Cheap and cheerful, flatty fishing

[jarrowviking]

Hi lads, I love a few hours flatty fishing when time is limited. I often pop down to my local beach for a quick flounder sesh during winter.
Flounder aren't everyone's cup of tea but you can make this type of fishing a bit more fun and best of all cheap.

I use an 11ft spinning rod and small fixed spool loaded with 30lb braid. Bait is as cheap as it comes, either a mackeral from the supermarket, cost £2 or a couple of bluey, again cheap as chips. Cut your fish bait into small strips and add to a two hook flapper, small hooks are best, size 1 or similiar. A small luminous bead above your bait works a treat to.

Look for slightly deeper areas of beach and cast your bait into these shallow holes.

A short session after work last night resulted in a few nice flounder from the beach.

This one was brightly spotted, almost thought it for a plaice at first!

When using braid you can feel every little tap on the rod and if it's not too cold it's exciting just holding the rod, standing in the surf and waiting for a bite. You can feel every flick of the tail and dash for freedom, great stuff.

Happy days, Dave.

 

[wheres the fish?]

JV, this is the way we ledger for bass 30lb braid, with a running ledger rig. Standing in the surf, waiting for the bites, and boy to the bites make your heart go

 

[BestNest]

Nice Fish there...
The only trouble I find is retrieving the hooks!!! Seem to just about always swallow the lot!! Looks like those ones have done that aswell!! Lol

 

[jarrowviking]

JV, this is the way we ledger for bass 30lb braid, with a running ledger rig. Standing in the surf, waiting for the bites, and boy to the bites make your heart go

Sounds like a great way to catch bass to, sometimes I'll just add ragworm to one hook and mackeral to the other in the hope of a bass taking the worm bait and a flatty on the fish bait.

 

[dabcatcher]

the type of session i love also Dave.

if you fancy a go at bass doing exactly the same but with ragworm later in the year, i could point you in the right direction 3oz lead, 1/0 hook, 30yds out.

Bill

 

[CHOPPER]

Great stuff Jarrow, sounds like an enjoyable session!!

 

[john/r]

Hi lads, I love a few hours flatty fishing when time is limited. I often pop down to my local beach for a quick flounder sesh during winter.
Flounder aren't everyone's cup of tea but you can make this type of fishing a bit more fun and best of all cheap.

I use an 11ft spinning rod and small fixed spool loaded with 30lb braid. Bait is as cheap as it comes, either a mackeral from the supermarket, cost £2 or a couple of bluey, again cheap as chips. Cut your fish bait into small strips and add to a two hook flapper, small hooks are best, size 1 or similiar. A small luminous bead above your bait works a treat to.

Look for slightly deeper areas of beach and cast your bait into these shallow holes.

A short session after work last night resulted in a few nice flounder from the beach.

This one was brightly spotted, almost thought it for a plaice at first!

When using braid you can feel every little tap on the rod and if it's not too cold it's exciting just holding the rod, standing in the surf and waiting for a bite. You can feel every flick of the tail and dash for freedom, great stuff.

Happy days, Dave.

is that a flounder turning into a plaice .it looks more like a plaice than a flounder to me the givaway is the white tinge around the finns i may be wrong though.

 

[kayos]

Nice Fish there...
The only trouble I find is retrieving the hooks!!! Seem to just about always swallow the lot!! Looks like those ones have done that aswell!! Lol

Yup I find exactly the same thing and it has put me off a bit, as too many small ones we catch end up dead. Anyone any ideas on how to stop them swallowing the lot ?

 

[oldessox]

Yup I find exactly the same thing and it has put me off a bit, as too many small ones we catch end up dead. Anyone any ideas on how to stop them swallowing the lot ?

Strike sooner ?

 

[coleg]

Unhooking a flatfish

Unhooking a flatfish

Never tried this method of unhooking a flatfish but looks worth a go?
unhooking a flatfish - YouTube

 

[fish fingers]

dave the picture in the sand looks nowt like you mate i,m sure it should have more hair on lol well done and brilliant pics as usual was talking to [sixo] roy today he was telling me about up the coast your slackliners but that's fishing regards stan.

 

[codseeker]

good session dave i like the pics too ..most folk wud argue blind that was a plaice

 

[dabcatcher]

is that a flounder turning into a plaice .it looks more like a plaice than a flounder to me the givaway is the white tinge around the finns i may be wrong though.

if you look, the other 2 fish also have white edges to there fins.

flounder in the dirty rivers are usually very dark, almost black, taking on the colour of the river bed.

once in the open sea, over cleaner ground they take on the colour of the clean sand. its then that they show there feint orange spots. dabs also have orange spots.

 

[rob b]

another good session dave

 

[RossW]

On the subject of retrieving deep hooks - - don't!

Cut the snood close to fish's mouth and let salt water do it's biz.

Or try to carefully pull the hook through the gill.

Or if the fish is size and the hook is right down, take it home, fry it in butter, squeeze on some lemon juice and consume with a nice vino blanco..... I did this with two flounders from the open beach this winter and they were ok (not anywhere near as good as dabs but almost as good as plaice)

 

[g.ordon]

Good report and advice mate

 

[john/r]

if you look, the other 2 fish also have white edges to there fins.

flounder in the dirty rivers are usually very dark, almost black, taking on the colour of the river bed.

once in the open sea, over cleaner ground they take on the colour of the clean sand. its then that they show there feint orange spots. dabs also have orange spots.

fair enough m8 sounds you may well be right.

 

[mick dunn]

Couple of cracking photos again Dave.

Mick.