Stout Point - Llantwit Major by Adam Morgan
Stout is a popular venue along the south Wales coast, holding numbers of ray predominantly blonde ray up to over 20lb+ at certain times of the year, you do get all sorts there - small eye ray, thornback ray, spotted ray, blonde ray, cod, bass, conger bull huss, smooth hounds, dogfish, triggerfish pouting, rockling and gurnards.
Stout is not a mark for the novice angler due to the access to the mark the ground your fishing over and the actual ground your standing on, its a harsh few hours fishing but the reward can outweigh the risk! We strongly advise to go with someone who knows the mark well and don't push your personal limits.
Stout fishes over low water roughly 2 and three quarter hours either side of low, most anglers will wade around the point if the sea is calm enough as it can literally produce from the off when the tide has some pull in it. Personally I prefer to fish in darkness which ramps up the risk level a little, it's not essential and Stout has regularly turned out quality fishing during daylight hours.
Stout will produce fish all year around but most notably for the bigger ray it's during September, October and November that will see the big females come to shore.
Standard pulley rigs with a rotten bottom system are essential with hook setup of your choice, I prefer dongle rigs but whatever your preference good strong hooks are essential! 6oz-7oz leads are required to get the baits out and hold bottom. Another good method here is a 3 hook flapper rig fished from 20yds out up to as far as you can cast, you get some good fish in the rocks literally under your feet and this is a method a lot of anglers overlook. I have had hounds and rays literally 30-40 yards out on this venue in the past.
As for rods, something with a bit of power is good just to pull the fish up off the bottom as quickly as possible and the same applies to your choice of reel, something with a good retrieve rate and cranking power. Mainline from 18lb to 25lb and a 70lb minimum leader.
All fish baits produce here (mackerel, sand eel bluey, sardines, pilchards, herring, squid), ragworm is good for the 3 hook scratching rig and when available peeler crab is tops for the smooth hounds.
Access - Park at Rosedew farm, please park considerately as they often have weddings or events going on and need the space.
Its a short 10min walk up a farmers track through a field and down the the cliff, this is the danger part! You do need to climb down a small cliff, it's not the hardest climb but it's easier with 2 of you to pass your kit down to each other and using common sense and caution is absolutely essential here!!
Once at the bottom it's a walk across the boulders to your left and wait for the tide to drop enough to wade around, again the ground is very uneven with loose and slippery boulders so be very careful!
It is not essential to wade around the headland as you can wait for the tide to drop enough but I personally like to get on the mark as soon as possible, it's all about knowing your limit and staying sensible and I don't recommend heading to Stout for the first time without someone who knows the mark.