Porthmadog & Borth-y-Gest
Last Updated November 2022
1. Porthmadog Harbour
2. Borth-y-Gest to Powder House
Porthmadog The Sluice Gates, Bridge and Harbour
Late spring Summer and autumn
The harbour, the road bridge and the and sluice gates can all be fished at either high or low water depending upon the species your targeting. It isn’t considered a winter venue due to the species that are caught all being those that come into the estuary during the warmer months.
Bass - If you want to target the bass right in town itself then I suggest a summer time spring tide when high water falls between midnight and 2am. The killer tactic is to fish from sluice gates side of the harbour bridge just as the tide begins its ebb. You fish from the bridge itself using light gear and smallish hooks, size 4 is plenty big enough, you free line or use a small float or a small swan shot weight aiming to get your bait fluttering near the waters surface right under the bridge itself. The best bait is bunches of 4 or 5 harbour ragworm. If there are any bass around it won't take long to get a few using this method. The bass here are only usually school bass up to a maximum of 3lbs although the occasional larger fish will be taken.
Mullet - At low water very large mullet some easily 8lb -10lbs cruise the shallows in and around the harbour. On calm summer days the bow waves they make as they move through these shallows are visible all over place there are so many fish. The fish really become a viable target for anglers for 2hrs around low water. The best bait is bread and the fish can be caught but you'll have your patience tested. About an hour or so after low water when the flood tide begins the fish start to move and are more difficult to contact. For this style of fishing a pair of polarised sun glasses are a must.
Flatfish - For some reason flatfish aren't as abundant as they once were in the harbour, indeed the same is true for the whole estuary. Having said that they can still be caught just not in the same numbers. You best chance of taking fish is on the incoming tide fishing over the clean sand just after the tide covers it, the small beach off the corner of Snowdon Wharf was once a favourite mark. Use light tackle with plain leads and small hooks baited with fresh harbour rag worm.
Silver Eels - Eels will turn up anywhere and everywhere. The snaggy ground by the sluice gates is a favourite spot. The eels are most active on summer or autumn nights when HW occurs after sunset. Fish 2hrs either side of high water using large lug worm, crab or lob worm baits. The eels a generally quite small with only very occasional fish over 2lbs.
Borth-y-Gest, Danger Rock and Samson's Bay
Borth-y-Gest The small village situated ¼ of a mile from Porthmadog's main harbour, it lies just beyond the the headland where Porthmadog's dockside buildings end. It surrounds a small a small muddy u-shaped bay off the main estuary. By car from Porthmadog you follow the signs for Black Rock Sands, just as you reach the top of the hill on the edge of town you take a left hand turn sign posted for Borth-y-Gest. Follow this road for a ¼ mile and park in the public car park.
From the car park it's possible to walk the full length of the estuary to the Powder House following the coastal path a distance of approximately 1¼ miles. The coastal path follows the edge of the estuary most of the way. Anywhere along the estuary offers the chance of decent bass although from confluence of the Glaslyn and Dwyryd your chances of a big fish increase.
Following the coastal path down the estuary you'll find plenty of small beaches with cliffs and rocks at the high water mark, you can fish any off these marks from low water casting into the river channel right up to high water and back down again if you so wish. Tackle can be kept light in all but the largest spring tides so carp style rods are fine. A productive method is to fish a plain lead so that the current slowly moves it, this will normally need a range of weights from 1½ ozs up to 3ozs depending upon the state of the tide. No complicated rigs are needed just use a simple running ledger with about 12" - 18" hook length. Hooks themselves can be kept small size 2 or 4 when using harbour rag with larger sizes for lug worm or crab. Peeler or softback crab will sort out the better sized fish. If crab isn't available then bunches of harbour rag or single lug worm will still catch fish.
Normally the bass and flatfish will be most active when there's some tidal movement. The hour either side of high water is often a quiet spell when the bait robbing crabs are the only things willing to play.
In summer and especially during school holiday the beaches can be very busy during the daytime so a night session is best. Jet skiers aren't so active this far up the estuary so they shouldn't be a major problem. You'll usually only encounter them further down towards Samson's Bay.There are 2 rocks jutting out into the estuary which become Islands at high water, known locally as 'The First Danger Rock' and 'The Second Danger Rock' so called because both have life saving apparatus on them. The First and The Second prefixes simply refer to the order in which you encounter them as you travel down the estuary towards the sea. Anywhere from The First Danger Rock down to Samson's Bay (local names) offer you an excellent chance of that specimen bass. This is the area where the rivers Glaslyn and Dwyryd meet.
Both Danger Rocks offer a good spot for fishing the channel at low water and a few hours into the flood but take care if you do as the both
Danger Rocks! Become islands over HW period!
A good spot for a bit of bass fishing.
become islands at high water. The island shown in the foreground of the picture is The Second Danger Rock and the island just visible in the distance is the First Danger Rock. From the spot where the picture was taken is a small rocky headland just beyond The Second Danger Rock where strong currents come close to the base of the rocks making it ideal for the bass. There are also some huge mullet to be seen and which feed right at the foot of the rocks, but this far down the estuary they are very wary and easily spooked. Landing a large fish at this mark is easier and less risky if you've got a landing net. You'll get small school bass with occasional flounder using harbour rag, with a chance of better sized fish on peeler or soft back crab. The estuary has many marks that offer some good lure fishing. not my personal cuppa but this is something more people are doing these days.
WARNING: - If the jet skiers or the water skiers are active then you might as well find another mark. Jet Ski activity is high in this area. Weekends are particularly busy.A great spot early or late season before water skiers and jet skiers become too active, but having said that their season seems to get longer each year so to avoid them fish mid week if you get the chance.Best fished 1hr to LW and 2 or 3hrs of the flood.The estuary is actually quite narrow here at low water and this is when to fish this mark. Every bass, flounder, sea trout or salmon entering the estuary will have to pass through this narrow stretch of water. This is a low water mark fished 2 hrs either side of low. Access to the mark is either by driving along the beach and parking as close as possible to the estuary or parking close to the Golf Club and walking along the public right of way. Be careful the closer you get to the estuary sand can become quite soft. Access to the beach is controlled during the summer months and the gates to beach locked at night. Early season and late season the gates should remain open but don't rely on this being the case.
Like the rest of the estuary bass and flatfish will be your target species. Crabs will out score all baits with harbour rag and lug a close second. A really nice spot early morning mid week in the summer when there's no water or jet skiers and only the occasional boat passing by.
WARNING: The poisonous weaver fish is quite abundant in the estuary during the summer so be careful not to grab one thinking it's a small bass!
Chris Newbrook a bass from the harbour.
The author with a schoolie from Samson's Bay
Another schoolie from Borthy-y--Gest
Tide Times Porthmadog
Nearest Post Code
Porthmadog Harbour LL49 9AE
Borth-y-Gest LL49 9TS
Last Updated November 2022
1. Porthmadog Harbour
2. Borth-y-Gest to Powder House
Porthmadog The Sluice Gates, Bridge and Harbour
Late spring Summer and autumn
The harbour, the road bridge and the and sluice gates can all be fished at either high or low water depending upon the species your targeting. It isn’t considered a winter venue due to the species that are caught all being those that come into the estuary during the warmer months.
1982 - 4 bass caught from the bridge on a Woolworth freshwater rod and reel using float fished ragworm. - Fish of 5lbs, 3.75lbs, 3.25lbs and 1.75lbs
From the days of catch and slaughter!
From the days of catch and slaughter!
Bass - If you want to target the bass right in town itself then I suggest a summer time spring tide when high water falls between midnight and 2am. The killer tactic is to fish from sluice gates side of the harbour bridge just as the tide begins its ebb. You fish from the bridge itself using light gear and smallish hooks, size 4 is plenty big enough, you free line or use a small float or a small swan shot weight aiming to get your bait fluttering near the waters surface right under the bridge itself. The best bait is bunches of 4 or 5 harbour ragworm. If there are any bass around it won't take long to get a few using this method. The bass here are only usually school bass up to a maximum of 3lbs although the occasional larger fish will be taken.
Mullet - At low water very large mullet some easily 8lb -10lbs cruise the shallows in and around the harbour. On calm summer days the bow waves they make as they move through these shallows are visible all over place there are so many fish. The fish really become a viable target for anglers for 2hrs around low water. The best bait is bread and the fish can be caught but you'll have your patience tested. About an hour or so after low water when the flood tide begins the fish start to move and are more difficult to contact. For this style of fishing a pair of polarised sun glasses are a must.
Flatfish - For some reason flatfish aren't as abundant as they once were in the harbour, indeed the same is true for the whole estuary. Having said that they can still be caught just not in the same numbers. You best chance of taking fish is on the incoming tide fishing over the clean sand just after the tide covers it, the small beach off the corner of Snowdon Wharf was once a favourite mark. Use light tackle with plain leads and small hooks baited with fresh harbour rag worm.
Silver Eels - Eels will turn up anywhere and everywhere. The snaggy ground by the sluice gates is a favourite spot. The eels are most active on summer or autumn nights when HW occurs after sunset. Fish 2hrs either side of high water using large lug worm, crab or lob worm baits. The eels a generally quite small with only very occasional fish over 2lbs.
Borth-y-Gest, Danger Rock and Samson's Bay
Borth-y-Gest The small village situated ¼ of a mile from Porthmadog's main harbour, it lies just beyond the the headland where Porthmadog's dockside buildings end. It surrounds a small a small muddy u-shaped bay off the main estuary. By car from Porthmadog you follow the signs for Black Rock Sands, just as you reach the top of the hill on the edge of town you take a left hand turn sign posted for Borth-y-Gest. Follow this road for a ¼ mile and park in the public car park.
From the car park it's possible to walk the full length of the estuary to the Powder House following the coastal path a distance of approximately 1¼ miles. The coastal path follows the edge of the estuary most of the way. Anywhere along the estuary offers the chance of decent bass although from confluence of the Glaslyn and Dwyryd your chances of a big fish increase.
Following the coastal path down the estuary you'll find plenty of small beaches with cliffs and rocks at the high water mark, you can fish any off these marks from low water casting into the river channel right up to high water and back down again if you so wish. Tackle can be kept light in all but the largest spring tides so carp style rods are fine. A productive method is to fish a plain lead so that the current slowly moves it, this will normally need a range of weights from 1½ ozs up to 3ozs depending upon the state of the tide. No complicated rigs are needed just use a simple running ledger with about 12" - 18" hook length. Hooks themselves can be kept small size 2 or 4 when using harbour rag with larger sizes for lug worm or crab. Peeler or softback crab will sort out the better sized fish. If crab isn't available then bunches of harbour rag or single lug worm will still catch fish.
Normally the bass and flatfish will be most active when there's some tidal movement. The hour either side of high water is often a quiet spell when the bait robbing crabs are the only things willing to play.
In summer and especially during school holiday the beaches can be very busy during the daytime so a night session is best. Jet skiers aren't so active this far up the estuary so they shouldn't be a major problem. You'll usually only encounter them further down towards Samson's Bay.There are 2 rocks jutting out into the estuary which become Islands at high water, known locally as 'The First Danger Rock' and 'The Second Danger Rock' so called because both have life saving apparatus on them. The First and The Second prefixes simply refer to the order in which you encounter them as you travel down the estuary towards the sea. Anywhere from The First Danger Rock down to Samson's Bay (local names) offer you an excellent chance of that specimen bass. This is the area where the rivers Glaslyn and Dwyryd meet.
Both Danger Rocks offer a good spot for fishing the channel at low water and a few hours into the flood but take care if you do as the both
Danger Rocks! Become islands over HW period!
A good spot for a bit of bass fishing.
WARNING: - If the jet skiers or the water skiers are active then you might as well find another mark. Jet Ski activity is high in this area. Weekends are particularly busy.A great spot early or late season before water skiers and jet skiers become too active, but having said that their season seems to get longer each year so to avoid them fish mid week if you get the chance.Best fished 1hr to LW and 2 or 3hrs of the flood.The estuary is actually quite narrow here at low water and this is when to fish this mark. Every bass, flounder, sea trout or salmon entering the estuary will have to pass through this narrow stretch of water. This is a low water mark fished 2 hrs either side of low. Access to the mark is either by driving along the beach and parking as close as possible to the estuary or parking close to the Golf Club and walking along the public right of way. Be careful the closer you get to the estuary sand can become quite soft. Access to the beach is controlled during the summer months and the gates to beach locked at night. Early season and late season the gates should remain open but don't rely on this being the case.
Like the rest of the estuary bass and flatfish will be your target species. Crabs will out score all baits with harbour rag and lug a close second. A really nice spot early morning mid week in the summer when there's no water or jet skiers and only the occasional boat passing by.
WARNING: The poisonous weaver fish is quite abundant in the estuary during the summer so be careful not to grab one thinking it's a small bass!
;)
Chris Newbrook a bass from the harbour.;)
The author with a schoolie from Samson's Bay;)
Another schoolie from Borthy-y--GestTide Times Porthmadog
Nearest Post Code
Porthmadog Harbour LL49 9AE
Borth-y-Gest LL49 9TS
