I like to class myself as an all round angler, with a leaning towards lure fishing. I am sure that there are many more out there like me, that are looking forward to the opening day of the river season on Thursday. I can’t wait to get out with my lure and fly rod in search of River Pike, Perch and Chubb. However there are a few days and fishing sessions I can get in before then and with some pretty good fishing from the shore at the moment, I have a lot to choose from.

I might do what my friend Nathan Edgell did and have a great few hours Wrasse fishing on lures. I know Nathan, who is well known as a top Pike angler, can’t wait for Thursday, but it didn’t stop him having another great session using LRF techniques, to target the Wrasse.

Nathan Wrasse

Ben Stockley continues his good run of catching some nice fish, with a decent Bass and this lovely Smoothound from the Ferrybridge end of Chesil. I have yet to get out and have a go for Smoothound this year, so that is high on my list for this week.

Ben S Smoothhound

Just to give you a taster of what I will be targeting on Thursday, Fishing Tails contributor Paul Monaghan went and fished a tiny backwater and found his fly was engulfed by this cracking Pike.

Paul Pike on fly

This brings me on to an idea that I have been thinking about for a few weeks. As you may have noticed, we are now featuring a much larger number of fresh water articles, than we have in the past. I know when I started this site 4 years ago, it was primarily a sea fishing website. As my obsession with catching any species via lure of fly has increased, so have the number of articles on the subject. What I want to do is give you a chance to decide the future format of the site. I have created a simple Poll, that will allow us to know which direction, you would like us to go. Please participate in it and add your own ideas, if you think they will help.

Chesil Beach: 1.5m swell and chop with lightly coloured water

Portland: Slight swell with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: I have just had a look down on Chesil and I can see a bit of a swell and some reasonable sized waves. A few are exceeding 2m. These are the summer conditions I look out for when I want to target Bass on Chesil. The fish move in very close to pick up the food being disturbed by the surf. It is not too rough that you can’t fish it or hold bottom but it is certainly rough enough to get the Bass feeding. You need to fish in close. If you are casting 20yds you are too far out. Use a Mackerel head or a whole squid. Use a light rod if you have one and hold it if you can. The hits are ferocious, so never wander far from your rod. These are exactly the conditions and tactics used by our own photographer Gavin, last year, when he landed this 11lb stunner.

Bass Gavin

So what else can we expect from Chesil this week? The water will be a bit stirred up for a couple of days. With luck that should break up the remaining May Water, leaving us with clear water. The Mackerel will then hopefully come back. If it does clear up then we have a good chance of seeing some Gurnard and maybe the early Bream. Once the swell leaves us, the Smoothound will move in again. I have noticed that they don’t like a lot of swell.

Portland: Wrasse are another fish that don’t really like the swell, but you should be able to find more sheltered water around the East side of the island. Pollock fishing wont be great until the water clears, but Bull Huss are not put off by swell or colour in the water. They are normally targeted at night, with large fish baits.

Portland Harbour: With the tides picking up towards the weekend, the harbour should produce some Bass, Pollock and Wrasse. large shoals of Mullet can be found around the Marina and in the bay at Sandsfoot yacht club.

Weymouth Bay: If you want to sit out of the fresh wind and enjoy a couple of hours of fishing, then the piers offer a good venue. Wrasse, Pollock, Mackerel and Garfish can all be had during the day. Once darkness falls you will get even more Pollock and Pout.

Preston Beach should produce Dabs and the odd Ray, especially at night. This is normally a good mark for Gurnard this month and there is always a chance of a Red Mullet.

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