Catch report & fishing forecast for Dorset including Chesil Beach, Portland & Weymouth

I mentioned the strong Easterly winds were creating a bit of surf on Weymouth Esplanade and along to Preston. It seems that it has brought in quite a few Bass that I was not expecting this time of year. A very reliable source went out yesterday afternoon and fished over high water and into darkness for a couple of hours just at the end of the Esplanade near the Oasis Cafe. He managed 11 Bass in that time, with fish coming during the day and at night. He told me they were all between 2 and 4lb and all but one were returned. He was using whole Calamari Squid on a 4/0 pennel rig cast out 30yds. Once the tide started to drop away he packed up, as it was freezing. Conditions are fairly similar for the next few days. I wonder where I will be going this weekend??

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 7.7*c This has fallen rapidly over the past few days.

Chesil Beach: Small waves, and very little swell. The colour is slowly dropping out of the water and it looks to have a milky tinge to it.

Portland: A 1m swell with slightly coloured water

Portland Harbour: Surf on the Easterly facing beaches with clear water.

Weymouth Bay: A fair amount of surf with waves around 1.5m. The water has a bit of colour in it.

Chesil Beach forecast: I know a lot of you will head for West Bexington, Abbotsbury and Cogden this weekend in search of an early Plaice. With small tides I am not sure I would bother. It is most likely that all you will end up catching is Dogfish, Pout and Rockling. There will be the normal Dabs of course, but Plaice do feed better when there is some movement in the tide. If you do decide to target the Plaice then you will be able to fish pretty light because of the North Easterly wind and calm conditions. If you can get away with a decent cast on a 2 to 3oz plain lead with a single flowing trace, baited with Ragwottrm or Black Lug, then you stand a better chance.

Portland:Wrasse are the top target today on Portland, with clearer water allowing them to see the baits. Hardback Crabs will sort out the bigger Wrasse that are still around. Tides this afternoon coincide well with a high water just before dusk. Perfect time for Pollock fishing with lures off the Bill. Other marks such as Church Ope fish very well with a high water dusk combination.

Portland Harbour: With the Easterly wind blowing into the Harbour and reports of Bass from Pereston Beach, it might be well worth a go at either Hamm Beach or Castle Cove for a Bass.

Weymouth Bay: Whiting, Pollock, Pout and Flounder are being caught from the Stone Pier. With the reports of Bass from Preston that would be my first choice of marks over the next couple of days. Evening tides will produce Whiting and Dogfish, with the chance of a Ray. I would normally say go for fresh Peeler but whole Calamari Squid seems to be doing well.

Boat Fishing: The Weymouth charter fleet having been having some great wrecking trips with plenty of double figure Pollock coming on most trips. I have spoke to a few skippers this morning and they expect to be out this weekend again.

Species Hunt: I think I will create an album to show the different species that I catch this year and see how many different ones I can catch. I know that species hunting is very popular on a number of forums. Why not join me and see what different fish you can catch over the year. I am going to set myself a target of 30 different species. Drop me an email and let me know your targets and how you get on throughout the year. I especially want to see your pictures of some of the more unusual species that you catch.

Guiding & Lessons: I know it is the heart of winter, but now is a good time to think about booking a 1 to 1 lesson or get on one of my fishing workshops. This will give you plenty of time to practice the techniques you learn before the fish turn up again in the spring. Have a look on the guiding link at the top of the page or drop me an email for more details to [email protected]