Fishing Christchurch Harbour
&
Surrounding Areas

I have always found it a little strange watching the rod and line boats leave Christchurch harbour and head out to sea in search of their catch. It makes a little more sense now that the harbour has been designated a catch and release 'Sport Fishery' and that to put fish on the table you have to leave this sanctuary but I still think most are missing a trick and really do not understand what is swimming under their keels in just a few feet of water.

Christchurch like the rest of the Solent has two high tides a day which are double peaked a large amount of the time. This means the ebbs are very short (but quick) resulting in us getting a good amount of fishing time but when it goes it's like someone pulled the plug out. The harbour is very shallow in most places so it reminds me more of fishing the flats of Florida than anything else I fish here in the UK. It is a nursery for Bass but is also a great food source for its larger family members. Just recently I had a double figure Bass spit out my fly right by the boat only minutes after it tried to eat the pound and half fish I was netting!

The Bass are present all year round in the harbour but the larger fish appear in spring which I always encounter when hunting early Sea Trout. The Bass patrol close to the banks under the cover of darkness and are more than happy to intercept a sparsely tied ST fly which is actually very similar in size and appearance to what they are feeding on a lot of the time. When the Bass appear at night it's like someone is blasting the water with a shotgun! They move fast so you have to be ready to put the lure in the right spot. It can be stealthy Sea Trout fishing one minute then chasing a shoal of surface smashing Bass up the bank the next.

The four fish below were all taken within an hour in a couple of feet of water on size 8 singles. Time, tides and weather are paramount, and when the planets align....

I use between 6 and 8 weight rods and fish an intermediate line with just a inch or so sink rate which I have found to work best. When the tide drops out and we fish nearer the channel I either use a slightly faster sinking line or slightly heavier fly or lure to get down a little. Remember, most of the harbour is just a few feet deep with the main channel only a little more so we don't need anything too heavy.

The harbour is famous for its Mullet which are another very exciting fish to target. On baited spinners they are relatively easy but the fly can be a little tricky. I take thin lips on the swing while after the ST but generally its best to dead drift flies past them as they feed close to the banks. It can be frustrating fishing but when you hook up..........

Mudeford Spit itself is virtually surrounded by water and can be fished all over from shore or by boat. Leaving the beach hut at first light and being on the Long Groyne just a few minutes later is one of my favourite times to fish. Bass, Mackerel and Garfish are all present but you have to be there early to see the best of it. You can see an image of the Long Groyne on our home page.

Due to its three sixty degree location there is always somewhere to fish within a few minutes of the Spit. The Harbour itself has lots of little nooks so even with a strong wind you can find shelter. The only time it becomes unfishable in my opinion is when we have had a lot of rain. The Hampshire Avon is a chalk stream but the Dorset Stour runs through a lot of clay meaning it can turn the water a little coloured after persistent heavy rain.