Ferrybridge
The Fleet itself is an important area for nature and there are numerous designated bird sanctuary areas along its length, any fishing undergone beyond Ferrybridge is access via a walk onto the beach at Ferrybridge and then a long taxing walk on the shingle sandwiched between the shoreline to your left and the Fleet to your right. DO NOT be tempted top try to cross the Fleet as aside from the obvious no go bird sanctuary areas, the waters run incredibly fast and hard in places and can be deceptively deep.
The whole stretch at this very well known and popular venue can offer some excellent sport at times with species known to frequent the area through different times of the year being Black Bream, Gurnard, Bass, Cod, Plaice, Conger Eel, Smoothound, Blonde and Undulate Ray, Mackerel, Garfish as well as the out of the blue species like Triggerfish.
Targeting such a vast variety of fish is of course impossible to do all in one go so it’s important to work out your plan of action based on the time of year, conditions and preferred targets. Starting in the Summer/Autumn which is probably regarded as the very best time to fish the beach species like the Black Bream and Gurnard can offer some excellent bite action on lighter gear, these are fished well for on two hook rigs either loop, flappers or standard clip downs with small size 2 or 4 Stinger or Phantom hooks baited with a variety of different baits such as squid or worm, feathering a few fresh mackerel and using strips of mackerel can be very effective also.
Fishing with these tactics on worm baits at range can also see the odd, nice plaice or two. It’s a good idea when fishing the this area to use two rods with one set out on the smaller two hook rigs as mentioned and one rod out fishing with a bigger bait for some of the bigger species such as the Ray, Conger or Hounds.
A standard pulley or up and over rig will see you in with a chance of any of the bigger species fishing good strong hooks such as the Manta Extra or Top Gun ranges baited with fish, sandeel or squid baits with crab being the go-to bait to find one of the Hounds.
The bigger baits are best fished as far as you can out and remember to keep checking and changing the baits regularly as they will get picked and pecked at by the smaller Bream and crab etc. Its always worth a go at first and last light in the surf on the lures for a nice bass and also jigging for the mackerel will be much more rewarding at these times in the day.
As you move away from the Summer into the Autumn time attention often turns to Cod fishing and at this time of year following a good on shore blow you will be in with a very good and realistic chance of finding one or two, for some reason likely due to the deeper water the area up to the far right in front of the bridging camp can offer some of the better cod fishing at this time but be warned it is a VERY long walk on the shingle and those of you that are not fit and light on your feet will find the walk very difficult.
Standard cod tactics of Pennel pulley or Pennel up and overs are the way to go with baits scoring well being crab, black and blow lug and squid. With the right conditions you can see codling being caught right into the winter up until end of Jan/Feb time, now we all know the cod fishing is only a shadow of its former self but there is still a realistic opportunity to catch the odd decent fish.
Over the colder winter months, its always worth sticking out a nice fish bait on a heavy setup as this is prime time to connect with a very big Eel!
Over the years there have been some massive Conger landed and unfortunately lost also, if when fishing your fish baits you find your hooks being bitten off you have probably encountered a spur dog which do show at times, these fish do have a set of gnashers and without a wire biting trace its pot luck weather you’ll land one.
This can be said for ALL of Chesil beach but with its very steep seaward banks Ferrybridge area can be particularly dangerous during a blow with big swells and steep unstable footing, NEVER take any undue risks when landing fish, ALWAYS keep your eyes on the sea as big swells can literally come from nowhere a wipe you out! Think carefully where you set your gear up giving that sea plenty of respect and space. The best wind directions for this whole area will be from the North or Northeast, winds from these directions will see it coming from over your shoulders and will aid with distance in the cast as well as help to reduce the sea state. All of Chesil beach is a place where you really do need to plan your trips with a close eye on conditions both whilst you intend to fish but also in the days leading to your session, if you’re unsure or it looks iffy just give it a miss as the chances are aside from being dangerous the huge rolling waves will make the fishing practically impossible.