Summary
Ringstead Bay sits between Osmington Mills and White Nothe on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, offering a long sweep of shingle with mixed ground and reefy ends. It’s a versatile venue that produces plaice and rays over clean patches, bass in the surf, and bream and wrasse around the reefs. The bay is less pressured than nearby Chesil, rewarding careful reading of the ground and conditions.
Location and Access
Access is straightforward with two main parking options, but the terrain is shingle and the walks can be steep. Plan your route and kit load to match your fitness.
- Approach from the A353 (Weymouth–Wareham) and follow signs to Ringstead village; satnav postcode DT2 8NQ gets you into the right area.
- Option 1: National Trust car park on the hill above the bay; around 15–25 minutes’ walk down a good track and a stiff climb back up. Free for NT members; charges apply otherwise.
- Option 2: Private/toll road to a beach-level pay-and-display car park near Ringstead Bay Store; very short walk to the shingle.
- Terrain is mainly medium-to-large shingle with a noticeable bank; central bay is cleaner, with rocky reefs and ledges towards Osmington Mills (west) and under White Nothe (east).
- Barrows help if using the NT car park; travel light if you can.
Seasons
This is a genuine mixed fishery with clean and rough ground species in season. Night sessions lift your chances for rays, sole, bass and conger.
- Spring (Mar–May): plaice on the sand patches, school bass, early smoothhound, occasional ray; wrasse wake up on the reefs.
- Summer (Jun–Aug): mackerel and garfish on calm evenings, scad after dark, black bream over rough ground, ballan/corkwing wrasse, smoothhound, sole at night, undulate and thornback rays.
- Autumn (Sep–Nov): peak bass time after a blow, rays continue, bream to early autumn, plaice linger, increasing pout/whiting after dark, chance of conger from rougher ends.
- Winter (Dec–Feb): whiting, pouting, dogfish, occasional dab; rare codling after prolonged South-Westerlies in dirty water.
- Ever-present: pollack (small) off reef edges, rock gobies/blennies for LRF fans.
Methods
Match your approach to the ground in front of you: clean patches favour lighter rigs and longer snoods, while mixed/rough ground calls for stronger gear and simple presentations.
- Bottom fishing (clean/mixed):
- Two/three-hook flappers with size 1–2 hooks and 20–30 lb snoods for plaice, flatties, whiting, pout.
- Long-trace or up-and-over (size 1–2) with beads/spoons for plaice and sole; bait with ragworm, maddies, tipped with squid/mackerel slivers.
- Pulley/pulley pennel (3/0–5/0) or up-and-over with squid, sandeel, or mackerel for rays and hounds; add a clip-down for distance.
- Surf bassing:
- Simple running ledger or 2–3 ft up-and-over, 3/0–4/0 hook, with peeler crab, whole squid, live/dead sandeel; fish close-in in the stirred water.
- Reefs/rough ends:
- Strong flappers or running ledgers for wrasse (size 1/0–2/0) with crab, prawn, worm; expect snags.
- Conger at night with whole squid/mackerel on heavy mono or wire rubbing leader.
- Lure/float:
- Metals (20–40 g) and small surface/subsurface lures for mackerel, gar, bass on calm evenings.
- 10–20 g weedless soft plastics or small diving plugs around dusk for bass/pollack along reef edges.
- Float-fished strips or prawn over rough ground for garfish, wrasse, school bass.
- Casting guide: plaice often 60–100 yards over sand; rays 80–120 yards; bass can be in the first 10–30 yards when there’s surf.
Tides and Conditions
Ringstead likes movement but not mayhem; clarity and wind direction dictate the species. Aim your sessions around the flood and low-light periods.
- Tide: two hours up and the first of the ebb fish well for rays; a building flood helps plaice. Neaps favour bream/wrasse over rough ground; springs can switch on bass and rays.
- Time: dawn/dusk are prime; after dark improves sole, rays, bass and conger odds.
- Wind/sea state: a light onshore ripple and milky water lifts bass; calm, clear seas suit plaice, bream, garfish and mackerel. Heavy South-Westerly swell can make it unfishable with weed.
- Water clarity: coloured water kills bream/gar but turns on pout/whiting and sometimes bass.
- Weed: expect floating weed after blows, especially around the reefy ends—consider heavier grip leads and streamlined rigs.
Safety
This is a natural shingle beach with some serious backwash and unstable cliffs at either end—treat it with respect. Wear suitable footwear and pack a headtorch if staying late.
- Steep shingle bank with strong undertow in swell; keep kit high and dry and maintain escape routes.
- Cliff/landslip risk near Burning Cliff and White Nothe; do not sit under the cliffs and avoid those sections after heavy rain or freeze–thaw.
- Tidal cut-offs possible around the far west/east reefs—check your line of retreat and avoid being tempted too far around headlands.
- Slippery, weeded boulders at the ends; use studs or take your time.
- Limited lighting; take spare headtorch and batteries; consider a PFD if fishing near ledges or in surf.
- Mobility: the NT car park involves a long, hilly walk; the beach-level car park is far easier for those with limited mobility.
Facilities
Facilities are modest compared with resort beaches; plan bait and water ahead. Weymouth covers most angling needs within a short drive.
- Parking: National Trust hilltop car park (charges apply; free for members) and a beach-level pay car park via a private toll road.
- Toilets/refreshments: seasonal facilities by Ringstead Bay Store near the beach car park; limited or none out of season.
- Nearby food/pub: The Smuggler’s Inn at Osmington Mills (west) and cafés in Osmington/Weymouth.
- Tackle/bait: Weymouth Angling Centre and Chesil Bait ‘n’ Tackle in Weymouth stock fresh/frozen bait and hardware.
- Mobile signal: patchy on the beach, better on high ground; don’t rely on data coverage.
- No lighting, no pier shelters; bring wind/spray protection and carry your litter out.
Tips
Ringstead rewards watercraft: read the colour lines and patchy ground to decide where to set up. Travel light enough to move if the weed or tide kills a line.
- Central bay for clean ground species; push towards Osmington Mills or White Nothe for wrasse, bream, conger and bass around rough ground.
- Look for darker seams (weed/shell) and pale ovals (sand) to target plaice/sole; a few coloured beads and small blades often outfish plain snoods.
- After a modest onshore push, fish a big crab or squid bait tight in for bass at dusk—the first gutter can be the hotspot.
- When mackerel show, switch to single-hook spinners or barbless sabikis to avoid foul-hooking and speed up unhooking.
- Smoothhound show on warm, settled evenings—fresh peeler or hermit is king; squid can pick out the odd fish.
- If weed builds, shorten snoods, tighten grips, and angle uptide slightly; be ready to relocate 50–100 m to find a clearer lane.
- Waders help with casting and landing fish on the steep shingle but watch the backwash.
Regulations
Dorset falls under Southern IFCA and national MMO rules. Regulations change—always check the latest official guidance before your trip.
- Bass (ICES 7d–h, English Channel): current recreational rules commonly allow two fish per angler per day at a 42 cm minimum size; confirm the active year’s bylaw on gov.uk before retaining any bass.
- Rays: undulate ray is a protected species across much of the Channel—photograph and return alive. Thornback/small-eyed/other rays have minimum sizes and best-practice handling applies.
- Shellfish/crustacea: Southern IFCA permits and size limits apply for potting and retention of lobster/crab; berried or V-notched lobsters must be returned. A recreational potting permit and tags are typically required.
- Minimum sizes/bag limits: observe national and IFCA size limits for all species (plaice, sole, bream, wrasse, etc.). If in doubt, release.
- MPAs/SSSIs: the coastline is designated for conservation; recreational line fishing is generally allowed, but avoid damaging habitats and do not remove features or bait from protected reef areas.
- Local access: respect private land, gates and signage; no camping or fires on the beach; take all litter home and keep noise/light pollution to a minimum at night.
