Targeting plaice?

Nooo Fish

Well-known member
Can anyone give me any tips on trying to catch a plaice. I've been using a 2 hook flapper rig the 2 times I've been fishing so far cos its only one ive tried to make. Is there certain places to fish or bait?
 
Can anyone give me any tips on trying to catch a plaice. I've been using a 2 hook flapper rig the 2 times I've been fishing so far cos its only one ive tried to make. Is there certain places to fish or bait?

You's bright beads with makrill and rag 2/0 hooks and at mouth ov rivers are piears sandy bottom
 
Clean beaches, mixed ground like sand and gravel

Rag mackerel and bluey black lugworms and small squid strips work well for plaice. If your fishing for them on beaches don't right off a 20 yard lob as they can sometimes be sitting at your feet as Scotty says beads on the hook length work well also not always bright ones I've had a fair few fish on black and red beads. Small hooks around 1/0 - size 2 and you shouldn't have a problem hooking them. Don't strike to soon let the bite develop as most times they just fiddling with the bait
 
Love my Plaice fishing. It's still a bit early because of the rotten cold spring but they are slowly starting to show. Key thing is weather conditions - you need a calm, settled period and preferably a nice calm sunny day. Any kind of colour in the water and you can forget it although interestingly I have had two of my best three Plaice after dark. Plenty of marks to try - Hendon Prom, Shields Pier, Marsden, Middens to name a few.

Some swear by Wishbone rigs but I've had most of my Plaice on two hook clipdown rigs, 1/0 hooks and don't skimp on the ragworm - Plaice are greedy buggers. Tip off with a small sliver of squid or Mackerel. Not a fan of bling myself but it doesn't hurt either. Leave the bites to develop and they will hook themselves...

Good luck, I'll be out Sunday morning tide hoping for my first of the season
 
How would you construct a 2 hook clipdown rig Stewart? Been experimenting but I don't think I got it quite right so far. Any advice much appreciated.
 
How would you construct a 2 hook clipdown rig Stewart? Been experimenting but I don't think I got it quite right so far. Any advice much appreciated.

I use a cascade swivel for my bottom hook snood and use Dusty Bin leads with the built in bait clip. Silicone sliders to trap the bead / swivel arrangement means they can be easily adjusted to the right tension to keep the hooks clipped down
 
Can anyone give me any tips on trying to catch a plaice. I've been using a 2 hook flapper rig the 2 times I've been fishing so far cos its only one ive tried to make. Is there certain places to fish or bait?

Long hook trace works well with beads and a blade that bestnest was on about using rag tip with macky or bluey.

Like the lads are saying still time for them yet so if ya dont get any keep at it
cos i have had a few goes for them and never had one yet :D
 
You will start to get plaice more from may onwards as weather warms up,as lad have said use beads and attractors with rag tipped off with macky,bluey,i tip off with crabs legs,s/spier or tynemouth pier, or any of the sandy beachs. Davy.
 
Rag and mackerel is good, but i switched to crab for a few casts on Blyth Pier in June a couple years ago and had two in two casts. So, if you've got any, take crab along too:D
 
Thanks for the help lads. Plenty for me to get on with there. Ill give it a go in the coming weeks. Ill let you know if I get one.
 
Use black and green smallish beads. not bright ones. Plaice love feeding over pea mussel beds and these imitate and work really well for me.
BBB
 
Good advise already. Heres some tips on how to catch them based on personal experience, however experiment and find out what works. Plaice tend to be in localised areas, usualy where there is a sandbar or seed mussel bed. Deep water can often have an advantage. Fish for plaice on a calm, clear and sunny day (typicaly summer) over low water. The best catches of plaice will usually be over low tide e.g. 2 hours down, 2 hours up. Rig wise i use a single hook clipped down paternoster with a long (3-4ft) flourocarbon hooklength. As far as blinging goes, it is not the most important part of your setup although some people swear by it. I like to keep it to a minimum with a maximum 5 beads, green and black, red and white are good colours to use. If fishing sandbars use a plain lead and let it roll with the tide. Its this movement that will find the plaice. If fishing the piers, try using watch leads and twitch your bait back. On the subject of bait, when the crab are peeling its the top bait. Plaice are also active hunters of sandeels and these are a very underated bait for plaice. The usual and popular ragworm and mackerel baits will also take plaice. For some good sport use a light beach rod or a specific flatty rod. Hope this also helps.:cool:
Karl
 
as lads have said, some good points among tehm, i use a few different rigs, usually pully wishbone does the trick for me, also use the patternoster wishbone, 2 hook clipdown, dropper rig but know lads that use a very lon flowing rig
44 mark on pier normally pretty consistant for the plaice when in
 
1up 1down rig works very well at the middens 1/0 mustard viking hooks ,no beads needed just bait each hook up with ragworm it is the best bait at the middens for plaice.

i like to see the venue at low water and cast as near to the rock patches as possible.

s/shields pier especialy the first gate area produces better quality of plaice but the quatity makes up for it at the middens,

sometimes the flounders can be a pest at the middens but it is not uncommen to pull two fish in at once at the middens.

very good mark you can park your car in the car park and fish next to it simple fishing but settled weather is the key to catching,
 
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