Early Cod and late Bream. Its all happening

Finally,  the good fishing that we expect on Chesil in September, has kicked in. its just a shame that it has taken until almost October. Anyway enough of my complaining, I dont have time, as I don’t want to miss the great conditions that we have today.  It looks perfect for Bass and Cod and its not too rough for Bream. I have had several reports of large numbers of Bream at Ferrybridge and Abbotsbury. Scott Clarke had a couple of stunning looking Cod the other night.

The flat fish are also around in good numbers, with the Sole fishing being the best I can remember for a long time. Chris also managed a few Sole from the same mark.

To prove how good the Plaice fishing is Jase Sheath fished a match at Abbotsbury in pretty tough conditions and was one of a number of anglers that have had a good few Plaice from all along Chesil this week. I am pretty sure they are feeding aggressively in preparation for heading to their winter spawning grounds.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.9°c

Chesil Beach:  2m waves with lightly coloured water. 

Portland: 2m waves with lightly coloured water

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: Today is one of those days that could produce anything including Bass, Cod, Rays, Mackerel, Pollock, Plaice, Bream and Gurnard. If you have the chance then get down here. It will be very busy on the beach tomorrow, as the Cod chasers will be out in force. The downside is that it wont be easy fishing for the next couple of days. There is a strong wind blowing into your face and the surf run off goes back a fair way. You will need to be a reasonable caster to get out to the fish, or you just need to target Bass at close range. Don’t let your line go slack as the surf pounds it. otherwise you will lose all your gear as it gets trapped in the shingle.

Conditions will be very similar tomorrow, then on Sunday the forecast is for almost no wind. That will make for really good conditions to hit those marks at range and pick up the flat fish. If you want some sport don’t forget to bring a float set up for some Garfish, as they love the conditions after a blow.

So what baits to use? The Squid are in, so that has to be one of the best baits to use at the moment. Lugworm, both black and blow will be great for giving off plenty of scent, as will Mackerel. The only problem with mackerel is the high chance of attracting Dogfish. I will be using an Up and Over Rig with 3/0 Varivas super match hooks

Portland: I fished Portland Bill the other evening, in what can only be described as perfect Bass conditions. The water was clear and fizzy and with the wind at my back I was able to cast my lures a long distance. Unfortunately the Bass decided it wasnt for them. I didn’t have a single knock, not even from a Pollock as the light started to fade. However I did see a huge Wrasse cross a very shallow boulder field right under my feet. 

Wrasse fishing should be good this weekend, with the east side of the Island being a lot more comfortable to fish. They will take both soft plastic lures and bait such as Crab and Ragworm.

Portland Harbour: The fishing in the harbour should improve with the larger tide. It is this time of year that we often see some nice Bass along the shallow shore line. Sandsfoot Castle is always one of my favourite marks to target them on lures. There are plenty of small Wrasse and decent Garfish around Ferrybridge.

Weymouth Bay: I seen a very sad sight in Weymouth harbour this week. A fairly young guy was catching numerous Bass and killing them, even though a lot of them were undersized. He clearly knew that he was wrong on both counts, as when I pointed out to him that he was fishing illegally, he made a pathetic excuse up that the fish were all deep hooked and were going to die anyway. This in fact was certainly not the case on the one I seen him catch. I then heard him boast to his mate that he had sold an 8 and 5lb fish to the local chinese restaurant for £15. He did move on when I said I was going to report him, the problem is, where or who do we report these blatant acts too? I am still none the wiser after making a number of calls. If the rule can’t be enforced then remove it and make it a fair playing field for all.

Rant over, and despite him taking a number of Bass, there are still plenty to be had in the harbour. The best bait is live Prawn, Sandeel or Ragworm. The Mullet are also feeding very aggressively and seem happy to take bread on the surface, or chase baited mepps.

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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Honeypot Lakes Catfish Open Match Report – Round Two

Following our success in the first Honeypot Pairs Catfish Match, my partner Ben and I were quick to sign up when the time came for Round 2. By arriving early, we gave ourselves time to walk around the lakes before the match started, enabling us to make educated decisions during the draw. We came out third, and I was quick to secure the “Crafty’s” swim. This swim is in a corner, at the time on the back of the wind and is an area where I have had success whilst catting in the past, so with no other signs of catfish, it seemed a good choice.

Once in the swim, Ben went to catch some livebait, while I tackled up the rods, again with polyball rigs to suspend the baits up in the water. With preparations made, we wasted no time in putting out the rods when 3 o’clock finally came around.

A slow first hour left all teams waiting tensely in anticipation of the first run, which unfortunately fell to the anglers fishing in a swim opposite us. Once they had landed the fish, we were quick to try and find out what method was used in an attempt to change our luck, but despite Jim the lake owner insisting they caught the cat on popped-up cheese?, we persevered with our livebait!

Following another uneventful hour, it was clear that a change of tactics was needed. I decided to recast one of my rods further into the corner, in the hope there might be some fish held up there off the back of the wind. I had just walked up the bank to look into the margin when a series of bleeps sent me sprinting back to the swim. In the few seconds it took me to get back to the rod, the run had developed into a one-toner and straight away the fish charged off into the lake. This was to be short-lived, however, as moments later the line parted leaving me shaking with the adrenaline still pumping. There is a gravel bar in this swim running parallel to the bank about 20 yards out and I can only assume that the fish dived down beyond it and cut the line. With 5 hours to go there was still a chance of redemption, but I couldn’t help but feel like that fish might have cost us £300.

Determined not to be beaten, Ben and I set about recasting all the rods with fresh bait, and finally, after a couple of hours work the left-hand rod on top of the bar was away. A relatively short fight resulted in a very welcome 26lb cat. The fish was returned after a few photos and with a couple of hours left on the clock, Ben was keen to get his first fish in the net.The second half of the match was one I will remember for all the wrong reasons. From the nearby grass, we could see clouds of pollen blowing across the lake and for someone who suffers from bad hayfever, I definitely have the wrong lifestyle! I spent the next 2 hours unable to open my eyes while Ben worked hard in an attempt to put another fish on the scorecards but it wasn’t to be.

All too soon Jim announced the end of the match and unbeknownst to us Charlie and Scott had been fishing away behind the island and managed to land 3 fish for 88lbs. Despite the hayfever, lost fish and lack of prize money, I enjoyed a fun afternoon in good company and look forward to the next match. Thanks to Jim and Selina for hosting and congratulations to Charlie and Scott on their great performance.

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Could we see Tuna?

I was told a few weeks ago that there was a large body of warm water moving in the Atlantic, that would bring huge shoals of Mackerel to the UK. Along with the Mackerel and other baitfish, would be Sharks and Tuna. I will admit that I was more than sceptical, but it seems that I may have been a bit hasty in my dismissal. We certainly had a lot of large Mackerel a few weeks ago, even though trying to find many on Chesil last weekend was hard. However I came across this video, posted by Dan Tucker of a shoal of Tuna off Newquay in Cornwall, they varied in size from 4 – 6ft long. Unfortunately as Dan has kept his video listed for friends only, so I can’t copy it on to here.

Chesil beach was back to it’s normal way of fishing, with a few good fish coming out, but a lot of blanks. That is pretty unusual for this time of year, as it is normally very good all along the beach. The fish that were landed were nice. Brenden Moon had a great session with Conger, Cod and Undulate Rays.

Saturday night seen lots of Smoothound, especially from Abbotsbury. Kevin and Ryen Brandwood fished there and managed 9 Hounds and a small Conger between them. Ryen pictured below managed his first ever hound. All the fish came on Peeler, both live and frozen.

We are due another blow on Saturday. It will be similar to last weekends short blow, which did little to improve fishing. However if it continues for longer than the 24 hours it is forecast to do, then we may well see Cod and Bass again.

Sea Conditions: Water temperature 17.8°c

Chesil Beach:  Calm with clear water, changing to rough on Saturday

Portland: Calm with clear water. A large swell will pick up on Saturday and continue on through Sunday

Portland Harbour: Calm and clear

Weymouth Bay: Calm and clear

Chesil Beach forecast: Very few Mackerel around at the moment and the prospects are not looking great for Saturday. However things will improve on Sunday with the chance of Bass and Cod during the day. I would also expect to see Pout and Dogfish in the coloured water. The coloured water wont affect the Smoothounds, which should be plentiful on Peeler Crab.

Portland: There is a good chance of a lure caught Bass from Portland Bill on Saturday. Keep well back from the water if you are venturing on to the lower ledges. Wrasse fishing should be OK today and on Sunday, but poor on Saturday.

Portland Harbour: A good place to fish in the SW wind  and a very good chance to get  Garfish or small Bass.

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