Walk the beaches at low tide and pay attention to features in the sand. Lots of gulleys about but these features will change from storm to storm. I find the best bait to be worm. Most of the beaches fish best with a wind from the West / SW. Other things are to temper expectations, bigger fish are very few and far between in the Clyde. Expect small whiting, coalies and flounder to be the norm. I also find the period from now until April / May to be really poor. But, you've got to be in it to win it!

 

Thanks! Great advice about the wind, something I wasnt aware of or had even considered. Do you dig your worms at Ayr? I tried Prestwick at low tide a few months back, wasnt that successful of a trip.

 

You can dig them in most places up the coast, but it can be hard digging. There are a few vendors locally you can source them from. Try Davie Neil via Facebook or the tackle shop in Ardrossan.

 

A few basic tips for you Danny. Always try and use fresh bait; thats lug, rag, black lug, peeler, softback, and in some cases sandeel. Turning to bluey and squid wraps and all that nonsense will just take you up dogfish alley. Look to go in a decent wind ; where you are will likely be S/Sw/West of around 3/4 strength. Fish medium to spring tides. Optimum times to fish are the first two hours of flood and 2hrs up to high, sometimes the hour after, although this is a generalisation. What you are looking for is movement of the water to get the fish feeding. There is generally a lull at slack water. I find that fishing the tides driven by the new moon (in darkness) better than those under a full moon but again it depends on the venue. Dont go for budget tackle, but dont break the bank. A decent rod and reel sets me back around 280 sobs. The fishing will tail off soon and then pick up around May. Tight lines and that bollocks. Al.

 

Thanks for taking the time to provide all that information! Plenty there to aid with my research and help me grow/get better. It's much appreciated.