After several blown off attempts at getting a day out as guests of Morecambe Dinghy Angling Club we finally managed to grab a few 'stolen' hours afloat tucked quite literally into the tiniest window of opportunity between gales and blizzards on a very cold, very grey, but very fishable Sunday morning in February. So, with a beautiful wintry back drop of snow capped Lakeland fells to the north, and the promise of some sheltered fishing but unfortunately more snow before the day was out, we hitched up the boat an hour or so before daybreak and headed off up the M6 to junction 34 and the A683 into Lancaster which very quickly merges into Morecambe, then onto the A589 following the Heysham signs to Oakley Road which terminates in a brand new purpose built concrete slip. It was here that we were to meet up with MDAC club secretary Wayne Friend. Fish wise, prospects were not brilliant, but we knew that before setting out. What else can you expect so late in the what for us up here in the North West over the winter of 2008-2009 had been something of a cod season that never was. The thing with Heysham, depending of course on how you time your visit within the tidal cycle, is that when other venues close by are un-fishable, it is often still possible to get some shelter, particularly on an ebbing tide when you get protection from the surrounding drying banks. This means fishing in the channel which acts as a highway for fish and their food very close to the shore. And the good thing is that not only can you get afloat, you also stand a very realistic chance of good cod, whiting and dabs in most winters, switching to bass, plaice and dabs over the summer months, with conger and rays mixed amongst them down towards where the smaller channels merge into Heysham lake just beyond the harbour and the warming influence of the two nuclear power stations.

I had actually fished with Morecambe DAC in the past before the new sea defences changed the whole promenade geography. That too had been a winter trip fished at a time when there were plenty of codling about. That day we had motored out maybe 400 yards very slightly to the south of west onto quite a sizeable patch of boulders and stones known as Grosvenor Skeer which actually dries at low tide. It's still there and continues to attract the cod and the good numbers of bass in their respective seasons. Being a prime crab peeling area, once the big spring moult gets underway, crab understandably is the number one bait. Frozen crab also works for the cod when they are there. But increasingly, good numbers of bass are falling to plugs, all of which is exciting stuff and something I am promised we will follow up on when the bass return. Our plan for this particular day however did not involve the skeer, except for sailing over it. There was still the odd cod around, though as I've already said, right along the Lancashire Coast including the regular hot spots of the Mersey and Rossall, they have been scarce throughout the 08/09 season to say the least. But according to Wayne there was a very real chance that we might still see one at our last port of call later in the afternoon, and if we did, the chances were for some unknown reason it would be a good one. In the short term however we were going to concentrate our efforts on more mediocre targets, all of which would be fished for within spitting distance of the shore adjacent to un-missable visible sign posts. Some GPS coordinates are included at the close, but you shouldn't need them. With so many fixed 'X - marks the spot' beacons in the area, GPS is one piece of kit you could very easily do without, unless you feel a need to burn off some fuel to go offshore and in so doing sail over some very good inshore fish holding marks.

Keen to provide a bit of background detail on the area and its marks, particularly in light of the extensive promenade and sea defence construction work from the north end of Morecambe right through to Heysham, Wayne laid on a short guided tour. I very quickly got the impression that this is not the kind of venue where you would be wise simply to throw a boat in without some measure of prior knowledge. I've no doubt in my my mind that going in blind would not produce much in the way of fish. But that is only a secondary consideration when you start to appreciate the number of potential collision hazards in the form of rocks, scars and drying banks which individually can become dangerous at differing stages of the tide, one or other of which you would be pretty much guaranteed to find at some point without having studied the layout of the place first. My advice would be to take a long hard look around the area from the shore at low water, preferably on a big tide, to get some feel for the layout of the channel and positioning of some of the big black lumps lying about the place at various locations which you wouldn't necessarily pick up on from a chart (No. 2010). Don't get me wrong, it isn't a mine field by any stretch of the imagination, particularly if from Oakley Road slip you head down towards Heysham and the clear open water beyond. But at the same time, it would be reckless of me to suggest that you could simply put a boat in and head off any which way without so much as a care in the world.

Actually, that couldn't or shouldn't happen, because like a growing number of locations in the area (and probably nationwide) that I have been looking at from a Boat Fishing Monthly 'Inside Information' perspective, you can't simply turn up on a whim and legally put a small boat in. You first need to get permission from Lancaster City Council in the form of a permit with all the issues that involves. The same permit is required for the promenade power boat launching slip in the centre of Morecambe town, but not for the adjacent yachting slip. It seems that boats with engine, even though they are not running while sitting on a trailer both on the slip and when crossing the foreshore, pose some kind of additional threat to the general public which boats without engines do not pose, as yachts are exempt. Tenders with engines, and small commercial boats on nearby moorings don't need a permit and data tag either, despite the fact that they are motorised and also use the slip at certain times of the year. It brings to minds the saying that just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not still out to get you. As someone who wants nothing more than a relaxing days fishing, that's certainly the way it makes you feel sometimes. Fortunately, Morecambe DAC is a member of the National Association of Dinghy Angling Clubs (NABAC), and as such has a reciprocal launching agreement with other member clubs such as the Wyre Boat Angling Club of which I am a member. I did bring up the subject of non NABAC membership, and even totally independent individuals, and was told that these would be considered on their merits if such an approach was made. This time around, for me at least, it didn't matter as I was jumping in with Wayne aboard his Endeavour 500 'Mi-Sal'. But it did mean that my boat partners Charlie Pitchers and Dave Devine were also able to put our Warrior 170 in and tag along too.

Mark No.1

It was just coming up to high water when we arrived at the slip and already a couple of the boats were lying just off waiting for the others to launch. You can get in and out at any time, but it makes sense to try to avoid being there with water on the slip itself, particularly if it's a bit on the choppy side, as concrete and fibre glass are not the best of pals. So we didn't get to see the low water situation until we got back in. But I must say that from what we did see later that the beach itself both looks and feels first class. Plenty of good firm sand, though I am told that there are some soft boggy holes around the low water mark on the very biggest spring tides. With the tide easing away, the plan was to combine a bit of fishing with the guided tour until the ebb got under-way before starting fishing seriously. As you launch, just to your right is a green painted metal stoop. If you then look seaward towards the north west you will quite easily see a second similar green stoop. Both are markers for a now redundant sewer pipe, though it still conveys rain water into the channel. The outer stoop was to be our starting point. I was surprised by the amount of tide still pushing through as Wayne put the anchor down a hundred yards or so short of it. The idea is not to go past it in to the channel. It remains fishable there on tides up to 9.3 metres after which you need to be fishing the top end of the town as the run gets too much. Essentially this is an area dominated by sand, mussel patches and flatfish. In the summer, plaice and flounders are the main targets along with some bass. Bait robbing crabs have persuaded people to try plugs here too for the bass over recent times with some success. But our target on the day would be much more modest. A few dabs on fresh blow lug and frozen black lug would take us up to high water. Had there still been any cod about then we might have been fortunate with one or two of those as well. But with the winter season all but gone, anything other than dabs was going to be an unexpected bonus.

Mark No. 2

Although we couldn't see much due its being high water, the quick guided tour right up into Morecambe itself was still something of an eye opener. I had fished there many times before. But that had been way back in the past. In recent times the promenade and some of the constructions branching seaward from it have changed to the point of being almost unrecognisable. Essentially, the seabed is pretty much as it was with lots of muddy sand with mussel beds and some patches of stones. What struck me most was the close proximity to the shore of the fishing, particularly for the plaice and the bass marks. But as we couldn't see too much exposed ground at that stage of the tide, and with mark number 2 beckoning, Wayne turned the boat around and headed south into 'deeper water'. Our intention was to follow the channel edge down past the launch site and the entrance into Heysham Harbour which is a small but quite busy commercial port, then on past the front of the two nuclear power stations to where the channel suddenly widens out to become Heysham Lake which itself merges in to the Lune Deep further to the south west. What I did notice as we got past the power stations was how the surface wave motion suddenly changed indicating that we were getting out in to more open water. Number 7 buoy was our target. But with sea conditions so good, it was decided to press on a little further to No. 5 instead. In terms of fish mix and availability, particular during the winter, there is probably little difference between the two. Over the summer months however, No. 5 Buoy more or less marks the start of dogfish country with the chance also of a few rays. Bass, plaice and dabs are also up there on the summer list right down to Heysham No. 2 buoy which can be a good bass mark fishing redgills on a flooding tide. For the winter months, dabs, whiting and codling are the mainstay, though once again, being realistic, we were mainly going to be seeing dabs.

Anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the buoy will do fine. This time Wayne was putting the anchor down in over 40 feet of water. Dave and Charlie aboard the other boat anchored a couple of hundred yards away on the inshore side and did equally well. Here we were into fish right from the very first drop. Nothing sizeable with everything going back. Knowing pretty much what to expect in advance, I had tackled my rod up before leaving home with a three boomed wire paternoster armed with size 1 hooks. Charlie and Dave had pre-rigged up specifically for flatties too. When it comes to dab bashing, for my money at least, a wire pat has no equal. Wayne on the other hand, though not optimistic, still had thoughts of the odd lingering cod on his mind and rigged up a couple of flowing traces, one baited with frozen peeler crab, the other well loaded with fresh blow lug. But to be honest, it was pretty much dab city down there. I had a small flounder too just to add a bit of variety, white Dave had a couple of whiting over on the other boat. But nothing big and round was looking likely to put in a last gasp show, so we decided to up sticks and combine a very quick, and I have to say very interesting tour along Heysham harbours north wall with the last hour spent fishing tucked inside Half Moon Bay where the species mix can, under the right seasonal conditions, change quite markedly, and where there would be a very real chance, even at this late stage in the season of picking up the odd better cod, though sadly not that many of them.

Mark No. 3

In the days before the modern harbour at Heysham, this corner of Half Moon Bay butted up to the north harbour wall was also quite a busy commercial centre, with remnants of the old loading jetties still down there on the sea bed. But so too are some of the supports which could be a danger well down on a big tide. We plotted one on the sounder rising up like a wreck from 48 feet at its base to 25 feet over its top, with lots of broken up debris scattered all around quite a big area. This obviously attracts lots of prey items and bigger predatory fish, and I wasn't surprised to hear that in the summer conger are regularly taken in the area. Bass too are attracted to it in the spring. But during the late winter months for some reason it can attract and hold a few very good cod. The only problem was that while I was getting the full guided tour, Dave and Charlie in the other boat were hearing nothing of this, so understandably they carried on fishing as before. We motored the boat slightly to the north of the old jetty supports and put the anchor down. For obvious reasons you can have problems getting an anchor back at times here and are always at risk of loosing it, so make sure it is properly tripped. Again Wayne put out one rig with frozen peeler crab and the other loaded with blow lug. I on the other hand, like Dave and Charlie, stuck with what I had started with, which for me wasn't a problem as I all I got was small fish. But for Dave it turned out to be a very big problem, because in no time at all he was in to what was most definitely a very good fish. You can never say with certainty what size or species you have on the end of your line. But experience allows you to make an educated guess, on top of which, with snow now falling around our ears on a grim cold February afternoon, it couldn't really be much else other than a cod. The way the rod tip was bumping suggested it was a good one too. The fact that on two or three occasions those powerful bumps led to line being stripped from the reel only served to reinforce that belief. Unfortunately we will never be sure, because the light hold taken up by the small dab hook was eventually ripped free in a wave of disappointment that washed right across both boats.

Time To Be Heading Back

While all of this was taking place, the banks to our seaward side of us had begun to dry out. I had noticed the change in surface pattern on the water a little earlier. Now suddenly we found ourselves protected from anything other than a south to south westerly wind blowing up the channel. Not that it mattered much by that stage as it was time to be heading back. As we motored in, that protection became ever more evident. Once the banks have dried, within reason, it doesn't matter too much what is going on in terms of sea conditions on the seaward side of them as any wave motion only has a narrow channel width to build up in. And therein lies the big plus of being able to launch here, not to mention the potential to fish when others in the North West are unable to. Not only that, the ability to target prized angling species such as plaice, bass and cod in their respective seasons, in addition to all the other stuff the area attracts, which should be reason enough on its own. Finally, coming up to the beach we could see the exposed boulders of Grosvenor Skeer no more than a cup full of petrol's motoring away from the launch site. In a good year at prime cod time this can be a very good mark. The same goes for the bass from April though to the back-end. For both species, crab is probably the number one bait, switching to black lug or frozen peeler for the cod as the winter really gets under-way. But again, as with mark number 1, experimentation with plugs has shown another side to the bass potential here too, both as a technique in its own right, and as an alternative for when bait either fails, or draws unwanted attention from other sources.

Morecambe is also the base for one of the premier tackle shops in the area, particularly in terms of mail order selling. I'll wager Gerry's has been used by a whole host of people all over the country. So I had to grab a picture of the place on the way back home, even though by that stage I knew it would be closed. By this time it was snowing a blizzard again, so, in an attempt to keep the camera dry, we pulled up outside to grab a quick shot through the window of the truck. Unfortunately, as it had been so cold out at sea, the camera must had started to warm up a little in the truck to the point where it became completely fogged up. With another car wanted to get past at the back of us, I had to jump out and stand there trying to stop it becoming covered in snow until it had cooled back down sufficiently to grab the necessary photo, which pretty much tells its own story in terms of how conditions leading up to and during the trip had gone. Who says fishing is a relaxing pass time.

FACT BOX

Heysham & Morecambe

Shop – Gerry's in Parliament Street Morecambe. Tel. 01524 422146.
Also Fawcetts Angling Centre at Thornton Road in Lancaster.

Launch Site – Oakley Road Slip.

Mark 1: Green flashing stoop visible to the north west of the slip marking end of sewer pipe for dabs, whiting and some codling over the winter, and plaice, flounders and bass during the summer.

Mark 2: No. 5 Buoy - 540007 025608. Any stage of the tide up or down. Dabs, whiting and codling over the winter months switching to bass, plaice and dabs over the summer months. Dogs and Rays can also start to put in a show in this area.

Mark 3: Half Moon Bay – 540204 025502. Good seasonal potential both winter and summer for a wide range of species including flats, bass, cod and conger.

Tides – As for Fleetwood. On line at www.fleetwood-lifeboat.org

Safety – Liverpool Coastguard is the nearest permanently manned station.

Weather – Liverpool Coastguard or www.metoffice.gov.uk

Warning – When there is sufficient water, Heysham is a busy passenger and freight terminal.

Morecambe Dinghy Angling Club – Secretary Wayne Friend Tel. 01524 421541. www.morecambedinghyanglingclub.co.uk

RATINGS OUT OF 5

Location and travel - 5

Facilities - 5

Tackle Shop – 5

Accommodation – variety of guest houses and small hotels in Morecambe.

Location Safety - 4

Fish Quality - 4