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

I had hoped to get out to West Bexington with my mate today, but unfortunately I have to go car hunting instead. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing in these temperatures. I take my hat off to all of you that are out there fishing in this cold, I see from Windguru that with the wind chill factor temperatures will not get above freezing today.. Reports from Cogden and West Bexington suggest that there are a few plaice coming in from there, but not huge numbers. Thankfully the crowds have stayed away from those marks at the moment. A few Small Eyed Ray are falling to Plaice baits at the same mark. If you want to target the Rays then Sandeel or Peeler Crab will give you a bit of an advantage.

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 7.1*c This is colder that it was at any point last year. I don’t see an early run of Mackerel this year.

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: Chesil will offer a bit of shelter from the icy North Easterly wind and it will be easier to get some extra distance on your casts. If you are after Plaice then head to Abbotsbury or further to the West. The remainder of the beach will produce some Pout, Dabs, Dogfish and Rockling. The start of the flood is often a good time to target the Plaice.

Portland: With clearer water around Portland it is worth trying with lures for Wrasse and Pollock. Soft plastic lures work best for the Wrasse with Slug-go’s and Xlayers amongst my favourites.

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. I had hoped to try for the Bass that were coming from Preston, but I have been left without a car for a few days. I have not heard of anyone else catching the Bass from there. Not sure if no one has been fishing that mark due to the wind, or the Bass have moved on.

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]