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Death of a fishing legend

By Sean McSeveny On November 13, 2018 · 4 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
It is with great sadness that I hear the news this morning, of the sudden death of John Wilson, who died after suffering a stroke in his home in Thailand. John was a fishing legend that inspired so many people, myself included. I was lucky enough to meet him once and I was awed by [...]
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Whats happened to Fishing Tails? We are back!

By Sean McSeveny On November 9, 2018 · 18 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
I am delighted to say that Fishing Tails is back and will be even better than ever. I won’t bore you with the details as to why I haven’t been around, but I would like to say thank you to those who have supported me over the past few months and have persuaded me to [...]
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Autumn Fishing in Dorset and Chesil Beach

By Sean McSeveny On September 18, 2017 · 4 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Autumn is without a doubt the best time for sea fishing in Dorset. We still have all the summer species around, but the winter species are now starting to show, so you never know what your next catch will be. It could easily be a hard fighting Smoothound from Seaton or a tasty Cod from [...]
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Bass and Cod on Chesil

By Sean McSeveny On September 11, 2017 · 5 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
I am guessing many of you have looked at the weather forecast for the next few days and thought I don’t fancy going out in that. I look at the conditions and it makes me almost tremble with excitement. I know that this is one of the best opportunities that I am going to get, [...]
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Summer fishing in Dorset

By Sean McSeveny On June 30, 2017 · 3 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
With July only a day away we can finally start talking about summer fishing and what we can expect along the Dorset coast. Lets start with Chesil, which is everyones favourite mark. It certainly hasn’t been on fire recently, but that should start to change as the summer fish as now moving in. Gurnard normally [...]
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Turbot and flat fish surprise on Chesil

By Sean McSeveny On April 7, 2017 · 7 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Turbot are not a fish normally associated with Chesil, but for some reason they are showing on a number of different marks along the beach. Steve Parsons landed this lovely Turbot on crab and ragworm, during a daylight session. A number of larger ones into double figures have been landed on night tides. Local angler [...]
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A rough weekend ahead

By Sean McSeveny On February 24, 2017 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
The UK is currently being  hit by storm Doris and it looks like it will continue throughout the weekend and into middle of next week. As you can see from this vide shot by Izzy Ismet of Underwater Explorers, conditions on Chesil are pretty rough. Chesil Cove 23.02.2017 Early afternoon scenes from Chesil Cove in [...]
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Late winter fishing options

By Sean McSeveny On February 10, 2017 · 6 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
February can be one of the worst months of the year for fishing, especially on Chesil Beach. It is hard to get motivated and leave the warmth of your home, to sit on a windswept and wet beach, just to catch a few Rockling and the odd undersized Whiting. Having said that, I would rather [...]
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Cod fishing has gone flat

By Sean McSeveny On December 5, 2016 · 3 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Well what can I say? Another weekend with very few codling on Chesil and the few that were caught were all pretty small. I would love to know what happened to all those fish we had for the past two years . I expected to see a good number of Cod in the 8-10lb range [...]
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Huge Cod from Chesil

By Sean McSeveny On November 21, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
On Friday my headline was “The Cod are coming”. Unfortunatly it would seem that the Cod failed to read my article and decided to go somewhere else. So far the cod fishing has been very poor. However Robert Moore proved that there are some good caught to be caught, when he landed this monster at [...]
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The Cod are coming.

By Sean McSeveny On November 18, 2016 · Add Comment · In Reports
It is not too often that I welcome a spell of bad weather, but I have been waiting ages for a big blow to come through and really stir up Chesil beach. Finally it arrived yesterday and looking at the beach this morning it is exactly what I had hoped for. I would be quite [...]
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The Squid are in

By Sean McSeveny On November 11, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Calm seas, building tides and good water visibiity all combine to make great Squid fishing conditions. Both  Weymouth pleasure and stone pier are good locations, as are the piers towards Bournemouth. Squid fishing isn’t limited to the piers as Christopher Luke found out whilst fishing in Chesil Cove. The main question I am getting this week [...]
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Cod Competition results

By Sean McSeveny On October 31, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Yesterday was the Weymouth Angling Centre Chesil Beach Cod Open at Abbotsbury. With a top prize of a £1000 Heaviest Bag (cod only) and a second large prize of £500 for the heaviest  It will come as no surprise that a lot of anglers entered. What was a surprise was the lack of Cod. The past [...]
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We are back

By Sean McSeveny On October 26, 2016 · 10 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
First I would like to apologise for the lack of posts over the last 2 weeks, I have been dealing with a lot of personal issues which has meant I’ve not been  unable to devote as much time as I usually do to the site . Hopefully  things will become less trying soon and we can [...]
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Summer fishing in October

By Sean McSeveny On October 14, 2016 · 3 Comments · In Reports
We are having a spell of great weather for the time of year and also a great run of fish. Not the Cod that everyone seems desperate to catch, but Plaice, Bream and Gurnard. I had a busy week guiding for most part and I was lucky enough to find a lot of Plaice. Thankfully [...]
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Will there be Cod this weekend?

By Sean McSeveny On October 7, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Reports
I have been asked a number of times already this week, if I think it will be any good for Cod this weekend, especially as we have fairly stiff North Easterly winds. Well despite the almost calm conditions on the beach, I am pretty certain that there will be a few Cod caught. Chris Buxton [...]
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Bream bonanza

By Sean McSeveny On October 3, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Can there be such a thing as too many Bream? Only if your double whole squid bait that you are using to target Cod, is eaten in a matter of minutes by the hoards of locust like Bream. That was exactly what happened to me at the weekend on Chesil. most were the size of [...]
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Early Cod and late Bream. Its all happening

By Sean McSeveny On September 30, 2016 · 3 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Finally,  the good fishing that we expect on Chesil in September, has kicked in. its just a shame that it has taken until almost October. Anyway enough of my complaining, I dont have time, as I don’t want to miss the great conditions that we have today.  It looks perfect for Bass and Cod and [...]
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Plaice and bait fish

By Sean McSeveny On September 23, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Reports
Things are looking up again on Chesil, the bait fish have returned along with the mackerel and we have seen some impressive catches of Plaice and Sole. I even managed to catch Plaice myself As I mentioned earlier in the week they are at range. However they seem happy to take just about any bait [...]
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Sole searching

By Sean McSeveny On September 18, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
There are fish on Chesil, but you need to be either very close in or hitting long casts to get them at the moment. We are seeing the Garfish in better numbers and they should continue to become a regular in our catches for the next two months. Fred Snook managed a few in a [...]
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What is going on?

By Sean McSeveny On September 16, 2016 · 3 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Last week I was singing the praises of fishing in September, this week I am scratching my head and thinking, where have the fish gone? To be honest this is localised to Chesil, as many of the other marks are fishing well, but I am really disappointed in the lack of fish from my favourite [...]
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Fishing in September, the best month of the year

By Sean McSeveny On September 9, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
If I was only allowed to go fishing once a year, then I would choose to go fishing in September. It has for me, been the best month for as long as I can remember. We still have all the summer fish around, but the first of the winter species are starting to make an [...]
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Squid starting to show on the South Coast

By Sean McSeveny On September 5, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
I was surprised to hear that the Squid have started to show in a number of areas along the south coast. This is almost a month early, but nothing surprises me this year, as all the fishing patterns seem to be out of sync. As usual the night tides produced the Squid from the piers, [...]
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Could we see Tuna?

By Sean McSeveny On September 2, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
I was told a few weeks ago that there was a large body of warm water moving in the Atlantic, that would bring huge shoals of Mackerel to the UK. Along with the Mackerel and other baitfish, would be Sharks and Tuna. I will admit that I was more than sceptical, but it seems that [...]
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Thunder and lighting fishing

By Sean McSeveny On August 26, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
After the exciting conditions at the start of the week, the fishing has settled back into the normal summer mode, with some nice Gurnard being caught and loads of Smoothound. Ben Hackett managed this one from the Ferrybridge end of Chesil. Normally I would say use Peeler Crab to target them, but they seem equally [...]
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Gale force fishing

By Sean McSeveny On August 22, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
The gale force winds that were forecast for the weekend hit the coast just as predicted. It certainly stirred the water up and just as I predicted on Friday, the Bass and Cod moved in. I fished the Ferrybridge end of Chesil yesterday afternoon, just as soon as the wind and sea had died down [...]
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Some bad weather heading our way; Happy days!

By Sean McSeveny On August 19, 2016 · Add Comment · In Reports
I can’t wait for the forecast bad weather to hit Chesil this weekend. No I am not joking. I always look forward to a good short blow in August. If you are ever going to catch a big Bass, chances are it will be then. There are some cracking Bass around at the moment as [...]
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Starfish: the return of the 5 legged menace

By Sean McSeveny On August 16, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
One day I am reporting great catches from Chesil, then the next day, it seems like someone flicked a switched and the fishing just turned off. What’s happening? I fished at West Bexington yesterday, in conditions that seemed pretty favourable on the surface. A steady SE wind creating a small bit of surf with clear [...]
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Summer Fishing on Chesil

By Sean McSeveny On August 12, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Chesil Beach can often be over rated at many times of the year, but summer is not one of those times. It is when it comes into it’s own and out-fishes just about every other mark in the country. The diversity of species is incredible. How many other marks do you know where you can [...]
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Crooked lines review

By Sean McSeveny On August 11, 2016 · Add Comment · In Books, Reviews
I have to admit that I would not normally have picked up a copy of Dominic Garnett’s latest book, Crooked Lines. Not because I have anything against Dominic, but because I thought I had read all the fishing tales type books that were worth reading. I came across Crooked Lines, whilst looking for a book [...]
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Bass at their best

By Sean McSeveny On August 5, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
As predicted last week the Bass fishing was pretty good.  No sooner had I put the forecast up and when my friend Paul Black called me to say he had managed 3 Bass the night before, with the biggest going 7lb. They were tiddlers compared to the 13.5lb Bass that Paul Stewart had from Abbotsbury [...]
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Summer fishing report from the Poole area

By Sean McSeveny On August 4, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Poole Harbour, Reports
Apologies for the lack of posts. I have been very busy with work ,but I still had managed to get a few sessions in.  July has always a busy month both in work and fishing terms. Sometimes I have been taking the fishing gear and leaving straight from the job to hit the beach. I will [...]
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Big Bass week

By Sean McSeveny On August 1, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
One of the things that makes Fishing Tails unique as a site is that we don’t just tell you whats been caught, we try to forecast what’s going to be caught. Well this week I am going to put my neck on the block again and predict that we will see several big Bass coming [...]
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Summer Cod and trigger fish

By Sean McSeveny On July 29, 2016 · 6 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Summer fishing is well upon us and it seems that everyday the fishing just gets better. I reported on Monday about the Bream moving into the area. It looks like this could be one of the best years for Bream fishing in a long time. I have heard reports of catches of 10 or more [...]
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Bream dream

By Sean McSeveny On July 25, 2016 · 5 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Black Bream fishing is starting to kick off on Chesil and around Portland now, with some lovely catches over the past few days. Ultima match team angler Danny Woodcock had two cracking Bream from the Ferrybridge end of Chesil. The smaller of the two weighed 3lb and the larger one went 3lb 6oz. Mike Kempster [...]
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At last the Mackerel are here in numbers

By Sean McSeveny On July 15, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach
I don’t ever remember having to wait so long for the Mackerel to arrive in large number, but the good news is they are finally here and they are huge fish.   I always welcome the Mackerel, because so many other species depend on them, it often brings in the Rays. Not necessarily for the [...]
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A tough weekend

By Sean McSeveny On July 11, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Another weekend of fairly strong SW winds made fishing Chesil uncomfortable at best. There was a few fish that came from there, mostly Smoothounds and a few Mackerel. Most anglers opted to fish some of the more sheltered marks. Ollie Mears decided to fish West Bay harbour and landed several Flounder and a specimen Thin [...]
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Gurnard, the fish of the summer

By Sean McSeveny On July 8, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
I always associate the first regular catches of Gurnard with the start of the summer fishing season. The Gurnard are normally closely followed by another of my favourite eating species the Black Bream. This week has seen a number of nice Gurnard landed and it comes as no surprise that my friend, Roger Morgan had [...]
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A great year for Smoothound

By Sean McSeveny On July 5, 2016 · 7 Comments · In Reports
Smoothound are one of my favourite species of fish from the shore. They fight like demons and even on fairly heavy beachcasters, they put up a great show. So you can imagine how happy I am that we are seeing so many Smoothound on chesil this year. I managed to get hold of some Crab [...]
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More Bass bans to come but why?

By Sean McSeveny On July 1, 2016 · 16 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
The good news is that from today, we are allowed to keep one Bass per angler, as long as it is 42cm or larger.   The bad news is that a scientific report released yesterday from ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), recommends a complete ban on Bass fishing for the year [...]
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How will leaving the EU effect us as anglers?

By Sean McSeveny On June 27, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
Sorry about missing Fridays forecast but , like many others, I needed  some time to process the shock news that more than half the voting public think we will be better off out of Europe. All I can say is get down to your local tackle shop and buy your rods and reels now, before [...]
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Where are the Mackerel

By Sean McSeveny On June 20, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
After a very promising start to the year, with Mackerel being caught as early as February, I am very surprised that we are struggling to see any being landed locally. It is not just a local problem, as there seems to be a lack of Mackerel everywhere. Thinking back, we had the same problem last [...]
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Happy 20th Anniversary Weymouth Angling Centre

By Sean McSeveny On June 17, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
This weekend see’s the 20th anniversary of Weymouth Angling Centre and all the team at Fishing Tails, would like to congratulate them for the great service that they provide 7 days a week. The staff are some of the most knowledgeable in the business and really know what they are talking about when it comes [...]
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A few sessions before the rivers open

By Sean McSeveny On June 13, 2016 · 2 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
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 [...]
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Varivas Saltwater Super Match Hooks review

By Sean McSeveny On June 9, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Reviews, Tackle
I don’t normally do hook reviews, because a hook is a hook, right? Wrong, very wrong. One of the main areas that many anglers, especially novices skimp on is hooks and for the life of me I can’t understand why. Hooks are probably the single most important piece of terminal tackle. You can get away [...]
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Incredible weekend of fishing

By Sean McSeveny On June 6, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
For several months now, I have been struggling to find enough content to make the fishing reports interesting. Today I don’t know where to start. It feels like the sea fishing season has finally started. Well let’s start on the Chesil Beach and the first mention has to go to Max Bryden, who fished with [...]
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Rockfall danger to anglers.

By Sean McSeveny On June 3, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
A number of large landslides have occurred this week in Dorset. These are a result of the dry, warm weather we have had recently.  As the soil drys out and constricts, thus further destabilises areas of cliff that are already close to collapsing. Great care should be taken when fishing any mark that is under [...]
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An untraditional bank holiday

By Sean McSeveny On May 31, 2016 · 5 Comments · In Chesil Beach, Reports
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Crabs everywhere, except in the tackle shops.

By Sean McSeveny On May 27, 2016 · 1 Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
    Live crab, especially Peeler and Hermit crab are by far the best bait for the Smoothounds and boy are we getting a good run of hounds at the moment. The reason they are here is for the huge number of crabs that are close to shore. Abbotsbury and Cogden are plagued with Spider [...]
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Hounds Abound

By Sean McSeveny On May 23, 2016 · Add Comment · In Chesil Beach, Reports
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 [...]
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