Thank goodness that Chesil is not the only place to fish

Let’s be honest it has been a pretty miserable weekend around the coast. Chesil was unfishable for most of it, with the exception of a few hours yesterday. My mate Paul Black decided that he was going to go out and see if he could repeat his double figure Cod that he had caught in similar conditions on Friday.

I decided that on both days it was just a bit too uncomfortable to fish, so myself and cameraman Gavin decided we would go and try and start the first of our catch and cook videos. We opted to try for some Bass in the harbour, but as I suspected the tides were too small for any great success in the harbour. At least we tried and had an enjoyable session out of the worst of the wind.

Paul Osborne managed to take advantage of slightly better conditions at Seaton. Paul landed his first Bass measuring 47cm in a lively surf. It is moments like this that make us just want to keep on fishing when the going is tough.

Like myself a lot of anglers opted to hit the rivers this weekend. It seems that Pike and Perch were the main target species. I have become almost obsessed with lure fishing for all manner of species, and as the sea lure fishing drops off the fresh water really starts to come into it’s own. I managed a dozen Pike up to 11lb, but Craig Allington had this 20lb beauty from the Avon on lures. 

This is his 3rd large double in only a few weeks. If you want to see a few more of Craig’s Pike have a look at his Facebook page River Pike Diary  I am going to be doing a lot more predator fishing over the coming months. I want to add to my fly fishing species tally this year by targeting Pike, Perch and other freshwater species. I also have a desire to learn fly tying. If anyone in the Weymouth and Portland area would like to teach me then I would greatly appreciate that. Please drop me an email if you can help out at  [email protected]

The website is going from strength to strength and I am delighted to announce not one but two new writers this week. David West Beale has written a brilliant article on fly fishing for Perch which will be out on Wednesday. Tomorrow will see the debut article from Paul “Bassman” Gordon. Paul will be joining the writing and guiding team. He will be covering the Plymouth area, which has a great variety of species and marks, including some of the best lure fishing in the country.

A quick reminder for anyone looking for a Christmas present this year, I can offer gift certificates for guiding sessions for next year. drop me an email if you want some more details to [email protected]

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 12°c

Chesil Beach: Rough with coloured water and at times it will be unfishable

Portland: A large swell with coloured water

Portland Harbour: Wavelets and lightly coloured water

Weymouth Bay: Small surf with lightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: It really is a case of looking for a window in the wind and getting on the beach, If the conditions allow it the fishing should be good. The few anglers that did manage to get out over the past 5 days have had some larger than average Cod and a number of Conger, as well as the usual Whiting, Pout and Dogfish.

If you do decide to go, don’t go alone and keep a good safe distance away from the waters edge. Know your capabilities. If you can only cast 60 or 70yds don’t bother trying to fish Chesil in these conditions. You will just end up losing lots of tackle.

Portland: `With the continual wind we have had the swell has come all the way around this island. This has coloured up the water making Wrasse and Pollock fishing almost impossible. However it is perfect conditions for Bull Huss, Conger, Bass and maybe even Cod.

Portland Harbour: As I mentioned earlier, I tried Portland Harbour over the weekend. However the tides were very small and this never bodes well for Bass. As the tide increases throughout the week the harbour will produce Bass and Flounder again.

Weymouth Bay: Weymouth harbour was the venue for the Weymouth LRF Christmas meeting on Saturday. A good number of anglers turned up, some like Stephen Collet traveled a long way to join the hunt for a lot of different species. All sorts were caught during the comp including Bass, Wrasse, Mackerel, Pollock, loads of different mini species and lots of sizeable Whiting. This just goes to prove you can go to your local harbour in horrible conditions and have a great days sport.

Guiding: I have now moved into my winter guiding. This can be a great time to fish with lots of different species around. We are still very much in the best part of the Bass season, especially with lures. I will also be offering Wrasse fishing both on Lures and with bait to target the Big Wrasse that we will start to see soon.

Cod sessions will be starting from the 1st of November, as will general bait fishing sessions. Why not think about a short lesson to improve your casting and fishing skills.

If you don’t want to come to Chesil or Portland then how about choosing one of the other Fishing Tails Guides. Leo covers shore guiding in the Poole and Purbeck area and Anth Constable will be covering the North East. I also hope to add a guide in the Plymouth area very soon. If you want more details then drop me an email to [email protected]