Fishing in Cornwall

Rock fishing: Prussia Cove and Cudden Point fish well at night for mackerel and conger. Penlee Point between Newlyn and Mousehole has produced record catches, with Mousehole to Lamorna, Penzer Point and Carn Du also favoured. Penberth Cove, Logan Rock and the rocks below the Minack Theatre are reliable, as are Pedn-men-an-mere, Porth Chapel, Porthgwarra and Mill Bay near Land's End. The cliffs west of St Ives are for experts only (steep, rope-assisted access); Aire Point, Cape Cornwall, Portheras, Clodgy Point and Man's Head can all fish well — check with local angling clubs first.

Beach fishing: Perran Sands and Eastern Green Beach near Marazion offer flatfish and ray. The piers and dock area of Penzance and Newlyn hold a wide variety of species, with Lariggan Beach good for flatfish after dark. The pier at Lamorna, the stretch between Porthcurno and Logan Rock, and the beaches at Sennen produce flatfish, turbot, gurnard and dogfish — take care off the Sennen breakwater, which is often awash. St Ives beaches are best fished late evening or early morning in summer.

Sea fishing: Boats available from Penzance, Newlyn and St Ives.

River, game & coarse fishing: Drift Reservoir, Penzance — 65 acres of fly fishing for brown and rainbow trout, 1 April–12 October (01736 63869). Boscathnoe, nr Penzance — established mixed coarse fishery (01209 860301). St Erth Fishery — 2.5-acre lake, large carp, tench, bream, roach. Bill's Pool, St Erth — 2 acres, roach, tench, rudd, bream, eels. Choone Farm, St Buryan — two lakes, carp, tench, rudd, roach (01736 810220). Bussow, nr St Ives — open all year, 24hrs. Tindeen Fishery, Bostrase, Goldsithney (07367 63486).

Local bases: St Ives, Carbis Bay, Hayle, St Just, Mousehole, Newlyn, Penzance, Marazion, Sennen Cove/Land's End.

Rock fishing: Good marks run from Pendennis Point to Penhale, all needing care. Pendennis Point suits wrasse and pollock; St Anthony's Head is excellent for black bream on autumn nights. Porthallow is good for coalfish and conger, while the Lizard and Trewavas Head are superb night marks for wrasse, mackerel and conger.

Beach fishing: The Prince of Wales Pier, Falmouth, fishes well at night for pollock, mackerel and flounder. Trefusis Point, Flushing, holds wrasse, pollock, mackerel and occasional ray. Coverack offers pollock, garfish and mackerel, with conger and bull huss off the breakwater at night.

Sea fishing: Charter boats sail from Falmouth (Prince of Wales Pier and local tackle shops) and most other harbours in the area. Mevagissey, on the Roseland Peninsula, was historically the fishing heart of the south coast — fish from the outer quay, hire a boat, or book a charter for mackerel trips, half/full-day sea fishing, or wildlife cruises (basking sharks, dolphins, seals). The Mevagissey Angling Centre books trips.

River, game & fly fishing: Gwarnick Mill Fly Fishing Lake, St Allen, Truro — 1.5 acres, stocked rainbow trout (01872 540487). Stithians Reservoir, off the A393 — 274 zoned acres for brown and rainbow trout (01209 860301).

Coarse fishing: Argal Reservoir, Penryn — 65 acres, picnic area, disabled facilities, toilets, play area, wooded walks (01209 860301). Trenestrall Lake, St Mawes — 2 acres, roach, carp, tench (01872 501259). Middle Boswin, Porkellis — common, mirror carp, tench, roach, rudd, perch. Wheal Grey, Praa Sands — 4-acre lake, rudd, roach, bream, carp, perch, tench, gudgeon, eels. Tree Meadow Trout Fishery, Fraddam, Hayle (01736 850899). Mellonwatts Mill, Pensagillas Farm, Grampound (01872 530232). Langarth Pool, Threemilestone, Truro (01872 75638).

Local bases: Marazion, Praa Sands, Porthleven, Mullion, Coverack, Helford Estuary, Falmouth, Truro.

Rock fishing: Gribbin Head (long walk from the car park), Black Head, Maenease Point, Gorran Haven, Pencarrow, Rame Head and Queener Point in Whitsand Bay all fish well but demand extra care.

Sea fishing: Boats sail from Fowey, Mevagissey and Looe. Looe has become known nationally for big-game shark fishing — blue and porbeagle — with other marks producing ling, cod, bream and conger. Local skipper Murray Collings — with 29 years' commercial fishing and angling experience — runs Swallow II out of West Looe, offering half-day mackerel/reef trips and full-day reef, wreck and shark charters, licensed up to 60 miles offshore. All tackle provided, with an onboard toilet, hot drinks and a large cool box for the catch. Shark fishing runs on a strict catch, tag and release basis. Tel: 01503 265837 / 07831 616316. fishingtripslooe.co.uk. A number of other boats also run 2.5-hour-plus mackerel trips, day and evening, with rods and bait provided; reef and wreck fishing is available on larger boats, and shark/conger fishing runs from early June.

Beach fishing: Garfish, conger, mackerel, wrasse and pollack from Cawsand, Whitsand Bay, Seaton, Downderry, Plaidy and Wallace beaches. Flatfish are best at Par, Porthpean, Pentewan, Gorran Haven, Penare and Boswinger — fish early or late to avoid bathers. The docks at Par offer good jetty fishing (permit needed).

Tidal river fishing: The River Fowey's best marks include the Blockhouse at the river mouth on the Polruan side. The River Tamar offers productive marks at Torpoint, Wilcove, Saltash quay & pontoon, Landulph, Halton Quay and Cotehele Quay.

Game & stillwater fishing: The River Fowey at Lanhydrock (1 April–30 September) and the East/West Looe rivers (1 April–15 December) for salmon, sea trout and brown trout — day and weekly tickets from Rogers Tackle Shop (Bodmin), a tackle shop in St Austell, or Penhaligons Newsagents (Lostwithiel). Siblyback Water Park and Colliford Lake offer traditional fly fishing — stocked rainbows at Siblyback (bank and boat, 1 April–31 October) and wild browns at Colliford (bank only, 15 March–12 October).

Coarse fishing: Bake Fishing Lakes, Trerulefoot, Saltash — specimen carp to 25lb, bream to 6lb, tench to 3lb (01752 849027). Shillamill Lakes, Lanreath, Looe — four lakes, common/mirror/crucian carp, tench, perch, roach, rudd, no close season (01503 220271). St Germans-Badham Farm, St Keyne, Liskeard — 0.5-acre lake, carp, tench, rudd, roach (01579 343572). Crafthole, nr Torpoint — 2 acres of carp fishing, limited-season and day permits. Mellonwatts Mill Fishery, Pensagillas Farm — crucian, common, mirror carp, tench, roach, rudd, brown trout, open all year.

Local bases: Looe, Polperro, Fowey, Mevagissey, Whitsand Bay/Rame Peninsula, Saltash, Liskeard, Minions/Bodmin Moor, Launceston.

Yes, for freshwater fishing — anyone 13 or over needs an Environment Agency rod licence, separate from any venue fee. Ages 13–16 get one free, and under-13s don't need one at all. Sea fishing requires no licence. Current prices and online purchase are available at gov.uk/fishing-licences.

Cornwall fishes year-round thanks to mild winters. Summer and autumn give the widest species variety, and shark/conger season typically starts in June from Looe and Falmouth.

North Cornwall has the greatest concentration, led by White Acres near Newquay — one of the UK's largest coarse complexes — plus dozens of smaller day-ticket lakes county-wide.

Yes — Cornwall Fishing Adventures runs guided shore trips, and "No Tackle Required" offers all-inclusive coarse days near Perranporth and Newquay with tackle, licences and support provided.

Sea: bass, mackerel, pollock, wrasse, ray, turbot, conger, black bream, and offshore blue/porbeagle shark. Freshwater: carp, tench, bream, roach, rudd, dace, plus salmon, sea trout and brown/rainbow trout in rivers and reservoirs.