Sandwich Bay
FreeClean sand and shingle ground running along the coast five miles north of Deal, backed by the dunes of the Sandwich Bay Estate and Royal St George's golf links. The snag-free bottom makes it forgiving territory for multi-hook rigs, and there's a genuinely wide species list to show for it: silver eels and lesser-spotted dogfish among the commoner catches, school bass and flounder working the margins, Dover sole picked out on smaller hooks, and smooth-hounds falling to peeler and hermit crab further out. Both thornback and undulate ray show up on the bigger baits, and cod and whiting move through in numbers over winter.
Access: Free shore access, no rod licence needed for sea fishing. Genuinely fishable at any stage of the tide thanks to clean, snag-free ground, so no need to plan a session around tide times the way you would elsewhere.
Parking: Toll road and car parking at the Sandwich Bay Estate entrance
Last updated: 11 August 2026
Species you can expect
| Species | Best season |
|---|---|
| Bass | Spring, Summer, Autumn |
| Flounder | Autumn, Winter |
| Dover sole | Summer, Autumn |
| Smooth-hound | Summer |
| Thornback ray | Summer, Autumn |
| Undulate ray | Summer, Autumn |
| Cod / codling | Winter |
| Whiting | Winter |
| Dogfish | Spring, Summer, Autumn |
Multi-hook rigs on size 1/0 hooks cover most of the general species; drop to size 4-6 hooks for sole. Ragworm, lugworm, peeler crab, mackerel or herring strip, bluey and sandeel all work depending on target. Peeler or hermit crab is the pick for smooth-hound specifically.
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