Brixham breakwater is one of the most popular fishing venues in Torbay. It stretches a quarter of a mile out into Torbay. There are numerous species of fish that can be taken from this structure. Fish include, Mackerel, Pollack, Wrasse, Mullet, Bass, Flatfish, Garfish, Dogfish and of course, the conger eel.
You can literally fish anywhere on the breakwater, although it's probably a good idea to avoid the beach in the summer months, as holidaymakers don't appreciate being bombarded by lead. Fishing from the outside of the breakwater will probably bring you better results, unless you are fishing for the elusive mullet, fishing on the inside of the breakwater will yield better results.
You do have to be aware that for most of the length of the breakwater, there is a rocky outcrop which stretches for at least 70 yards out from the breakwater. There is no lighting on the breakwater so you will need to take your own source of light with you. Fishing in heavy seas should be approached with great caution.
If you are bottom fishing in this location, be prepared to lose plenty of tackle. Having said that, if you persevere, you can be rewarded with some specimen fish, especially when it comes to conger. Fish in excess of 50lb have been taken from the breakwater in the past. In fact, the British conger record of over 56lb was once held here. Even though the large conger have been rather scarce in recent years, fish of 25lb to 30lb are not uncommon.
Brixham breakwater is also an excellent venue for catching mackerel. You don't need to be an expert, get yourself a set of feathers and you will have many hours of fun. If you fancy going for the bigger mackerel then set yourself up with some sliding float tackle and use a large bait. Fish of up to 3lb + have been taken off the breakwater. These fish aren't common, but they do come into the bay in the summer months on occasions.
Bass can also be taken from the breakwater. Try using live baits such as prawn or sand eel. Using artificial baits such as plastic sand eels, metal spinners and plugs will also take bass if they are in the vicinity.
Garfish are always present during the summer. Sliding float tackle baited with mackerel strip is probably the most common way of catching these strange looking creatures. The telltale sign of a garfish bite is when your float suddenly looks like it hasn't got enough weight on it, or lies on its side. If this happens, strike straightaway to avoid the fish swallowing your hook.
If you like catching wrasse then you have come to the right place. Reasonably large fish can be taken from the breakwater. Fish are typically around 8oz-2lb, but larger ones have been taken. Both sliding float and leger tackle will take wrasse. Typical baits are ragworm, any shell fish (mussels are excellent) prawns, and probably the best bait of all, crab, whether it be hardback or softback, doesn't really matter, wrasse have very strong teeth and will have no problem dealing with a hardback crab.
Scad, also known as Horse Mackerel can be taken at night. Use mackerel strip fished very near the bottom on sliding float tackle
Flatfish can be caught here, although they are not that common. If you do want a crack at the flatfish, use baits like worm or peeler crab. You will also have to be good at casting. A typical cast is going to have to be at a rough guess, 60 to 70 yd. which will then take you on to the sand.
The breakwater is also a very good spot for mullet. When you fish for mullet, approach them as if they are actually a freshwater fish, such as a carp. These fish are extremely hard fighting and even a small one will give you quite a tussle. A typical Brixham mullet will range from 1-4lb. Bigger ones are taken quite often. It's not unusual to hear of a 7lb fish being taken here.
If you do fancy a crack at the mullet then prepare for a waiting game. To successfully target mullet, you must approach them as if you are fishing for coarse fish. Ground baiting is absolutely essential when mullet fishing. Mullet normally travel around in shoals and will not hang around for very long. If you put down a large bed of mashed bread with fish oil and pieces added, your success rate will be increased immensely. Hook size should be around a size 10 with lines of around 8lbs. Since you will be fishing hard on the bottom, or near enough, you will need to use some kind of sliding float. You don't necessarily have to go for coarse floats, any small float will suffice. Mullet will except lots of different hook baits. Mackerel flesh is an excellent hook bait although not very good at staying on hook for long. Bread flake is another favourite. One bait that is overlooked a lot is maggots. These can be very successful at times. And remember, don't forget your landing net.
Fishing in the boat marina can often be very rewarding. If you want to catch a bass, this is the place to fish. Either free line or float fish live sand eel or prawn and you will stand a very good job of a bass. Large Mullet also frequent the marina and can be caught using bread or mackerel.
Crab Bait
A normal hardback crab is not a particularly good bait. However at certain times in a crabs life they are probably the best bait for fish. Lots of fish love this type of bait, you'll catch flatfish, Wrasse, Pollock, Bass and countless other fish using peeler crab. In order for crabs to grow they need to shed their shells every few weeks. When this happens you have two types of crab bait, a peeler and a soft backed crab. A crab becomes a peeler just before it sheds its hard shell in order for it to grow. A soft backed crab is a crab that has already shed its hard shell but it's new shell is yet to harden. Peeler crabs are readily available from most bait shops and can be bought singularly, or in batches, alive or frozen.
As the name suggests, a peeler crab needs to have it's hard shell removed before you can mount it on your hook. You can also remove the outer shell from the claws and legs as well as these also make excellent bait. Once you have removed the outer shell, you will be left with a very soft bait indeed. Using a fairly large hook, using either the whole crab, or half depending on the size, push the hook through the crab two or three times so that it is mounted on the entire hook and shank.
Because the crab is very soft you may need to secure it on your hook if you had fishing at a distance. Shearing thread has always been a favorite with many anglers to secure crab on the hook . Shearing thread is readily available from any haberdashery. Basically it's stretchy cotton that you wrap around the crab & just pull it tight, you don't need to actually tie any knots. You can treat soft backed crab in exactly the same way. You can use crab on the float or bottom, it will work just as well either way.
You could pay anything up to £1 for one crab, so it may be more economical to harvest your own crab. Because they are so vulnerable they always hide whilst they are shedding their shells. If you go to your local rock beach, you're sure to find peeler crab hiding amongst the weed and rocks. Peeler crab are easy to recognize. Look at the back of the shell, you will just see it starting to reseed revealing the soft shell underneath.
Conger Fishing from the Breakwater
Brixham Breakwater is famous for large conger eel, some absolute monsters have been taken from this venue in years gone by. Sadly many of the larger eel have been wiped out and huge conger from Brixham Breakwater are a thing of the past. However, I often hear of eels in excess of 20LB being taken. When targeting conger you must use study tackle. It's not just the fact that conger are large fish that put up quite a scrap, you will also be casting large baits, this will be difficult to do using a soft action rod. Back in the mid-80s when I did most of my eel fishing I used a 13 foot Bruce & Walker beach caster coupled up with an ABU 12 multiplier loaded with 35LB line. Whereas you can catch conger all year round, autumn time is favored by many anglers. Whether it is a coincidence or not, we used to find that fishing just after a thunderstorm was quite good. Extreme cold weather often slowed fishing down. Fishing the incoming and outgoing tide along the breakwater is the best time to fish.
Conger have got teeth that will bite through normal monofilament line as if it is cotton. It is imperative that you use a special trace made of either wire or heavy nylon in excess of 200LB. Hook sizes between 6/0 & 10/0 perfectly adequate. A running ledger is the simplest rig to use. Because the breakwater is so snaggy, you might be advised to opt for a rottom bottom. Basically this entails using a weak length of line to attach your lead. In the event that your lead gets snagged, at least you will get your hook back. I actually used to use old sparkplugs, definitely a cheaper option than expensive leads. Don't be frightened to use a big bait, in theory you catch big fish using big baits . Mackerel flapper, half a mackerel, a large mackerel head will all entice conger. To prepare a mackerel flapper, simply run a sharp knife along the fillet, when you can't cut anymore, turn the knife 45°and gently cut through the backbone and then bring the knife towards the tail along the other fillet. Remove the tail and backbone and you will be left with the head and two fillets that flap around in the current. Hooking a flapper couldn't be simpler. Put the hook in the mackerels mouth and out of the top of the head. Other types of bait work equally as well. Herring are very oily and make a superb conger bait. Squid, whole pouting and joey mackerel will all entice conger.
Anywhere along the breakwater will yield conger, although I've have most of my fish from the outside. Fishing alongside the oil jetty is also a favorite spot by some anglers. You don't have to cast very far, 30 or 40 yd. is far enough. Put the reel into free spool with the ratchet on and then just wait. Conger eel bites come in two forms. Sometimes you get very small bites were maybe your reel will just click a few times and nothing more. Whereas other times the eel takes off like an Exocet missile & your reel screams like a banshee, these are definitely the most exciting bites you can get, especially in the middle of the night when everything is quiet and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. Once a conger is hooked it will try and find the nearest snag. Once it's wedged itself into a hole it will be extremely difficult to extract, so try not to give it any line. This is why heavy tackle is absolutely imperative.
You'll need a gaff or a large landing net to safely extract the fish from the water. Avoid screw top gaffs as a conger will twist and spin its body violently once it surfaces, if you use a screw top gaff the conger can easily unscrew it and then you will have serious problems landing it. If you intend on returning the fish alive which I would always recommend, try and gaff the fish under the lower jaw, if you stick it into its body damaging vital organs, or into its gills, you'll cause it serious injury and it will probably die once back in the water. If it's swallowed the hook, cut the trace off and leave the hook where it is, it will rust and the conger will not come to any harm. If you try and extract the hook from the congers stomach, you will kill the fish.
For those of you who may be thinking about fishing for Conger Eel for the first time, please be aware that these fish have very powerful jaws that are full of very sharp teeth. When one of these fish is removed from the water they will thrash around on the floor and will snap out at anything that happens to be near their mouth. Take my word for it, if a conger manages to grab hold of your hand, you'll be heading to hospital with some very nasty injuries.
This diagram shows a running ledger incorporating a rottom bottom
Fishing the Breakwater from a Wheelchair
The safest vantage point for disabled anglers on the breakwater is directly opposite the oil platform. There is a concrete platform with a large wooden sleeper attached to the floor, this will ensure there are no accidents and you don't end up going for a swim in your wheelchair. Use prawn, ragworm or peller crab on the sliding flight tackle and you will almost certainly catch wrasse, Pollock and maybe even bass. For best results, try and get as close to the oil jetty as possible. The oil jetty shouldn't be overlooked, it is an absolutely fantastic place to fish at times. It's been there for quite a few decades and a lot of fish will have made it their home. In the past I have caught bass and some very large wrasse fishing under the oil jetty, you will also find mullet congregating underneath as well.
I've covered a lot of what can be caught from the breakwater, and I have also described how to catch some of these fish. Like we all know, angling is hit and miss so don't blame me if you don't catch anything.
A normal hardback crab is not a particularly good bait. However at certain times in a crabs life they are probably the best bait for fish. Lots of fish love this type of bait, you'll catch flatfish, Wrasse, Pollock, Bass and countless other fish using peeler crab. In order for crabs to grow they need to shed their shells every few weeks. When this happens you have two types of crab bait, a peeler and a soft backed crab. A crab becomes a peeler just before it sheds its hard shell in order for it to grow. A soft backed crab is a crab that has already shed its hard shell but it's new shell is yet to harden. Peeler crabs are readily available from most bait shops and can be bought singularly, or in batches, alive or frozen.
Brixham Breakwater is famous for large conger eel, some absolute monsters have been taken from this venue in years gone by. Sadly many of the larger eel have been wiped out and huge conger from Brixham Breakwater are a thing of the past. However, I often hear of eels in excess of 20LB being taken. When targeting conger you must use study tackle. It's not just the fact that conger are large fish that put up quite a scrap, you will also be casting large baits, this will be difficult to do using a soft action rod. Back in the mid-80s when I did most of my eel fishing I used a 13 foot Bruce & Walker beach caster coupled up with an ABU 12 multiplier loaded with 35LB line. Whereas you can catch conger all year round, autumn time is favored by many anglers. Whether it is a coincidence or not, we used to find that fishing just after a thunderstorm was quite good. Extreme cold weather often slowed fishing down. Fishing the incoming and outgoing tide along the breakwater is the best time to fish.
