POT LUCK
Earlier that day, the near-perfect weather conditions had got the adrenalin flowing when the three of us headed west to what, for me, would be a new mark.
Our destination was Fortuneswell, a village along Portland’s western flank. It has a reputation for big fish, and nothing grabs my attention more than the chance of latching into a monster ballan wrasse. The area also produces some really big conger eels, bull huss and pollack too, along with some nice bass, especially during the last knockings.
As usual, the banter was flowing as, during late afternoon, we pulled into the small, free car park situated at the western end of Brandy Row, in Fortuneswell. From here, it would be a case of donning the hiking boots for a bit of a trek. As usual when heading to a new mark, we had a mountain of gear hoping to cover all aspects, but once again I had forgotten my lure rod. It’s an old age thing.
A word of warning for those heading to this stretch of coastline, it is pretty rugged terrain that does not take prisoners. Choose your footwear wisely. I would also recommend that you time your trip to start at low water so you can select your fishing area with care, avoiding the really snaggy spots whenever possible.
From the car park we followed Brandy Row to the seawall and then along the promenade past Quiddles Cafe and on to the coast path, which at first heads past a series of beach huts before winding along a pretty rugged path. Initially, our hearts sank as there were long strings of what appeared to be pots just 30 metres from the low-water mark. As we rounded the first point, after walking for approximately 30 minutes, there was a break in the strings, probably about 200 metres, just enough room for the three of us to wet a line.
Fishing along this stretch of coastline with just a lure rod is not a problem, but when legering, you need a fairly robust traditional beachcaster because the vast majority of Continental-type rods will simply buckle under the pressure.
I used my trusty old Fox beachcasters along with Shimano Bull’s Eye fixed-spool reels loaded with 30lb line straight through. These reels are extremely robust, well suited for the rough terrain and are capable of taming a real beast if required. Likewise, Steve chose robust rods along with multiplier reels. Chris opted for far lighter tackle, resulting in heavy tackle losses, although he did have a fair amount of success when using a spinning rod. Our bait box was stocked with ragworms, squid, fresh mackerel and sandeels.
QUICK START
With the sun scorching down, combined with the flat, calm conditions and gin-clear water, I was not expecting any immediate action, but I was in for a shock. Within minutes of our baits hitting the water, one of Steve’s rods sprang into action and indicated a series of rattling bites. The culprit turned out to be a pouting, which I was not expecting in bright conditions. The greedy fish had taken a worm bait tipped off with a sliver of squid.
A few minutes after Steve recorded the first fish of the session, I landed a small corkwing wrasse, quickly followed by a far more positive bite, which I left for a few minutes before the rod again sprang into action.
With a fish thumping away on the other end, I thought I had hooked into a really decent ballan, but a couple of minutes later a double shot of reasonable-size wrasse were slid on to the rocky shoreline, quickly photographed and returned.
For the next hour it was a constant stream of similar ballans, which never seem to know when to throw in the towel. Steve continued to land a mixture of wrasse and pouting that only seemed interested in worm baits tipped off with squid.
To my left, Chris was losing far too much tackle and really struggling. Eventually, he moved nearer to me and started to land a few fish. Remember, if you are losing tackle when freelance fishing you can move; even 30 yards can make all the difference.
With the sun finally disappearing over the horizon, we all switched to Pennell rigs carrying far larger fish baits in the hope of a bull huss or perhaps a hefty conger eel that can top the 40lb mark along this stretch of coastline. Steve was the first to strike, landing a bull huss followed by a baby one for me. With the tide rapidly ebbing, the action simply melted away, although, right at the end, I had really chunky pouting that took a large mackerel bait presented on a size 3/0 Pennell rig. Fishing can be a funny old game.
On this occasion we did not manage to land any monsters. We will leave those for another day. What I shall remember for years to come is the spectacular sunset. It is evenings like this that draw me back time and time again to our stunning shoreline. ■
■ Getting there: Take the A354 through Weymouth and on to the Isle of Portland. Fortuneswell is at the extreme eastern end of Chesil Beach. Park in the free car park at the western end of Brandy Row, Fortuneswell. Follow Brandy Row to the seawall and then along the promenade past Quiddles Café at The Esplanade, Chiswell (DT5 1LN) and on to the coast path.