Portland provides some
excellent lure fishing, with dozens of marks from the
rocky ledges at Portland Bill to the fast flowing waters
of the Fleet Lagoon. See below for my tips on lure
fishing for each species.
-
Bass -
Bass can be caught on almost any lure, depending on
what they are feeding at the time. For Portland Bill
and the rock marks try a brightly coloured jointed
plug during early morning or late evening. For the
Fleet and harbour try a similar plug but smaller as
the fish tend to be juveniles and therefore smaller
in size. The Fleet is an excellent place to try your
hand at fly fishing or free lined live prawn. Fish
near to Ferry Bridge just as the tide starts to run
in, especially during the evening. Don't forget the
ever popular Dexter Wedge, fig.1 no's. 6&7.
They cast very well due to their weight and take
Bass and Mackerel from the beach.
|
Two Bass that I caught in the Fleet 27th May
2005 |
My friend Derek with his first ever Bass |
|
 |
 |
-
Mullet -
Mullet can be caught on small spinner type lures
like type 9 and 10 in Fig. 1. Remove the
treble hook and replace it with a strong size 1 or 2
and bait the lure with rag worm or sand eel.
Weymouth Harbour is an excellent place for mullet
but also give Sandsfoot castle and Portland Bill a
try.
-
Pollack -
Pollack tend to go for sand eel type lures but will
also be caught on jelly worms. At the time of
writing (May 2005) they were regularly being caught
on brightly coloured jointed plugs like no. 10 in
fig. 2 at Portland Bill during the evenings. Try
deep spinning with frozen (or live) sand eel in the
deep water around Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill.
-
Mackerel -
Mackerel will take a bare hook if it is shiny, any
lure that imitates their natural prey, whitebait,
will catch them. Most people use beachcasters with
6oz leads and a string of feathers to harvest the
shoals. I see people carrying bucket loads of fish
home and I am sure that many go to waste. It is much
more fun using a light spinning rod or a course
fishing match rod and a single lure. Small Dexter
Wedges are ideal for this purpose as is any lure
that is silver or white. A single Mackerel puts up a
great fight on light tackle so give it a try.
Note - Since this page was
written in 2005 an excellent new range of weighted
sandeel/shad type lures have hit the market. These are
Tempest Sidewinders and are great for most predatory
fish including bass,
click here.
The pictures below show a
selection of lures from my tackle box, click each image
to see it full size. Each lure is numbered in the large
picture. The table on the right explains each lure and
what you might catch with it.
|
Figure 1 |
A selection
of spinners and spoons from my tackle box
|
| 1-4
- A selection of spoons in different weights and
colours. Good for Bass, Pollack and Mackerel. |
| 5 -
A silver pirk-type lure that imitates small prey
fish. Heavy for its size and casts well. Good
for Bass and Mackerel. |
| 6&7
- Dexter Wedges in different sizes and weights.
Excellent for Bass and mackerel |
|
8
- A smaller coloured spoon
for close in work, lightweight so it will not
scare the fish with the splash. Good for Bass. |
|
9&10
- Two small spinners that
are ideal for mullet. |
|
|
Figure 2 |
A selection
of plugs from my tackle box
|
| 1 -
Jointed silver hollographic shallow diving plug
for Bass and Pollack. |
| 2 -
non-jointed coloured shallow diving plug for
Bass and Pollack. |
| 3 -
Rapala rattling plug. I caught plenty of fish in
the Caribbean with this one but non yet here! |
|
4
- A large surface popper
plug for big Bass. |
|
5
-
A small surface popper
for smaller Bass and Mackerel, I have caught
garfish on these at Portland Bill. Use when the
fish are feeding close in on Chesil of Portland
Bill. |
| 6 -
Fladen Bass Bullet, excellent sinking lure for
Bass, casts well on light tackle. |
| 7 -
Gold and red jointed shallow diving plug for
Bass and Pollack. |
| 8 -
Non-jointed shallow diving plug for Bass. |
| 9 -
Small minnow type plug for close in Bass and
Mackerel. |
| 10 -
My favourite plug for Bass and Pollack at the
Bill, brightly coloured, jointed and rattles. |
| 11 -
Ron Thompson non-jointed shallow diving plug.
Red is thought to induce takes in predatory fish
like Bass and the silver adds to the effect. |
|
|
Figure 3 |
A selection
of soft imitation lures from my tackle box
|
|
1 -
Storm casting shad. Heavy and casts well. |
| 2 -
Blue Fox 'Slyflex Minnow' |
| 3 -
Storm 4" Rattle Grub - Fished with a lead head
size 1/0 hook for Pollack. |
| 4 -
Flourescent lead head eel - Fished with a size
1/0 hook for Pollack. |
| 5-7
- A selection of Eddystone eels for Pollack.
Deep spin them with a 1oz bomb and a three way
swivel. |
| 8 -
Jelly worms are always useful for Pollack,
fished over the kelp beds with a 1oz bomb as
above and allowed to drift in the current. |
|
|
