Perch Rock, New Brighton
One, if not my favourite local (ish) fishing mark.
Slowly but surely all of the easy almost fish from the car venues are being monetised, you guessed it..parking fee’s. Perch rock is still free parking and there is plenty of it You do need to take into consideration the weather as well as the tides here.
Basically if its sunny then it gets very busy with day trippers, New Brighton has had a revamp in recent years pulling in the crowds and you may have to hang around to find a spot. Luckily almost all of the day trippers stay clear of the fishing area to the rear of the fort, head past the lighthouse and choose your spot. A lot of people fishing perch rock head for the green buoy, its closest to the deep channel heading down or up the river Mersey. Me, I prefer it a little to the left of the green buoy, Mostly because someone normally beats me to it. Saying that on decent tides it can get busy with recreational anglers and club matches. It’s is a very popular fishing mark throughout the year.
Just be mindful that this is the Mersey and it has one hell of a pull on bigger tides so heavier grip leads must be used, I can get away with 4 ounce during the lull but once it starts you need to get a bit more weight on. 5-6 ounce gripper leads should be used as a minimum, you need to hold the bottom or your lead will be sailing up and down the Mersey. This is a low water venue only, for high water you can fish the nearby Town hall steps or the from the prom near the clown roundabout.
Fishing can be hit and miss, but I started the venue review saying it’s a favourite fishing venue of mine because I have never blanked here. Sun shine in summer to 10pm on New Years Eve and I’ve always caught, fresh or Frozen black lug has never failed me. On several occasions I have dropped down to fishing just one rod due to the constant action and struggled to keep up. I have however now changed tactics, the mark produces your standard sea fare such as Dabs, Dogfish, Plaice in summer, the dreaded weaver, whiting can be caught year round sometimes in plague numbers but I’ve had a few crumpers here.
There are a few special treats dependant on time of year, lots of anglers will only target these more prestigious species. Late spring and summer bring the Thornback Rays and Smoothhounds into the area, with late autumn and winter come the Cod. Peeler crab are obviously deadly for the smooth hounds, I’ve had Rays on every bait I have tried including small section of Lug worm. You can find a few peeler crab in the local groynes at the right times.
In winter a mixture of baits works well, my biggest Cod here was on plain old black lug. For the record its stomach contained 3 hardback crabs. There is also the occasional conger to be caught, one came out the other day but its far from a regular occurrence. A few came out to fish and squid baits at the end of October 2019, up to about 20lb. So they are around if you target them.
I tend to have one rod out with lug and another out at distance with a variety of other baits. Mainly squid and sand eel to see if I can tempt one of the bigger species into playing. Bait can be everything or nothing, I have landed several Thornback Rays to my lug only rod. I suppose if the fish come across it they will eat it. Two hook flappers / loop rigs have caught me all species mentioned below while fish Perch Rock.
One summer evening I was having a slow session on black lug, a few fish but nothing much. There were 6 guys fishing to the right of me who were literally pulling the fish out none stop. I was talking tactics and baits etc, you never stop learning with fishing. They were using blow lug tipped with Mackerel apart from one guy who not long after went to fetch his blow lug he had left in the car, he was losing the match..
It’s a few hundred metres from the car park to get the fishing marks, I go round the left of the fort as its generally easier with firm ground until you are at the back of it. In summer there are ice cream vans dotted around, and all the local shops are open selling chips etc. If you do need the toilet then I would normally just nip into the arcade on the main road.
Check out the pictures below, I caught a blind whiting at night. It freaked me out a little when I looked at its other eye too. Also the answer to whether or not the boating pool where all the kids do crabbing has any fish in it!
It was a little dab that came out to bit of Lug worm, it was float fished too.
Parking is at Wallasey CH45 2JX
https://goo.gl/maps/f5qr2rxBbHC2
Species Available (not exhaustive)
Whiting, Dab, Flounder, Cod, Thornback Ray, Smoothhound, Rockling, Plaice, Lesser Weaver, Bass, Dogfish, Conger.
The closest fishing tackle and bait shop is Bonners which can be found at 114 Victoria Rd, New Brighton, Wallasey, CH45 2JF. Phone ahead for fresh bait as it goes out as quick as it comes in on 0151-638-0883. There is also a good selection of frozen baits in store. Plus anything else you need for fishing in the area.
Tight lines, live tide times below
Check out our online shop at www.halenfishing.co.uk Terminal tackle of all types and sizes, if you can’t see it just ask and we will try and stock it. Check out the the home page on here for any promo codes.
