Fishing the UK waters from beach or boat is very different to coarse and carp fishing, the environment itself provides several challenges. When sea fishing it is important to consider seasons and tides, the time of year and position of the tide will influence where you can fish and what species you can target.
Seasons
-Spring (March, April, May)
Early spring is a quiet time in UK waters, especially down south, as many of the winter species have moved away into deeper offshore waters, and the summer species are yet to arrive. However, in parts of north-east England and Scotland see an upturn in cod fishing during the ‘spring run’ – the process of cod feeding to fatten themselves up before setting off for their migration to colder Scandinavian and Nordic waters.
As spring progresses, the species that moved into deeper offshore water for the colder months, begin to migrate back to the shallower seas surrounding the UK. By late spring; plaice, mackerel, sprats, garfish and sandeels can all be found in UK coastal waters.
There are of course a few species which are present in the UK waters all year round, such as pollock and wrasse who will retreat to deeper waters in the colder months, but are still well within the reach of boat anglers.
-Summer (June, July, August)
Summer is one of the busiest times for UK anglers as shoals of sprats move in, closely followed by mackerel and garfish which provides sport for anglers. species such as bass and larger pollock spend the colder months in deeper water and summer will see them coming close to the shore as they feed on sprats, sandeels and smaller mackerel.
Summer is also the optimum time to target larger species from the beach, such as conger eel, several ray sub-species and smooth-hound, as they move into the shallower water to feed on smaller species.
Semi-migratory species such as cod and whiting can be present over the summer in the colder waters off northern parts of England and Scotland. However, smaller specimens will dominate numbers and it is often only boat anglers who can access the larger cod in the warmer months.
-Autumn (September, October and November)
Early autumn is a favourite time amongst sea anglers, as there is a overlap in summer and winter species, in fact, in some parts of the UK, it is possible for anglers spinning for summer mackerel to catch an autumn/winter cod on their lures during the autumn months.
The aforementioned larger species will still be in the shallower coastal waters at this time of year before moving off once the water temperature has dropped. The same is true for larger bass, pollock and wrasse.
As autumn draws on, species will begin to thin out, but the larger cod that migrated to Scandinavian waters in the summer, will return and provide some excellent sport alongside the returning whiting, dab and flounder.
-Winter (December, January and February)
By winter, most of the sport in UK waters is provided by larger cod, specimen whiting are also within reach, but at this time of year can be a bit of a nuisance fish to the anglers targeting larger cod.
Catches of flatfish such as flounder and dab are likely to remain steady as well and coalfish will also take bottom fished baits, especially in northern parts of the UK. Again, it is anglers fishing the north of the UK that will be in with the best chance of catching a very rare coldwater species during winter, such as an Atlantic wolffish. Other smaller fish which are non-migratory such as three-bearded rockling and pouting will also turn up in catches around the UK at this time of year.
Tides
Tides are caused by the moon, sun and rotation of the earth working to cause sea levels to rise and fall. The UK has semi-diurnal tides, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides twice a day. Tides work in cycles and the exact time the high tide and low tide points occur changes every day, hence why anglers have access to tide schedules.
-Spring and Neap Tides
Spring tides are the biggest tides, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon being particularly strong. During a spring tide, the water level will rise to its highest possible point at high tide, and at low tide the level will be at the lowest possible point.
Neap tides also happen every two weeks during the period of the first and third quarter of the moon, in the weeks in between spring tides – yes, spring tides are not endemic to the spring season as the name suggests - During a spring tide anglers are most likely to have trouble keeping weights anchored to the seabed, and some marks can become unfishable due to the power of the tidal flow during a spring tide but these marks can be perfectly fine to fish during a neap tide.
-Tidal Flow
The tide will play a big role in the type of weight that is chosen. A sandy beach with a weak tide would be ideal to use a plain weight as the low strength of the tide will push the weight around and allow it to (hopefully) roll into a fish-holding gully or other feature which holds food and therefore attracts fish. However, in a rocky venue with a strong tide it would be better to use a grip lead as allowing the weight to roll around would see it inevitably roll into a crevice or crack and get snagged.
How Does the Tide Affect Fish Behaviour?
Trends anglers have discovered appear to have been worked out through observation and trial and error. For example, anglers may have noticed that during a strong spring tide worms and shellfish are dislodged from their homes and the fishing improves as various species of fish hunt for this easy source of food.
Similarly, strong tidal flow can create gullies along rocks and other features, channelling food into these areas and making these times the ideal time to fish these marks. Some species also react differently to the tide. Bass, for example, can feed well during a strong tidal flow when they will hunt preyfish, whereas mullet prefer slack water when they will come into harbours and estuaries to feed.
