The new Bass laws are finally official

The new Bass laws that were supposed to come into place on the first of January have finally been published in the European Journal, which makes them law with immediate effect. No Bass may be kept until the 1st of July. After that date you may keep one Bass per day, as long as it is 42cm or longer.

It will come as no surprise that we are in for another windy weekend, with Saturday looking like the best of the days. My top tip for a fishing mark this weekend would be to head to Poole and enjoy some of the excellent Flounder fishing they have been having there.

Talking about FLounders, we had an entry for our monthly fish recipe competition from Steve Hooper, that makes good use of these very under rated flat fish. If you didn’t see yesterday’s Flounder recipe  you can find it here at Hoopers Humble Flounder recipe

Please keep the recipes coming, for your chance to win a monthly prize, which this month is Henry Gilbey’s Ultimate Fishing Adventures book. The best recipe of the year will win a trip to River Cottage for a Shoreline fishing course hosted by myself. You will also have the chance to take part in one of our new catch and cook videos. All you have to do is send in your fish or shellfish recipe with a picture of the completed dish. If you have additional pictures of the preparation all the better.

There will be another article out today, that could be of interest due to the current cold weather. I have been reviewing the new Fladen Merino wool thermals which I have used this winter. For those of you lucky enough to be heading of to places such as Norway it is well worth a read. Boat angler Allan Yates also touches on clothing for Norway in this weeks boat fishing article Wreck fishing off Weymouth

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 9.7°c

Chesil Beach: Rough with coloured water. This will improve on Saturday, but get worse again on Sunday

Portland: rough with coloured water

Portland Harbour: Calm with clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with lightly coloured water

Chesil Beach forecast: Saturday looks like the only fishable day for Chesil this weekend, unless the wind forecast changes. Right now we have gale force SW winds battering the beach and creating large waves. This will die off overnight leaving a rough and coloured sea. It wont be easy fishing and with NNW in excess of 20mph it will be difficult to cast past the surf, but for a decent caster you will be in with a chance of a decent Cod.

The Whiting seem to be getting smaller, but you will be busy with Pout and Dogfish, whilst you wait for that big Cod. Best baits are likely to be Black and Blow Lugworm, or large Squid baits. You might want to try using an Up and Over rig  for better hook up results.

Portland: It is back to hoping that a Bull Huss or Conger might pick up a large fish bait. Only the East side will be fishable and even then great care needs to be taken.

Portland Harbour: With strong Westerly winds the wind and kite surfers will be out in force at Ferrybridge, so it is probably best to avoid that area. However a trip round to Sandsfoot Castle area, should see you out of the wind and in with a chance of a Flounder or two.

Weymouth Bay: If you are desperate for a fishing fix and don’t want to travel to Poole or further afield, then Weymouth harbour or Preston Beach will offer sheltered fishing. Reports from Preston are suggesting that the fishing is dropping off, with a few Flounder, Dab’s and small Whiting making up the catch.

The piers will produce the odd Wrasse and the ever present Pout and Pollock. There is always a chance of Herring this month and it is a good mark to try for a Flounder.

Guiding: With winter well and truly here the guiding for the next couple of months will be concentrated on Flounder, Wrasse and Whiting. However it wont be long before the Plaice return again and the first of the Mullet. It is advisable to book early for a guiding session this year. I am limiting my guides to 100 this year, which is a 30% drop from last year. I want to concentrate more on creating videos. However we can offer guided services in Poole and Plymouth, as well as the North East of England. If you would like to be a Fishing Tails guide then please contact us for more details.