Seaton Beach Fishing

Last updated: 1 week ago

Seaton Beach Fishing Map

A long shingle-and-sand beach on Cornwall’s south coast with a river outflow, gentle to moderate surf and clean ground, offering easy access and year-round prospects. The Seaton River creates gutters and rips that draw bait and predators, making this a reliable mark for bass and flatfish, with summer shoals of mackerel, scad and garfish at dusk and into darkness. Night sessions boost catches of sole, whiting and pouting, while occasional rays and smoothhounds roam the open sand. Parking, toilets and a café sit right by the beach.

Ratings

⭐ 6.8/10 Overall
Catch Potential 6/10
Species Variety 7/10
Scenery & Comfort 8/10
Safety 7/10
Accessibility 9/10

Fish You Can Catch at Seaton Beach

🐟 Bass 8/10
🎯 Tip: Work the surf lanes with peeler crab or sandeel; fish the flooding tide around the River Seaton outflow. Dawn/dusk and after a blow in autumn are best.
🐟 Lesser Spotted Dogfish 7/10
🎯 Tip: Night fishing along the sand/shingle; small fish baits or squid. Best 2–3 hours up and first of the ebb. Year-round, most from spring–autumn.
🐟 Whiting 6/10
🎯 Tip: Winter evenings into darkness on the open beach; lug, rag or small fish strips. Best on a building tide. Long traces cast 60–90 m.
🐟 Flounder 6/10
🎯 Tip: Autumn–winter near the river mouth; short casts with lug/rag or crab. Best mid to high water on a flooding tide after rain.
🐟 Dover Sole 6/10
🎯 Tip: Warm nights Jun–Oct; fish close in over clean sand with ragworm or peeler on light running rigs. Last 3 hours of the flood into slack are best.
🐟 Mackerel 6/10
🎯 Tip: Jul–Sep on calm evenings; spin or feather from the shingle to visible shoals. Mid-flood to high water.
🐟 Golden-grey Mullet 6/10
🎯 Tip: Summer in light surf; small rag or sandeel slivers on fine gear, cast just beyond the first breaker. Rising tide at dusk.
🐟 Plaice 5/10
🎯 Tip: Spring to early summer over clean sand; long casts with attractors and worm/squid cocktails. Daylight on a flooding tide.
🐟 Small-eyed Ray 5/10
🎯 Tip: Late spring–autumn at range over sand; sandeel on pulley rigs. Dusk into night around high water, neaps preferred.
🐟 Mullet (Thick-lipped) 5/10
🎯 Tip: Summer around the stream mouth; bread flake under a float or small baited spinner. Best on a flooding evening tide.
🐟 Gilthead Bream 5/10
🎯 Tip: Late spring–autumn near the outflow; peeler crab on a running ledger. Flood tide, especially last 2 hours. Use abrasion-resistant trace.
🐟 Thornback Ray 4/10
🎯 Tip: Occasional over sand/patchy ground; fish squid or bluey at range. Evening highs in spring.

Seaton Beach Fishing

Summary

Seaton Beach sits on Cornwall’s south coast between Downderry and Looe, where the River Seaton meets a broad sweep of shingle and sand. It’s a versatile, easy-access mark that fishes across the seasons, with mixed ground, a productive river mouth, and rocky fringes offering varied sport. Ideal for bass in the right surf and rays over the sandy patches, it’s also a comfortable venue with good facilities close at hand.

Location and Access

Set in the Seaton Valley, the beach is immediately beside the village and Seaton Country Park, with simple, level access from the promenade. There is pay-and-display parking by the beach and further spaces within the country park; the coast road and the B3247 make it straightforward from both Looe and Plymouth directions.

Seasons

This is a classic mixed-ground south-coast venue; expect bass and flatties around the river mouth, rays on the sand, and summer pelagics from the rocky ends. Seasonality is marked, with night fishing often out-fishing daylight on settled seas.

Methods

The beach rewards a mix of beachcasting for rays/flatfish and more mobile lure or float tactics for bass and summer species. Match your approach to the ground in front of you: clean sand for rays and soles; mixed patches for bass and huss; rock fringes for wrasse and pelagics.

Tides and Conditions

Like most south-coast mixed beaches, Seaton is driven by tide and sea state. A mild onshore push or coloured water from the river can transform an otherwise quiet day.

Safety

This is a friendly, family beach with a promenade, but anglers should respect the power of surf on steep shingle and the pull near the river mouth. The rocky ends get slippery with weed, and some ledges can be cut off on big tides.

Facilities

Seaton is well served for a fishing beach, with loos, café options, and level access. Tackle supplies are a short drive away.

Tips

Local patterns repeat here: find the right line of colour, keep mobile, and match rigs to ground. The venue shines when you read the beach at low water and return on a pushing tide.

Regulations

Rod-and-line sea angling is permitted from Seaton Beach. The coastline sits within the Whitsand & Looe Bay Marine Conservation Zone, which does not prohibit shore angling, but do treat sensitive habitats with care.