This thin stretch of water in the middle of a city is home to a huge fish (Image: Dylan Bilyard)
An unassuming half-mile stretch of water has a hidden secret that draws anglers from far and wide in. Called an ‘urban Mecca’ by those who visit, the site – known as ‘the Wharf’ to locals – has become an angling hotspot for good reason.
Located just south of Cardiff city centre and nestled between thousands of flats, Cardiff’s County Hall and a steelworks site, Bute East Dock is home to 300-odd carp. However, not just anyone can fish here; you must be a member of a syndicate.
“The lakes back home are green all round. Here’s different. It’s very urban but it’s cool,” said Brad Taylor, who travelled from Swindon to fish in the Wharf. As Brad sets up his gear, the tail-end of Storm Darragh is passing.
The Wharf in Cardiff Bay, where fishermen and women flock to catch the elusive fish (Image: Dylan Bilyard)
The skies are clear now, but the high winds snatch the calls of seabirds from the air. The lake laps at its walls with a steady rhythm.
“Come here on a 30°C day and all you’ll see is fish but in the winter the carp tend to stick to the bottom and middle layers,” the 24-year-old explained.
In the winter, the carp gather in groups in the 15ft-deep pockets at the bottom of the lake for warmth, .
This means that to catch them, an angler might have to do circuits of the Wharf to spy which of these pits the fish are hiding in. But this is no problem for Brad.
Despite it being only his second time here, he’s determined to make a catch: “It’s different as a sport but I love it. People don’t know much about it unless they do it.”
Damage from Storm Darragh close to the Wharf (Image: Dylan Bilyard)
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Angler Brad Taylor, from Swindon, at the Wharf in Cardiff Bay (Image: Dylan Bilyard)
But there’s one fish that’s a celebrity among the anglers at the Wharf. “The Queen of the Wharf”, Ebenhaezer, is part of the “A-Team” – an exclusive club of named fish that stand out due to their unique scale patterns or massive size, making them highly prized catches. The fish shares its name with a Dutch barge once docked at East Dock, Eben Haezer, linked to Brains Brewery before it disappeared beneath the winter fog 10 years prior.
Despite many attempts, Ebenhaezer remains an elusive catch for many, embodying the hard-to-hook nature of carp, famously noted in the 1496 text, the Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle: “He is an evil fish to take. For he is so strongly armoured in the mouth that no light tackle may hold him.”
Not just any carp, Ebenhaezer is a Royal catch tipping the scales at over 47lbs — a weight comparable to a cluster of five bowling balls or even a seven-year-old kid. Among the few to have outwitted this aquatic monarch is Nathan Brana, once secretary and now water keeper of the Wharf Fishery syndicate, ensuring rules and local bylaws are observed on the lake.
Nathan, a seasoned angler, picked up his rod at age seven and never looked back, his passion taking him from the streams and ponds of coastal Barry to the unpredictable seas.
“In my early 20s I got involved in carp fishing and I caught the bug,” revealed the now 47-year-old. “Fishing is where I can apply that natural hunter’s instinct and experience a bit of me time away from the rat race.”
Nathan began his fishing journey at the Wharf a decade ago, and it wasn’t long before he had set his sights on its queen.
The Eben Haezer at night before she sunk (Image: Nathan Brana)
At the time, his personal best was an impressive 43lbs, so Ebenhaezer was the only fish in the Wharf that could have topped it. “She was obviously a target of mine for that reason but also from the time she was stocked for the first couple of years every time she was caught I seemed to be on the lake fishing myself.”
This made it personal. “She started to become my nemesis,” admitted Nathan, who confessed that the idea of catching Ebenhaezer was “a passion bordering on obsession”.
He added: “I did have a spell where I fished in certain areas of the lake at certain times of the year using a certain colour bait as carp often have patterns and will get caught in a certain area at a certain time.”
However, when Nathan finally defeated the beast, beneath billowing smoke stacks and an industrial crane, it was “an absolute fluke”.
“I jumped into a swim next to my usual fishing partner as he had seen fish near him. I cast out a single pink, 12mm, pop-up boilie as my bait and that was that.”
Ebenhaezer weighed in at 45.06lbs when Nathan hauled her from the depths, which remains his personal best.
Nathan Brana studying Ebenhaezer (Image: Nathan Brana)
Nathan has two photos with Ebenhaezer, the largest carp at the Wharf. One shows him looking proudly into the camera, while in the other he holds Ebenhaezer like a heavy book, studying the patterns on her scales as if searching for an unreadable message.
Perhaps he’s looking into her eyes for some sign of recognition, but her blank stare remains enigmatic and teasing. However, the contest is far from over.
“Eben is still Queen of the Wharf and currently its biggest carp,” Nathan said.
Once caught, anglers follow a code to protect the fish, using cradles or mats to prevent injury and applying beeswax or antiseptic to any wounds caused by the hook or naturally occurring damage.
“One of the best reasons for going carp fishing is being a part of a lake and watching the carp grow and mature – it’s like they are your own children. They make our dreams come true and most carp anglers treat them with the respect they deserve,” Nathan added.
So, the unconquered queen continues to rule her aquatic kingdom, her skin’s riddle yet to be deciphered. Will the answer be revealed the next time she bites, or will her mystery continue to attract hopeful anglers for years to come?
According to Nathan: “After appreciating the battle with any carp there is nothing better than watching them swim away healthy to make a fellow angler’s day or dreams come true.”