Hounds Abound

My prediction that there would be plenty of Smoothounds caught over the weekend was spot on. I have had reports of loads of hounds from Chesil and other beaches all along the South. I even had an email from an angler that was fishing Sandbanks for Plaice and almost lost his rod when I smoothhound took his Ragworm bait.

Robert Raybould decided to have a session on Friday afternoon. Armed with a load of live Peeler Crabs, he headed towards Abbotsbury. It didn’t take him long to get amongst the fish. It seemed that each one he caught was bigger than the last.

Not content with just catching hard fighting smoothies, he then went on to catch a Plaice that topped 4lb. He got it on a whole Peeler crab, that was meant for a hound. It goes to show that big baits catch big fish.

Further to the West the Hounds turned up as well. 11 year old Ryan Male had a session with his Dad Ben. Both managed several nice Smoothounds and Ryan also managed a Thornback on his last cast. I would say from the smile on Ryan’s face that he really enjoyed his fishing session. It makes me want to start fish of the month competition again, as this one would be a worthy contender.

I have been trying to finish a number of videos that we have been working on over the past few months. Yesterday myself and Gavin, who will be co-presenting in our Catch & Cook series managed to get out with Luke Pettis on Snapper. Our target species were Pollock and Cod. Gavin caught the only Cod of the day, but we had plenty of Pollock. I managed this one of around 7lb.

However Gavin was not going to be beaten by me and on the same drift, he managed this lovely double figure Pollock. That gave us lots of fillets to use for the cooking part of the video.

It has been just over four years since I started Fishing Tails of as a small blog. Back then the idea was to give people traveling from outside the area an idea as to whether it was worth coming down for. Since then the site has grown from strength to strength and we want it to keep growing. We would love to see you contribute more. We love to get pictures of your catches and hear about your sessions, good or bad. It all helps build up the picture. I often read fishing blogs and see them come and go. Mostly because the writers of the blogs realise how much work is involved in putting out content and then become disheartened when only a few people read it. I am also an avid viewer of YouTube fishing videos. Unfortunately many of them are terrible, with the whole content shot from a head mounted Gopro. However there are lots of good ones, that also don’t get many views.

I want to help those writers and video makers, by helping to promote their skills through this website and my YouTube Channel. Unlike most fishing sites or blogs, we don’t jealously guard our readers and try to make sure they don’t stray to other sites. We know the modern angler, whether a complete novice or an expert, has a thirst for knowledge. If you would like to write an article for us then please let me know. We are more than happy to include links to your own site and we want all sorts of content, whether that is shore, boat, kayak, freshwater and game fishing, in this country and abroad. even if you don’t have your own blog and just want to see your articles published then drop me an email at [email protected]

As for video content, we are looking for numerous short videos that we want to feature in our most exciting project yet. At the moment we are in the process of creating a once a month live fishing show that will be broadcast on our YouTube channel. We want to feature your short videos alongside our own. Once again this can be anything to do with fishing, including cooking your catch.

The show will be fully interactive and you will be able to ask questions live, on any of the topics we will be covering. What we would like you to do is subscribe to both the site and our YouTube channel. Especially the YouTube channel as that will show us how much interest there is in a live show. Just go over to our channel and hit subscribe Fishing Tails Youtube Channel

I know I am going on a bit today, but I have been experimenting with live streaming over Facebook this weekend. I did a couple of trial broadcasts which you can see from my Facebook Page  To be honest the quality was not great, but I think I can get round that in future. I am going to attempt another one today and on Thursday. I would like to hear where you would like to see future live streaming broadcasts from and what topics you would like me to cover.

Job opportunity: I just wwant to plug this opportunity again. Are you any good at sales? Here at Fishing Tails we are looking to recruit a sales person to sell online advertising. The position is  commission based and would suit someone that wants to work part time from home. Knowledge of fishing is essential, but if you are reading this, I expect you are half way there already. Perks include free tackle and a high rate of commision. If you would like to apply or find out more information then please send an email to [email protected]

Chesil Beach: calm with lightly coloured water

Portland: calm with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: As far as weather is concerned it looks like a cracking week ahead. This should be ideal for Mackerel, Plaice and early Gurnard fishing. It is almost perfect conditions for the the Smoothhounds. Without a doubt the best bait for the hounds is Peeler Crab. I also prefer fishing the slightly shallower water around Abbotsbury and West Bexington for them.

Portland: Another mark that will fish well in the conditions this week. Wrasse and Pollock love calm settled conditions. You can choose just about any spot on the Island to target Wrasse. If you are going for them on soft plastic lures, then look for boulder fields. This goes against common thinking, but you will have a lot more success with lures in shallow areas than in the deeper water. Bait reigns supreme in the deeper gullies.

Pollock fishing is always best at first and last light. Small white sidewinders and metal lures work best and are cheap, should you lose them.

Portland Harbour: The fishing really is picking up in the harbour. I spotted quite a few people lure fishing on a number of marks. Most I am afraid were fishing the right marks at the wrong time. It is well worth spending time on the different marks and making notes as to when it fishes best. When I fish or guide in the harbour, I am always moving from one mark to the next, as the Bass move around. You can catch fish all through the tidal range in the harbour, but they are normally only on that mark for an hour or two at the most.
Weymouth Bay: As usual the piers continue to fish well with bait. Ragworm will tempt the Wrasse and Pollock, whilst small strips of Mackerel are ideal for Mackerel, Garfish and Pollock. Preston Beach should fish reasonably well for Dads and Flounder, but there are better marks that I have mentioned above for this week.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can’t keep any Bass at the moment, we can certainly catch them. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]