Fishing forecast for Chesil Beach, Portland & Weymouth. 8th October 2012

What a Codfest this weekend turned out to be. The Cod are certainly very early this year, but I had noticed the water temperature has dropped below 15 degrees this week. Just because the Cod are here it does not mean that everything else has moved off. Far from it, this is the time for the bigger summer species such as the Bream and Smoothound. Lots of Garfish and Plaice can still be caught all along the beach.

Water Temperature: 14.9*c             Weymouth High Tide: 11.47am, 1.65m

Wind: E 7mph dropping to almost nothing later this afternoon.

Sea Conditions:

Chesil Beach: Calm with a 1m swell, most of the colour has dropped out of the water leaving it with a milky tinge. Some large rafts of weed can be seen especially in the Chesil Cove area.

Portland: The swell has dropped of to a reasonable 1m but there is still some colour in the water.

Portland Harbour:  Small waves with slightly coloured water.

Weymouth Bay: Small waves but the water is pretty coloured.

Chesil Beach forecast: With the sea now more settled and the water becoming a lot clearer it is unlikely that many Cod will still be around during the day. The conditions will suite Bream and Plaice fishing. There will still be Mackerel around and with them will be Bass hunting the same bait fish and the Mackerel. If you can catch a joey Mackerel then set up a simple rig with a slider and let the Joey run down the line. Put a stop about 2ft about the lead to stop it sitting on the bottom. It is one of the most effective methods of getting a decent sized Bass. Reports suggest that there have been quite a few large Conger coming from the beach at the Portland end. One of the zones in last weekends Samalite league was won with a 35lb Conger on a Ragworm bait and size 3 hook.

Portland: The Wrasse will move back in and be very hungry. Ragworm and crab baits will take plenty of fish, but if you want some great sport then target them using soft plastic lures. Blue, gold and green are very effective colours and the chance of a big Wrasse is always on the cards in the next couple of months. Pollock are around in decent numbers. I will be targeting them by trying out a new lure from Seaspin, the Leppa 22, which is a metal lure that I hope will be as good as the Metal X Bubblehead as it is a lot cheaper.

Portland Harbour: The smaller tides normally mean the Bass move to another area, so I rarely target them until nearer the next set of springs. Flounder are worth having a go for and if you want something different on a lure then try a small soft plastic curly tail fitted with a jig head in yellow or white. Or a small metal bar with a single hook to prevent it snagging the bottom.

Weymouth Bay: Juniors night on the Stone pier tonight. Last week produced a good number of different species. Great easy fishing on light gear.

Boat & Kayak fishing: Calm weather and the fleet will be out on the ground to the East of Portland. Still lots of Plaice and Bream being caught, as well as Turbot. The low winds today make it ideal for small boats and Kayaks to take advantage of the lull. I am going to have a go in the harbour for some Gilthead Bream and a Thornback Ray.

Guiding: Due to the high river levels it is unlikely that I will be working on the river during the early part of next week, so a few days have become available, this is likely to only be Monday and Tuesday. I have a couple of more sessions available in October mainly for Bass fishing but I might be persuaded to do a bait session for Cod or a late Plaice. As I mentioned earlier there will be a very few Cod or bait fishing days in October and will be based around what I believe are the best tides. I am taking bookings for both Bass and bait guiding sessions for November. 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]