WHERE TO FISH
The claggy mud and brown water of Redwick, where the Severn Estuary becomes the Bristol Channel, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to fishing. However, the rich invertebrate life here attracts fish and, as Dave Lewis explains, it can still be a reliable place to bag-up on a few New Year codling
Along with a multitude of other marks located to the east of the mouth of the River Usk at Newport and the River Wye at Chepstow, Redwick used to be one of the most popular and productive autumn and winter shore cod venues anywhere in the country. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it was normal to see hundreds of anglers eagerly staked out along the sea wall or peat ledges, many of whom had travelled a considerable distance to get there. All were focused on catching just one species of fish: cod.
These days the runs of cod are a mere shadow of what they once were, but each autumn, winter and, increasingly in recent years, during the spring anglers successfully catch cod here, occasionally in good numbers. The average size of codling at Redwick is between 1lb and 3lb, though plenty of 5lb to 8lb fish along with a very occasional double figure specimen are caught each season. Other species that can be caught include strap conger (occasionally weighing well into double figures) whiting, Dover sole, thornback ray, bass and silver eels.
The upper reaches of the Bristol Channel are not exactly a pretty place to fish but there is a certain charm to this rich estuary environment. It’s a grey, bleak, and at first glance featureless, landscape that is covered twice daily with water the colour of tea. It’s an area that pays host to the thousands of wading birds that thrive here amongst the inter-tidal gloop. Using their long slender bills the various species of waders enjoy rich pickings, gorging themselves daily on a smorgasbord of titbits ranging from marine worms to shrimp. It is this abundance of food that attracts the fish.
TIDES
Small to mid-range tides are the most productive at Redwick; the run on anything approaching a spring tide is simply too strong to fish effectively. Most anglers fish for around three hours either side of the high-water period. At high tide, depending on exactly where you fish and the size of the tide, it is possible to fish from the top of the sea wall. On the smallest neaps some locals remain on the mud flats and peat ledges throughout high water, which is messy but often productive. Obviously, when venturing out beyond
