Corus Short Arm

Getting There:

Travelling from Cardiff:
Come off the M4 at Junction 40, go down to the roundabout at the end of the slip road.

Take the first exit, keep on this road until you get to a set of traffic lights, this is a T Junction, go in the right hand lane and turn right.

Stay on this road until you see another set of lights just passes a Texaco garage, turn left over the railway tracks.

You will then come to a roundabout, turn left, this road will take you into the steel works, go passed the security hut, keep on this road, you will go over 3 speed bumps, follow this road to the end, another T Junction, turn right.

Follow this road around, you will see a sign on your left with Number 79 this road will bear a sharp left. Keep on this road for some time, it can be a bit bendy in places.

Eventually you will see, I think, the Marine Control building in front of you, about 100yards or so further on a dirt track by a lamp post, go down here, turn left then right and this will bring you to the short arm where you will most probably see a few cars parked there,

Don't follow the same directions in reverse order to get back out of the steelworks. There is a very small sign that says EXIT and a sharp left turn by the Number 79 sign you passed on the way in.

Venue:
The Short Arm is part of the Corus steel works in Port Talbot, and is owned and operated by ABP to whom you must apply for a permit for access. Permits are available from by phoning 08706 096699 The long arm permits are NOT available from this number only from the British Steel Sports Club which is Susan Murphy or Rachel Potts (01639) 871111 ext 3368. Permits are £27.50 for the Short Arm & £46.00 for the Long Arm.

It, and it's neighbour the Long Arm, are essentially concrete breakwaters built onto boulders laid on the sea bed that go out for about 1/2 mile or so forming a harbour for the sometimes huge cargo vessels delivering raw materials to the steelworks, and is capable of accomodating many anglers. It also offers many different fishing opportunities, ledgering, float fishing and spinnining/plugging are all techniques that have been successfully deployed here. Be aware that you are only allowed to fish during daylight, and access is not allowed in rough weather. As we have said before always carry your permit.

Wildlife:
Not the kind of place you expect to find it, but there is plenty of wildlife, and the creatures that live there are not shy about sharing your fishing pitch and eating your bait/lunch. Wild Mink often stick their heads up out from between the rocks and if you are not vigilant they will remove your bait so keep it locked up. Rats are quite happy to share your days fishing too. The birds will virtually land right next to you, completely oblivious to your presence, and will remove anything you have with you that they see as dinner. A Wild Mink may look cute (and they do) but beware, they can be very dangerous. Respect the wildlife!

Choose a spot:
For anglers who like a nice, stable platform under them, fishing off the wall half way along on the West facing side is comfortable fishing, although care must be taken as there is a long drop to the water with no barrier. For the rock hopper, the boulders toward the end are a good place on either side, but again care must be taken as the rocks can be slippery, especially on cold winter mornings. The concrete blocks at the end of the pier by the harbour entrance light is not easy fishing, there are no flat level surfaces, and access is difficult, do NOT fish here alone. Shelter can be found from the worst of the weather if required, so in an Easterly wind fishing the West side gives protection from the elements and sea swell and vice versa. The harbour side, the sea is usually quite sheltered making it a good spot to float fish for the Mullet, Bass, Garfish and Mackerel. The West facing side is open to the sea, and as such does tend to produce more variety and a better stamp of fish.

Species:
In summer, Bass, Mackerel, Garfish, Pollack, Wrasse, Mullet and the ever present Dogfish are the main targets, with flatties, conger eels and Ray making an occasional appearance, winter provides some occasionally hectic sport from Dogfish, Pouting and Whiting, but it is the kind of venue where anything can turn up, so go prepared!

Tactics:
You don't need to cast far here, as the water is quite deep even at low tide, but fishing at this time is not very productive. If fishing off the rocks toward the end, the rocks extend about 10 - 20 yards before reaching clean sand, so you don't need big beachcasters here, in fact they can be a bit of a nuisance to move around and cast, so something like an uptider, pier or Bass rod is perfect for the job. A reel with a fast retrieve is an advantage for getting tackle and fish up quickly over the boulders. The tide run is not particularly strong here, so 3 or 4 oz weights will suffice on calm days, but 5oz is the most required at any time.

Tackle:
6000 or 525 size multipliers or 7000 size fixed spool reels loaded with 15 lb mainline and a suitable shockleader are perfectly at home here. For ledgering, flapper or 1 up 1 down rigs with size 1 or 1/0 hooks work well for the smaller species. Long snoods are an advantage because the angle of the line to bottom is quite steep. Also pulley and running ledgers with size 3/0 and above pennelled hooks work well with big baits for Ray, Conger and Bass. Float fishing over the submerged boulders can be very productive in the warmer months, but fish do occasionally fall to this technique during winter too, although it really isn't a frontline winter tactic here. There is potential for saltwater flyfishing here too.

Baits:
Pretty much any bait will work here. For the Whiting, Pouting, Dogfish, Conger and Rays nothing beats strips of frozen Mackerel. Worm baits will take flatties, Bass and Whiting. Fish a whole squid on a pennel for the big Conger, Bass and Rays. Float fished worms catch Wrasse, Bass and Pollack, also a sandeel fished in this way is a deadly summer method for Bass.

Tides:
Small tides produce quiet sport, medium tides that are building are best, around 10.5 - 11 metres Swansea scale. Fish from about 2 hours after low up to high and then a couple of hours back for the best of the action. Spring highs can produce a few swells which can give you a welly full so keep an eye out around high tide and make sure your tackle is kept well above the high water line.

Float fishing at the Short Arm in Port Talbot:

Basic equipment:
A selection of rods is as always very desirable, the ones that I use are:

1) A bass rod 12' long and rated at 2 ounces to 6 ounces, this rod does double as a beachcaster. This rod is ideal for those larger floats and bait.

2) A 9' spinning rod that is rated at 1/2 ounce to 2 ounces. This rod is designed to have fun with fish like mackerel, garfish, bass, pollack etc.

Reels and line for the above:
For (1) I use a fixed spool reel that is loaded with 18lb Ultima F1 Titanium, this is ideal for fishing over rocks and close to rocks, as well as going for Wrasse!

For (2) I use 12lb line and this is ideal for mackerel, garfish, pollack and bass! Providing that the fish do not decide to dive for the rocks.

Hook length:
I always use a flourocarbon hooklength of at least 18" long and is slightly weaker than the main line. EG. For 18lb mainline I use 15lb hooklength, for 12lb mainline I use 8lb hooklength!

Hook sizes:
As always, match the size of the bait to the hook.

Floats:
I use waggler type floats from Askari rated at 26 grams and 14 grams.These floats can also be used at night due to the fact that the top can be removed and a starlight inserted, you then put the top back on!

Float stops:
I use drennan floats stops in the small size, these are very small, less than 4mm in size and the can pass through rod rings very easily.

The order of setting up the tackle from the reel size:

Stop bead, small bead, float, small bead, weight, small bead, swivel: as for the swivel do not use the silver ones as these could generate false bites, I use the darker ones. Hooklength and hook!

When float fishing most fish are very close, some times under your feet! As for how deep to fish, I normally try and fish in the top half of the water when the water is fairly clear and start off deeper when it is slightly murky.

Baits:
All of the normal baits will work under the float, if you are using mackerel strip, try and use the silver part and try to present it so that it looks like a small fish!

If you are using ragworm, try NOT to head hook it as this will kill the bait very quickly, hook it about 1/4" from its head and thread it on the hook, you can leave a little bit of tail showing as this will move and hopefully entice the fish to take your bait!

Where to fish:
Any where on the short arm but if you can get on the outside and close to the end. A word of warning here, be carefull as some of the big rocks are very slippery, I would also suggest to have the bulk of your fishing
gear above the high tide line.