This section is designed for those visitors to Gower who do not bring their bait with them. Although it is possible to gather a variety of fresh baits from many locations on Gower I have only noted those areas that have easy access or are near to major centres of holiday activities.

First of all it’s worth mentioning that for those who are unable to collect their own bait fresh, live bait can be bought. Tackle shops in Swansea itself, at the Marina complex and on the sea front at Mumbles will either sell live lug and ragworm or furnish you with a telephone number to contact a bait digger. But be warned, the price of such fresh bait is high in this area. Swansea Market has a variety of wet fish shops to buy herring, mackerel or squid as does Mumbles (though at Mumbles squid is not a common buy). Cockles can also be bought in Swansea Market or often from a mobile “Penclawdd Cockles” van offering its wares in the crowded car parks of Gower’s beaches. Don’t scoff at the humble cockle! On its own it’s taken many a good fish - added to a hook with lug or rag it often improves matters.If you have the ability to collect your own live baits then you can dig for lugworm on the Swansea Bay foreshore in front of the Civic Centre eastwards to the front of the Leisure Centre. Travelling west you can dig at West Cross and at Oystermouth. In about an hour these locations will provide you with enough bait for a couple of fishing trips. Smaller quantities, enough for one excursion, can sometimes be dug at Oxwich bay roughly half way between the high and low water marks. Confine your efforts to the western side of the beach.

Ragworm come in three local varieties. White rag or white cats as they are sometimes known, are never dug in large numbers but you should gather a dozen or so whilst collecting lugworm. The mud variety of ragworm are far more common but collecting these requires a visit to the Loughour Estuary on the northern coastline of Gower and venturing onto these mudflats can be hazardous. See the section on North Gower at the end and pay heed to the warnings issued there!Much rarer are king ragworm but if you’re lucky you might well collect a few under the tidal stones of Bracelet and Limeslade Bays. If you’re fishing here it’s always worth a look.Soft and peeler crabs can be plentiful. At low water search the small stones and rocks from the long slipway at Nab Rock, Mumbles right out to Mumbles Island itself. If you’re on the Island remember to keep an eye on the tide and avoid becoming isolated. If you are in the area of Pennard you’ll find crabs aplenty at Hunt’s Bay. Travelling west you can gather your softies along Oxwich Head, Port Eynon point and of course the causeway that joins Worm’s Head to the peninsula. Anywhere there are rocks and weed there will be crabs but the above locations are the best and most productive as well as being the easiest to reach

Gather your own live cockles? Well you can pick those up when you dig your lugworm at West Cross. I always take a couple of dozen with me. A word of caution though. Never be tempted to eat the cockles you gather that lie on top of the sand. These are the unhealthy shellfish. Those fit for human consumption lie buried a few inches below the sand. Use West Cross cockles to feed the fish and not yourselves!