Thunder and lighting fishing

After the exciting conditions at the start of the week, the fishing has settled back into the normal summer mode, with some nice Gurnard being caught and loads of Smoothound. Ben Hackett managed this one from the Ferrybridge end of Chesil. Normally I would say use Peeler Crab to target them, but they seem equally happy to take Squid baits.

Dan Church managed to get in amongst the Undulates that made an appearance all along the beach. This one at 8 1/2lb came from Abbotsbury.

Lets get back to what the title is all about. Unusually for a bank holiday weekend, the weather looks pretty good most of the time. However there are a number of thunderstorms forecast, especially on Sunday. If you should find yourself out fishing and get caught in a thunderstorm stop fishing immediately. Put your rods flat down on the ground or on the deck if you are on a boat. You don’t have to be directly hit with lighting to get a shock. I have experienced small electrical shocks through my hands whilst lure fishing. The lightening was striking the water about 3 miles away. Exactly the same thing happened on the boat this week. I refused to fish during the storm and my mates were giving me some grief for being a wimp. One of the other boats came over and told my mates that they had just been shocked from a lightning strike over 3 miles away at sea. My mates soon stopped laughing at me. Don’t take any chances, just stop fishing for a bit as thunderstorms normally pass quite quickly.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.8°c

Chesil Beach:  Calm with clear water

Portland: Calm with clear water. 

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: Back to some good summer fishing. Expect plenty of Mackerel, Garfish and Scad on float or lures. You can bet that there will be some Bass following in behind to pick off the bait fish. 

Ferrybridge end should produce Bream, Gurnard, Rays and Smoothound. If you are heading to the Abbotsbury end, then you can expect pretty much the same with the exception of Bream. You will get the odd one, but they prefer more structure to feed around. You will have the chance of Plaice and Dabs towards West Bexington and Abbotsbury, but they are often at range at this time of year.

Best baits are likely to be ragworm tipped with Squid or Mackerel, fished on a two hook clipped down rig and size 1 hooks. I prefer to use clipped down rigs even if I am not going for distance, as it stops the bait flying off, which is a common problem on a flapper rig.

Portland: The island will almost guarantee fish on float fished ragworm. That will attract lots of Wrasse and the odd Pollock. Dusk and dawn should be very good for the chance of mackerel, Scad, Garfish, Pollock and Bass on lures.

Portland Harbour: The harbour is producing lots of small Bass that are taking just about any bait or lure you put out. This is a good sign for the future, but I try to not target them. Use larger lures and bigger baits to try and avoid them. Wrasse, Flounder, Bass and Pollock can all be caught from the area around Sandsfoot Cove. The FLounder and Bass use the gaps between the reefs to move around looking for food. 

Weymouth Bay: I have heard some good reports of Mullet being caught from Preston Beach. Not your normal Grey Mullet, but Golden Grey and Red Mullet. Golden Grey Mullet can be caught on small Mepps or bunches of Harbour Rag or Maddies, which are small white Ragworm. Red Mullet will take Ragworm or small strips of Mackerel fished on the bottom. 

As usual the piers will produce plenty of fish, but I expect that they will be very busy.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Gale force fishing

The gale force winds that were forecast for the weekend hit the coast just as predicted. It certainly stirred the water up and just as I predicted on Friday, the Bass and Cod moved in. I fished the Ferrybridge end of Chesil yesterday afternoon, just as soon as the wind and sea had died down to a safe level. When I arrived there was only a handful of other hardy anglers on the beach and two of them had already caught a few Cod. Leigh Bibby managed this lovely Cod of around 8lb, which he caught using Squid. For some reason the Cod were not interested in Peeler Crab.

The Cod might not have been interested in the Crab, but the Bass were. I had planned to meet Simon Bristow at the other end of Chesil, but car problems made me decide to stay close to home. I think I may have made the wrong decision. Simon managed to land two Bass and lost another one. His best was this lovely 8 1/2lb bar of silver.

To be honest fishing conditions were tough due to the wind, but for those that did get out, most were rewarded with some nice fish. I was surprised at the number of Smoothound that were caught. If you want to see some action from yesterday, then have a look at this Facebook video I streamed live from Chesil yesterday. I will warn you now that at times the wind noise is pretty bad, but considering it was shot live, it is not bad.

I am going to be heading back on to Chesil today, as I am pretty confident that there will still be Cod and Bass in the coloured water. I will attempt to stream live from Chesil during my session.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.8°c

Chesil Beach:  2m waves, with coloured water. This will clear up by Tuesday.

Portland: 2m swell with coloured water. 

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: Today should see the Cod and Bass still hanging around and searching for food in the coloured water. Dogfish and Pout may be a problem, even during the day. There will be no Mackerel until the water starts to clear. 

From early afternoon Tuesday and for the rest of the week the usual summer species will be caught. Bream, Gurnard, Mackerel and Garfish should be around in decent numbers. Ray fishing should also be good, especially if there is still some colour in the water.

Portland: I would wait until tomorrow before attempting to fish on Portland. The swell will remain for the next 12-18 hours, making it quite dangerous. The Wrasse don’t like coloured water and neither do the Pollock. However as soon as the water clears, the Wrasse will feed aggressively. There is a chance of a Bass from Church Ope, as the swell will pound into the cove. 

Portland Harbour: The water has remained clear in the harbour, which has produced a few Bass over the weekend. I expect to see a few more come out this week, along with Wrasse, FLounder, Mullet and Pollock. Evening tides will see plenty of Scad close to the shore, especially at dusk.

Weymouth Bay: With the inner harbour water pretty coloured, the Mullet will be hard to spot and target. The piers should continue to fish well and I heard from one of my mates that some large Undulate Rays were being caught from the pleasure pier. I am not certain, but he may have just been winding me up, as he knows that Undulates are my nemesis fish. 

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Some bad weather heading our way; Happy days!

I can’t wait for the forecast bad weather to hit Chesil this weekend. No I am not joking. I always look forward to a good short blow in August. If you are ever going to catch a big Bass, chances are it will be then. There are some cracking Bass around at the moment as Ben Stockley found out yesterday, when he caught and released this 8lb cracker.

I had two Bass on the bot yesterday that were close to 10lb. He wind is picking up this morning and will peak around midday tomorrow, before dropping a bit late Sunday morning. This presents two different windows of opportunity. The first one is from now until late afternoon today. As the wind rises the surf will pick up and start to dislodge food. The water is still pretty clear, even though the waves can reach up to 2m. This early stage attracts small baitfish into the surf area. The Bass know that they are really vulnerable at this stage and move in after them. This is when I get my lure rod out and hit Chesil with my larger lures. I am not talking huge lures, but ones like a Megabass Zonk  Yes they are expensive, but they really do work. You wont be able to cast far, but you don’t need to. Almost all the Bass I catch in rough conditions come within 5m of the shore. Just a word or warning, Chesil Beach is dangerous in normal conditions, it can become lethal when there is a heavy surf running. Take great care and don’t take any chances. I always wear a flotation vest when lure fishing.

The next opportunity will be when the wind drops , but the sea is still rough. The water will be coloured, so you need to be using large smelly baits. Lugworm, Squid, a Mackerel fillet or live Peeler Crab are ideal baits. I can’t say for certain, but I believe the beach won’t be fishable until midday Sunday, if not a bit later. You can basically write Saturday off on Chesil. Once again you don’t need to cast far as the Bass will be in the surf. I find holding my rod is the best way to fish, as this helps prevent the waves burying your line into the shingle.

What else will I be able to catch? There is always the chance of Bream, despite the water being coloured, but the Ray species often move in after a big blow in the summer. Once again Ben Stockley has been out catching numerous different Ray species, including Blonde, Small Eyed and Spotted. All of which may come in after the blow.

For many anglers Chesil will be unfishable for most of the weekend, but have a look at the alternative marks below to ensure you don’t miss out on some great fishing.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.3°c

Chesil Beach:  1m waves, with clear water. This will become rougher by the hour and unfishable on Saturday

Portland: Medium swell with clear water. The waves will increase on the West side of the Island to 3m

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: As I mentioned earlier, get out there now and make the most of some great conditions. You will still be able to catch Mackerel today, but after that you wont see them for a few days. Sunday and Monday will be Bass and Ray days, but don’t be surprised to catch a Cod or Conger.

Portland: Just like Chesil you have an opportunity to fish for the usual species such as Wrasse and Pollock for the rest of the day. After that the water will be too coloured and have too much swell for those species. This is when the Bass and Bull Huss fishing becomes a lot better. Keep away from the lower ledges as the swell will be dangerous.

Portland Harbour: A good mark to fish in a strong South Westerly. It will produce small Bass, Pollock, Garfish Flounder and Wrasse. It will come as no surprise when I say that using lures will outfish bait for the Bass. Marks such as Castle Cove will offer maximum shelter. 

Weymouth Bay: The bay will offer maximum protection against the wind and you can expect all the usual summer species. 

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Ceaser’s Palace at Bake Lakes & The Cat and Carp Lake at Milemead

With the plethora of excellent sea fishing on offer in the Plymouth area, you wouldn’t expect the coarse fishing to be particularly exceptional. But with the recent addition of two exciting specimen lakes to two of our most popular coarse fisheries, the South-Devon and Cornwall based angler is spoilt for choice. I’m of course talking about Ceaser’s Palace at Bake Lakes in Cornwall, and The Cat & Carp Lake at Milemead in Devon. Both fisheries are within a half hour drive of Plymouth and both have made progressive changes to the fishing they offer. This is my short review of both.

The Cat & Carp Lake at MIlemead Coarse Fishery

Milemead

Set in a beautiful valley near Tavistock, Milemead is a well run and highly maintained fishery. Whilst also offering pleasure day ticket angling and specimen carp, they have changed their previous match lake into a place where big cats roam, though of the wels catfish variety rather than the black panther. The lake is moderately sized with 12 very spacious, wood chipped pegs. Its full of common and mirror carp to around 15lb, grass carp, roach, perch and barbel, plus of course over 30 cats to just over 20lb. I fished the lake when it had been open just over a week, the weather being unseasonably cold at night. Fishing with one other, we had 4 common and mirror carp to just over 11lb. The biggest fish led me a merry dance through a load of lily pads in the pitch black! I was convinced I had lost it many times but eventually my patience got the better of it, turning out to be an immaculate common. Its interesting that all the fish were caught on big baits intended for catfish, two 21mm halibut pellets topped off with a 15mm Sticky Baits bloodworm pop-up. Any singular boilie set ups were left alone all night, so my advice for this lake is to go big! These fish are greedy. With the ‘prime time’ of the evening being very chilly, it was certainly my excuse for not catching a cat! I will have to return soon before the summer ends, hopefully on a much more balmy evening
For £18 for 24 hours this lake is very reasonably priced and the owners are friendly and helpful, I fully recommended giving this a try. Though there is a road nearby, it is very peaceful at night and I fully enjoyed watching the local bats hunt their prey in the twilight, whilst tawny owls hoot at eachother in the distance, magical stuff.

A lovely near-double that took a huge bait intended for catfish!

Ceasar’s Palace at Bake Lakes

Bake Lakes

Bake Lakes is a very popular fishery near Liskeard in Cornwall, it boasts several fine lakes that hold a great array of fish species, many at specimen sizes. Luxor is it’s most popular lake with Carp to the mid twenties, but most of the lakes are capable of springing a surprise or two. The new specimen lake is called Caeser’s Palace. Every lake on the complex is named after a Vegas casino and this grand name is a natural fit for a place that will one day hold giants. The lake used to be full of trout but after extensive renovations it’s inhabitants are now double figure carp. I had a 12 hour window to see if I could catch one of these virgin fish that swam in this fantastic looking water.
The lake is large and the pegs are generously spaced, in its clear water there had been stocked 85 mirror and common carp to 20lb. I fished it when it had only been open for a couple of weeks and though evidence of the renovation works was there, you could already see how well this lake will mature in years to come. The only negative aspect being a pair of swans who took great delight in hoovering any free bait in shallow water – there are worse things I suppose! I had arrived to fish overnight, with an idea that early morning would be the best chance of a fish. It turned out to be a correct assumption, because at 7am I had my only run, a ridiculously hard fighting mirror of just over 11lb, one of the smaller fish in the lake. Taken on a Sticky Baits bloodworm boilie with a 5mm krill pop up. As I was leaving another angler landed one of the better fish at 15lb, both of the mirror’s were immaculate and never caught before.
The lake has huge potential and I think the fish certainly have the genes to grow on significantly, with spring fed clear water, their colouration will be fantastic too. Couple this with the regular kingfisher sightings, owls and bats at night and the peaceful location, it makes for a great place to fish. Fishing is £12 a day ticket and £20 for 24 hours. An exciting, mysterious water, a true connoisseur carper’s choice.

A perfect 11lb mirror, caught early on a stunning summer’s morning.

There are many other superb fisheries in the South-West and with these two new additions that will only get better, it goes to show that we are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to some of the best sea and coarse fishing in the UK. So try them for yourself and enjoy fantastic fishing in beautiful surroundings.

I’ll see you on the bank.

If you enjoy multi-species fishing and rambles about salt and freshwater fishing, please check out my blog at.
http://www.fishchallenge.blogspot.co.uk

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Starfish: the return of the 5 legged menace

One day I am reporting great catches from Chesil, then the next day, it seems like someone flicked a switched and the fishing just turned off. What’s happening? I fished at West Bexington yesterday, in conditions that seemed pretty favourable on the surface. A steady SE wind creating a small bit of surf with clear water. Recent reports suggested that bait fish and Mackerel were in abundance, yet I really struggled, as did everyone around me. I had a message from Tom Jones, telling m he fished Ferrybridge area on Thursday night. He had several small COnger and plenty of Pout during darkness, and he topped it off with a lovely Undulate Ray. However fishing during the day on Friday was really tough, with only a few small Bream. Personally I think just catching the Undulate would have been good enough for me.

Well I have a theory that might explain what’s going on. Firstly, we are coming off the back of a set of very small neap tides. When ever I am asked what state of tide is best to fish Chesil, I tell anglers it doesn’t matter, as long as there is tidal flow. On the very small tides, you don’t get much tidal flow at all. It means that the bait fish are not as effected by the tide, so they don’t get forced into small areas, where they are easily picked off. It also means that the food that is normally washed to fish holding areas, or disturbed by the tide is not there. Then there is another problem; Starfish. Not just a couple of Starfish, but thousands of them. They are moving along the seabed eating everything in their path, just like a plague of locusts. You can see from this great video filmed by local diver, Colin Garret, just how many Starfish, there are near to the wreck of the landing craft at Ferrybridge.

The Starfish will continue to move across the seabed, devouring everything in there path. They are particularly destructive to mussel and scallop beds. The one thing that will stop them is a large storm, This will break up the numbers and those close to the shore are likely to be smashed up and killed in the surf. It looks like we have just such a storm heading our way on Saturday. Hopefully the Starfish will have moved further offshore before then.

Picture courtesy of Pam Brophy

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.3°c

Chesil Beach:  A small chop, with clear water

Portland: small swell with clear water

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: Given that what I have reported earlier, does that mean that our fishing on Chesil is over for the next week or so? No not at all. Hopefully the Starfish won’t wipe out everything along the beach and the spring tides are starting to build. Easterly winds will push the baitfish and Mackerel offshore a bit, so you may need to be hitting some distance to pick them up. However that is not so difficult with an easterly wind behind you. The Bream fishing may well be effected though. To the West, Plaice fishing should be OK, with the fish becoming fatter by the week.

I spotted a number of Garfish within float fishing range. Dusk will see plenty of Scad very close to the shore.

Portland: There was a lot of weed in the water around Portland Bill this morning. That always has a negative effect on the Pollock fishing. Wrasse are happy to feed in these conditions, especially if you use Ragworm. Marks such as Church Ope Cove will have a 1m or more of surf, which is great for Bass fishing. 

Portland Harbour: I always like to fish Portland Harbour as the spring tides build. The Bass and Pollock feed well, especially as the tide just starts to come in. Expect Garfish, Bass, Pollock, Wrasse and Flounder. There is also a chance of a Gilthead Bream. Sandsfoot Castle sailing club, is a good area to try for them.

Weymouth Bay: I had a walk around the harbour on Sunday and I noticed that the normally sedate Mullet were very active. In fact I would go as far as saying they were acting quite aggressively, moving around and chasing each other continuously. Unfortunately, my wife wouldn’t allow me to stop for an hour or o to try and tempt them with a baited Mepp spinner. As usual the piers will produce loads of fish, but they will be busy. 

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Summer Fishing on Chesil

Chesil Beach can often be over rated at many times of the year, but summer is not one of those times. It is when it comes into it’s own and out-fishes just about every other mark in the country. The diversity of species is incredible. How many other marks do you know where you can catch Pout, Poor Cod, Codling, Gurnard, Bream, Smoothound, Conger eel, Rays, Plaice, Trigger fish, Pollock, Bass, Mackerel, Scad, Shad, Red Mullet, Grey Mullet, Wrasse and Garfish all in the course of the day. They are just some of the species that Chesil regularly produces in August. Many anglers ask me where is the best spot to fish this month. If you want to improve your chances of Plaice then you need to head to the western end of the Beach. For those that don’t know where that is, it is Abbotsbury, West Bexington and for those that don’t mind a trek you can try Cogden. This is the end that regular contributor Ben Stockley fished this week and found a number of fine plump Plaice.

You get a lot of the other species that I mentioned earlier from the same end of the beach, but for me the Ferrybridge area is my favourite. You can pick up some nice Plaice there as well, but for species such as Bream and Trigger Fish it is far better. The diversity of species is also greater, with the exception of the Ray species, I have caught every one of the others on the list between Ferrybridge and Chesil Cove. Lets not forget that the British Record Stingray came from the Chesil Cove area last year.

The other most common question I get asked, is what is the best bait to use. For summer fishing you can’t go far wrong with Mackerel. You can use it in many different ways. A Mackerel head cast out 10yds is brilliant for Bass. Use a whole fillet for Rays and Conger, or cut it into small strips for just about every other species. I have had my biggest Grey Mullet on float fished Mackerel strip, whilst fishing for Garfish. Talking of Garfish, August is when they turn up in numbers on the beach and around the piers. For those of you who have not seen my how to catch Garfish video, have a look at it, to see how easy it is.

One of my other favourite baits is Peeler Crab. It has to be live Peeler for me. When I have it, I am always confident of catching a large fish. There are still plenty of Smoothound around at this time of year and they love Peeler.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 16.9°c

Chesil Beach:  A small chop, with clear water

Portland: small swell with clear water

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: It really is a case of getting on the beach and trying to catch as many species as you can. As I mentioned earlier you could catch just about anything. If you want a hectic half hour of sport then use small metal lures or float fished Mackerel strip at dawn and dusk. The number of Scad, Garfish and Mackerel that are normally around for that short period, will blow your mind.

Portland: WIth clear water, the Pollock and mackerel will be around in numbers. Once again dawn and dusk are the best times for the Pollock. Wrasse are very easy to catch at the moment. You can target them using soft plastic lures or bait and you are almost guaranteed of catching. Use a float set up to avoid tackle losses if you are using bait. Ragworm is by far the best bait to use. 

If you fancy a spot of Conger fishing then you are better off trying after dark. Portland is home to some huge Eels.

Portland Harbour: There are plenty of fish all around Portland Harbour. Bass, Gilthead and Black Bream, Mullet and Flounder can all be caught during the day. First and last light will see large shoals of Mackerel and Scad move close to the shore, even in shallow water. The biggest problem for daytime anglers will be other beach users, especially wind and kite surfers.

Weymouth Bay: Chesil BEach is not the only place to fish in the area. Weymouth Harbour and Preston Beach produce plenty of fish. Once again the problem on the beach will be other water users, especially at Bowleaze Cove. During the day it is better to stick to the piers, which produce Pollock, Wrasse, Bream, Mackerel and Garfish to name but a few. 

After dark Preston fishes well for all sorts of flat fish and Rays. You have a good chance of a Bass and Smoothound as well.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Crooked lines review

I have to admit that I would not normally have picked up a copy of Dominic Garnett’s latest book, Crooked Lines. Not because I have anything against Dominic, but because I thought I had read all the fishing tales type books that were worth reading. I came across Crooked Lines, whilst looking for a book on Fly Fishing for Coarse fish. Dominic just happened to have written a book on exactly that subject, which I bought, but that’s another review. I had read a number of Dominic’s online articles and as I was ordering the other book anyway, I thought it might be worth a read.

If you are hoping that his book is full of tips and advice on how to catch numerous freshwater and sea fish, or it is full of stories of catching leviathans, then you are going to be a bit disappointed. However, if you are looking for tales of fish caught by an angler with his boots planted firmly on terra firma then read on. Most of the fishing books that I have read, tell of great fishing exploits in locations that are far flung, or way too expensive or exclusive, for most of us mere mortals to ever be able to visit them and experience those thrills. In Crooked Lines, Dominic writes about the highs and lows of fishing that any ordinary angler anywhere around the country can relate too. The book covers everything from catching Carp and coarse fish in small weedy ponds and smelly Canal tow paths, to the frozen lakes in Norway in search of Arctic Char and let’s not forget his exploits in attempting to catch one of my favourite fish, Thin Lipped Mullet.

Crooked Lines is a compilation of 24 short fishing stories. I mentioned earlier that I came across Crooked Lines whilst looking for a book on fly fishing for coarse fish. I was going to read the fly fishing book first, but I thought I would have a quick read of the first story. That was a mistake; I couldn’t put the book down after that. I like to think of myself as an all round angler, so I could relate to just about every one of his tales. He writes about tackling places that I have driven past a hundred times and thought, I should give that a try. Others so ordinary, you wouldn’t give them a second glance. It just makes me want to grab a rod and get out there fishing.

Sometimes I wonder if I try and make fishing difficult for myself, by trying things like fly fishing for Bass, Pike and Carp, or go to waters that are notoriously difficult to fish. Other times I want to have and easy time and do nothing other than catch a few tiddlers on LRF gear. This is exactly the same mindset that Dominic seems to have. The difference is that he puts it down in words, far better than I could ever do. He introduces some of the most unlikely characters and angling companions in his stories. The artwork in the book is just as quirky as the characters and locations.

I won’t spoil anymore of the book, by giving away much more of the details. All I can say is if you only buy one other angling book again in your life, then get this one. It is available for £9.99 through Amazon, but you can get it directly from Dominic’s own site dgfishing.co.uk, where you may well be able to pick up some great offers, such as a signed first edition.

Review 0

Summary

A brilliant read for any angler, no matter if you are into sea or freshwater fishing. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop.

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A tale of 2 halves

As the weather was looking considerably more settled than during the week it was decided that myself and a good friend and new to sea fishing Nick Snelling would hit the shingle of Chesil Beach, with the car loaded and spirits high we left full of optimism as to what this magical place would throw up for us today. Upon our arrival we were greeted to a surprisingly rather empty car park which is unusual for a Saturday evening but none the less a welcome surprise.

so we started the walk across the shingle and found there to be only a few anglers spread across the Ferrybridge section of the beach, we opted for out usual mark which is roughly within a few hundred yards the Adelaide wreck.

With just a gentle breeze and a calming sea we set up base camp and got our lines in the water, my target for the night was to be a ray and Nicks was Smoothound. within 10 minutes of the first cast the rods were tapping away and before long the obligatory Pouting were on the beach, then a slightly better bite resulted in this 3lb 8oz Smoothound for Nick although just a pup he was over the moon because it was the first of this species for him. 

around an hour after that and 3 more pups for Nick out of nowhere my rod doubled over and i hit into something big, after a couple of initial thumps and slow lunges i was certain I was into a good ray, i managed to get it almost into the breakers when all of a sudden the line just went slack and the fish was gone… as gutted as i was i have to accept that that is fishing and these things do happen.

as daylight started to break we had a change of tactics and I changed my rigs over to 2 hook flappers and size 2 hooks baited with mixtures of blow lug and fresh blacks with the hope of a bream or 2,

thankfully the change in tactics brought me a few fish, most notably this Bream of 1 lb 5 oz

and a stunning Red Gurnard of around the ¾ of a pound mark 

All in all it was a pretty successful trip with a fair few fish and good company, after the yomp back to the car tired,aching and puffed out, and muttering the words ‘never again will i take this much gear’ and ‘i cant walk much further’ I already cant wait for my next session.

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Bass at their best

As predicted last week the Bass fishing was pretty good.  No sooner had I put the forecast up and when my friend Paul Black called me to say he had managed 3 Bass the night before, with the biggest going 7lb. They were tiddlers compared to the 13.5lb Bass that Paul Stewart had from Abbotsbury

I am out with Paul Whittal on Offshore Rebel today, in the hope of a Bass from the boat. If I can get a signal I will do a live fishing stream on my Facebook page.

August is the start of the really good fishing and one of my favourite months. A lot of Scad have moved in close to the shore. Whilst not great eating fish, they make brilliant bait for Bass.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 16°c

Chesil Beach:  A small chop, with lightly coloured water

Portland: small swell with lightly coloured clear water

Portland Harbour:Wavelets and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast:

I am really looking forward to the next few days. We can look forward to Mackerel, Scad, Rays, Plaice, Bream, Red Mullet and Bass. What more could you want? How about some hard fighting Smoothound. I love it that the Smoothound are around in decent numbers now.

Best baits for Smoothound are live Peeler or Hermit Crabs. Now that the Mackerel are in then either use Mackerel Heads close in, or a live small Mackerel to target Bass. If you are after Rays, then a Mackerel Fillet, whole squid, Pout or Sandeel are all excellent baits.

Portland: The Island is where I am going to be spending most of my time over the next few days. I will be in search of Pollock, Wrasse and Bass, in an attempt to get them all on lures and claim a Grand Slam. Marks, such as Chesil Cove and Church Ope Cove will be good for all those species. As will Portland Bill, however that is guaranteed to be busy.

I will be exclusively using lures or flies, however bait will work, either float fished or hard on the bottom. Ragworm or Mackerel strip fished at dusk under a float set to around 3m in depth will get you Pollock.

Portland Harbour: I expect to see small Bass and Flounder, along with a few Pollock and small Wrasse from the harbour. Bream should now be moving in close around Sandsfoot Castle and along the Rodwell trail area.

Weymouth Bay: 

The piers will produce loads of different species to very simple tactics. A Ragworm dropped straight down the side of the pier will have loads of fish attacking it instantly. This is a brilliant mark to introduce your kids to fishing this summer. Scad are plentiful at dawn and dusk and Garfish should be around in good numbers. 

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones; but there are……

I saw a whole duck disappear this evening. Not one of my flies, not a duckling; a whole, adult duck.

I heard (and saw) the fish charge through the reed bed, heard the commotion as it hit and then the plaintive cries of the duck. Noises that shouldn’t ever come out of a duck.

Its mate was crying for it as I waded towards the scene, only in time to watch the alien queen sink back into the security of the reeds.

Did it bother me? Not especially; that’s nature, after all. But it’s nice to know that she’s still in there and that she gets hungry from time to time…….

“If you keep at it long enough, one day you may witness some greater disturbance, some rushing breach of the water’s surface so startling and violent and exhilarating that you too will suddenly, and always thereafter, believe in monsters” Paul Schullery

Yeah; I guess I’ve been around for quite a while, now.

a picture of tranquillity that belies what lurks within….

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Summer fishing report from the Poole area

Apologies for the lack of posts. I have been very busy with work ,but I still had managed to get a few sessions in.  July has always a busy month both in work and fishing terms. Sometimes I have been taking the fishing gear and leaving straight from the job to hit the beach. I will try to sum up some the highlights that July had to offer.

Having heard that some really big plaice had been caught in early July. I had a few sessions trying for them. After a couple of blanks. I managed to catch two small in one session. Disappointed I had gone plaice fishing and landed plaice but they were nowhere near the size that Gareth Griffiths had caught on one of his epic road trips.

I also had wanted to have a bash at the big smoothound that have been caught along the Hampshire coast. With a bucket of Peeler me and my Martin chose Hillhead to fish, as I had heard some reports of some big catches there. I couldn’t get away until later that Saturday and in the back of my mind. I had a nagging doubt that Hillhead is quite a small venue and getting there late might not secure a good fishing spot.

After a quick debate we decided to fish for bass at  Chapmans pool instead.  We had the beach to ourselves and with a flooding spring tide things looked good. Long story short! After using nearly £50 worth of peeler crab between us we never had a bite all night. Unless you count the small huss Martin had on sandeel!!

As July heated up conditions looked good for a spot of sole fishing.  Normally I fish Southbourne for sole. For a change in wanted to try another venue for sole. I spoke to some mates who suggested Swanage. As it normally throws up the odd good sole in July and August.  With three rods set up with small two hook paternosters . I fished one in close, one at range and one somewhere in between. Another night spent fishless! Not a bite not an enquiry. Nothing!

Last Friday I had a go at sandbanks fishing the spring tide with worm in hope of anything! With low water around 6pm I arrived at 9pm hoping to miss the worst of the tide and weed.  By 10.30pm I still couldn’t hold bottom with a 6oz gripper weight.  This was a bad omen and I prepared myself for another blank!! Surprisingly during the 10 minute slack water at midnight I hooked a small strap conger. Another first for me at sandbanks. Personally I would have preferred a plaice or a sole of the same weight.

On the Saturday I took the family for a day out in our boat. We headed over Brownsea island and naturally I took a spinning rod and the worms left over from the night before, (Just in case we had a few drifts up and down the channel). We landed on the beach and the family took up their sun tanning positions. Not me, I set up the spinning rod up and fished off the back of the boat. Casting no more than 20 yards out. I had a small bass then another and another. Then the rod rattled with a classic flounder bite. Reeling in I was happy to slide a plump summer flounder up the beach.

It seems to me that boat fishing in the harbour is enjoying a bit of a renaissance. About 10 years ago I remember thinking how bad the fishing had become. Now it’s nice to see all manner of species being caught both in numbers and sizes too. Bass, plaice,bream black, red and Gilthead just a few that I have seen caught recently. 

Even the mackerel arrived at sandbanks this week. I met up with angling paI Shane Munford at around 6pm just in time to see big shoals busting up on the surface. Just out of casting range. I gave it an hour of spinning and went home fishless. Only to be told by Shane that after I left, that the mackerel moved in at dusk and responsibly everyone had a good catch.

This weekend I had my first crack at the mullet fishing this year. Pound for pound these fish are one of the hardest fighting fish I know. Fishing the old power station site I hoped that the fish would be hanging around the pontoons there. I wasn’t disappointed and within minutes of dropping my freelined bread over the edge of the quay. It was mobbed by several mullet up to 3lb greedily sucking at the bait. I was fishing only inches under the surface and you get to see everything. Watching as you see the part of the bait with the hook get closer and closer to its target. It’s heart stopping stuff.

Unfortunately at times if you hook one in a shoal. It spooks the rest. Sometimes a move further down the quayside can find a new pod of fish. Unfortunately this was not the case this time and I never even seen another mullet after catching that first fish. I gave it a few hours but was happy with the scrap I’d had earlier. 

August looks to be as good. With all the local marks fishing well. Hopefully the weather will play ball too.

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Big Bass week

One of the things that makes Fishing Tails unique as a site is that we don’t just tell you whats been caught, we try to forecast what’s going to be caught. Well this week I am going to put my neck on the block again and predict that we will see several big Bass coming from the shore. I was right about the Cod the previous week and I am sure that given the strong South Westerly winds we are going to have on Tuesday and Wednesday, we will see some big Bass coming from Chesil. There are plenty of Bass around and once that surf builds up on Chesil and the bait fish get battered against the shore, as well as crabs, worms and other pieces of food get churned up. The Bass will move in very close. All those mackerel heads that have been rotting on the high tide line, will be pulled into the water. Big Bass are lazy. They would rather just swim along and hoover up easy pickings than chase fish.  I make no apologies for re-using the following pictures of Bass caught on Mackerel heads, just 10yds out in just such conditions.

Two 11lb Bass in rough conditions. So lets talk you through it. First and foremost, don’t take any risks. Chesil is a very dangerou beach when it is rough. Keep back from the waters edge and never enter the water to try and retrieve any fish, no matter how big. Use big baits and keep them close. Mackerel heads, whole squid, Whole hermit or peeler crab are all great baits. Use a Pulley Pennel rig or and Up and Over with 4/0 or larger hooks. Use an extra long shock leader. This will help bully a big fish out of the surf. Set your clutch so that a big fish can take line if it needs to.

Its not all about Bass though, as the main run of summer fish are here. Ben Stockley fished the Ferrybridge area, my more favoured end of the beach and had a good selection of species including Bream Gurnard and Smoothound. 

Jonny Finn reported a Hound fest on Friday, when he traveled to Abbotsbury. He had 10 Smoothhound including one on his first cast. He also had a nice Bass and a Conger. He said the Smoothounds were taking anything that he put in front of them. I was pretty annoyed as I had managed to get some live Peeler and didn’t manage a rattle at West Bexington, well done Jonny, keep the reports coming.

Chesil Beach: slight swell with clear water

Portland: small swell with clear water

Portland harbour: Calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: we need to split the week up to look at the forecast. Today, Thursday and Friday you should be able to get into your typical  Chesil summer catch as shown in the picture below. Smoothound, Bream and Gurnard should be around, with plenty of Mackerel showing.

Tuesday and Wednesday is a different matter. It will be rough and Bass are likely the only species you are likely to get.

Portland: Expect Wrasse, Pollock, Garish and Bass from all round Portland.

Portland Harbour: I was fishing the harbour last night and early this morning. It was full of Scad and Mackerel. They seemed to be everywhere. They were easy to catch on small metal lures. There is a good chance of a Bass on lures as well.

Weymouth Bay: Lots of fish  coming from the piers. Night sessions at Preston and Bowleaze could well produce Rays and Bass

The piers will be pretty busy now that the school holidays have started. If you are looking to introduce your kids to fishing, then the piers are ideal starting places. They have lots of small fish that are really easy to catch, but you get plenty of decent fish in amongst them. Float fish a strip of Mackerel for Pollock, Garfish and Mackerel.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can only keep one Bass, we can certainly catch more. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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If you want to find out more info about sea fishing reels, check out www.myseareels.com