Make the most of Autumn fishing

Over the past couple of weeks many anglers have become consumed with Cod fever. It is understandable, given that the Codling are around in decent numbers and we have had some good conditions that suit them. However don’t forget the this month is one of the best in the fishing calendar, which means you could be missing out on some great fishing. October and November are normally when I catch most of my Bass from the shore on lures. You can get them on bait, but with the right technique, you will catch a lot more on lures. 

Bream and even Trigger fish are still around; this is when you are in with the chance of getting a large Bream. I alway like to increase the size of my baits for Bream in the Autumn. I use a whole small squid (party or Jalapeno squid), they are normally 4-5cm long and fit nicely on to a size 2/0 hook. I can imagine some of you squirming at the thought of using such large hooks and baits for Bream, but at this time of year it really does work. Make sure you use some bait elastic to keep the bait on the hook. I normally only use a one hook paternoster trace, with the hook length coming short of the bottom of the main rig body by 20cm. This puts the bait above the sea bed, allowing it to waft enticingly in front of the Bream. One test that I ran this year was to see if Bream liked beads, as was claimed in one of the fishing magazines. The simple answer that I found was that they don’t like beads of any colour on the hook length. For every Bream I caught on a trace with beads on, I caught 10 without beads. My motto as always is keep it simple.

There are still plenty of summer species around, especially Garfish. If sea conditions are relativly calm and clear, then some great sport can be had with them on light float tackle. A lot of people give up fishing for Mackerel now, but they are still about, just not in the huge numbers that you get in the summer.

Sea Conditions:

Water temperature 15.1 °c.

Chesil Beach: Small chop with 1m waves the water is lightly coloured water

Portland: Small swell with 1m waves and almost clear water

Portland Harbour: wavelets with clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with slightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: Get out there and try for a late Bream, or a Trigger fish before they head away for the winter. There are some Plaice showing down towards the bird sanctuary to the right of the Chesil visitors centre. I don’t think I really need to mention Codling, as everyone seems to have been down at the weekend chasing them. The Dogfish have returned especially towards Abbotsbury and West Bexington. Expect to see plenty of Whiting after dark.

Portland: The Wrasse fishing is now coming into its peak, with the fish in prime condition and looking to feed up for winter. The next few weeks are when you will have the best chance of a big Wrasse. Most of the larger wrasse fall to crab baits fished hard on the bottom. Rotten Bottoms are essential if you have any chance of getting them back. Hard back Velvet swimming crabs and Hermit work really well for the big Wrasse.

I hope to see some more Pollock around the Bill, especially on lures.

 Portland Harbour: The harbour is fishing very well at the moment for Bass and Flounder. I have had several reports of good numbers of Bass up to 5lb from all along the shore. 

Weymouth Bay: Both the Stone and Pleasure pier will offer reasonable shelter and the chance of picking up a variety of species.

Preston is where I am headed today for a change. I am hoping to see if I can get a Bass from there.

Guiding: I still have a few slots left between now and November, so if you are interested in lure or bait fishing over the next two most productive months of the year then drop me an email to [email protected]