Ladram Bay Fishing

Last updated: 1 week ago

Ladram Bay Fishing Map

Ladram Bay is a red-sandstone rocky bay with sea stacks and ledges set between Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth. The ground is mixed rough and kelpy with pockets of cleaner water toward the bay mouth, making it ideal for wrasse, pollack and LRF species, with mackerel/garfish in summer and scad after dark in late summer. Best results are on the flood and around dawn/dusk when fish patrol the weed lines and gullies. Access is via the Ladram Bay Holiday Park (steep steps to the beach, then short scrambles to ledges at either side on lower tides). Beware cut-off risks around the stacks at mid-to-high water and heavy southerly swell reflecting off the cliffs; wear good footwear and consider a lifejacket. Night sessions can produce conger and pouting from deeper, snaggy ledges.

Ratings

⭐ 7.4/10 Overall
Catch Potential 7/10
Species Variety 9/10
Scenery & Comfort 9/10
Safety 5/10
Accessibility 6/10

Fish You Can Catch at Ladram Bay

🐟 Pollack 8/10
🎯 Tip: Work soft plastics or metals along the ledges at dawn/dusk on a flooding tide; long casts parallel to weed lines. Summer-autumn.
🐟 Ballan Wrasse 8/10
🎯 Tip: Float fish crab or prawn tight to kelp-covered rock edges on the flood. Summer into early autumn; clear water, light swell best.
🐟 Bass 7/10
🎯 Tip: Plugs or weedless soft plastics through white water around gullies on a rising tide, after a blow. Evening into dark; autumn is prime.
🐟 Mackerel 7/10
🎯 Tip: Summer shoals within range from the headlands; small metals or feathers. Best at first/last light over flooding tide.
🐟 Pouting 6/10
🎯 Tip: After dark, small fish-baits or rag on 1/0-2 hooks into rough ground; short casts over the flood. Year-round, best autumn-winter.
🐟 Corkwing Wrasse 6/10
🎯 Tip: Small hooks and ragworm or prawn under a float tight to boulders/weed. Short casts on the flood in settled summer seas.
🐟 Conger Eel 6/10
🎯 Tip: Night sessions with big fish/squid baits on strong gear; drop into gullies at slack to first of the flood. Keep rigs simple to beat snags.
🐟 Garfish 6/10
🎯 Tip: Float a sliver of mackerel or rag 4-6 ft deep over clean patches; summer, bright days, flooding tide. Keep traces fine.
🐟 Lesser Spotted Dogfish 5/10
🎯 Tip: Fish/squid baits on a pulley or long snood to reduce snags; cast to sand patches from the beach on the ebb or first of the flood. Best at night.
🐟 Scad (Horse Mackerel) 5/10
🎯 Tip: Summer-autumn nights; small sabikis or single size 6-8 tipped with fish, worked mid-water under a headlamp glow on the flood.

Ladram Bay Fishing

Summary

Ladram Bay, East Devon sits between Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast, famous for its striking red sandstone stacks and mixed ground. For shore anglers it offers a blend of clean sand tongues and rough, kelpy gullies — great for summer wrasse and pollack, with bass, mackerel and night-time conger also on the cards. It’s a scenic, productive mark when you match the tide and respect the snags.

Location and Access

Getting there is straightforward via the Ladram Bay Holiday Park above the beach, or on foot via the South West Coast Path. The final approach is steep, and the fishing spots are a mix of shingle and rock ledges.

Seasons

A mixed-ground venue that fishes through the year, with a strong summer profile and winter scratch potential on calmer nights.

Methods

Match your approach to the patchwork seabed: fish the clean tongues from the shingle, and the rougher margins or ledges for wrasse, pollack and conger.

Tides and Conditions

Ladram Bay is at its best on a flooding tide into dusk with a modest sea running, but different species prefer different states.

Safety

The bay’s soft cliffs, slippery ledges and fast-flooding tide around the stacks demand care. Plan where you’ll stand and how you’ll retreat.

Facilities

Most amenities sit within Ladram Bay Holiday Park above the beach, with more options in Sidmouth and Exmouth.

Tips

Treat it like two venues: clean tongues from the centre shingle, and classic rough-ground work near the stacks and headlands.

Regulations

Recreational sea angling is generally permitted at Ladram Bay, but you must follow local bylaws and any site rules set by the holiday park. Always check current rules before you go.