North Norfolk – Bacton

 

Introduction

Bacton is a rather understated Sea Angling venue situated around 10 miles East of Cromer on the North Norfolk coast. Unlike other places in the North Norfolk this beach can produce a variety of species throughout the year although not necessarily always in great numbers. However, like all beaches it is important to know where to go, what to do and when to do it so that one can maximise the fishing and the enjoyment of the sport at this venue. The following information should help to achieve this objective.

 

The Venue

This venue is a stretch of flat sand around 2 miles long interspersed with wooden groynes around 100-200 metres apart. The beach in front of the village and to the east backs on to concrete sea defences which the sea laps onto or over at high water. To the west the beach fronts the Bacton Gas Terminal and the sea defences here are wooden revetments which the sea flows through at high water.

 

The beach in front of the sea defences is flat sand with the occasional odd gully. Between 200 and 300 metres off shore there is sand bar that runs the whole length of the beach and beyond. The flat sand runs into a nice wide gully in front of this sand bar which is evident at low tide and in rough weather. The sand bar is further out in front of the village and to the east whereas to the west it is less prominent and is closer inshore. However, apart from the sand bar the beach is in a continuous state of flux and sand will be removed and deposited depending on the weather conditions over a period of time. Prolonged easterlies will strip the beach of sand whereas similar south westerlies will build up the beach. All of this action can lead to gullies appearing close in creating a fish hot spot and it’s always worth checking the beach at low water to see where these are.

 

Venue – Weather

This venue is very susceptible to the weather as the beach is relatively shallow for a long way out. The beach faces just east of north so any serious winds with north in them makes it unfishable as white water is predominant all the way along the stretch even at High Water. Even with strong winds the beach can be unfishable and it is always best to try and find out the sea state before venturing to this venue. A good point to note is that the sea may look unfishable when viewed from the top of the cliff but from the beach itself it is the opposite, so make any decisions from the beach. Such adverse conditions in the winter makes this venue a non-starter but similar conditions in the summer could lead to some serious fish, so be prepared to tough it out.

 

The weather also plays it part in driving weed inshore and in mid to late summer rough conditions can accumulate weed over the whole fishing area. This makes fishing impossible and tends to drive the fish off shore so skip this venue when serious weed is about.

 

Venue – Hot Spots

Fish can be found all along this stretch although local anglers tend to prefer fishing straight in front of the village or to the east. This is probably due to ease of access and distances to walk. The first of the known hot spots is on the beach at the start of the revetments just to the west of the slipway. The main hotspots are the 3 pipes that go out to sea infront of the Gas Terminal. The 1st pipe is relatively close but the 2nd and 3rd pipes are a good walk particularly with a lot of gear and it is advised that you are relatively fit to adventure to these. Walking to these pipes is easy on the hard flat sand but at high water walking has to be on the relatively soft sand behind the revetments. One should also be aware that at high water the sea flows through the revetments up to the small cliff below the Holiday Parks. Access to all 3 pipes has to take this route and when this happens a long detour has to be taken to get back to the village so be aware of being trapped.

 

Even these hotspots have to be fished in the correct manner to maximise fish but some trial and error may be needed to find out where the fish are feeding. In general, west (left) of each pipe fishes best but not hard up to the pipe but 20 to 40 metres away. There is generally a gully just inside from the end of the pipe and this is where the fish will be feeding. East of the pipes also produces good fish at the same distance from the pipe but here one needs to be on the back of the gully or sand bar at the end or just beyond the pipes. This is where the fish lay to pick up food flowing around the pipe. This means that the state of the tide and therefore the tidal flow determines the use of these hotspots.

 

Venue - Tides

Tide state plays a major role in the availability of fish at this venue. The best time to fish this venue is on the ebb from 2-3 hours after High Water, over the bottom and 1-2 hours of the flood. This approximately coincides with the end of slack water where the tidal flow switches to right to left and will remain in that direction for at least 5-6 hours. It is this tidal flow fact that makes the various pipe hot spots fish as they do.

 

This venue can produce fish on the flood and over the top but fish numbers are definitely reduced. Fishing this state of the tide can be difficult particularly on big tides where one is either fishing well behind the wooden revetments or on top of the concrete defences. The latter can be extremely dangerous and it is advised to avoid such sea states particularly if it is rough.

 

Venue - Casting

This is a venue where all casting distances can produce results but close casts of 40-80 metres seem to produce the best results and even the better quality fish. Here one is fishing in the inshore gully and as the tide ebbs the fish seem to congregate in this area. Fish can also be found at 100-150 metres where one would be fishing on the inshore bank of the sand bar. Casting any further would lay the bait on top of the sand bar which under most conditions would not be too productive although if fish are scarce inshore it is worth a try.

 

Also don’t be scared to try something very short 20-40 metres particularly at Low Water on a stiff northerly. This is where the food will be churned up and thus fish feeding and you may just get a big surprise.

 

Venue – Time of Day

The beauty about this venue is that it fishes well during day light hours. There are enough gullies to attract the fish inshore and provide them with some cover to feed. These gullies are easily accessible on the ebb so select day time ebb tides for this venue.

 

An evening or night time session can be more productive on the flood when fish will venture closer inshore to feed under cover of darkness. However, it is probably advisable to avoid very big tides as they can make it very dangerous fishing behind the revetments or on the concrete sea defences.

 

Venue - Species

This venue is renowned for holding a variety of species all the year round although not always in great numbers. It is fully accepted that the main species here is the stonking Bacton flounders and this has been the case for some years now. They seem to be more prominent in June and July and sometimes in late October where the summer months can produce good bags of 30-40cm fish particularly from the known hot spots and right state of tide. They tend to disappear from January to March to spawn but some do still hang around even then. Again don’t be frightened to cast close, very close to bag up on this species and a little bit of surf can encourage the stonkers to feed close in.

 

Bass is another popular fish at this venue and can appear any time from April to the end of October. They can suddenly make an appearance particularly in the summer months when there is a good fishable swell rolling in. The majority are in the region of 2 to 4lb but don’t be surprised if one’s rod gets smashed down by something a lot lot bigger. Again don’t be frightened to have a close, very close chuck as they could literally be under your feet.

 

Codling also make an appearance at this venue during the winter months particularly in March but are not so prolific as at other venues along this coast. They seem to like a feature and tend be found around the pipes although they will venture into the gullies if there are significant numbers of them.

 

Smooth hounds can also be caught along this stretch between May and July which tends to coincide with the peeler crab moult. They are very hit or miss as they could be there one day gone the next and do need a long period of southerlies to flattened out the water. Fishing an evening flooding tide seems to be the best for finding these species and a little distance can help at some states of the tide.

 

The good old reliable Dab and Rockling can be found here all the year round. In the summer months the odd silver eel, pout, sole and turbot can make an appearance although they tend to be on the small size along with the odd dog fish which are definitely increasing in numbers. In the winter months the shoals of whiting flow through and if one is lucky they can provide some healthy sport although you can get plagued with the pin variety. It is also not uncommon to find a small, very small ray and the odd coallie during the summer months.

 

Venue - Bait

This stretch of the coast has beds of yellow tail lug worm which are not immediately apparent. There is some evidence of yellow tail casts at very low tides but the beds are further out and is why this venue holds fish. Worm bait is the preferred bait for this venue all the year round. This can be blow lug, yellow tails and blacks (both fresh and frozen). All the main species except smooth hound will take this bait and a bit of experimenting with various combinations can bring interesting results. Favourite combination is blow lug tipped with a bit of black and very small piece of squid. Replace the squid with either mackerel or bluey in the winter months and one is into whiting as well as the usual flatties all the year round.

 

Blow lug tipped with a bunch of harbour rag in the summer months cannot only entice the usual flatties but can produce some very interesting bass sport particularly on a light rod. When the sea is running the third breaker is where one needs to place such baits. Straight fresh King Rag can produce the same results for bass but really needs to be the dug variety rather than farmed.

 

In May and June Peeler Crab can be a lethal bait when coinciding with the natural crab moult and does help to overcome problems when the vermin are on a feeding frenzy. All species will take this bait and it is certainly required for Smooth hounds, however once the peel is over worm baits will always out fish crab.

 

White Rag and Silvers will certainly tempt the codling when they are around as well as a serious flounder but there is no need for such exotic baits if one has ordinary lug worm. A big slab of squid in the summer could entice a roaming bass if one is patient and straight mackerel will find the whiting in the winter and even the flatties all the year round.

 

 

Venue – Parking

There is no public car park as such in Bacton but there are 3 options.

 

Beach road in Bacton next to the closed Ship Inn has a number of spaces but to be sure of a space here one needs to be there nice and early. There is a lot of parking available in the closed Ship Inn car park which the general public tend to use but it is not known who manages its availability. Both these options are some way from the mentioned hot spots and thus require a lot of walking to reach them. The final option is to take the first road on the left off the main road coming from Cromer (B1159) after the Gas Site which will take one to the beach slipway. Taking a left just before the slip onto the bank along the top of the sea wall will bring one to a number parking slots. These are just behind one of the hot spots mentioned and within striking distance of the 3 main pipe hot spots.

 

Another option is to book a Holiday home at Castaways Holiday Park which overlooks the whole stretch and within easy reach of all the hot spots and parking and excessive walking is resolved.

 

Tackle – Rods/Reels

Choice of rod for this venue is really up to the individual as there are so many different types on the market place these days. The use of continental style rods is becoming more popular at this venue and they are beginning to show results. Being able see a quality fish take the bait on such a rod and then have to play it in certainly adds to the excitement. However, there is still room for a more traditional heavier rod when targeting certain species such as smooth hound and codling or those bigger bass. This is certainly an individual’s choice.

 

As for reels, again the make and model is up to the individual as there is so many on the market place but at the top level there is the Fixed Spool versus Multiplier option. For close and medium range and surf work the Fixed Spool is the better solution. However, the Multiplier at this venue is more suited to distance fishing and targeting those bigger fish at that range.

 

Braid is also becoming more popular here particular with a continental style set up. This again adds to the excitement when you can really see a quality bass or flounder take the bait and then really feel the quality of the fish as it is retrieved. However, there are limitations to using braid particularly when there is a good swell on at which time it is advisable to switch to mono.

 

Tackle - Rigs

There are generally 3 types of rigs that are popular at this venue, flappers, clip downs and boom rigs but again it’s up to the individual what rig to use and plenty of experimenting will help to determine what rig to use at this venue.

 

In general a 2 or3 hook one down and one/two up flapper is the most popular rig used. In the summer snood lengths are between 24 and 30 ins whereas in the winter these can be reduced to between 12 and 15 ins. Hook sizes do not have to be large from between size 4 and size 2 where the selection of the right make and style will land even the biggest fish. Such hooks as Kamazan Match, Kamazan B950 and even Varivas Salt Water Champion will do the business here. 15lb Fluorocarbon is ideal snood material but if the weather is calm then even lighter could produce results. This type of rig can be used at all ranges at this venue because of the topography.

 

At this venue the whole range of clip downs can be used including, single hook, two or three hook and the Portsmouth loop version of the latter. The straight two hook clip down and Portsmouth version seem to be the most popular using similar small hook sizes as for the flappers. Snood lengths should be between 12 and 24ins for the summer and between 9 and 15ins for the winter and for the loop version add another 9 to 12ins for the loop. Snood material can again be 15lb Fluorocarbon but would advise not go lower. The single hook clipdown can have snood lengths of up to 30ins and probably of 20lb fluorocarbon or more. In general, one would be targeting bigger fish with this rig so would advise the use of a 2/0 of bigger stronger hook and a Pennel if need be. A useful trick when using a single of two hook clip down is to use a single hook slider rig. With a size 4 Kamazan Match loaded with blow lug and harbour rag this can be deadly for picking up a specimen flounder or marauding bass close in

 

The boom rig is a classic rig for the shingle beaches but in the winter a 3 hook version with 9ins snoods can be lethal here for the big whiting. A similar set up can work in summer months but is not as successful as the flapper rigs.

 

 

Tackle - Shops

One of the closest Tackle Shop to this venue is Sabre Tackle in Cromer on 01263 513676. The owner Christian Bulch can supply one with all one’s tackle needs at very very competitive prices. He can also supply top quality baits, freshly dug locally blow lug, frozen blacks, fresh blacks when available, frozen squid, frozen mackerel & bluey and excellent live peeler crab when available. He is a member of the local Sea Angling Club and can provide further advice and guidance about the venue.

 

Another close tackle shop is North Walsham Angling Centre at North Walsham on 01692 403162.

 

Tony Thomas
19th August 2014

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