The Bristol Channel is renowned for its fast-flowing coloured water, sometimes rendering it a daunting prospect for many anglers wishing to give it a try. However, I believe that within this natural phenomenon lies the secret of the success of many of its inhabitant species.
The colour in the water is simply sand in suspension; when this falls out, it lays on the bottom creating vast sand bank areas. Over time, these areas become home to many types of life form such as crustacean and fish fry which, in turn, become the very food that many of our fish species rely on to survive. The speed of the water is dictated by the tides, which will vary depending on the current stages of the moon’s cycle. One of the families of fish that flourish here, and are indeed one of our mainstay targets, are the rays.
To fish for them we need to select our tides. On big spring tides where the water can gallop along at speeds in excess of five knots,
