Barmouth is a picturesque, medieval fishing harbour in Cardigan Bay with wonderful views of the estuary and mountains. Barmouth opens out onto miles and miles of blue flag beaches. It is situated approximately 15 miles South West of the Log Cabins.
There are a number of first class fishing areas in and around Barmouth. Here are five excellent locations for beach fishing.
On the left before you get to Barmouth there is the Old Harbour where you can fish into the Mawddach channel. This venue fishes well at both low and high tide. Here you will catch Bass, Plaice, Flounders and Whiting. The current is fairly strong and so bottom fishing with a single hook flowing trace is favoured. The top bait is peeler crab, followed by sand eel and worm. A small car park within 50 yards of this old harbour makes for easy parking. It is an excellent location to fish in adverse weather conditions.
Approximately ½ mile further on towards Barmouth onwards is a lay by on your left and it is here that you can park your car and walk down to fish from Barmouth Railway Bridge. During the daytime, there is a small admission fee for both walkers and anglers of about 60p. One of the favourite spots to fish from this bridge is about 50 yards on from the metal turning section, you can only fish this venue on the rising tide as the railway line is behind you and you cant cross the line to fish on the seaside. A long cast is not necessary. The best bait is live sand eel, live prawn or peeler crab. You can expect to catch Bass, Bullhuss, all flat fish, and Whiting. Because of the distance from sea to the bridge, a drop net is recommended.
In Barmouth itself, you can fish from Barmouth Point. Parking is on the esplanade and from there you can walk on the concrete walk way that leads straight out onto the Mawddach Estuary. The harbour wall has a red light on its point and fish here for Bass, Dogfish, Garfish, Dabs and the occasional sea trout. A minimum of a 4oz led is required and I recommend a 2 hook trace, again bait can be sandeels,crab or worm.
If you follow the road along the promenade (approx 1 mile) you will come to a small roundabout at the end of the promenade. There is parking adjacent to the sea wall. In front of you is a shingle beach. This fishes well for Turbot, Bass, Mackerel, Whiting and Dogfish. The best all round bait is frozen sand eel or crab. Distance casting is not necessary and a 2 hook scratching rig catches most species and a flowing trace at distance with frozen sandeel will attract Thornback Rays. There is an ice cream kiosk opposite which is open daily for refreshments.
If you fish between any of the Groynes towards Barmouth then you can catch all of the above. At high water shoals of Mullet can be seen close to the shore. Fresh water fishing tackle is needed for these.
Barmouth is also renown for its Boat Fishing .There is a fishing boat that leaves daily from the harbour: (weather permitting) on 2,4, 8, 10 or 12 hour trips. It takes large parties or individuals. The skipper is local and very knowledgeable, bait and tackle are provided if required. The species you would expect to catch according to the time of year are : Dab, Plaice, Conger, Bass, Dogfish, Rays, Mackerel, Black Bream, Cod, Whiting, Flounder, Gurnard, Mullet and Pollock. The Skipper is John Johnson and the contact telephone number is 01341 281537.
In Barmouth, there is a local tackle shop that stocks both sea and freshwater tackle and always has an excellent supply of bait. Additionally they sell fishing permits for Trout, Sea Trout and Salmon in local lakes and rivers.
Fairbourne is a small seaside village on the opposite side of the estuary to Barmouth on the same North Wales coastline. The best area to fish is from the car park. As you drive in to Fairbourne the steam railway line is on the left, drive past the station and the road bends to the right at this point, turn left on to a single track road and follow that track for about 1/2 mile with the sea being on your right. You will see a car park. The whole area is a steep shingle beach running onto sand. Best results from here is fishing from low water up. There are some deep channels that can be reached at low tide. Bass appear on the first of the flood in less than 1 foot of water. I have caught them on crab, frozen sand eel and worm. As the tide continues to flood, try to avoid using fish baits or you will be catching Dog Fish - one after the other ! Turbot also show here, the best method being sand eel on a flowing trace. Fairbourne has good public toilets for hand washing facilities etc.
Borth-y-Guest is a small village between
Porthmadog and Criccieth. It is signposted as you leave Porthmadog. On
driving into the village you will see the harbour on your left, drive
past this up the hill to the church and park in one of the side roads.
In front of the church is a small grassy bank, walk over this and you
will be above the channel.
You can fish off the top of the rocks into the channel, if you cast out
between the marker buoys you will be fishing in the deepest part.
You can walk down to the beach and fish into the channel at low water
or walk along to your right for about 1/4 of a mile and climb onto the
big rock formation, you will have to stay there over high water so take
care but the fishing is excellent, try float fishing for Bass, Pollock
and Wrasse, it's a deep water mark. This mark can be seen on the photograph
below (at the end of the beach).
Start fishing 3 hours after low water, this is when the Bass move in.
A single or 2 hook trace is favoured.
Best bait is harbour rag. These can be dug in the harbour opposite the
public toilets, just walk out 20yds, each spade full of mud will contain
about a dozen of these worms. I generally use 5 or 6 worms per hook, peeler
crab also works well here and Mackerel will attract Conger Eel near the
rocks. We tend to fish here for the first 4 hours and then move to Criccieth
beach to fish the evening.
Criccieth is north of the Log Cabin accommodation, beyond Porthmadog. Criccieth is a small town renown for the remains of Criccieth Castle. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is steeped in the history of the battle between the Welsh and the English. Criccieth has four good fishing locations.
The stone jetty is a rocky mark so you must cast straight out in front of you to avoid losing tackle. Here you can catch Dog Fish, Mackerel, Whiting and flat fish. If you fish into the rocks on your right then you will catch Conger Eel and Pollock.
The beach opposite the toilets is a favourite for Bass, especially in an on shore wind with a surf running. Cast into the third breaker with sand eel or worm.
The cafe is adjacent to some rocks, and these rocks fish well at high water for Bass, and flat fish. The cafe is open daily for refreshments.
The beach opposite the castle (pictured). 
This is an area I regularly fish with friends and we have caught a total of 16 different species from these four marks. We have fished at different times of the year, never blanked and the heaviest fish was a Conger Eel which was in excess of 6’ in length and was caught on a 16’ beach caster 40 yd's out on a single rag worm. During the summer large shoals of Mackerel come close inshore particularly in the evening. You will also find that as the light fades the fishing really improves with Bass moving right into the edge of the tide line.
The local tackle shop is in the High Street in Criccieth, their telephone number is 017666 522805 and they will give you valuable advice about where to fish locally and are knowledgeable about the Black Bream fishing in Pwhelli Harbour and Thornback Ray's at Gimblet Rock.
All of the marks I have mentioned have convenient safe parking and have tackle shops nearby
Freshwater fishing.
Whilst visiting our log cabins why not try fishing on the river Eden.
There are numerous lakes and rivers that can be fished on a day ticket or week ticket. The nearest of these to the Snowdonia Log Cabins is the River Eden (pictured below) that runs through the site.
This river is a small tributary and has trout, sea trout and the occasional salmon moving up it. You can fish any method, it is a beautiful spot to explore with an abundance of wildlife. We have the sole fishing rights and it is an excellent spot for dads and lads/lasses. Weekend, mid-week or weekly tickets can be purchased and we make no charge for children under 14 years of age. The river is a 3 minute drive from the site, turn left onto the A470 towards Dogellau and within 500 yards you will see a layby on the right. Take the first single track road after the layby, open the gate, drive through and shortly you will see the old bridge. Park on the right before the bridge then follow the diagram on the back of the fishing permit. Permits have to be purchased at the time of booking or up to 2 weeks before you leave for your holiday. We would remind you that a river can be dangerous at any time and in particular after heavy rain.
WE ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYONE USING THIS FACILITY. YOU FISH ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Trawsfynydd reservoir (pictured below) is 2 miles from the Snowdonian Log Cabins. It is a 1200 acre lake containing a head of large Rainbow Trout, native Brown Trout, Perch, Rudd and Carp. Boats are available for hire or you can fish from the bank. Fly, Spining and Bait fishing methods are all permitted. The local newsagents sell the permits for the Trawsfynydd Lake 01766 540234 and they also supply fishing permits for a number of other lakes or rivers in the area.
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If you know of a good fishing location in Snowdonia, North Wales and would like to see it listed here, please send us all of the details. Including place name, location, type, fish caught and any further information you feel relevant.
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