Sea Fishing at Portishead Pier

Same old same old

Portishead Friday 17th Feb 2012

Memory Trick

To start with I want to prove a point! Think back to the months of July & August during your school holidays. You there yet? Right, let me begin. You are thinking they were all hot, sunny and not one day spent indoors due to rain. Wrong!

Quick research showed twix 77-81 were mostly wet, dull and quite frankly, not hot or sunny. The mind plays strange tricks on us.

Not convinced?

Then why go back to the same old mark thinking you will catch something. Because your mind can only remember catching there. You can picture it now, the Cod, the Bass. You can reel off the marks and what you caught. Now think about the Fishing trips that you blanked on!

How many can you remember a few? Come on, think man or woman! You had more blanks than catches so you should be able to remember them. Nope, neither can I.

So Portishead pier here I come, again. It was neap tide day so I planned to fish from high to low water 9.90m down to 3.40m. Friday, should be quiet and not a high tide. Wrong, 11 people with 22 rods out when I arrived. Being a bit cramped for space and an hour before high water I had to settle for near the entrance.

Whilst setting up a gentleman walked over and said “your a bit late aren’t you?” “Not at all” I replied, “it’s a neap tide today so fishing the down”. He walked away with a confused look on his face! Then pulled out a small codling and delighted in showing me. “Well at least we know there are fish in the channel today” I said.

High water came and went, and so did my fellow worm drowners as they left in their droves. The odd comment came my way as they passed, “you’re brave” and “you a professional and have we missed something?”. I just smiled and took the derision. Having out lasted all but one drowner, I moved slowly to the end of the pier to my favourite spot of no fish. I was handed a bunch of newspaper wrapped rag worm as the last one to leave said “you in for the long haul then?” “Just a few hours” I lied!

I don’t know about you, but I have been given more bait than I have bought. I must have one of those poor down trodden faces that says “please sir, can I some more”.

I thought now that the part timers have all gone, I can get down to some serious fishing. Two rods out facing towards Avonmouth docks if you can imagine you are stood on the end looking up the channel. On the down tide, if you cast directly off the end, unless you get well anchored in, the current takes your line around to the left and facing Devon.

They were huge

Using 6/0 Aberdeen hooks on one with whole dirty squid lashed to it, the other was rag tipped with squid, 4/0, using the rag kindly donated by the person who took pity on me. Who am I took look a gift horse, of fisherman, in the mouth?

As tea time approached and having only a few knocks on the rods. I changed bait methods and replaced the squid with a whole joey or small mackerel if you like.

On the 4/0 I cut a whole dirty squid in half. They were huge. Ripped off the head and cut with scissors up the body and then open it out so that you have the guts in the middle. I then trimmed off the sides just shy of the guts; this is then lashed on the trace, a pennel. The guts, facing outside for maximum the effect, Then the head was placed on the bottom hook and the top hook wrapped around the line and the inserted in to the tail.

Darkness fell and all was quiet, apart from the bell atop my rod. I let it build, unlike my previous trips when I was told that I rip the hook out of their mouths.

Then I struck and relieved when I got that resistance feeling. Reel in, pray, pull back on rod, pray, reel in some more line. Grabbed the shock leader and hauled away. Out popped an 8lb Cod. I was also glad to see the hook hanging out of its mouth and the sprat still attached. I was not sure whether a sprat would do the business this far up the channel.

With spirits well and truly lifted, I re-spratted my hook and cast in again. Is there such a word as re-spratted?

Sea Fishing at Portishead Pier

As I was due to stay till 22:00hrs, I got my camera and tripod out and set up to do some clicking. Portishead Pier area has had some dramatic changes of late. There used to be two power stations situated at the pier area. Since its demolition in the late 70s and early 80s, the area is now a sprawling housing complex complete with its own marina. I must say the architects have done a marvellous job by keeping the area in a maritime theme.

Work still continues to this day on flats and is due for completion soon.

There is ample parking at the marina car park and is free. To access the pier you first have to get to Portishead.

Leave the M5 at jcn 19 and follow the signs for Portishead which is the A369. At the first roundabout go straight on. Second roundabout turn right. When at the third one turn left. Then third right. Follow this road and the marina will appear on your left, bear left and keep going. When you think there is a dead end ahead, turn left in to the marina car park.

Park up and head for the Marina control building by the locks. Go over the right hand lock and turn right. Head down the promenade, keeping the lock channel on your right. When at the end, there is a black gate leading on to the pier. The code if the padlock has not been ripped off again is 5213. The post code for the car park is BS20 7DF. This link is for Google maps. In the centre is the car park and the pier off to the top centre.

The picture above is taken from the end of the pier looking back towards the access gate which is on the left. At this stage, I feel I should point out that on a tide higher than say 12.90m, the pier becomes flooded. Once the water starts coming in under the bottom of the wall, you have about 10 minutes to leave. When it is flooded however, I usually fish off the wall above the rocks, on the centre of the picture running right. There have been a few occasions and only last year the RNLI had to be called when two muppets fishermen got stuck and had to climb on top of a bollard on the pier to escape the rising tide. You have been warned. After the water has receded, just head back on to the pier.

This second picture is taken from the end of the pier facing towards Avonmouth and Portbury docks.

The area brings on a whole new feel to it at night and the lights across the Bristol Channel can be seen against a back drop black Brecon Beacons.

There is a burger van usually open during the day by the marina control building, and across the locks there is a bar and grill type of establishment. However, looking from the pier to the right and up the hill, there is a pub that serves good food.

Back to the fishing. Once I had taken a few snaps, I re-baited and settled in for the duration. Some people are saying that fishing is good this year. I think not. I have been out 2-3 even 4 times a week and have seen little action. Yes people are catching, but how many are not? But that discussion is for another time. My rod rang another lovely bell sound and then nothing, then another, then nothing. So reeling in, thinking this is heavy only to find the seaweed has made yet another appearance.

On the down tide especially, the water rushes by the end of the pier, the pier being solid, the weed goes around, rather than through. Varying amounts depend on how the weather has been behaving over the past couple of days.

With the rag now on both rigs bites seemed to be coming with a little more frequency. Either that or the crabs were getting ideas above their stations.

With 22:00hrs approaching, I decided to pack it in for the night. Reeling in my last rod, I was surprised to see a little Codling on the end. This was quickly returned to catch another day, and hopefully a lot fatter.

At the end of the day, or night, I would say it is easy mark to fish, dry, and usually clean. Some drowners tend not to take their rubbish home with them, shame on them. So, me being me, I always have plenty of carrier bags with me and tidy up other peoples’ rubbish. The natives are friendly and talkative, so you can put the worlds to right whilst you are there. There are a couple of small snags. One off the end and one near the end on the left. Crabs can be a pain when they are out and about, but that goes for a lot of places. There is a place to sit on the wall, refreshments close by and if you need the toilet, go to the pub and buy a bag of crisps.

The fish can be a bit elusive, but I would say that about the shore fishing on the channel in general.

To sum up, memories can play tricks on us, or do they?