Flatfish Trip

Turbot, brill and plaice: (March – October)

Other species: sandeels, herring, mackerel, blonde ray, bass, tub gurnard.

It’s tough to find a more relaxed day than one spent drifting for flatfish. A very simple rig of a flowing trace, 8 ounce lead and 4/0 hook is used to target these fish which live on sandbanks with strong tidal currents pushing over them. Either strips of mackerel , sandeel or herring is used for bait, usually caught fresh on the day from April onwards. The tricky bit of this type of fishing is recognising the bite when it happens as you constantly get a bouncing rod tip as the weight drags over the undulations in the sand. I would recommend light gear for this sort of fishing with nothing more than 12lb class set up preferable but you can go all the way down to a spinning rod if you want to make the most of the scrap.

Tackle List:

light rod, 12-20lb rod, 20lb mono, 40lb mono, 1/0 kamasan (plaice), 4/0 kamasan (turbot and brill), coloured beads, plaice spoon, assortment of 2oz – 12oz leads (watch/ donut leads) not loads as you don’t loose any, assorted zip sliders, snap swivels and swivels.