Fishing in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Pembrokeshire Coast is unlike most UK national parks: it exists primarily because of its coastline, and the fishing follows that logic.

The park wraps around 186 miles of coast in southwest Wales, taking in sea cliffs, estuaries, tidal inlets, and the lower reaches of several rivers that drain into Carmarthen Bay and St George's Channel.

Nowhere inside the park sits more than ten miles from the sea, which shapes what you fish and how you reach it. The sea is the dominant water here.

Mackerel are the most accessible quarry, with charter boats running out of Tenby Harbour — and from Castle Beach depending on the tide — into the channel between the shore and Caldey Island.

Bass lure fishing along the coast path is well established, with saltwater marks accessible on foot from multiple points around the peninsula.

Tenby-based operators have been running trips for over 25 years; others work out of Milford Haven with pick-up points around the estuary.

The Daugleddau estuary, where the Eastern Cleddau and Western Cleddau converge before reaching Milford Haven, gives the park its most significant inland tidal water.

The Afon Teifi, which forms part of the park's northern boundary near Nevern Bridge, holds game fish — sea trout and salmon run it — and is one of the named rivers associated with game fishing in the area alongside the Cleddau rivers.

The Afon Nyfer flows through Newport and down to Poppit Sands, where the river mouth meets the sea and both river and surf fishing are possible. Still-water coarse fishing is available at several private fisheries within the park.

Llys-y-Frân reservoir, a country park site, operates bank fishing on a permit basis. Other small lakes and spring-fed woodland fisheries operate across the area, some with camping on site.

For freshwater fishing anywhere in Wales, you need a rod licence issued through GOV. UK — the Environment Agency handles sales. That licence covers salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt, and eel.

Sea fishing from the shore or a boat requires no rod licence under current Welsh rules, though charter operators have their own booking arrangements.

The park's split geography — four separate sections, coastline dominant — means access varies considerably by mark. Some coastal fishing requires walking sections of the Coast Path; river access depends on riparian ownership and club permits.

Check both before you go.