Posts Tagged ‘Black bream’

Burry Port Open 2010, South Wales

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Took the ferry over to Burry Port, Llanelli, South Wales, to fish the 22nd annual Burry Port Open Fishing Festival ran by the local yacht club. A boat competition with a prize value in excess of £2500, this year it attracted over 120 entries. A guest of Alan Duthie, chairman of SWWASAC (South West Wales Association of Angling Clubs), other than the weather a good time was had by all.

Adam Davies with a fine Carmarthen Bay Hound

Fished in Carmarthen Bay over a nine hour period due to the tidal range, the inner bay dries out at low water, it is a marathon event. Species to expect are bass, black bream, smooth hound, various ray, sole, dab, plaice, gurnard, and dogfish. First prize goes to the angler who catches the best species as a percentage of the specimen weight. A small boat competition, last year the weather was glorious and we were able to get to the outer grounds giving access to a wide range of species. This year due to the inclement weather we were confined to the estuary thus limiting our options.

Rough day at the office, Burry Port Open 2010

Fishing the inner bay with Dennis Davies and his grandson Adam we had a grand day catching smooth hounds to around seven pounds. Crab and lugworm were the key baits and in the shallow water, less than twenty foot deep, they took off like tope. Mackerel were scarce but we found a few, also adding gurnard, school bass, and dogfish to the species haul. It was apparent that due to the shallow water uptiding the inner marks is a far better method then trotting downtide, the noise of the boat definitely putting the fish off feeding.

Playing a hound, Burry Port Open 2010

The rough weather limited the catch throughout the entries, however bass to seven pound plus and black bream topping two pounds were weighed in along with a couple of decent ray. On return a grand feed of chicken curry awaited, prepared by the yacht club, which along with a few beers was much needed and appreciated after being thrown around and rained on for nine hours. My second year fishing the event, 2009 was windless and we were bathed in sunshine, putting the outer grounds in reach. The welcome though and the spirit of the competitors won out over the weather, and all things being equal I will be back next year for what is an enjoyable and well run event.