Fishing forecast for Chesil Beach, Portland & Weymouth. 30th November 2012

It has been a bit quite on the beach for the past couple of days. A few Cod have been landed but nothing like last week. There are plenty of Whiting especially down at the Abbotsbury end of the beach. I had a session down on Chesil yesterday. The water still had some colour to it, so I thought I might have a chance of a Cod. Despite having some lovely Peeler Crabs and Lugworm, we could not get into a Cod. However I did have Bass and Smoothound up to 6lb. I was a bit surprised to still see the Smoothound around. This has been my best year ever on Chesil for Smoothound.

 

 

Water Temperature: 11.1*c             Weymouth High Tide: 7.37pm, 1.97m

Wind: NW 8mph

Sea Conditions:

Chesil Beach: Calm with clear water

Portland: Calm with clear water.

Portland Harbour: Small ripple with good water clarity.

Weymouth Bay: Calm with coloured water.

Chesil Beach forecast: With a good sized tide this weekend I would expect to see some Codling. Not as many as you might want, but with a NW wind the beach will be a bit calm. Use large baits on a long trace. Lugworm and Peeler Crab are always going to be the top bait, but Squid and Mackerel will work as well. Conditions will be perfect for Whiting. Target them with Ragworm tipped with Squid or Mackerel using 2 or 3 hook flapper rigs for the maximum catch rate. A bonus Smoothound or Pollock could well turn up. The beach towards Cogden seems to be fishing better than the Portland end for all species.

Portland: If you are after a large Wrasse then Portland is the place to go over the next couple of days. Use large hardback Velvet Swimmer crabs, cut in half and mounted on a 4/0 or 5/0 hook using a rotten bottom. Your gear will need to be heavy to wrestle the Wrasse out of the rough marks that they love. Lure fishing should produce some Pollock with the chance of Bass.

Portland Harbour: The harbour seems to be quite at the moment, but I have seen a lot of bird activity, indicating that there is a lot of bait fish around. That means a good chance of Bass on a lure. Sandsfoot Castle and Ferrybridge will be the top spots.

Weymouth Bay: Although the bay will be sheltered today and the see fairly calm there is a lot of fresh water coming out of the harbour that will have a negative effect on the fishing. The further away from the harbour you can fish the better your chances. Large fish baits or Lug worm fished around Bowleaze Cove may produce a Ray or Bass. Smaller baits will attract Whiting.

Guiding:  I am taking bookings for both Bass and Cod guiding sessions for December. If last year was anything to go by then the Bass  fishing should still be good up until early January. These can be tailored to your requirements including mixed days of bait and lure fishing. Drop me an email for more details [email protected]