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Cornwall

Carne Beach

6.6 · Beach · Cornwall

A south-facing sandy beach on the Roseland Peninsula, backed by dunes and the Nare Hotel, with clean sand channels and rocky patches at either end. Fish the flooding tide, especially at dusk or into darkness; daylight favors scratching for flats at range while the rocky points hold wrasse and pollack. Summer brings mackerel and scad in calm, clear water; winter nights see whiting and dogfish. Watch for spring tides pushing high up the beach and for lesser weevers in warm months.

Should you fish Carne Beach?

64 Fair

Today · Best window

Best window: 06:00-09:00 around the rising tide

Most likely species: Ballan Wrasse and Plaice

Fair conditions. Best around 06:00-09:00 around the rising tide. Good chance of Ballan Wrasse and Plaice.

NW 3 mph Rain 6% High tide 10:47

Fishable, but pick your timing carefully.

Plan this mark

7-day fishing forecast for Carne Beach — 7-day forecast

Scores and best windows are weighted for .

Met Office Met Office · Open-Meteo

Where the data comes from. Weather and sea-state readings come from the Met Office and Open-Meteo forecast models, refreshed several times a day. High and low water are taken from tide-station predictions for this stretch of coast.

How the score works. Each window is scored 0–100 from the signals that most reliably move fish inshore: tide movement (a running tide carries food, so the last of the flood and first of the ebb are usually the prime spells), wind speed and direction (onshore wind stirs food into the surf — up to the point it makes fishing hard), sea state (a little wave and swell movement helps, heavy swell hurts), and weather — rain, temperature and light. Behind the headline number we score bite opportunity and comfort separately, and run a separate safety check on wind and swell. The size of the tide counts too: spring tides move more water than neaps, so the tidal range for this stretch of coast is weighed alongside the tide's direction, your target species and this mark — and unusually big springs strengthen the safety check, because the water rises faster and covers more ground.

Your target species counts. Pick a species below and the score also weights what we know about it — its season, preferred sea temperature, tide stage and sea state, and whether it feeds by day or night.

The rating is guidance, not a guarantee — conditions change fast on the coast, so always judge the sea in front of you before you fish.

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· windows & tide

Spring vs neap tides. Spring tides have a larger difference between high and low water, so more water moves on each tide — usually stronger flow that stirs up food and gets fish feeding. Neap tides have a smaller range and generally gentler movement. The range here is compared with what is normal for this stretch of coast, and the cycle swings between springs and neaps roughly every week, following the moon.

Big spring tides: the water rises faster and covers more ground than usual — double-check access routes and cut-off points before you fish.

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Carne is a versatile south-facing Cornish surf beach where the decision is usually between fishing the open sand for bass, flats, rays and night species, or moving to the rocky fringes for lure and float tactics when the sea is clear and settled. The flooding tide is the key window, especially the last third into high water and the first of the ebb. Read the bars and gutters rather than treating the beach as one uniform stretch.

  • Know when Carne is a bait beach and when it becomes a lure mark.
  • Pick the gutters and bar mouths that concentrate bass on the flood.
  • Time rays, sole and dogfish around the best flood-to-ebb window.
  • Decide whether the open sand or rocky ends suit today’s sea state.
  • Avoid the swell, weed and tide stages that can quickly spoil the session.

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Portscatho 2.5 mi St Mawes 4.4 mi Tregony 4.5 mi Feock 4.8 mi Harcourt 5.1 mi

Explore nearby towns: Portscatho · St Mawes · Tregony · Feock · Harcourt

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Forecast tuning currently supports Bass and Mackerel — more species are on the way.

Overall rating

6.6 /10

Blend of catch potential, access, safety, and overall experience.

Category scores

Catch Potential 6/10
Species Variety 7/10
Scenery & Comfort 9/10
Safety 6/10
Accessibility 7/10

Bass 8/10
Tip: Work the surfline on a flooding tide at dawn/dusk. Shallow divers or metals in calm; peeler crab or sandeel in a bit of surf. Focus on gutters and the rocky ends.
Lesser Spotted Dogfish 7/10
Tip: Reliable after dark over clean sand. Two-hook flapper with mackerel or squid strips, short casts 20–50 yd. Best last of flood into first ebb.
Plaice 6/10
Tip: Daylight, neap tides. Long trace with beads/spoons; ragworm or worm tipped with sandeel. Cast 60–100 yd over clean sand. Spring to early autumn.
Mackerel 6/10
Tip: Summer, clear water. Metals or small feathers from the rocky ends at dawn/evening on a flooding tide. Watch for birds working bait.
Ballan Wrasse 6/10
Tip: Target the rocky ends (toward Nare Head/Pendower) on the flood. Crab or rag on a running ledger; keep tight to avoid snags. Late spring to autumn.
Golden-grey Mullet 6/10
Tip: Summer shoals in the first breakers. Small rag/isome on size 8–10 below a bubble float or tiny spinners. Rising tide, clear water.
Flounder 5/10
Tip: Autumn–winter. Small rag/lug on light flappers, gentle lobs to gutters and stream outflows. Ebb to low and first flood fish best.
Dover Sole 5/10
Tip: Warm, calm nights Jun–Sep. Small rag on size 4–6, long snood; short lob just beyond the first wave. Last of the flood into first ebb.
Thornback Ray 5/10
Tip: Evening flood into dusk. Sandeel or squid wrap on a pulley; cast 60–90 yd onto clean sand. Best spring and early autumn.
Scad (Horse Mackerel) 5/10
Tip: Warm nights late summer–autumn. Small sabikis or size 6–8 jigs, often under a float light; fish from the rocky ends on a flood at dusk into dark.
Garfish 5/10
Tip: Late spring to autumn. Float-fish mackerel strip or work tiny spoons/metals from the rock ends on the flood in clear water.

Local knowledge

Carne Beach fishing guide

Practical access, seasons, methods, tides, safety and facilities for this mark.

Carne Beach sits on the Roseland Peninsula between Pendower Beach and Nare Head, a sweeping south‑facing arc of clean sand with rocky fringes. It’s a classic Cornish surf mark for bass and flatties, with the option of lure fishing around the rockier ends when the surf is down. Quiet, scenic, and versatile, it rewards anglers who read the bars, gutters, and tide movement.

This is an easily reached, gently shelving beach with parking close by and straightforward paths. Access is best via the Roseland back roads, and the beach joins Pendower at low tide, giving plenty of room to spread out.

  • Approach from Truro via the A390 then A3078 (St Mawes road); turn for Veryan (B3287) and follow signs to Carne/Pendower.
  • Small beach‑level car park at Carne; larger National Trust parking at Pendower a short walk west along the sand. The Nare Hotel (postcode TR2 5PF) sits behind the eastern end.
  • Beach access via sloped paths/ramps; the walk is easy on firm sand but lengthens if you park at Pendower and head to the far (Carne) end.
  • Terrain: wide clean sand with intermittent shingle fringes; rocky outcrops and low reef at both ends towards Nare Head (east) and towards Pendower (west).

The mark fishes year‑round with classic surf and mixed‑ground species. Seasonality matters, with bass peaks in late spring through autumn and winter whiting when the water cools.

  • Spring (April–June):
    • Bass, schoolies building to better fish
    • Plaice and dabs on the cleaner patches
    • Spotted and small‑eyed ray in settled seas
  • Summer (July–September):
    • Bass consistently, including at dusk/dawn in modest surf
    • Garfish and mackerel shoals within casting range in calm spells
    • Turbot (mostly small), gurnard, dabs
    • Wrasse and pollack from the rocky ends
    • Lesser weever fish in the shallows (hazard)
  • Autumn (October–November):
    • Peak bass before the first big blows
    • Rays continue on sandeel/squid
    • Whiting arrive after dark; dogfish present
  • Winter (December–March):
    • Whiting, dabs, flounder
    • Rockling and dogfish common
    • Odd codling in cold snaps (uncommon in recent years)

Match your approach to the surf and where you set up on the beach. The open sand favours simple surf rigs, while the rocky ends respond to lures and wrasse tactics.

  • Bottom fishing (open beach):
    • 2‑hook flapper or wishbone with size 1–2 hooks for dabs/plaice/whiting
    • Pulley pennel (3/0–4/0) or up‑and‑over with whole sandeel/peeler/squid for bass and rays
    • Clipped‑down rigs for range when the fish sit beyond the first bar
    • Best baits: fresh lugworm, ragworm, whole sandeel (frozen fine), peeler crab, squid/mackerel cocktails
  • Lure fishing (rocky fringes and first gutters):
    • Surface/sub‑surface plugs and slim minnows in clear, gentle surf at dawn/dusk
    • Soft plastics on weedless hooks worked along reef edges for bass; small paddletails for pollack
  • Float/spinning (calm, clear water):
    • Float‑fished strips of mackerel or sandeel for garfish
    • Metals (20–40 g) for mackerel when they’re showing
  • Tactics by time:
    • Dusk into night boosts bass and later whiting; daylight with a light chop fishes well for plaice and gurnard
    • After a blow, step up to stronger snoods and bigger baits to punch through surf and crab activity

Reading the bars and gutters is key here. Carne fishes best with a gentle to moderate surf and some movement in the water, with the flood often out‑fishing the ebb.

  • Tide states:
    • Last third of the flood, high water, and first hour of the ebb are prime for bass and rays
    • Spring low tides expose gullies and reef—great for prospecting, but plan your route off
  • Sea conditions:
    • A 1–3 ft rolling surf with a touch of colour is ideal for bass; too much swell/weed can kill it
    • Clear, calm seas suit lures and float tactics at the rocky ends
  • Wind:
    • Light to moderate S–W onshore builds helpful surf; easterlies flatten and clear the water (better for lures)
  • Time of day/seasonality:
    • Dawn/dusk year‑round; autumn evenings are often the most consistent for better bass
    • Give it 24–48 hours after big blows for sand/weed to settle

This is a friendly, open beach, but rips and slippery rocks at the ends demand respect. If you step onto ledges or boulders, treat it like a rock mark.

  • Rips form around sandbars and near the rocky ends—avoid wading deep in a building swell
  • Rocky platforms are kelp‑covered and very slippery; never fish them on a rising swell
  • Ends can become isolated by tide and swell—know the tide times and your exit routes
  • Lesser weever fish in summer—wear footwear; hot‑water first aid for stings
  • Soft cliffs/erosion behind sections of beach—don’t sit or stash gear under them
  • Night sessions: headtorch, spare light, and a buddy recommended
  • Lifejacket strongly advised if fishing from rocks or wading beyond knee depth
  • Accessibility: beach access is via sloped paths; once on the sand it’s flat but not wheelchair‑friendly

Facilities are low‑key but adequate if you plan ahead. Expect seasonal availability typical of rural Cornwall.

  • Parking at Carne (small) and Pendower (larger; National Trust) with seasonal charges
  • Public toilets typically at Pendower car park (often seasonal); limited or none directly at Carne out of season
  • Seasonal beach café/kiosk at Pendower; The Nare Hotel (Carne) is primarily for guests
  • Nearest provisions in Veryan and Portscatho; wider services in Truro/St Austell
  • Tackle and bait in Truro, Falmouth, or St Austell—buy before you head down the peninsula
  • Mobile signal is generally fair on open sand but can dip near the cliffs

Small tweaks make a big difference at Carne. Treat it like two or three micro‑marks rather than one long beach.

  • Read the beach: pick a gutter draining off a sandbar and drop a bait at its mouth on the flood—classic bass trap
  • If crabs are rampant, use tough baits (squid wraps, crab elastic) or switch to lures at the rocky edges
  • For rays, fish medium springs, 1–3 hours after low with sandeel/squid at range; avoid heavy kelp days
  • Pop‑up beads can lift worm baits over tiny weed strands and help dabs/plaice find them
  • Night whiting often sit surprisingly close—don’t ignore a short rod at 30–50 yards
  • Late‑summer nights can glow with bioluminescent plankton—great fun on lures and easy to track line
  • Carne and Pendower join at low water—use the extra space to escape bathers/daytime swimmers
  • After a big SW blow, check the eastern (Nare) end first; it can clear a touch quicker

Rules are straightforward but do change—always check current guidance from the MMO and Cornwall IFCA before you go. Do not rely on outdated online posts.

  • European bass (recreational): as last published for 2024, 42 cm minimum size; 2 fish per angler per day; retention typically permitted 1 March–30 November, catch‑and‑release outside those dates. Verify current year rules before retaining fish.
  • Tope: it is illegal to retain rod‑caught tope in England; catch‑and‑release only.
  • Spurdog: no recreational retention—release carefully.
  • Undulate ray: protected—release if caught.
  • Shellfish: Cornwall IFCA size limits and protections apply (e.g., no taking undersized or berried crabs/lobsters); check local bylaws if gathering.
  • Protected sites and access: sections of the backshore are sensitive (SSSI/erosion). Keep off vegetated dunes, obey any National Trust/Council signage, and note any seasonal dog restrictions.
  • General: no fires/BBQs on dunes, take all litter and line home, and be considerate of swimmers and watersports users.