dabs, flounders and eels. Bass require a single hook paternoster with an 18-inch (46cms) hook length. Try a longer hook length upto 3-feet (90cms) tied in close behind the lead for slack water fishing which will take bass, turbot and flounders.

Hooks should be a Mustad 3261BLN Aberdeen or a Kamasan Aberdeen for the general species, but choose a Mustad Bass hook for the bass.

BAIT
Crab is the best bass bait and will also take flounders, eels, plaice and dabs. Fish and worm baits are good for the dabs, whiting, and turbot. The mullet take small Mepps bar spoons with harbour rag over each hook point.

Regards bait collection, there are small pockets of lug scattered around the estuary, but the digging is very hard going. There are cockles, some mussels by the jetty, and there is fresh fish sold in the town.

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