November 2009

SHORE: Cod, whiting, flounder and dab will provide the bulk of catches throughout the county but a few conger eels and wrasse may also be landed. Double or treble squid baits mounted on Pennell rigs will be a lethal cod bait while flounder will fall to ragworm in the harbours and estuaries. The Bridging Camp and Ferrybridge sections will be good for whiting, pout and dogfish although the odd trigger fish may still appear during the early part of the month from the wrecks. Wrasse, conger and pout are expected from Chesil Cove. Dab in calm conditions, whiting, dogfish and pouting will dominate catches at West Bexington and Abbotsbury with conger and codling appearing in rough weather. If the water is well coloured fishing can be hectic. Portland rock marks are expected to fish well with specimen wrasse and conger still a possibility. Fish two hours either side of low water. Top marks include Pulpit and Ocean rocks and a few bass will be caught from the Fleet on peeler crab. The Stone Pier in Weymouth will provide some interesting action with plenty of smaller species.
BOAT: Anglers heading out from Weymouth should be in for some fair action with many winter species starting to make their presence felt. Blonde rays will start to thin out on the Kidney and Adamant banks, to be replaced by whiting and the odd cod. Quality conger can be expected from both inshore and deep water marks while there should also be a good stamp of ling taken from the wrecks. A good run of spurdogs can also be expected, with the Kidney bank producing the top action. Whiting and small codling should put in an appearance from the Shambles while pollack and ling are expected from mid-channel wrecks. Some good bass could also be pulled over gunnels especially from the Portland Race area. Whiting will appear in numbers with the Abbotsbury buoy a good early mark. Inshore reefs will produce pollack, bull huss and conger along with good bags of dogfish and pouting off Church Ope Cove, south-east of the Shambles. A few good flounders will also be taken within the harbours by dingy anglers.

December 2009

SHORE: The Weymouth end of Chesil should be on fine form with the two weeks either side of Christmas really producing the action. Whiting and cod are expected to be the dominant species although dogfish, pout, dabs and the odd spurdog are also on the cards. Single hooked hermit and peeler crab tipped off with lugworm or white rag will pick up most species. The Boundary Stone section should provide the best sport especially for the really big whiting and codling. Use a large lugworm and tip it off with a slither of squid or mackerel. Some fair action can also be expected along the western end of Chesil beach with Abbotsbury, Cogden and West Bexington looking set to produce plenty of whiting, poor cod, pout and the odd codling at night during rough conditions. A few big flounders can be expected in Weymouth harbour and the Fleet while small pollack and coalfish will show from the Stone Pier in Weymouth and underneath the ferry bridge. For those chasing big ballan wrasse, now is the time to target the various marks around Portland. A few words of warning however, the large swells that sweep the lower ledges after a big blow are very dangerous, so try again on a calmer day.
BOAT: Anglers heading out from Weymouth can expect some fair action with whiting showing over the Shambles and off the Abbotsbury buoy. Fish to 4lb will make good light tackle sport with mackerel strip or sandeel taking the specimens. There is still a good chance of picking up some codling, brill, turbot and big bass between the west Shambles buoy and Portland, while conger remain active from many inshore marks. A large worm/squid cocktail bait will produce cod. A few big blonde rays should figure from the Kidney bank and east side grounds while mid-channel winter wrecking will again get underway with cod, pollack, ling and conger providing the action. The many inshore reefs will show cod, spurdog, dogfish, thornback rays, bull huss and conger eels. Mixed bags of fish will be taken from the Stennis Ledges. Dingy anglers can expect decent sport with flounders in all the harbours.

Pocket guide to sea angling and tide table booklet available from all south coast
tackle shops
Trevor Sutch