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Dorset

Seatown Beach

7.2 · Beach · Dorset

Seatown Beach is a steeply shelving shingle beach on the Jurassic Coast near Chideock. It offers relatively deep water close in, with mixed ground: clean sand patches along the middle sections and rougher, snaggy ground toward the ends beneath the cliffs. It fishes best on a flooding tide, especially into dusk and after dark. Summer brings mackerel, bass, garfish and scad; autumn and winter see whiting, pouting and dabs with an occasional codling. Rays and smoothhounds show on settled, warm nights. Access is easy via the pay-and-display car park beside the Anchor Inn, but the shingle is hard going underfoot and surf can be heavy; beware cliff falls and a fast-shelving shoreline.

Should you fish Seatown Beach?

52 Fair

Today · Best available

Best available: 06:00-09:00 around the rising tide

Most likely species: Mackerel and Bass

Fair conditions. Best available around 06:00-09:00 around the rising tide, but no window reaches the strong threshold today. Good chance of Mackerel and Bass.

NW 3 mph Rain 0% High tide 12:01

Fishable, but pick your timing carefully.

Plan this mark

7-day fishing forecast for Seatown Beach — 7-day forecast

Scores and best windows are weighted for .

Met Office Met Office · Open-Meteo

Where the data comes from. Weather and sea-state readings come from the Met Office and Open-Meteo forecast models, refreshed several times a day. High and low water are taken from tide-station predictions for this stretch of coast.

How the score works. Each window is scored 0–100 from the signals that most reliably move fish inshore: tide movement (a running tide carries food, so the last of the flood and first of the ebb are usually the prime spells), wind speed and direction (onshore wind stirs food into the surf — up to the point it makes fishing hard), sea state (a little wave and swell movement helps, heavy swell hurts), and weather — rain, temperature and light. Behind the headline number we score bite opportunity and comfort separately, and run a separate safety check on wind and swell. The size of the tide counts too: spring tides move more water than neaps, so the tidal range for this stretch of coast is weighed alongside the tide's direction, your target species and this mark — and unusually big springs strengthen the safety check, because the water rises faster and covers more ground.

Your target species counts. Pick a species below and the score also weights what we know about it — its season, preferred sea temperature, tide stage and sea state, and whether it feeds by day or night.

The rating is guidance, not a guarantee — conditions change fast on the coast, so always judge the sea in front of you before you fish.

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· windows & tide

Spring vs neap tides. Spring tides have a larger difference between high and low water, so more water moves on each tide — usually stronger flow that stirs up food and gets fish feeding. Neap tides have a smaller range and generally gentler movement. The range here is compared with what is normal for this stretch of coast, and the cycle swings between springs and neaps roughly every week, following the moon.

Big spring tides: the water rises faster and covers more ground than usual — double-check access routes and cut-off points before you fish.

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Seatown is a steep, fast-shelving shingle beach where the flood is the key trigger. The middle beach gives the safest, cleanest bottom-fishing options, while the ends become rougher and more snaggy beneath the cliffs. Fish it into dusk or after dark for bass, dogfish, whiting, sole, rays and smoothhounds; use clearer, calmer summer windows for mackerel, garfish and scad.

  • Know when Seatown’s flood really switches on.
  • Pick the clean middle ground before losing gear at the ends.
  • Match bass, hound, ray and sole tactics to the right tide window.
  • Avoid the surf, weed and cliff-base mistakes that ruin sessions.
  • Have a nearby backup plan before the beach gets too busy.

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Chideock 0.7 mi Morcombelake 1.8 mi Ryall 2.6 mi Whitchurch Canonicorum 2.7 mi Bridport 3.0 mi

Explore nearby towns: Chideock · Morcombelake · Ryall · Whitchurch Canonicorum · Bridport

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Forecast tuning currently supports Bass and Mackerel — more species are on the way.

Overall rating

7.2 /10

Blend of catch potential, access, safety, and overall experience.

Category scores

Catch Potential 7/10
Species Variety 8/10
Scenery & Comfort 8/10
Safety 5/10
Accessibility 7/10

Bass 8/10
Tip: Surf in a SW blow on the flood; fish lures or crab/sandeel in the gutters at dusk/dawn.
Lesser Spotted Dogfish 8/10
Tip: Very common after dark; 2-hook flappers with mackerel/squid over clean shingle; fish mid-flood to high.
Starry Smoothhound 7/10
Tip: Late spring–autumn; peeler crab 30–80 yd over clean patches; best last 3 hrs of flood into dusk.
Mackerel 7/10
Tip: Jun–Sep; dawn/dusk in calm, clear water; feathering or small metals to shoals within casting range.
Whiting 6/10
Tip: Oct–Feb nights; small fish baits tipped with worm; 2–3 hrs either side of high; cast mid-distance over clean ground.
Small-eyed Ray 6/10
Tip: Late spring–autumn nights on clean sand tongues; sandeel or squid; long cast; neap tides and last of flood.
Plaice 5/10
Tip: Mar–May; daylight; long traces with beads and worm; long cast onto clean ground (east side favours); first half of the flood.
Dover Sole 5/10
Tip: Warm nights Jul–Oct; rag/lug or small crab; short cast onto clean sand at the base of the shingle; slow flood to high water.
Thornback Ray 5/10
Tip: Evenings spring–autumn; squid/bluey at range over mixed ground; a steady flood works best.
Scad (Horse Mackerel) 5/10
Tip: Aug–Oct after dark; small metals or baited sabikis under a float; best on the flooding tide when mackerel are about.
Dab 4/10
Tip: Winter calm days; small worm baits; long cast to clean patches; mid-flood gives the better bite windows.
Garfish 4/10
Tip: May–Sep; float a sliver of mackerel or small metal; dawn/dusk on the flood when sprats/mackerel show close in.

Local knowledge

Seatown Beach fishing guide

Practical access, seasons, methods, tides, safety and facilities for this mark.

Seatown Beach sits between Eype and Charmouth beneath the dramatic Golden Cap on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. It’s a steeply shelving shingle beach that offers quick access to deep water, rewarding in the right sea with bass, smoothhounds, summer mackerel and consistent winter species. A quieter alternative to Chesil-style shingle, it fishes well on the flood and into dusk.

This is a small coastal hamlet reached from the A35 at Chideock, down a narrow lane to the beach. Access is straightforward, but space and parking are limited in peak season.

  • Parking: pay-and-display by the beach/Anchor Inn; spaces are limited and fill early on fine days (use postcode DT6 6JU for sat nav).
  • Approach: from the A35 in Chideock follow signs for Seatown/Beach; the lane is narrow with passing places—go slowly and expect congestion in summer.
  • Walk-in: 1–3 minutes from the car park to the shingle; then choose your spot along the beach. Shingle is soft and steep, which is tiring under load.
  • Terrain: steep shingle/pebble with sand patches; a small stream crosses the beach. Rougher ground toward the headlands (Golden Cap west; Thorncombe Beacon/Eype east).
  • Night access: feasible, but check any car park opening/height restrictions on the day and plan your exit route.

Seatown fishes like a classic West Dorset shingle mark, with bass and summer species in fair weather and reliable winter fare after dark.

  • Spring: school and early bass; occasional thornback/small-eyed ray; garfish start to show late spring; wrasse near rocky margins.
  • Summer: mackerel, scad, garfish; bass in surf; smoothhounds on peeler crab; the odd black bream on clear neaps; sole possible on sandier patches after dark; dogfish and pout are common.
  • Autumn: peak bass Sept–Oct on a building sea; mackerel linger in early autumn; increasing whiting and pout after dark; rays occasional.
  • Winter: whiting, pouting, dogfish reliable; the odd conger or bull huss from mixed/rough ground; very occasional Channel codling in a big, coloured sea.
  • Year-round notes: flounder around the stream in calmer conditions; wrasse and pollack near the rockier ends in settled, clear water.

Bottom fishing covers most bases here, with lure and float tactics adding summer sport. The steep bank and lateral drift favour tidy rigs and good grip leads.

  • Bottom: pulley or pulley-pennel (3/0–4/0) with squid, cuttle or peeler crab for bass; up-and-over or long flowing trace with sandeel/squid for rays; two-hook flapper (size 1–2) for whiting and general scratching.
  • Smoothhound: fresh peeler or hermit crab on strong pulley rigs; evening flood tides are prime in midsummer.
  • Lures: 20–40 g metals for mackerel/scad; soft plastics (paddle-tails 10–14 cm) and surface lures for bass at dawn/dusk in light surf, especially near the stream outflow and in tide seams.
  • Float: garfish and pollack with mackerel strip or ragworm 6–10 ft under a float around rocky ends in clear water.
  • Leads: 5–6 oz wired/grip leads often needed to hold on the steep face, particularly on springs; use a shockleader (at least 60 lb) for safe casting.
  • Snag management: include a weak-link (rotten-bottom) on ray/sandeel rigs to recover tackle if you drop into rough patches.
  • Timing: dawn, dusk and after dark are best; avoid feathering when swimmers are present and keep casting angles wide of any bathing area.

Seatown is forgiving on state but the flood and the hour or two after high often produce best. Water colour and wind direction strongly influence bass sport.

  • Tide: fish the flooding tide into and over high water; it can still produce on the ebb, but the flood brings fish tight in on this steep shingle.
  • Bass: shine in a building SW–W sea with some colour; 24–48 hours after a blow can be excellent.
  • Summer species: mackerel/garfish prefer settled, clear water and neap tides, especially late afternoons/evenings.
  • Smoothhound: warm settled spells on evening floods in June–August.
  • Winter: whiting and pout stack up after dark on floods; a heavy, coloured sea on a big tide offers the slim chance of a codling.
  • Drift/weed: strong lateral drift on springs—angle casts up-tide and step with your line; kelp and loose weed can be heavy after onshore blows.
  • Clarity: in gin-clear conditions, scale down hooks and switch to fresh worm/small crab baits; in murk, use bigger, scent-rich baits.

This is an exposed steep shingle beach below unstable cliffs. Treat backwash and cliff faces with respect and avoid wading.

  • Surf/backwash: powerful on the steep bank—keep rod pods high up the beach; never turn your back on the sea and avoid wading.
  • Cliffs: do not fish or sit directly beneath Golden Cap or other cliff faces; rockfalls are common, especially after heavy rain or frost.
  • Cut-off/stream: minimal cut-off risk on the open beach, but avoid setting up in the stream line during spate or high surf.
  • Footing: shingle is loose and tiring—wear supportive, cleated footwear; headtorch and spare batteries for night sessions.
  • PFD: a lifejacket is strongly recommended if you must get near the wash; keep kids and dogs well back from the waterline.
  • Mobility: the distance is short but the soft shingle is challenging; not ideal for wheelchairs or limited mobility.
  • Comms: mobile signal can be patchy in the hollow; let someone know your plans and where you’re parked.
  • Etiquette: give wide berth to bathers and water users; avoid high casting arcs over people; mind noise/light near nearby cottages at night.

Facilities are modest but handy, with parking, a pub and seasonal services right by the beach. For tackle and bait, head to nearby towns.

  • Parking: pay-and-display next to the beach/Anchor Inn; limited spaces—arrive early or fish evenings.
  • Toilets: public toilets by the car park (typically daytime/seasonal opening—check on arrival).
  • Food and drink: Anchor Inn overlooks the beach; seasonal kiosks/ice-cream in peak months; more options in Chideock and Bridport.
  • Tackle/bait: shops in Bridport/West Bay and Lyme Regis; call ahead for fresh lug/rag and crab in summer.
  • Bins/water: a few bins near the car park; bring water and take all litter and line home.
  • Phone signal: variable; usually better on higher ground or away from the valley.

Small tweaks make a big difference here: manage the backwash, pick your ground and let conditions choose your approach.

  • Walk 200–400 m east or west to find space and cleaner ground; west towards Golden Cap can be quieter but snaggy near rocks.
  • Keep traces fairly short (60–80 cm) on steep shingle to pin baits and reduce spin in tide; crimped pulley rigs present well.
  • Use a weak-link on leads when targeting rays or casting long into mixed ground—saves gear when the lead wedges.
  • For bass in colour, big squid wraps or whole joey mackerel heads can sort out better fish; in clear water, fresh lug/peeler scores.
  • Set your tripod high and rods at 45–60° to beat backwash; keep lines tight and drop grips early on the retrieve.
  • Have a light lure rod rigged—shoals often push bait tight to the stones around dusk in summer.
  • If the beach is busy with swimmers, simply walk a little—safety improves and so does your fishing.
  • After a blow, give it a day for the weed to clear but don’t wait for gin-clear water—bass often want a bit of colour here.

There is no blanket ban on angling at Seatown, but you must follow national and local sea fisheries rules and respect any on-the-day beach signage.

  • Rod licence: not required for sea angling from the shore in England. A licence is needed only for salmon/sea trout in certain waters.
  • Bass: rules change annually; expect a minimum size of 42 cm and seasonal bag/retain periods. Check current MMO/Southern IFCA guidance before keeping any bass.
  • Sizes/limits: comply with Southern IFCA minimum conservation reference sizes for finfish and shellfish; return undersized fish carefully.
  • Protected areas: the wider Lyme Bay includes marine protected features; shore angling is allowed, but do not damage reefs or collect from protected features.
  • Beach use: obey any seasonal bathing zones, dog restrictions, and car park opening/overnight rules as posted on local signage.
  • General: take litter and waste line home; do not light fires on the shingle; be considerate to residents and other beach users.