At last the fishing has started to take off

This week has seen the first of the Bream arrive on Chesil, along with loads of small Smoothound. Kevin Webb, was lucky enough to be fishing at Abbotsbury and landed both. You can guarantee if the Bream are at Abbotsbury, there will be even more down the Portland and Ferrybridge end of the beach.

The Bass returned last weekend just as I had hoped they would, so it seems that the fishing really is starting to come to life. I got out on my Kayak for the first time in over a year. I spent a lovely day on Sunday paddling around in the safety of Portland Harbour, catching a few fish. That is one area of fishing that I am going to be doing a lot more of this year.  I need to get myself a Dry Suit, so that I can venture a bit further, so if anyone can recommend one that isn’t going to break the bank then please let me know.

Another area of fishing I want to get into more this year is Fly Fishing. Not just in the rivers, but along the coast, and if practical, even from my kayak. I just picked up my new saltwater fly rod and reel, and hope to try it out this weekend. I am going to try for something a little different, so watch this space to see if I am successful.

 

 

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 11.8°c

Chesil Beach:  Small swell, with lightly coloured water.

Portland:small swell with almost clear water.

Portland Harbour: Calm with clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with lightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: It seems like the May water is clearing up a bit, with the water clarity pretty good. Ricky Pirhanas reported that he had a few Mackerel from Chesil yesterday ,despite there being quite a swell.

Expect Smoothoud on Peeler Crab. Bass should be good close in on Mackerel heads. If you are after Plaice then you need to head towards Abbotsbury and the western end of Chesil. I like to use a wishbone rig, or a long flowing single rig when targeting Plaice. Ragwork or lugworm tipped with a bit of Squid is always a favourite bait.

 

Portland: With improved water clarity the Pollock and Wrasse fishing should be really good this weekend. This is where I am headed with my fly rod and some recently made up tube flies from my Tubeology system (more on that next week). I might even pick up a Bass.

Portland Harbour: PLenty of School Bass in the harbour and they seem to be happy to take lures. Other species that are worth trying for at the moment are the Mullet and Flounder.

Weymouth Bay: If you want somewhere safe to take the kids this bank holiday weekend, then Weymuth stone and Pleasure pier offer great fishing with a simple drop down the side.

Guiding:

I am now taking bookings for plaice trips as well as some basic fishing workshops for the next month. In the workshops I teach all sorts of skills, that will give you a good grounding for your fishing adventures for the rest of the year. I am happy to do lure or bait sessions and the workshops are 2 hours long and limitied to 3 people. If you are thinking about booking a guided lure or bait session for the later on in the year, then now is the best time to do it, to grab the best tides.

This year we will be offering boat guiding sessions from your own boat, from Weymouth and Portland and shore guiding in the Poole and Purbeck area. If you want more details then drop me an email to [email protected]