Not easily triggered.

Loads of anglers have been a great help to me over the years. I always try and help others when I can as it's always good to give something back to the community. It's also nice when someone tells me that they enjoy reading my fishing related ramblings and if it's helped them get more out of their own fishing then that's even more satisfying. Welsh angler Ben Price is an acomplished match angler and specimen hunter who turned his attention to species hunting a few years ago. Finding this blog and getting in touch with me, he used the information found here and some advise I gave him to make the most of several trip up to Scotland to add to his Angling Trust Species Hunt tally, winning it two years in a row. 

We've kept in touch over the last few years and he recently invited me down to Pembrokshire in Wales to have a go for a couple of species that I've never caught before in the UK. The primary target was a grey triggerfish, but arriving in the evening we headed out to a local beach where we were hoping to catch a sand sole.

To save me taking loads of tackle with me Ben very kindly loaned me some of his.

As the tide flooded, we retreated back up the exposed sand, but things were very slow to begin with. As it got dark, our rod tips eventually registered some interest in our ragworm and mackerel strip baits. Winding in, I felt a little bit of weight and a double shot appeared in the wash. It was a small turbot and a sole, but which species?

Spot the turbot. My first of 2026.

The first sole of the night wouldn't be the last, but sadly they were all Dover sole. Also my first of 2026.

Between us, we had about half a dozen small Dover sole, all in a fairly short period of time. After that, we began to catch a few juvenile bass and strap conger eel. The bass were not a surprise, but I was quite shocked to catch so many conger eels from such a clean sandy beach!

My first bass of the year too. We caught a few!

We caught loads of these little conger eels. They were a bit of a pain to be honest, making a mess of our rigs, but they were another addition to my 2026 tally, so I was happy to tick off yet another species!

After a while, the action dried up and it was pretty late, so we headed back to Ben's house for something to eat before headed off to bed. The following day, we visited another sandy beach in the morning, hoping again to catch a sand sole, but after a coupe of hours, all we'd caught were a few tiny bass, so we decided to move to a totally different venue. Heading to the mouth of Milford Marina, we spent an hour or so targeting mini species on ultra light tackle. In amongst a few species of wrasse, ballan, corkwing and goldsinny, I caught a few tompot blenny and a solitary pouting.

I love catching tompot blenny and this one was my first of the year.

Pouting I'm not so fond of, but again it was my first of the year, so I was pleased to catch this one!

Next, we headed to a mark further up the estuary to spend a few hours in the evening targeting gilthead seabream. After a bit of a hike, we ended up on a small rocky shell covered outcrop and the target species were most obliging. We were fishing with relatively heavy tackle as there was the chance of large specimens, but most of the fish were quite small. It was still a lot of fun and the action was pretty consistent too. We had several dozen fish between the two of us, with Ben managing to catch a couple of larger fish.

You've probably guessed? My first gilthead seabream of the year!

After catching a few on ledgered ragworm, I switched to loading up my hook with fresh whelk. The gilthead loved it!

As did this small ballan wrasse!

Ben with one of the bigger gilthead seabream he caught.

With a very early start the following day, we had a fairly early night and at 4:00 our alarms went off. Meeting up with Ben's dad near Mumbles Pier at 6:00, we got our small inflatable boat set up and got under way. Mumbles Pier is a well known grey triggerfish spot, but has been closed to the public for a couple of years due to structural safety concerns, and this means its two fishing platforms are inaccessible.

Ben borrowed this small inflatable boat and an electric engine from his uncle. Perfect for getting out to the structure under the pier.

We had high expectations, but sadly it wasn't to be. Shortly after we got out to the legs of the pier a spear fisherman arrived, and after going down a couple of times, popped up and told us there were no grey triggerfish present, only juvenile bass and mullet. We stuck it out for a few hours, trying different spot around the base of the pier, but in the end we had to accept that you can't catch what isn't there, and headed back to the slipway.

My second visit to Mumbles Pier in a few years produced the same result sadly. No grey triggerfish.

After returning the boat to Ben's dad, we headed to Rhosilli, where I spent and hour or so wandering around the meadows on the headland looking for a clouded yellow butterfly while Ben did some work on his laptop and chilled out. I'm sure I did see one, but it was pretty hot and it whizzed past at a rapid pace, so I couldn't get a good look at it let alone a photo.

In the evening, we drove north to a deep water rock mark for another go at catching a grey triggerfish. When we arrived, we had a quick stroll along the coastal path to a spot where a couple of clouded yellow butterfly had been spotted the previous day. After a while, I eventually spotted one fluttering past and much to my delight it landed on a flower to feed allowing me to sneak up on it and get a photo.

The clouded yellow was the first UK butterfly species I'd seen for the first time in Wales!

Heading back to the car park, and then west along the clifftop coastal path, Ben and I soon arrived on a comfortable flat platform, set up our rods and began fishing. Sadly, not much was biting further out in the deeper water. Ben had a couple of nibbles, but didn't connect with the culprits. Slightly frustrated with the way the day had gone, and determined not to end the day fishless, I dropped down the side into a weed lined gully and pulled out a ballan wrasse.

Ben holding his rod, waiting paitently for a bite.

A welcome ballan wrasse. Not my first of the year, but it was first and last fish of the day! We called it a day shortly afterwards.

So, I had a great time fishing with Ben, and despite putting an incredible amount of effort into organising the fishing during my trip, I sadly didn't catch a sand sole or a grey triggerfish. I did add a few species to my 2026 tally however and it was great fishing with Ben in a beautiful part of the country. A couple of days ago, Ben caught his first ever a sand sole, so I may have to head down there again to try for one myself. I'll be meeting up with Ben down in Cornwall at the start of September for another go at grey triggerfish. We've got spaces booked on a charter boat out of Newquay that targets them. I'll also be trying for a few other additions to my UK saltwater tally when I'm down there.

Tight lines, Scott.