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

I hope you are not sat at home reading this instead of being out there chasing the fish on Chesil. Conditions are near perfect for a chance of a decent fish today. The Northerly wind maybe cold, but you will be fairly sheltered on Chesil. I had a look  at the beach at Abbotsbury on my way home last night from River Cottage (what a great day, report to follow). I was amazed to see that there was hardly anyone fishing the beach at all, despite the conditions being very good. The couple of guys that I did speak to said that they had only managed a few Pout.  I did see a few anglers fishing at Dragons Teeth but I didn’t fancy a walk all the way down to see if they had caught any Cod. It should be better today with a decent sized tide and plenty of food still in the water.

Sea Conditions:

Chesil Beach: A1.2m swell and coloured water.

Portland: Waves up to 1.5m and heavily coloured water

Portland Harbour: Wavelets with slightly coloured water.

Weymouth Bay: Wavelets but the water has a bit of colour especially around the harbour entrance.

Chesil Beach forecast: Take this opportunity and get on to Chesil Beach for your last chance of some of the winter fish. I think after this week it is likely to go very quite for a few weeks until the Plaice arrive. As always big baits will be best. Lugworm, live Peeler and Hermit Crab will always be my favourite for conditions like today.

Portland: It is conditions like we have today that normally produce the big Bull Huss on the Island. As Blacknor is too dangerous to fish because of the danger of cliff falls, you are going to be restricted to marks around the Bill or Chine. Large fish baits work best for Bull Huss and Conger.

Portland Harbour: If you just fancy a Flounder session then Portland Harbour is a good bet at the moment. It has more Flounder in it than I have known for a long time. Small Ragworm baits rigged on a three hook flapper rig and cast short should work.

Weymouth Bay: The piers are fishing well for Whiting, both during the day and at night. Plenty of Pout are also being caught with the odd Flounder and Pollock. Rockling are showing up in decent numbers for those looking for different species. Preston is good for Flounder and Whiting.

Poole Harbour: A few Flounder are still coming from Poole and for those living in that area and not wanting to be battered on Chesil then it is worth a go.

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]