Catch report & fishing forecast for Dorset including Chesil Beach, Portland & Weymouth

With the high winds we had over night Chesil is really stirred up. At the moment it is just about fishable with care. As the day progresses the sea will calm down a lot, but the water will remain coloured. It is ideal conditions for Bass. I know of several big Bass that have been caught already this week.

Just a quick reminder that I am looking for more entries for the fish of the month competition. I know you are catching the fish, so send the pictures in for a chance to win.

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 9.9*c.

Chesil Beach: Rough with waves exceeding 4m at times. A long surf back wash that will die down this afternoon. The water is coloured.

Portland: West side is rough. The East of the Island it is fairly calm, but with a large swell.

Portland Harbour: Wavelets and clear.

Weymouth Bay: Calm with a slight tinge to the water.

Chesil Beach forecast: There is only one fish I would be targeting on Chesil Beach today and that is Bass. I would stay of the beach until this afternoon, then have a go with live Peeler Crab if I could get them, or a Mackerel head and flank on a 5/0 Pennel rig. Cast it out to the back of the surf. When conditions are rough like they are at the moment, I often go for a light approach. I use my light surf rod and hold it. This gives you direct contact for when the Bass hits the bait. It also helps prevent the line going too slack and being buried under the shingle by the surf. A word of warning though, do not get too close to the surf, you could easily get washed in.

Portland:  With coloured and churned up water, now is a great time to target Bull Huss around Portland. I am surprised more people don’t fish for them, because you can get some specimen fish from around the Island. You will risk losing a lot of terminal tackle, but if you keep it simple then tackle losses can be kept to a minimum. Use rotten bottom rigs with a large Mackerel bait. If you can find areas of brocken ground you could pick up a Ray as well.

Conditions are not good for Wrasse, but you could pick up Bass and Pollock.

Portland Harbour: With the beach being so rough Portland Harbour is a good venue to think about. Fishing on the shallow sand flats from the right of Ferrybridge often produces Bass this month. They are searching for Peeler Crabs amongst the rocks and weeds, so the best bait to use is going to be live Peeler Crab.

Weymouth Bay: Another good mark to fish if you want a bit of shelter and calmer conditions. Preston Beach could be good for a Ray or Flounders and Dabs. Stone Pier is fishing reasonably well. The Weymouth Angling Society juniors had a good evening on Monday with plenty of fish and different species caught.

Guiding & Lessons: If you are looking for Bass guiding in Dorset or any other guiding, then I am opening up the diary again for the next 6 months. Now that they fish have started to show, I should have some good sessions.  Have a look on the guiding link at the top of the page or drop me an email for more details to [email protected]