Top fishing marks in Dorset this weekend

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Where is going to be the best place to fish in Dorset this weekend? Chesil Beach will spring to mind for most people, but I am not so sure. The beach has certainly calmed down, but it still remains coloured. What seems to be missing is the Cod. Despite several spells of almost ideal conditions for the Cod, very few have been caught.It is possible that we have had a very early run of Cod this year and we wont see them in large numbers again until the spring run. That may change this weekend and I hope it does.

Even if there are no Cod around, we should see some nice Pollock. November is one of the best months for large Pollock of Chesil. You can catch them all along the beach, but they seem to be more of them down at the Portland end and towards Ferrybridge. I have often caught them whilst fishing for other species, but if you want to try and target them specifically then use long strips of Mackerel. If you use large floating beads, that will present an attractive bait that waves enticingly in the current.

If you want to keep away from the crowds on Chesil there are a number of other marks that should fish well. Poole Harbour is starting to produce a few good sized Flounder, with some very nice Bass over 6lb showing. The main bait for both those species seems to be Ragworm.

Ringstead Bay and Worbarrow Bay have both been fishing well recently. I am very tempted to have a go at one of those marks this weekend, even if it is just for a change of scenery. I have heard that they are producing some good Bass and I am keen to get a few more Bass before the water gets too cold and they disappear.   Both marks are good for those that cant cast very far. A lot of the fish are caught close to the shore. Lugworm seems to be the more favoured bait if you don’t have Peeler Crab. With the colour starting to drop out of the water, it might just be possible to tempt a Bass or two on lures. The lure season is not over yet.

Gparsons_fishing_13

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 13.4*c.

Chesil Beach:  1.5m waves with coloured water

Portland: 1.5m swell with  coloured and weedy water on the West. The East side away from the Bill is calmer with 1.5m waves.

Portland Harbour: Calm with mostly clear water

Weymouth Bay:  Calm with slightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: With an almost 2m swell, coloured water and a dropping wind, you would have to hope that Chesil is full of Cod and Bass. I know that bait is in high demand, especially my favourite Peeler crabs, but for those with good bait and the desire to take on the weather you might get lucky. There will be plenty of Dogfish and Pout around. It would be worth trying to set up a live bait rig to catch a small Pout.

 Portland: I said earlier in the week that conditions were right for Bull Huss on the Island. Demetri Loukanaris headed to a mark on the East side, that was a bit more sheltered and managed a 5lb fish. They get a lot bigger than that around Portland, especially during the winter.

Wrasse are still feeding well, but the Pollock seem to be missing.

Portland Harbour: One of the marks that did fish well over the weekend. Hopefully this will continue until the tides die down again. Bass, Flounder, Pollock and small Wrasse are the main target species.

Weymouth Bay: Preston Beach and both piers will provide sheltered sport for all. There are plenty of small Bass and Flounder from the beach and if you are after species, then the piers are still the number one mark. You really don’t know what you will catch there next.

Guiding & Lessons: Even though the Bass fishing should run all the way through to mid December and maybe even later, depending on the water temperature, I will be mainly switching to guiding for winter species. Most of my trips will be Wrasse fishing for the large fish from rough ground, , or from the beaches for Cod and Whiting.   Have a look on the guiding link at the top of the page or drop me an email for more details to [email protected]

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