Book Title: Where to Fish in Britain & Ireland

Author: John Bailey

Publisher: Silverdale Books

ISBN: 1-85605-798-4

One of the "John Bailey's Fishing Guides"  series.  This review only covers the sea fishing section, which is one third of the 416 pages.

The author, who we all know as a coarse and game angler, states that during his research he spoke to numerous sea anglers from every part of the UK.

The venues are presented in the following sections:  Lincolnshire to Essex, South-east England, Hampshire & Dorset, South-west England, Wales, North-west England, Scotland, North-east England, and Ireland.  There are occasional maps and special pages on specific guidance, such as Tope fishing, Norfolk bass, Suffolk bass, pier fishing, rock fishing, safety and so on.
There is plenty of information here, but don't expect the book to be a list of all the hotspots that others have painstakingly found it is not. But it is another tool in the traveling angler's armoury, to help narrow down the choice of fishing spots for any given venue. I also found the coarse fishing section handy for when the sea fishing is off due to the weather.

I was concerned about a few areas of the book.  The Channel Islands is only covered in one page, which I found very disappointing for such a paradise of sea fishing. Also the author very much talks up the bass fishing, in direct contrast to my experience and that of some exceedingly good bass anglers that I know. I thought the text on Ireland was reasonable, especially for the first-time traveler, but the text on Dingle & Tralee, and Cork & Kinsale seem too short for such prime areas. 

If you just fish East Anglia and have a lot of experience of venues and marks, this book is not for you.  If you are venturing further afield and need the basics of various venues without having to trawl the internet each time, then this could be for you. Published in 2003 with card covers, it has a list price £9.99. Available heavily discounted from Amazon and various sellers via the Amazon site. I bought mine from the Woodbridge bookshop, brand new for £2 !!

Aitch