Field guide
What do you want to learn?
A pathway, not a wall of text. Short lessons. Written so a first-timer is never made to feel stupid — and an advanced angler can skip to the useful bit.
Species
UK shore species
What they look like, when they show, and what to use.
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Bait
Bait guide
Worms, crab, fish baits and how to present them.
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Rigs
Rigs in plain language
Flappers, pulley, Pennel — when to use each one.
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Identify
Identify a fish
Photograph or tick features. You confirm before it is a catch.
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Coach
Fishing Coach
Why this plan, size limits, and — with Premium — your history.
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Lessons
Short lessons
Beginner to advanced. Kit, tides, rigs, and how to fish a session.
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Pathway
Where are you on the shore?
Level 1 · Start here
Beginner
Start here. Kit, tides, a first rig, a first session, and how not to hurt anyone — including the fish. Then the next level. 29 lessons.
01How sea fishing worksThe sea is not a pond. Fish use tide, light and ground. You put a bait or a lure where they already want to be.Beginner4 min 02Reading a beachSand is not empty. Gutters, bars, holes and the dump line are where food and fish collect.Beginner5 min 03Understanding tidesTide is the clock. Height, speed and the hour either side of high or low matter more than the brand of your reel.Beginner5 min 04Finding guttersA gutter is a trough between the shore and a sandbar, or between two bars. Food washes into it. Fish patrol it.Beginner3 min 05Choosing a rodMatch the rod to the mark, not to a catalogue ‘max casting’ number.Beginner4 min 06Choosing a reelFixed spool is kinder to learn on. A multiplier casts further once you can stop a bird’s nest.Beginner3 min 07Main lineMono is forgiving. Braid is thin and sensitive. Both need a leader when you are throwing a lead.Beginner3 min 08Shock leaderA heavier length between the lead and the mainline so a 5 oz grip lead does not snap 18 lb on the punch.Beginner3 min 09HooksMatch hook size to bait and mouth, not to optimism. A size 4 on a dab bait outfishes a 6/0 ‘just in case’.Beginner3 min 10Sinkers and leadsThe lead holds the bait where you put it, or it does not. Shape is not decoration.Beginner3 min 11Swivels and bitsA swivel stops line twist and gives you somewhere honest to join bits of a rig.Beginner2 min 12Knots worth knowingFour knots cover almost all UK shore fishing. Tie them until you can do them with cold hands and a headtorch.Beginner4 min 13Bait that actually gets usedWorm, crab, fish and squid cover most UK shore sessions. Fresh and well presented beats exotic.Beginner4 min 14Rigs, in plain languageA rig is just a way of holding bait in the right place. Start with one, then add. Difficulty is tying and fishing — not a promise of more fish.Beginner8 min 15Casting without hurting anyoneA clean, safe cast that lands in the gutter beats a hero punch that dumps the bait at twenty yards.Beginner4 min 16Beach fishingMost UK shore anglers start on sand or shingle. The fish are in the features, at the right tide, on a bait that stays on.Beginner4 min 17Pier fishingDepth at your feet, a crowd at your elbow, and fish that hug the structure.Beginner3 min 18Night fishingMany UK shore fish feed after dark. You need light, warmth, and a way to not walk into the sea.Beginner3 min 19Handling fishWet hands, support the body, mind the spines. A photograph is not worth a broken fish.Beginner3 min 20Catch and releaseIf you are not going to eat it, put it back as if you meant it. Some species should not be kept at all.Beginner3 min 21Fishing safelyThe sea is the actual hazard. Kit is secondary. Tell someone, watch the water, leave a margin.Beginner4 min 22Whiting from the shoreThe winter night-shift. Small baits, a flapper, and a beach or pier after dark.Beginner3 min 23Mackerel from the shoreWhen they are in, feathers. When they are not, no amount of wishing will put them under the pier.Beginner3 min 24What bait should a beginner buy?One bag of worm beats six mystery packets. Match the mark, not the tackle-shop counter.Beginner3 min 25Fresh vs frozen baitFresh worm and peeler usually outfish frozen. Frozen squid and mackerel are normal and catch plenty of fish.Beginner3 min 26Bait elastic and preparing wormA few wraps so the bait survives the punch. The hook point still has to prick.Beginner3 min 27Your first shore sessionPick one mark type, one bait, one rig, a tide window from a real table, and stay long enough for the water to move.Beginner5 min 28Choosing a fishing markBeach, pier, harbour, rocks, estuary, river mouth. Match the mark to the fish, the tide, and whether you can leave when you need to.Beginner4 min 29What to take on a first tripA rod that matches the mark, a reel that is full, a leader, a lead, a rig you can tie, bait in a cool bag, light, and a way home.Beginner4 min
Level 2 · Build on that
Intermediate
Marks other than a simple beach, matching bait to the rig, and what to change when the first plan is quiet. Then the next level. 6 lessons.
01Rock fishingKelp, holes and a short, strong rig. You extract fish; you do not stroll them in.Intermediate4 min 02Bass from the shoreSurf, estuary mouths, rocky headlands. A crab, a rag, a sandeel or a lure — and the tide doing something.Intermediate4 min 03Harbour and wall fishingDepth at your feet, structure, and fish that hug the wall. A drop often beats a hero cast into empty water.Intermediate4 min 04Estuary and creek fishingTide is the whole game. Channels, mud, a flood that switches the place on, and fish that use the push of water.Intermediate4 min 05Matching bait to the rigA crab on a flapper snood and a tiny worm on a pulley Pennel are both the wrong tool. Match bulk, hooks and how far you need to throw.Intermediate4 min 06When the first plan failsChange one thing. Bait, range or rig — not all three, and not your entire personality.Intermediate4 min
Level 3 · Further on
Advanced
Long-range presentation, rough ground, reading a session as it unfolds, and using your own history without lying to yourself. 5 lessons.
01Long-range presentationDistance only matters if the feature is out there and the bait arrives in one piece. A clip is a tool, not a personality.Advanced5 min 02Rough-ground tacticsYou extract fish. You expect to lose leads. A rotten-bottom is cheaper than braid in the kelp.Advanced5 min 03Adapting when conditions changeColour, wind and tide height change the same mark in an afternoon. Change the presentation to match, or leave.Advanced4 min 04Building a session strategyA target, a tide window, a bait, a rig, a fallback, and a time you will leave. That is a plan. A bucket of optimism is not.Advanced5 min 05Using your catch historyA diary is a slow instrument. One fish is not a pattern. Premium can show you what you actually did — it cannot make the sea obey it.Advanced4 min
Reel Fishing
Reel Fishing on YouTube
Fishing sessions, tutorials, tips and videos from Reel Fishing.