Cod fishing from the shore and beach

Make no mistake - fishing for cod is one of the most difficult branches of shore angling to attempt.

A decent cast is required to reach feeding fish

It's mostly because in recent years cod have been scarce. The species is rarely found really close to the shore, and almost invariably a decent cast is required to reach feeding fish.

There is a saying that all the cod caught are hooked by a third of anglers fishing, and this is because casting is such an important element of cod fishing. A basic standard of casting ability and some local knowledge is essential, so cod are not the starting point for the novice sea angler.

So, if you are a total beginner, before you turn your attention to catching cod it is advisable to learn the basic shore angling skills first. Priorities to focus on include obtaining suitable tackle, learning to cast and understanding your local venues.

Joining an angling club and fishing in events is an effective way of learning basic shore angling skills.

During winter the weather conditions add to the difficulty of casting far enough to reach the fish and keeping a bait out there, so your choice of venue becomes of major importance. Dashing off to the hottest cod beach is pointless if your casting skill and range does not allow you to pass the breakers. So you will first have to consider venues where distance is less of a priority. Rock marks and piers are the best choice, because they offer easier access to deep water and the fish. If you don't consider piers or rocks, then get some casting lessons.

The next problem to overcome is imagination. Lots of sea anglers allow themselves to be carried away by the excitement of it all. Rumours are part and parcel of the winter cod season, and a large number of anglers are totally screwed by their imagination. You will get better results if you can resist the temptation to believe everything you hear and just stick to facts and logic.

Staying realistic may not be easy...

It is important to choose a venue that suits your casting ability.

It is important to choose a venue that suits your casting ability

FACTS – GOOD AND BAD

1. A strong onshore wind (gale) can exaggerate the difficulties of catching fish from the shore, so be realistic about your abilities when you arrive at a venue. Will you be able to fish effectively? If not, move to a venue where you can. Are conditions as bad as they appear? Get out of the car and watch the sea for a few minutes before abandoning a venue.

2. A cod is not a cod until it grows to around 6lb. Prior to that it is called a codling or a Tommy cod, although in many regions all codling are called cod. Cod caught by shore anglers are usually codling, often less than 3lb.

3. Cod are a shoal species, but as individual fish grow, the number in the shoal decreases. Once a codling reaches 3lb, it is big enough to be trapped by the commercial gill net mesh and that's when a dramatic decrease in numbers occurs.

4. As a cod grows bigger, its food intake increases and it switches to a fish diet and moves offshore. When there are lots of cod, an overspill of the bigger fish reaches the shoreline.

5. Size of fish is often exaggerated by anglers.

6. Lucky anglers are very often those who have made the most effort for success. That may seem like bad news to some, but now for the good news. In lots of regions of the UK codling are being caught in numbers from known venues. These are the places to fish, so do some research and be prepared to travel or walk to a productive spot.

7. Best time to target the fish is at night because, like most fish, cod venture closer to the shore in darkness because they feel more secure, as do the small fish that they eat. In daylight the sun penetrates the sea and this deters fish from entering the shallows. Fishing at night increases your chances of catching a cod, I would say, by 100 per cent, depending upon region and venue. That apart, you are also likely to catch more whiting and other species because they, too, prefer darkness to daylight for travelling inshore. If you are limited to fishing in daylight, look for venues with rough and coloured water because this encourages fish inshore.

8. The best time to fish for codling on most venues is obviously when they are present, but the state of the tide affects this. A majority of venues produce codling during the strongest spring high tides, because fish and fish food activity are at their greatest. However, the strongest spring high and low tides can make some venues difficult to fish, and these are best tackled during the less powerful neap tides. The fish use the flood and ebb tides to travel to and from a supply of food. Slack water periods are rarely very productive, but again there are exceptions. This is why local knowledge as to where and when cod are present is so important. It can be learned, and is consistent.

9. The weather plays its part and, in general, an onshore wind and a coloured sea will be most productive in daylight. A calm, clear sea with an offshore wind is best at night.

Fishing at night is usually more productive for cod.

Fishing at night is usually more productive for cod

TACKLE AND BAIT

Thanks to the Far East, our fishing tackle is no longer expensive, and, although quality is totally controlled by price, the most basic tackle will enable you to fish, allbeit at a starter level.

You can purchase a rod and reel for as little as £50, but this will offer limited casting range and durability. Spending £150 on a better quality outfit is a better option if you are serious about taking up shore angling. The cost does not end there, because all the other tackle will cost as much, if not more, than your rod and reel.

Basic shore tackle, suitable for cod and other species, includes a beachcaster 12ft to 15ft in length, rated to cast between 5oz and 8oz. A wide range of rod lengths and casting ratings are available, and most novice buyers will benefit from advice from a dealer or an experienced angler.

Two types of reel are used for shore fishing – the fixed-spool and the multiplier. The former is the easier of the two for the beginner to operate because its spool does not spin, so there is less risk of an overrun and line tangles.

Tackle for fishing from a clean shore (no rocks) involves the use of line of 12-18lb breaking strain (0.33mm-0.38mm diameter) and a lead weight of 5-6oz (150-175g), so your reel needs to be of a suitable size and capacity to make it capable of maximum distance casts with this combination. Heavier line (25-30lb) and a larger capacity reel is required for rough ground. Line as light as 15lb breaking strain will not cast a 5oz-plus lead weight safely, so a short (two-rod) length of stronger line called a shockleader (60lb/0.70mm) is essential to take the strain of casting.

Other required items include a seat/tackle box to sit on and store your spare gear in the dry, as well as warm waterproof clothing and a tripod to position your rod. The latter can be invaluable to position the rod tip high above the waves and prevent wind and swell hitting the line or gathering weed. You will require a headlamp if fishing after dark.

Various accessories are needed, such as terminal tackle, a knife, scissors, bait cotton, spare line, hooks, links and swivels. Terminal gear includes a selection of rigs in a rig wallet, plus lead weights, both breakout and fixed wired, to combat strong tide and wind.

Rigs can be complicated, but the simplest is the one-hook monofilament paternoster, and most tackle dealers will have these in a range of hook sizes.

The novice can buy ready-made rigs and then copy them.

Hooks between size 1 and 6/0 are the most suitable for shore cod fishing, depending on the size of the bait and the fish targeted. Long-shank Aberdeen hooks in size 1 to 3/0 are suitable for baiting with lugworms, and the larger patterns for whole squid or crab baits. In general one large bait is often preferred for cod, and a Pennell rig is favourite. The Pennell has two hooks on a single hooklength, with a hook placed at each end of the bait.

Best baits are lugworms, squid and peeler crabs, although other baits catch codling in some regions but are not so effective countrywide. ‘A large bait for a big fish’ holds true for cod because it helps prevent small nuisance fish taking your offering.

It is not unusual to catch a big fish on a small bait aimed at whiting and dabs.

Beginners to cod fishing from the beach or shore will do well using a straightforward Pennell rig, just like the one pictured above. Using a Breakaway Imp will help streamline the rig and bait and therefore help you cast much further.

6 TOP COD TACTICS

1 Being in the right place at the right time is how to catch cod. You can fish for marathon periods to be sure you are fishing when the cod arrive, or you can target venues at the peak weather, tides and times. It is not an exact science, but it is more productive than fishing without any regard to tides and weather.

2 Obtaining a supply of lugworms in winter is not easy, especially when the cod are around, because demand is greater, daylight shorter and the weather bad, making worms scarce. Dealer loyalty will help you obtain a regular supply of fresh lugworms. Failing that, you can keep a supply of frozen baits, such as calamari squid, peeler crabs, shellfish, black lug and farmed prawns – they're not so good as fresh lugworm, but they will get you fishing.

3 of the top Cod baits - Lugworm, Peeler Crab & Squid

Using 2 or 3 rods will improve your chances

3 With casting range critical, balanced tackle is essential in terms of the mainline diameter, the casting weight, bait size and terminal tackle streamlining. Large hookbaits will cut down on casting distance. Rigs incorporating a bait clip device will cast further than those without, simply because a bait flapping around will slow the lead weight's speed. Pinned close behind the lead weight, a bait is less of a hindrance and will cast further.
Heavier lead weights of 6oz and 7oz can improve your casting into a head wind, sink quicker and hold the bottom far more effectively.

4 Once cast, a bait leaks scent and juices into the water and, hopefully, fish will home in on the scent trail. The size of your bait and the timing of each cast is important in terms of maximising the bait's potential. Retrieving too soon or leaving your bait out too long, so it becomes washed out or eaten by crabs, effectively reduces the likelihood of a catch. Renew your bait completely every cast, because recasting a washed-out bait is the most common mistake of the novice cod angler.

5 Using two rods increases the odds of a catch. You can also fish at two different ranges with different baits. Other options to make your session more active include using a second rod armed with either a livebait rig for a big fish or multi-hook rig for smaller species. Remember, fishing just for a big cod with a big bait can be very slow on occasions.

6 Cod bites are usually positive, and sometimes you have very little alternative to striking as your rod is pulled off the rod-rest. However, slack line bites are notoriously difficult to hook. In all cases, taking your time when confronted with a bite will improve your chances of hooking a fish. Most cod caught by shore anglers will weigh less than 3lb.

12lb Shore caught Cod during the day

COD FISHING BASICS

Cod caught at night

You do not require a licence to fish for sea fish from the shore. You can fish from almost any shore venues, but exceptions include MoD firing ranges, HM Customs-controlled areas and docks. There are few private beaches.

There are no laws governing tackle, so you can use as many rods as you wish and as many hooks. Most anglers prefer two rods and a maximum of three hooks per rod, but cod fishing is often done with one bait held by two hooks, called a Pennell rig.

UK law determines the size of the fish you can remove from the sea, with legal minimum sizes for lots of species set by DEFRA and the local sea fisheries committees. The minimum size at which you can remove and kill a cod from the sea is 35cm. This is not just for competition anglers. Measured from nose to tail, fish under this size must be returned. Keeping undersized fish is against UK law and carries a considerable fine.

What is a realistic target for the cod angler? Much depends upon where you live and fish, but a double-figure cod from the shore is a prize indeed.

It is a fact that the odd large fish that is dying is often caught from the shore. Called a ‘slink’ among other local names diseased and emaciated cod are not suitable for eating, so check your fish over before taking it for the table.

Why Fishing Hook Size Is So Important

If you use the wrong hook pattern or size of hook, the chances are that you will struggle to successfully catch your target species when sea fishing.

If you know what species you are likely to encounter, then you are already well on the way to choosing the correct hook. Equally important is the bait that the hook is going to hold.

Mounting a large cocktail of a crab and mussels should be done on hooks that have a wide gape, while a single sandeel will sit better on a long-shank hook. Hooks that have tiny barbs along the shank can help to hold a worm in position, especially during a powerful cast.

Hook sizes can be very confusing to some newcomers to angling.

The smallest hook you will probably encounter in a shore situation will be a size 8. Anything smaller than this is usually used by coarse anglers.

The sizes move up as the hook becomes bigger. For example, from an 8, the size will increase to a 6, then 4, 2 and finally a size 1. As the size increase continues, after a size 1 we come to a 1/0, then moving further up the scale to a 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0 and 6/0.

A hook that is bigger than a 6/0 is usually considered for targeting larger species such as sharks and conger eels, simply because they may be needed to hold a large fish bait like a whole mackerel flapper or two or three whole squid.

Know Your Hook

One of the very strongest knots to use to tie hooks is the Half Blood knot

Match the size of bait to the hook

Depending on what species you are targeting, you must match the hook size to the bait you are using.

For example, flatfish prefer a crab bait or a bunch of maddies tipped off with a sliver of mackerel. Limerick hooks have a wide gape, and a size 2 can easily hold a decent peeler crab bait and still have enough of the hook point showing.

An Aberdeen pattern in a size 2 or 1 is ideal for threading several small ragworms with their tails left hanging. A small piece of squid or mackerel can then be hung on the point.

Smaller round species, such as pout and rockling, can be caught using Aberdeen patterns, but even smaller still in a 4 or a 6. Larger round fish, such as cod, pollack and coalfish, like a larger bait and a size 2/0 up to a 6/0 will easily fit into their larger mouths.

Smoothhounds and rays have relatively small mouths compared to their size, so a size 1 to 2/0 will be adequate. The pattern depends on whether you are using crabs or sandeels.

Know the common hook patterns

Five types you should have:

In the event of a fish being deeply hooked, are there any hooks that might be safely left in the fish to corrode away naturally?

While the use of barbless hooks would probably be better for catch and release purposes, they are not really effective. Tides and wave movement that occur on the shore can make keeping a fish hooked on a barbless version difficult.

If a fish is deeply hooked and you intend to release it, then you should always cut the snood as close to the hook as possible. Forcing your fingers down the throat of a fish or pulling at the hook will probably result in its subsequent death.

Hooks that are best used for this purpose are modern, chemically-etched carbon types. Forged steel or thick stainless steel hooks should not be left in a fish.

There have been many arguments as to whether or not hooks left in a fish actually corrode away, but the general feeling among anglers is that the acids in a fish’s gut help to pass the hook. Larger hooks may take longer, so if you intend to practice catch and release during a session, use smaller patterns that if left may even be passed through the fish’s digestive system.

Another alternative would be to use a circle hook, as these tend to hook a fish in the corner or scissors of the mouth. Commercial longliners use them and they make unhooking a fish much easier. On the other hand, circle hooks are more difficult to bait up with delicate worms or sandeels.

Disgorgers are very effective. Now that match anglers are adopting catch and release in the majority of contests, a high percentage of fish are going back alive with no need to leave the hook in them.

How to tie a Shockleader Knot

Shockleaders are a necessary requirement for all sea anglers as they allow you to cast heavy rigs long distances, but the problem in using them lies with knowing just how to tie a shockleader on to the reel's mainline. A question we are ofter asked in the shop.

With a little bit of practice, tying a typical shockleader knot is actually quite easy, and it's detailed right here, below.

Leaders are essential to avoid breaking the mainline during casting. You need at least 50lb line with a 150g sinker to be safe and 60lb with a 170g sinker.

To cast a reasonable distance and fish effectively, a 15-20lb mainline is enough on sand / shingle beaches and therefore you need to join the two. Keep the knot in the thick leader line as small as possible, so a simple overhand knot is a good choice...

1. Tie a simple overhand knot on the 50lb or 60lb leader line

2. Put the end of the mainline through the overhand knot before it is pulled tight

3. Wet the overhand knotwith saliva and pull it really tight

4. Pull about 20cm of mainline through the overhand knot, then make a loop near the overhand

5. Take the loose end of mainline about six times around the leader

6. Take the loose end of the mainline back towards the loop and put it through the loop

7. Put the mainline around the leader line twice for additional security

8. Gently pull on the mainline behind the overhand knot on the leader line and the loose end of the mainline. This takes out any slack and beds the coils neatly into position

9. Wet the whole knot and pull the mainline behind the overhand knot to tighten up the coils

10. Pull the loose end of the mainline to make sure the coils are tight and give the overhand knot on the leader an extra pull to make it really tight

11. The finished knot should look neat with the mainline coils close together to minimise any chance of slippage

Cod Fishing Bait Tips

Cod Fishing Bait Tips

With plenty of early Cod being caught, here's some top baits that will help improve your chances of a decent Cod catch!

Lugworm – On its day the Blow or black lugworm (lug) will out fish anything you can lay your hands on. I’ve had to go home before today because I’ve sickened myself watching others catch fish whilst I couldn’t get a bite simply because I had no lugworm in my bait bucket. If the cod are hunting lugworm no other bait will do. A fantastic fishing bait if there are small codlings (1-2 pounds) about.

Mussel – A very underrated cod bait. Mussels are abundant along the shore line on the north east coast of England and offer an angler as much free bait as he needs (but only take what you need and avoid the babies – they are your next years supply). Excellent for cod fishing in heavy seas or when there is fresh water about. No north east rock angler should leave home without mussel in his bait bucket. Elasticated cotton is essential for keeping them on the hook, another method often used is to freeze them onto a hook and carry the snood in a bait flask to keep the mussel frozen until required. Then simply hook the snood onto your rig and cast in whilst the mussel is still frozen.



Frozen Black Lug - Another great cod bait is the black lugworm. Many anglers fish these worms fresh whilst still alive but some anglers think they make great cod bait after being frozen and wrapped in newspaper. For several months of the winter cod season black gulley worm is one of the best cod baits on our coastline. They are usually available in packs of 10 from your local angling shop. Demand is usually high hence the price of between 3 and 4 pound for ten.


Ragworm – The normal ragworm is also a great bait for beachcasting for cod on the north east coast of England. It also makes one of the very best bass baits when fishing in the surf from beaches throughout the summer and autumn months. A decent supply can be found in most tackle shops with farmed ragworm proving as good a fishing bait if not better than rag dug from the shore. Ragworm seems to catch fish best on the sand or over shallow scars. Some days you won’t catch fish without it.


Razor Fish – Seems to be a decent fishing bait for north east rock anglers when used from the shore especially after very heavy seas. Makes a great cocktail bait and many anglers swear it often sorts out the better fish.



Squid – Again very underrated but used for tipping off a cocktail bait often including lugworm the squid can add that final bit of flavour that tempts the bigger cod from the north east coast. If your going fishing and your hunting that specimen cod be sure to include squid in your bait selection. Small calamari squid used whole are also a top fishing bait especially for the double figure cod.

Shore Fishing For Plaice

Plaice are commonly confused with flounder due to both having orangey yellow spots evident on the back, though generally on the plaice the spots are much more vivid. That said the best way to identify plaice is to look for a series of 4 to 7 boney knobs running backwards from between the eyes towards the pectoral fin. These are missing on the flounder which instead has raised sharp prickles above the pectoral fin.

The back of the plaice is typically light to medium brown with vivid orange spots. The belly is pearl white. Occasionally the belly can be pock marked with darker blotches.

Plaice spawn in the January to March period, usually in water over 30-metres. The eggs float in the surface layers hatching usually between 10 and 20 days later. The larvae and post larvae live in the surface layers for another 4 to 6 weeks, at which time one eye migrates to the right hand side and along with other body changes the plaice becomes a flat bottom dwelling fish measuring roughly 3/4 inches.

Female plaice become sexually mature at 3 to 7-years and males 2 to 6-years. They can live to be 30-years old.

Their diet consists of brittle stars, worms, crabs and shellfish such as razorfish and mussels, plus they are adept at nipping the siphons off sand clams while they siphon nutrients from the water. They can also be formidable predators and will eat sandeels and also occasionally have been found with sprats and gobies inside their stomachs.

WHEN AND WHERE TO FISH

Plaice are found all around the UK and Irish coast, also as far south and including the Mediterranean, and to the north throughout Norway to Russia, all around Iceland and off the southern tip of Greenland.

The UK season for plaice kicks off in the south and west as far north as the Scottish border around the end of February, but a month later in the east and off the Scottish coast as a general rule. The early fish are thin, but soon feed up and by late May are fat and healthy. They stay inshore until about October and then move out in to deeper water.

Beach plaice are best fished for during the bigger spring tides as the fish are more active then and will feed more eagerly. Estuary plaice can be different and prefer to feed more frequently when the tides are smaller and the tide run less fierce.

In all areas the majority of plaice are caught during broad daylight, though occasionally the odd plaice is caught at night. They particularly like clear seas with minimum colour and good general clarity.

Beach plaice tend to concentrate over sand and shingle beds, but can also be found on mud mixed with sand. They also like seed mussel beds at the mouths of estuaries and muddy channels where weed covered rocks form the estuary sides.

PLAICE TACKLE

On beaches long range fishing will give you your best chance of catching so choose a standard 4/6oz beachcaster about 13ft long, match this to a smaller ABU 6500 sized multiplier or Daiwa 7HT type and fill it with 15lb line, plus a 60lb shock leader. Alternatively a longer European style rod some 15ft plus in length and a fixed spool reel again carrying 15lb line will gain you more distance if your casting still needs a little work.

In estuaries a lighter bass rod about 11ft 6in casting 2/4ozs is ample matched to a smaller reel like an ABU 5500 C3 CT. 12lb line is often enough in this situation with a lighter 30lb leader as the leads will be between 1 and 3ozs, plus long range casting is not normally required.

BAITS

A great plaice bait is to cut the body of a peeler crab in half and bind this to the hook with elastic, then add a long slice of squid to the hook to give the bait movement.

Other top baits for plaice are fresh blow and black lugworm, ragworm, fresh mussel, sand clams, razorfish and white rag if you can get it. They also take fresh sandeel and squid strips when these baits are fished on the drift with a plain bomb.

TOP TIP 1

Surf beach plaice like to move in with the tide, then sit in the deeper parallel gutters that are feature of these beaches, also in any scoured out depression. They also favour burying themselves in sand at the base of shallow sandbanks and picking off food as the tide brings it to them.

Estuary plaice are often found at the edges of seed mussel beds at the heads of small estuaries.

TOP TIP 2

Plaice like a moving bait, so where possible, change to a plain bomb or flat type lead and let the tide pressure on the line sweep your bait in a wide downtide arc slowly inshore. This tactic lets the bait fall in to all those gutters and depressions and will locate the fish for you.

If the tide run is minimal, try “twitching” the bait back towards you a couple of inches at a time. This is often enough to induce a take! Breakaway Flattie leads are good for this!

TOP TIP 3

Plaice feed best in very clear calm seas. When this is the case, as with so much of this type of fishing, you’ll catch more fish if you change your mono hook trace for a lighter Fluorocarbon hook length. With plaice only being normally caught up to 3lbs or so, you can go as light as 10 or 12lbs to add more natural movement to the bait.

TOP TIP 4

Plaice bites over sand in shallow water can be quite gentle. You’ll see the rod tip rattle slightly a few times, but resist the urge to strike! Only when you see the rod tip pull properly over do you strike, and there is no need for a full rod lift, just retrieve the slack in the line and move the lead to hook the fish.

When fishing in muddy coloured water plaice are more aggressive. They’ll give a couple of small rattles and the tip will pull hard over as the fish takes the bait and tries to move away.

When fishing a moving bait the fish will again be more aggressive as it chases the bait down. The lead weight will stop drifting or slow right down when the fish hooks itself and you’ll see the rod tip pull over.

TOP TIP 5
Always use fine wired, but strong Kamasan or Mustad Aberdeen type hooks. Plaice have small mouths and these hooks are the best design suited to the way plaice feed. If you’re missing bites and suspect these are plaice, then drop down to size 4 or even 6 hooks. Plaice can be the fussiest of all the flatfish, especially in prolonged periods of flat calm seas with high clarity.

Always experiment with other bead colour combinations on the day. White and green can be good over sand, as can blue and yellow when fishing close to mussel beds.

Noble's Fishing

Successful Flounder Fishing

When all else fails to bite in early season you can rely on a feisty flounder to rattle your rod top.

FUN OF FLOUNDERING

A few sea anglers turn up their noses at the prospect of fishing for flounders, but this chunky flatfish fills the gaps in the shore angler’s year providing sport when either other fish are absent, small or won’t even bite.

Once you accept that the fighting prowess of the species is less of an angling challenge than getting it to take the bait, the flounder is a worthwhile target and a real bonus fish often caught from more sheltered venues.

A major match angling species in many river estuaries and beaches adjacent to major estuaries, the flounder is possibly targeted by more anglers nationally than all but bass and cod.

HOOKS THAT HOLD

These tend to be small with size 2 and 4 ideal, while a bigger 1/0 hook is preferred if using a large peeler crab bait, because it allows better presentation, or if a bigger bonus species is likely to be caught while flounder fishing.

Soft-wire blued patterns are used by many match anglers and those wishing to return their fish alive because they are easier to remove. You will find that the smaller size 6 hooks are easier to remove with a disgorger.

BAIT SELECTION

Bunches of tail-wriggling ragworms are favoured for catching flounders, despite the fact that many venues are so murky there is little chance the fish can see the bait.

It is the movement and vibration of those wriggling tails that are so deadly and they combine with the number one flounder attractor, scent.

Nothing beats fresh peeler crabs for flounders on many venues in spring. Other baits rarely survive the attention of bait-robbing crabs long enough for a flounder to find them. Top bait in many regions is a lugworm or ragworm tipped with a small sliver of fresh mackerel. On some beaches shellfish catch flounders when a storm dislodges the contents of a sandbar onto the inshore shallows with razorfish, clams and cockles top of the menu.

While various ragworms are major baits in an estuary, lug often produces better fish from storm and surf beaches.

SPOTTING BITES

A bonus of flounder fishing is that it often all happens in a sheltered estuary and the lack of breaking waves allows the rod tip to be placed low to help spot bites. These can be pronounced or very subtle movements of the rod tip.

Fishing a slack line is a favoured tactic so that the fish feel little resistance when they take the bait, although even with a slack line a positive bite can be detected with ease in calm conditions.

Tricks of flounder fishing include moving the bait regularly to explore the ridges and gutters. Releasing the line from the spool to allow the line to bow and the bait to flutter is a worthwhile ploy.

Flounders are a shoal species and catching more than one on a rig is common so when a bite is spotted you must sit on your hands, striking at flounders is not playing cricket.

A SPRING PRIZE

Accurate casting is a big advantage to the estuary angler because flounders have some predictable habits. They like hugging the gutter line between beach and sand and those that find it with an accurate cast will catch the most fish.

On surf beaches hot areas are just under the main breaker where the sand is gouging out shellfish or the third wave flat inside the big breaker where the disturbed food comes to rest.

A real flounder hot spot is the slack water side of the end of a groyne because
flounder will pass close to the end to get around the obstacle.

WHAT GEAR?

Bass or estuary rods are a favourite for flounder fishing because they allow the use of light lines down to 10lb and also show bites clearly.

The continental long rod / fixedspool outfit is growing in popularity for this type of close-range fishing, which is more about finesse than long-range sport.

Favoured rigs tend to be leggy monofilament paternosters to present baits over the widest area of sea bed, handy when fishing the surf to help increase the chance of putting a bait where the natural food is being gouged out or being pushed by the waves. Some anglers also favour booms because they allow the tangle-free use of lighter snoods.

Beads, sequins, small blades and spoons are all part of attracting flounder, along with floating popup beads used to raise the baits away from crabs or to increase bait movement by making them more buoyant and easily moved by the tide. Plastic beads can be used to anchor baits on the sea bed.

BEST VENUES

Shallow muddy estuaries are the standard habitat for flounders, although they are also caught from beaches outside the estuaries in the open sea.

Long expanses of sand or mud usually fish best during the flooding tide and groundbaiting with used bait can help to lay a trail towards your baited hooks as you retreat the flooding tide.

Flounders can be caught at extremely short range, even as close as ten yards on some venues. Look for the joint between beach and sand or the ledge where the water deepens because flounders use them as pathways.

THE LIFE OF FLESUS

The flounder, Platichthys flesus, is a right-eyed flatfish although left-eyed specimens are not that uncommon. It’s an estuary fish capable of surviving in part freshwater and therefore having its own niche in the food chain.

Once described as the most prolific sea species, the flounder is now less common on some venues where it has been an easy target for pot bait by commercial fishermen fishing for crabs and whelks.

Widely dispersed around the UK and often a novice sea angler’s first fish because it hugs the shoreline and you don’t need to cast huge distances to catch one. It’s a fact that a few tournament casters have never caught a flounder.

Identification points are the square cut tail and the rows of bony tubercles at the base of the dorsal and anal fins.

Not so good for eating as other flatfish, it is mostly returned alive by anglers although its survival rate may be less than many conservationists think.