The largest island, St. Marys, also provides the most varied shore fishing. One thing - if you don't like rock fishing, best book yourself on a holiday somewhere else. Small clearwater beaches rarely produce, and it's the rocky coves and headlands that provide the cream of angling. Peninnis' outer and inner heads, and deep point/gap point offer fishing on to clean ground, with 120ft of water within easy casting distance - I've measured the depth when boat fishing. There are serious tide rips which can make life difficult, but 6-8oz leads with long nose wires help - make your own as you will rarely find them in the shops. Worm baits will pick up flats, doggies, codling, whiting, poor cod, pout, dragonets, various wrasse, pollack, - and thats just for starters. Float fishing sandeel or fish strip will catch mackerel, garfish, pollack with scad in the evening. Feathering will do the same and you may pick up a Spanish mackerel, which were present in numbers last year including fish well over the current British record. Fishing fish, squid and cocktail baits at these and almost any other rock mark will account for congers, rockling, big huss and decent pollack, which often take whole squid intended for other species. Fish at night to increase your chances, and fish with strong tackle. Myself and others have been spooled more than once so I now load the SL30's with a mnimum of 35lb line - and lots of it.

There are some cracking mullet resident around the islands which can respond freely to loosefed bread, however locating the shoals is hit or miss and they don't hang around for long. There is one spot that produces fish regularly - but you'll have to work it out for yourself ! The mullet run big, and have been taken on rod and line to over five pounds, and in nets to over eight pounds. Rest assured there are bigger ones still, but no-one really fishes for them.

A spot that provides easy fishing is the Quay. It can become very busy during daylight, but there is a large head of wrasse to over four pounds, plenty of small pollack, and flatties on the sand. Make a trip down in darkness and target the pollack on fly gear. You will also notice plenty of sand smelt - they are record breakers too ! This year an angler caught a 1lb 7oz triggerfish off the back of the wall, which is a first for Scilly.

A word on safety - the rock marks demand respect. Some marks are hard to reach and only accessible for some of the tide so get a tide table and use it. Don't bother if it is raining as granite becomes treacherously slippery when wet.

P.S. Blue shark have been sighted close to the rocks and it is one of the few places in Britain where it is possible to target them from the shore - we are going to try this year.