Fishing forecast for Chesil Beach, Portland and Weymouth. 22nd September 2012

“Winds in the East, fish bite the least”, or so the saying goes. I am hopefully going to disprove that myth today. I have noted that in the past I often have my best catches when the wind is blowing from the East. It certainly makes for fairly comfortable fishing on Chesil. However I am off out on a boat today. At least I know that if it does get a bit windier this afternoon, I can dive inside Portland Harbour ad take shelter there.

My Kayak trip yesterday was not quite as good as I had hoped it would be. I launched with my friend David, in perfect conditions off Chesil Cove and paddled for what seemed like ever, to the Adelaide. We managed a few small Bream, some Mackerel, a Red Gurnard and a dogfish. We then paddled another couple of miles to a point of Blacknor. The sea state changed quite quickly there and pushed us into shallower water where all we managed was a stream of Wrasse. We ended up trolling back to the cove, where I picked up a Garfish on a surface lure. All in all it was a lot of effort for not a lot of reward. Some new planning is needed for the next trip.

Water Temperature: 16.4*c             Weymouth High Tide: 11.27am, 1.89m

 

Wind: NE switching E 14mph

Sea Conditions:

 

Chesil Beach: Calm with clear water

Portland: Calm with clear water on the West side, small waves on the East side and around the Bill

Portland Harbour: wavelets with clear water.

Weymouth Bay: Surf running on Preston beach and clear

 

Chesil Beach forecast: Pretty much the same as yesterday with plenty of Mackerel and lots of Garfish around still. Bream, Gurnard and the odd Smoothound coming from the Ferrybridge end of Chesil. Plaice and Dabs with one or two rays showing at Abbotsbury. The usual Dogfish and Pout at night with more Congers being reported from the deeper water around Bridging Camp. A few Bass have been caught on Peeler Crab from Burton Bradstock. Don’t all get in a flap now, but there have been one or two Codling being caught from the Eastern end of the beach. This is usual for this time of year, but the main run will not start for another 3 or 4 weeks.

Portland: If you are after a good Pollock then fishing all around Portland at dusk with lures will give you your best chance. I often fish down the West side around Blacknor and further towards the Bill. Getting down can be hard work and is not for the unfit, but the results can be amazing. At this time of year I have had sessions where I have had a fish almost every cast, with some being up to 7lb. Jointed lures in orange, Brown and yellow as well as the traditional blue ones seem to work best for Pollock. Plenty of Wrasse around the Bill on soft plastic lures and Ragworm. Mackerel strip float fished on a very short drop will pick up Garfish at any time of the day.

Portland Harbour: Plenty of School Bass and Flounder in the harbour. There seems to be Garfish everywhere at the moment and the harbour is no exception. Lures and small strips of Mackerel float fished will get you an acrobatic Garfish.

Weymouth Bay: Top spot to fish today will be Preston Beach Use the surf to its maximum. Peeler crab if you can get it or large mackerel or squid baits no more than 30yds out.

Boat & Kayak fishing: Plaice are coming again from the Shambles despite the trawlers trying to wipe out the stocks. I would expect to see some nice Tope coming from the 5 and 7 mile ground and off Blacknor over the weekend. Most people don’t bother fishing for Tope from Weymouth, but at this time of year it can be very productive. Big Mackerel baits, or live Joey Mackerel are the best baits.

Out guidig on a boat today. I will let you know how I get on tomorrow.

I have very limited slots available in September for guiding and one to one sessions., but I still have quite a few for October. Don’t miss out on the best months fishing. These can be tailored to your requirements including mixed days of bait and lure fishing. Drop me an email for more details [email protected]