Typically the UK’s southern coastline is the bass fishing mecca in the UK as the warmer waters attract bass all year round. Fortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Ireland’s southwest coastline is an incredible environment to catch some huge bass, pollock and wrasse. And Wales’ Gower Peninsula and the Pembrokeshire coastline are equally stunning.
As you’ll know if you’ve read our beginner’s guide to bass fishing in the UK and our top tips for bass fishing, bass are predatory fish that hunt in warmer, rougher waters over shallow ground that is rich in structure. So the best bass fishing spots in the UK have all the above and more.
Once you become more confident and want to dig deeper into the details of individual marks, give our guide on how to find fishing marks a try.
Cornwall
Best overall bass fishing area
The Cornish coastline is one of our very favourite places to fish for bass. Cornwall is a spectacularly beautiful county, with a rugged coastline that is – in some places – easily accessible. The tourism hotspot is rich in structure and marks that are easily reachable – by foot and car – almost totally unspoiled by human interference.
We’ve had most of our success in bays and rocky outcrops near St. Ives where rocky outcrops, sandy beaches and deeper water converge with offshore structure. And the northern coastal path is largely accessible with such an abundance of marks and rugged outcrops that you’re spoilt for choice.
The 11 Best Spots to Sea Fish in Cornwall
Devon
Best for scenery and sunsets
Devon’s Jurassic Coast is another personal favourite bass fishing mark. The Jurassic coast is arguably England’s most picturesque setting. The miles of (largely) accessible coastline is rich in underwater structure, and bait and almost entirely unspoiled by human touch.
We’ve spent some of the best weekends of our lives searching for bass fishing marks on Devon’s south coast. And whilst finding these spots yourself is part and parcel, we’ve found the coastline around Noss Mayo accessible, beautiful and – at times – bountiful. You can find the rest of our favourite shore fishing marks in Devon here.
Pembrokeshire
Best for fishing late in the season
Fortunately, it’s not just the English coastline that’s plentiful when it comes to bass fishing. And Pembrokeshire’s coast is sublime for bass fishing. The surroundings are just as jagged and structure rich as Devon’s coast but significantly more accessible.
St Brides Fishing Mark – an actually established fishing mark – is easily accessible and the ebb and flood of the tide really highlight the available underwater structure for bass to hunt from. The south coast around Tenby throws up some equally interesting bass fishing spots. Monkstone and Giltar Points are not as rough or rocky as marks on England’s south coast, but are rich in underwater structure and – importantly – bass.
The Gower Peninsula
Best for fly fishing for bass
The Gower Peninsular is an outcrop in southwest Wales that points towards Bristol that was made the UK’s first AONB in 1956. And it is stunning. Mumbles Head and Tutts Head are arguably the two most famous bass fishing marks in the area and at low tide, it’s not hard to see why. The sea floor is strewn with rocky outcrops that are teaming with peeler crabs and baitfish, with the bass coming very close to the shore to hunt.
But the entirety of the coastal path is accessible and – largely – fishable. The 38-mile stretch that runs between Mumbles and Crofty has some fantastic fishing marks, so plan a route that covers a few likely spots and get going. Interesting fly fishing for bass on The Gower is much more prevalent than in other areas and has a few guides who you can hire for days out.
Ireland’s southwest coast
Best for specimen bass, pollock and wrasse
Ireland’s southwest coast is a true hotspot for specimen anglers. Famed for its huge pollock, wrasse and – crucially – bass, areas like The Beara Peninsula, Waterville and Dungarvan are just stunning places to fish. The Beara Peninsula in particular is jaw-droppingly beautiful.
The only thing to be acutely aware of when fishing on Ireland’s southwest coast (or planning a trip) are the conditions. Huge swells, stormy conditions and never-ending rain are not uncommon sights and can make for some seriously challenging fishing. But don’t let that put you off.
To get there from England – or other parts of the UK – there are a couple of options. You can fly to Cork and rent a car or you can drive and get on the Stenaline Ferry. Henry Gilbey has some excellent information on where to fish for bass in Ireland and there really are some stunning bass fishing locations available.
Dorset Coast
Best for starting out
Dorset tends to be a little more accessible to most people than both Devon and Cornwall and whilst it isn’t as spectacular, the cliffs and coastline are still some of the best in the country.
Lyme Regis – your first step into Dorset – is a good starting point in the county as the river outlet (where freshwater meets the sea) is a hotspot for bass. And The Cobb (harbour wall to the layman) is an equally popular fishing spot, just be wary of the tide.
And when it comes to bass fishing, both off-shore and in-shore boat trips from Poole harbour give you access to some huge bass and excellent bass fishing marks. If you’re specifically looking at lure fishing for bass, then Charmouth and Lyme Regis are good places to start. Lyme Regis is easily accessible and has some excellent bass fishing spots and Charmouth’s long sandy beach is rich in rocky ground where the bait – and therefore bass – are bountiful.
West Bay – a little fishing village in Chesil Beach, which has its own angling club – is one of the UK’s most famous fishing points; particularly for mackerel. It has excellent access, a multitude of piers and harbour walls to fish from. The only real issue is the crowds, which can be avoided if you’re willing to tread a less-trodden path.
The 9 Best Sea Fishing Spots in Dorset
The Sussex coast
Best for boat trips
The Sussex coastline is home to some renowned bass fishing marks. Holywell and Birling Gap in Eastbourne, Seaford (in the deeper water near the cliffs), Chichester Harbour and Brighton Marina have produced some huge bass over the years. Brighton Marina in particular is rich in both in and off-shore structure, which makes boat trips off the south coast particularly alluring.
The Sussex coastline is markedly different to the likes of Devon’s Jurassic coast and Cornwall. These largely cliff-based locations are dominated by coastal walking, scrambling over rocks and fishing in the wash surrounding rocky outcrops and underwater structure. The Sussex coastline is much more accessible but much less spectacular. In our opinion anyway.
In 2021 a Sussex angler caught an 8lb 8oz bass 10 miles upriver in a tidal stretch of the River Adur. The river’s mouth is at Shoreham-by-sea, with the east and west branches convening at Henfield.
The East Anglia coast
Best for beach lovers
East Anglia is home to one of my favourite counties in the UK. Whilst Suffolk has a stunning coastline, Norfolk has some of the best sea fishing spots and is the east of England’s jewel in the crown. Another personal opinion.
Cromer Pier is a renowned spot for catching big bass in the summer months and as for more general bass fishing areas, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Felixstowe are all home to piers, deeper water and bass-ready structure.
The flatness and lack of obvious structure on certain sections of the East Anglian coastlines mean you either need some serious shore fishing equipment to reach the feeding fish or you should consider a boat fishing trip. Beaches like those on Wells-Next-The-Sea and Holkham Bay are beautiful but flat, deep and seemingly devoid of structure which makes finding marks a challenge.
Suffolk itself is prime for estuary bass fishing. The mouths of the Orwell, Stour and Deben estuaries are all on the Suffolk coastline and these rivers are huge bodies of water, at points reaching a mile wide. Their abundance of underwater structure, piers and fishing marks near the coast make these estuaries bass fishing hotspots.
FAQs
Where can you find bass in the UK?
Bass are largely omnipresent across the UK’s southern coastline year round thanks to the warmer waters and abundance of bait. In England; Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, the Sussex and Hampshire coastlines and East Anglia are home to excellent bass fishing. In Ireland, The Beara Peninsula and the entirety of the southwest coast are bass fishing hotspots and in Wales Pembrokeshire and The Gower are equally good.
It is possible to catch bass in the north of England and Scotland in the summer months, but the colder seas make the fish less prevalent.
Where is the best bass fishing spot in the UK?
In our opinion, Cornwall is home to the UK’s finest bass fishing from the shore. The coastline. coastal path and stunning scenery make the county a stunning location to fish for bass.
And the abundance of bait, warmer waters and climate create some of, if not the best, bass fishing in the country.
Harry
Hi, I'm Harry. A keen, albeit exceedingly average fisherman. I've spent the last few years trawling London's waterways with - if I'm being kind - varied success and would love to help you avoid the mistakes I have made.
