Thurso – Dunnet Beach offers bass to baits such as peeler crab and ragworm, while they can also be caught on lures and spinners from the deeper water marks. The usual species of flatfish such as plaice and flounder can also be caught on all worm, crab and shellfish baits. Scrabster Harbour also offers good fishing opportunities for flatfish such as flounder and dab as well productive lure fishing in the summer and will also produce some decent sized cod and whiting in the winter. View this area on Google Maps here.
Orkney Islands – Kirkwall Harbour Bay fishes well at all stages of the tide for flounder, cod, dab and whiting, while Tingwall Pier good for fishing for similar species with large amounts of mackerel taken in the summer to spinners, feathers and daylights. The sandy beaches around Newark Bay area offering similar species as well as the chance of decent bass when there is surf running. Fishing after dark can produce the best results as fish will come into shallower water and within range of the shore angler. View this area on Google Maps here.
Wick – Longberry rock marks offer coalfish, pollack and wrasse to baits and lures, plus good cod fishing in winter. Many of the rocks are flat and offer reasonably good access but can be slippery so take care if it begins to rain when fishing there. Other rock marks less accessible but can offer good fishing, but as always, safety is paramount. The beaches at Castletown and Keiss also offer flatfish to worm, crab and shellfish baits and the chance of a decent bass to ragworm, lugworm or peeler crab baits. View this area on Google Maps here.
Dornoch – Brora beach offers dab and flounder through the day will bass also a possibility, nearby Embo Beach is a flatfish hotspot with flounder, dab, plaice and turbot all possibility. Worm baits and fishing at night tend to produce the best results. Dornoch Firth also offers flatfish, bass and silver eels to various baits with mackerel, lugworm, ragworm and especially peeler crab producing fish. It is worth fishing quite far up the Dornoch Firth for flatfish, with flounder, in particular, venturing inland well past the Dornoch Bridge. View this area on Google Maps here.
Fraserburgh and Peterhead – The piers and breakwater at Fraserburgh offer wrasse, pollock and mackerel in the summer with the beaches producing flatfish and potentially bass. Cod will also be present in the winter. Areas around the power station have been known to produce school bass as well as mullet to stealthy tactics and bread, earthworm or tiny fish baits. Peterhead Pier offers good general sea fishing, especially for cod, with dab, coalfish and wrasse all also caught with any of the main fishing baits working. This mark can be snaggy, especially when casting outside the pier, but the ground is cleaner when casting into the harbour. Mackerel are caught from piers using feathers, daylights or spinners in summer. View Fraserburg on Google Maps here, and Peterhead here.
Aberdeenshire – Mouth of the River Don holds flatfish, especially flounder which will go for worm and crab baits, with other species such as cod, whiting and silver eels also caught on these baits. Gourdon Harbour fishes best at high tide for big cod and coalfish all year round with a rough, choppy sea churning up the seabed and providing the best conditions but bear in mind that it is unsafe to fish here when the weather is very bad. This can also be a very snaggy venue. Crawton rock marks offer great cod fishing in the winter, and pollack, bass, mackerel and coalfish all going for lures throughout the summer. Inverbervie Beach is made up of shingle and offers good fishing with a gully around fifty yards out which is certainly worth targeting. Cod are here throughout the autumn and winter with double-figure fish a real possibility. However, weed can be a problem. Various flatfish, rockling, coalfish and dogfish may make an appearance at other times of the year. The ground can be rough so rotten bottoms help, many anglers find this venue fishes best after dark over high tide. View this area on Google Maps here.
Arbroath and Montrose – Rock marks around this area such as Rumness and the cliff marks will produce cod, with rougher seas attracting the bigger fish within range of the sea angler, but be great care is needed and some marks are too dangerous to fish in bad weather. Calmer summer conditions will see coalfish and pollock going for lures in these areas. Cages at Arbroath Harbour also good for cod fishing and it is worth trying a big bait on a 6/0 hook to be in with a chance of catching a double-figure fish. However, take care in bad weather as waves can sweep over fishing points. Beaches around Montrose are great for flatfish with flounder and dab especially showing to worm baits, and there is also the chance of a good bass from this mark. View this area on Google Maps here.
Dundee and River Tay Estuary – Riverside Drive offers easy access for fishing with whiting, dab, flounder, codling and silver eel, coalfish and pollock all possible catches. There are a number of different marks along Riverside Drive with Tescos and Rail Bridge two of the most popular. With so many species on offer here all main sea fishing baits will catch with two hook rigs with 1/0 or 2/0 hooks a good idea as this allows two different baits to be used. Sea trout also caught here, usually at dusk or dawn, but a licence is needed to target this species. Shingle beaches around this area will also produce flatfish to the usual baits. Broughton Ferry area offers more flatfish, coalfish and the chance of cod. The Tay Estuary also good for sea fishing with flounder caught in great numbers. Tide can be very strong here making grip leads necessary, although at times the strength of the tide can make some areas unfishable. View this area on Google Maps here.
St Andrews – Rock marks around the St Andrews area offer cod for most of the year, with the biggest specimens being caught in the winter. Pollock also show mostly in summer around the rock marks to bottom fished baits or lures and spinners. Flatfish such as flounder and plaice can also be caught in the sandy areas and mixed ground, while both school bass and some larger fish can be caught by spinners and plugs worked over rocky ground. The sandy areas of St Andrews Bay and around the River Eden estuary can also fish very well for flatfish, especially flounders which will come in close to the shore and favour worm and crab baits. View this area on Google Maps here.
Cellardyke – Cellardyke Harbour and piers are a good mark for winter cod with large specimens reported, and coalfish caught as well to baits such as black lugworm, mussel and squid. The seabed here can be very snaggy and even with rotten bottom rigs tackle losses are to be expected. Float fishing a mackerel strip or sandeel in the summer can produce wrasse and possibly pollock as well. Fishing on the pier and other marks can be dangerous on a big tide or stormy weather so take care and stick to fishing these marks in calm weather and safe conditions. View this area on Google Maps here.
Anstruther – There are two piers at Anstruther, the white pier (so-called because it has a white lighthouse on the end), and the red pier. Similar species that are caught at Cellardyke can be caught here – cod in the winter, as well as coalfish and come very good wrasse in the summer as well as flatfish. High tide the best time to fish the white pier. Although there is little space at the end of both piers there are fishable marks long the lengths of both piers. The ground is mixed and patchy, with some snaggy areas and other places where casts can land on cleaner ground. The usual big cod baits of black lugworm, mussel and squid are the best winter choices. View this area on Google Maps here.
Dysart Harbour, Kirkcaldy and Burntisland – Dysart is a good venue with the harbour and piers providing mackerel in summer and flounder as well with the best chance of a big specimen coming in autumn. Rock marks around Kirkcaldy good for cod in winter, bass show in summer and flounder can be caught throughout the year, with the biggest flatfish again caught in autumn. Burntisland Breakwater produces summer mackerel to feathers, daylights and spinners over high tide in the summer, with pollock and wrasse going for float fished baits as well. Winter will see cod and whiting caught on bottom fished baits in the winter with peeler crab, squid, mussel and worm baits all working well. View this area on Google Maps here.
Edinburgh/Musselburgh – Granton Breakwater/Harbour for general fishing for cod, coalfish and wrasse, with a range of baits with ragworm, lugworm, peeler crab and squid all producing. Mackerel can be caught in big numbers with daylights by better sport had with spinners and light tackle. Cockenzie Power Station offers mackerel fishing as well and is a great mullet fishing venue with light freshwater-style tackle, size 6 hooks and bread or earthworms worth a try. Bass are also here in numbers but the average size is small. They can be caught on a variety of baits and will also take spinners and lures. View this area on Google Maps here.
St Abbs Head – Great mark with some very big pollock caught on lures, spinners and jelly lures every year. Plenty of mackerel also make a summer appearance and daylights can get a full house on every cast. Coalfish can also be caught on daylights/spinners, although small coalfish can reach pest proportions in the summer months. Wrasse will also be caught to ragworm or mackerel strip float fished close in, and there are still good summer cod around, although many anglers believe that peeler crab bait is the only bait worth using for this species. Many of the rock marks here are difficult to access and care must be taken, as even light rain can cause rocks to become slippery and dangerous. This mark is best avoided in anything other than good weather. View this area on Google Maps here.
