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

I don’t know about you, but I am getting very frustrated with the weather. The water should be a lot warmer than it is and now the rain that we had over the past couple of days has coloured it up again. This combined with a large swell on Chesil, has made Plaice fishing very poor.

Time for a rethink for todays fishing session. I was going to head to Cogden, but I think I will have a go for Rays and Dabs down the Portland end of Chesil.

Sea Conditions: 

Water temperature 6.6*c it is still dropping, when it should be going up!

Chesil Beach: Choppy with a 1.5  to 2m swell. There is a lot of colour in the water.

Portland: 1.5m swell and lightly coloured water

Portland Harbour: Calm with almost clear water.

Weymouth Bay: Calm with a slight colour in the water.

Chesil Beach forecast: With the water colour and swell the Plaice fishing is out of the window for a few days. You can still catch them but it is much more difficult when the water is coloured. I know that there will be plenty of Pout, Rockling  and Dogfish around today, both in daylight and during the night. Peeler Crab or large Squid baits could land you a bonus Bass.

Portland: The continual cold weather is going to keep the Wrasse in the deeper water, making lure fishing for them very difficult. If you want to target Wrasse then it is back to basics with a simple rig with a rotten bottom to reduce tackle losses. Live hardback crab or Ragworm will see you catch Wrasse. Pollock will be around from dawn til dusk. THey will happily take lures or float fish for them with Ragworm or strips of Mackerel.

Portland Harbour: Reports from the harbour show that it is still very quite, but it should not stay that way for long. As soon as the water temperature starts to rise that is one of the first marks to start to liven up.

Weymouth Bay: With a more fishable surf today Preston should produce some late Whiting and early Bass. The Stone Pier will be god for small Pollock, Pout and Whiting.

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]