Catch report & fishing forecast for Dorset including Chesil Beach, Portland & Weymouth. 8th January 2013

The wind is supposed to be a bit stronger today, but at the moment you wouldn’t think that. It is almost calm making for ideal casting conditions. Which is just as well, because with the water clarity almost back to clear, you will need to be casting a long way to pick up any fish on Chesil during the day.

Water Temperature: 10.4*c             Weymouth High Tide: 3.10pm, 1.71m

Wind: SW 18mph

Sea Conditions:

Chesil Beach: Calm with a small swell water has a milky tinge to it.

Portland: Calm with a small swell, the water is almost clear.

Portland Harbour: Calm with clear water.

Weymouth Bay: Calm with a bit of colour in the water.

Chesil Beach forecast: Dogfish, Dogfish and more Dogfish. They seem to be around in epic proportions at the moment. It is great if you are fishing a match, but not so good if you are after Cod or Whiting. The baits are not getting a chance as the Dogfish are on them almost as soon as they are in the water. Day time fishing will see a few Dabs and the odd Bass. There was a lovely double figure Thornback Ray reported from West Bexington. I have been a bit surprised this year by the lack of Rockling. They normally make up the bulk of catches in January.

Portland: I fished Portland yesterday with a friend to target Bass and Pollock on lures. Unfortunately we both blanked, but it was a fairly small tide, so I was not expecting too much. I just wanted to get out and cast a few lures. Pollock fishing at dusk should be far more successful.  I did chat to a couple of guys that were fishing over low water near Pulpit Rock for Wrasse. They had managed a few between them on hard back Velvet Swimmer Crabs. The biggest they landed was about 3lb. Chine will often produce a large Wrasse at this time of year. If you fancy having a go for a hard fighting Coalfish then it is worth having a go from Chine or Church Ope Cove. A Sandeel fished on a long flowing trace can be deadly, if the fish are around.

Portland Harbour: Not much other than Flounder in the harbour at the moment.

Weymouth Bay: Even though we are in the middle of winter both the pleasure and Stone pier are producing fish. Wrasse, pout and Pollock are making regular appearances, with some Flounders fishing from the end of the piers or into the harbour. Small Ragworm baits or small soft plastic grub tails work equally well for the Flounder. Catching them on light line tactics can be a lot of fun.

Poole Harbour: Reports from Poole harbour are still good with plenty of fish still around. They should stay for a few more weeks yet.

Boat & Kayak fishing: A great day to get out on your boat or Kayak. Quite a few fish are being caught from the safety of Portland harbour for the smaller boats. If you have a boat capable of getting out to the Adamant, then chances are you will have a very good day. Plenty of Cod and Whiting are being caught out there.

Fish of the month or week competition! I am going to start running a fish of the month competition and if I can get a sponsor or two interested, I will run a weekly competition. I will release more details of the prizes in the next couple of days. The competition will be for what myself and the sponsor think is the best fish for that period. It may not be the largest fish, as all factors including location and tackle will be taken into account. The fish must have been caught from the waters of Dorset or Devon and have been caught during the period of the competition. You need to email me a picture and give details of where, when and how it was caught. To ensure your secret spots are kept secret I only need to know the rough location so get sending your pictures in now to [email protected]

Guiding: Due to the Bass fishing falling off I am only taking bookings for traditional bait fishing sessions for January, I will be targeting Cod, and Whiting from the beach and large Wrasse and Pollock from the shore. I am happy to fit in a few short Pollock and Wrasse lure sessions from the rocks, but these will be limited to 1/2 day or 2 to 3 hour sessions. These can be tailored to your requirements. Drop me an email for more details [email protected]