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

After months of planning I can finally announce that I have added a whole new dimension to my guiding and fishing lessons. Starting next month I will be running a shoreline fishing course with River Cottage. This unique and exciting course will see you learning fishing skills with me for half the day, before we bring you back to River Cottage HQ where we will teach you how to fillet and prepare your catch. You will then cook your own fish supper to be enjoyed in the 16th Century farmhouse, home to Hugh’s kitchen and the set for the River Cottage TV series. For more details about the course have a look at the River Cottage website. 

Even more good news is that the Plaice seem to be arriving in ever increasing numbers down at Cogden. I spoke to one of my friends who fished there yesterday. He managed 8 Plaice and almost as many Dabs, whilst another angler fishing near him caught just as many. He was using a wishbone rig and several times he ended up with a double shot of Plaice and Dabs. Best bait yesterday was small Ragworm tipped with frozen Black Lug.

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 6.9*c

Chesil Beach: The waves have picked up a bit over night leaving a 1.5m swell. There is still a milky tinge to the colour of the water.

Portland: 1.5m swell and almost clear water

Portland Harbour: wavelets with clear water.

Weymouth Bay: Small surf going out for a 100m, slight colour in the water.

Chesil Beach forecast: Small tides will have you looking to go as light as possible if you want to target the Plaice. 3 or 4oz plain or ball leads cast at distance with slightly shorter traces, to allow the bait to roll around and find the natural holding areas. Night time fishing will see plenty of Dogfish, Pout and small Whiting.

Portland: The cold is really putting the Wrasse and Bass off. It should have no effect on the Pollock fishing. One mark that will start to produce in the next few weeks will be Church Ope Cove. If you hit the right areas on it then the variety of species can be incredible. Numerous Ray species, Sole, Wrasse, Bass, Pollock, Mackerel, and Mullet to name a few.

Portland Harbour: Even the Flounder seem to have disappeared from the harbour.

Weymouth Bay: With the Easterly wind a lot of people have avoided fishing along the sea front. If you are after some fish then you would do worse than going to Stone Pier. It is still producing Rockling, Pout, Pollock and small Whiting.

Kimmeridge Bay: I fished Kimmeridge on Saturday and although I didn’t catch anything it gave me a chance to look at some ledges that I had not seen at low water before. I will be back there again in a couple of weeks for another try. The good news for that area is that the cliffs seem far more stable than I have seen them in a long time.

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]

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