Yesterday was without a doubt one of my best days of fishing on Chesil, if not the best day. What made it even better was I was guiding, so I was able to share a great day with my client. We both went home buzzing, it was one of those days that you remember for a long time. The final tally was 32 Codling. 1 Bass. 1 Whiting, 1 Pollock and even a Plaice that took two 5/0 hooks with 5 lugworm.

I have had a lot of anglers ask me if I think it will fish as well today and tomorrow, in truth I think it will still fish well, but not anywhere near as good as it was yesterday. The sea is a lot calmer this morning and with light winds it will only become even flatter, especially tomorrow. However the water is still coloured and that will take a few days to clear up. Having said that I was amazed at the shear number of Codling that there was. On Several casts  I brought back two Codling on the Pennel rig.2 Cod-2

I had a good selection of baits with me, but I found that a large Lugworm bait worked better than everything else for us, even better than Peeler Crab. I was using a Pulley Pennel Rig and putting 4 or 5 worm on each cast. A couple of mates that fished along from me did well on Squid, and my mate Paul Black managed 5 Codling on his last Peeler Crab. worm

Here is a quick video of my client landing a Codling

I have had a look at the forecast for the rest of the week and there are a number of days that look like they may produce some very good results, so I will be cancelling my break that I had planned, and will open up the days for guiding sessions.

Sea Conditions:

Water temperature 17.4 °c.

Chesil Beach: Waves of just over a metre with coloured water

Portland: large swell with 1m waves and coloured water

Portland Harbour: Calm with slightly coloured water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with slightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: It goes without saying that Cod will feature highly on the target list for CHesil this weekend. However I would be surprised if some large Conger were not caught, especially today. They often come out of their lairs after a storm. One potential problem today will be Dogfish and Pout. I didn’t see a single one yesterday, but I guarantee the sea will be alive with them today.

When the water clears I expect the Bream will still be around and hopefully they will be hungry.

Portland: Conditions are good for Bass and Bull Huss, but the Wrasse do not like these conditions. Pollock are often put of with coloured water, but I would still expect to see some caught, especially at marks on the East side such as Church Ope Cove.

Portland Harbour: The Harbour is fishing well at the moment, espccially for Bass. One of my mates had several Gilthead Bream near Ferrybridge, as well as a couple of Flounder. 

Weymouth Bay: Preston Beach will provide good shelter with the possibility of a Bass. There are plenty of Flounder and Dabs being caught on the beach. The piers are still fishing well , and should continue to do so for at least another month.

Guiding: I still have a few slots left between now and November, so if you are interested in lure or bait fishing over the next two most productive months of the year then drop me an email to [email protected]

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