I guess there is no such thing as a one rig fits all, if there was then we would be all using it!! Different rigs offer different advantages in different situations: tide, sea bed, required cast length etc.

Fishing rigs

There is a lot of personal opinion and die hard believers in one rig versus another but as a general rule of thumb I would be looking at a pulley rig. The pulley rig casts well and presents a well loaded hook very well. The pulley rig will also work in most conditions and situations that I can think of.

Wire trace

For spurs I would make the hook length out of wire rather than heavy mono as there is a reasonable chance a good fish will bite clean through the heaviest mono.

If you have a different opinion then please comment on this post, let us all now what rig you would use for thornies, spurs and dogfish.

How to catch what is there

That title above is really all that scratching is. It most certianly is not loosening the flesh around a flea bite! I guess if you are considering going to a sea fishing mark and edging your bets, increasing you chance of going home with a fish rather than blanking, then you are scratching.

If you go to a new mark that you have been told fishes well for plaice on mussel and you set up the ultimate plaice rig, baited with mussle held on with bait elastic and arm your beachcaster to throw your gear 150 yards to catch that plaice, you are narrowing your chances of catching other species. You could be missing out on other prize species.

Everytime you go to a new mark or even an old one, its worth scratching. Fishing for other species will help you learn what might be there and the shap / structure of the seabed. Being open to trying ideas is what will increase your catch rate fatser than anything else.

How do I scratch while sea fishing

This method is not only for beach casting, but includes boat and kayak fishing as well. To be Honest its nothing to complicated, in fact its dead easy.

Fishing in ireland on a few boat comps I learnt that one of the most powerful scratching rigs was as simple as baited mackerel lures. You have the attraction of the lure, baits close to the sea bed and some higher as well as a few different baits on the 3 lure hooks that make up the rig (many comps have a hook limit)

When beach casting from the shore a 2/3 hook paternoster works well. A smaller hook on the bottom paternoster scratches for the flatties and micro species with a size one on the other hook lengths. remember that if you hook a good fish, play it and respect it as your hook size might be small and delicate!

If you are a master scratcher, let us know what system you use, or how your opinion differs from mine by commenting on this post.

Plaice and Chips on the shore

Its still a bit early to really go out targeting Plaice in Cornwall and the rest of the UK, but it will not be very long and I have heard of a few fish showing already. Plaice can be fished for from the shore / beach and inshore fishing boats to a high degree of success. (photo by f10n4)

The Plaice is a desirable catch, being one of the best eating fish in my opinion and I am sure many others would agree with me. The important factor when plaice fishing is to balance your tackle, using sinkers and gear that match the environment you are fishing in. Plaice do not reach huge sizes, I am not sure on the current British record but would imagine its sub 8Lbs. Use your imagination and try everything to capture one.

Identifying your Plaice Shore / beach mark.

Seek local knowledge first of all, speak to fellow anglers and find the local hot spots. Plaice have a particular liking to mussel. Check your potential fishing mark at low water for mussel beds or do some research with local commercial fishermen (they won’t give much away) If you can locate a few areas that are rich in mussel then this is where I would start.

I would aim to cast to the side of features from the beach, for example; if you have a mussel bed and clean shingle try and cast to the area close to this interface as that’s where the fish generally are.

Rigs for Plaice fishing

Size 1 long shank hooks on a range of different traces can be used depending on the tide, range and system you are using. You do not have to have the baited hook tight to the bottom, Plaice are aggressive hunters and will move off the substrate in order to secure a meal.

Pimp your rig – Plaice love bling: beads, spoons and another attractor are worth using to increase your chances. Adding movement and visual stimulus to your bait is important, these guys are visual hunters.

Flowing trace – Use as lighter lead as possible to allow your end gear to move around in the tide and currents. I find lug worm tipped with a long thin slice of squid works best.

Pulley rig – I love this simple rig and it allows for powerful long casts. It also helps in hooking the fish as the weight is connected directly to the weight.

Multiple hook paternoster - Any combination ie 2 up and 1 down will work. Some people prefer wide white booms as they create movement when they are caught by the current giving life to the bait. Its really up to you.

Popular baits

Most of the popular baits will work to capture a Plaice. Mackerel fillets cut on the silver, Hermit crab, Sand eels, Squid, Rag Worm, Razor fish and Peeler crab will all work. I would suggest that Squid, Crab and Ragworm in a cocktail are the most usual baits. Mussel would also be worth using, but being a soft bait you really need to freeze it on the hook and have 20 or more pre-made hook baits in a thermos.

Plaice fishing the technique

This is something I have learnt and it works for most flatties. Keep your bait moving, not quickly but allow it to flow in the current and slowly wind it in, moving its location by a few feet at a time. I am not talking about spinning, more covering the ground well hunting out the fish. The best system for this is to tighten your line and when the line goes slack wind in again and so on. Fishing like this for sight hunters will get your baited hook close to a lot more fish if you use this method. I think sea anglers become very sedentary at times when fishing from the shore and taking a leaf from game fishing and plugging works wonders when bait fishing off a beach.

Detecting the Bite

The plaice will generally hook its self quite well, however the bites are subtle and to get the best bite detection you should hold your fishing rod. The problem is that flatties in general will take the baited hook deep into their throats causing possible death to undersized fish. The bite would be best described as a rattle and tug if you get anything at all. Leave it for a while and strike and play the fish to the shore.

If you have anything to add please comment below or email us about Plaice fishing

Before I go any further its worth mentioning that Bass are very sensitive to light in places they don’t expect it. So in when you are Bass fishing in an unlit area you need to keep light of the water. Shrouds can be placed around base lights and red filters can be used on head lamps.

Anyway I digress. There are 5 detection systems for night time fishing,

• Holding the rod and line

• Battery tip light

• Chemical tip light

• Tip bells

• Reflective tape

Holding the rod and line

If you are fishing multiple rods like most sea anglers do, ie Two long range beach casters and a short range spinning / Bass rod then you are going to have problems using this technique on all your rods! If you are using just one rod then hold it and don’t use the rod rest. Holding the rod will give you great detection and feel for that out of character movement on the rod or line.

Battery tip light

For the sea angler who is going to the beach most weekends to fish in the dark a battery powered tip light is the best solution. Modern ultra bright led technology allows long burn times from small batteries. The most typical devices are plastic formed with a foot. You attach a shoe onto your rod tip and just clip the light in place when you are ready to fish (a bit like bike lights on their mounts). The initial out lay is expensive compared to the other options, but if your are on the beach most of the time they will quickly pay for themselves.

Chemical tip light

A small plastic tube filled with magic that once snapped and shaken causes a chemical reaction that glows for hours on end. You have probably seen similar art street festivals and carnivals – glowing necklaces around children’s necks. They attach with tape or a rubber tube that attaches to your rod tip and you push the chemical light into this tube. Cost wise if you were to use one every fishing trip then it could become very expensive, but for the odd trip they are very good and you should always have one in your tackle box. To buy some chemical lights click here

Tip bells

If you want to drive yourself mad and clear the beach then a good quality tip bell will do the trick! I guess if you happen to not be looking at your rod then the jingle might warn you of that bite, but they are of little use unless its calm enough to allow your rod tip to be still.

Reflective Tape

Many rods now come with a reflective section on the tip. If not you can by the tape and give your rod tip 3 to 4 coils. You need background light of some type to seem the tape, a head lamp works well but a base light set in front of your rods shrouded on the water side to prevent light spill will work well for all the rods in your rest. This is the method I use, its not perfect but works for me.

If I have overlooked another method you use, or if you have any feedback then please comment on this post.

The hardest thing to master, if you are new to sea angling or new to your location is finding good marks that produce and the easiest way to get this information is by joining your local club. There will be a vast wealth of knowledge amongst its members and once you have proven your-self and gained trust they will be willing to take you out on fishing sessions and give you valuable advice.

Not only will the club members share marks, it’s also a good source of cheap tackle and sometimes the chance to get out on a boat and share the cost amongst you all.

If you are a member of a club and you would like it to get some coverage on this site please send in the clubs details using our contact form. We get people every day landing here looking for Sea angling clubs and I would love to provide them with some great information.

To give you an idea how popular this book is its ranked 6117 against all books sold by Amazon. That is truly outstanding for a niche book on Sea fishing. To purchase or see more details click on the image!

Reviews by Amazon,

If you are new to sea fishing then this book will help you through the minefield of technical names and jargon. It will show you how to make simple and effective rigs which do catch fish, believe me i am a serious match fisherman! it then explains the various types of sea baits and their usages how to hook worms etc…..bait presentation is just as important as the rig you are using. This book certainly helped me no end when i started back beach fishing 4 years ago, it will give you the confidence to go into your tackle shop and not look like a complete novice, and also save you money in the long run.

I have only had this book for a few days and only being a beginner to the world of Sea Angling i have found it very useful. It has show me things that you would never know unless you belong to a club, instead of bying rigs it shows you how to build your own therefore saving money. it also shows how to keep your bait fresh and re-usable for your next fishing trip, that also saves money. All in all a very cheap but valuble book for the beginner to Sea Angling.

If you own this sea fishing book, we would love to hear from you. Give us your opinion on it by commenting on this post.

This sea fishing book is currently available for just £6.99

Tight lines

www.fishing-blog.co.uk

Going Sea Fishing

A few friends from work arranged to joined me on the beach. We parked and headed along the cliff path. Dave and I fished together near the fresh water outlet. The others went to a mark further along as they heard it was producing good catches of Whiting.

We were armed with Beach casters, spinning rods to drop a bait close in, Sand eels, Squid, Mackerel and 70+ Lug worm from a local tackle shop (quick tip – phone and book your worm to prevent a 40 mile round trip to find some worm!) Coffee was in plentiful supply and coats were zipped up to the max to keep out the cutting breeze. Looking like Noddy and Big Ears we strode off towards the beach.

On getting first sight of the beach it became quickly apparent that it was going to be a challenge to hold bottom! The waves were a good 6 foot high on average and there was a powerful surge, drawing shingle off the beach and into the belly of the waves.

I set up with a 3/0 pulley rig, loaded with 5 worms and a long strip of Squid to tempt the fish. I cast out and within about 5 mins the line was being buried under shingle. I was trying to hold my fishing rod as high as possible, but the wave action was too powerful. Dave wet his line at about the same time.

Those fateful rigs were to never return, nor their brothers or their sisters……… In-fact we lost a total of 11 rigs in about 90 mins. That equates to about £30 worth of gear at a rate of £20 per hour – far faster than I earn the stuff!!

Dave, who is a well qualified coarse angler, was heard understandably to mutter words to the effect of “THIS IS TOTAL BOLLOX“while hurling his rod through the cold night air, in the style of Fatima Whitbread on acid.

After spending about 5 mins getting the sand out of the intricate workings of a performance fishing reel, we decided to move to pastures new. I was at this point prepared to call it a day, but found a second wind.

PHEW! – The Harbour

It was fishable and with haste two beach casters were set up with gear scratched out of the bottom of our tackle boxes. In fact it was so fishable that we armed and fished two spinning rods for close in work. Rigs were coming back, re-baited and cast. The spirit lifted while catching the odd glimpse of shooting stars.

We made contact with the other members of the party who had decided to return home and drink beer while being warmed by a fire. Sensible idea many would argue. It was just after that call when Dave landed a medium size edible crab – there was life in this dark unforgiving water after all.

Over the next few hours we landed 3 Pollock at about ¾ of a pound, and I lost a fish that took line from the reel. We sorted out world debt, touched on politics, cleansed our minds and most importantly had a smile and a feeling of satisfaction that we had developed, moved on and found success.

How to detect a bite

There are many factors that effect your bite detection when you are sea fishing and they can all effect one another to give you a misleading picture about what is happening under the water. The ways of detecting a bite are as follows,

• Rod movement
• Line movement
• Indicator movement (eg float)

Detecting the bite

The basic key to this is practice and vigilance. Watching the rod, line and/or indicator for any movement, not in time with the sea or wind. Looking for a jerking motion on the rod tip or line, a bobbing on a float, even a rattle. Trout fishermen are always watching the line to detect that sneaky take. You will notice the line move without being able to feel it!

Holding the fishing line and rod is best practice. It will focus you and allow you to feel the rhythms that are going on under the sea. You will be able to tell the type of sea bed with a little practice. It can be hard work and tiring holding a rod while stood in the surf waiting for that Bass to bite, but its worth it.

Use the factors below to consider what might be happening. The are many variables and patients and practice will teach you how to assimilate all those knocks and taps and detect the bite you have been waiting for.

Primary bite detection factors

Species – The type of fish you are targeting will play a massive part in your bite detection technique. Getting the right balance of tackle, to species, to conditions is the aim. Sole and Mullet are known for very gentle almost un-detected takes. Bass and Eel can pull your rod out of the rest. Wrasse can be felt by sharp tugs, flounder and plaice vibrate a rod tip.

Tackle – Balancing your tackle to the species and the conditions / environment is very important to accurately detect bites. Light gear in heavy seas, or trying to hold bottom in a fast current full of weed will over stretch the light gear causing the rod to lock up, not showing by rod tip movement the action your terminal tackle is getting. The type of fishing line is also important, braid has very little stretch offering great detection qualities, mono has a lot of stretch, softening bites indications.

Tide action – As the flood starts to speed up the resistance of your line to the current will lower bite detection at the rod tip. The positive side is a fish will generally swim down tide after taking your bait and the tide will help to magnify this.

Wind conditions – The wind will have a massive effect on your bite detection ability. It can cause your line to belly creating a large amount of slack in the line, reducing the effect of a taking fish on the rod tip. Guests can cause a fake bite, tugging the line causing a false detection.

Sea state – this can have a negative impact in larger seas. Huge surges and swells can lift your tackle and move it yards across the sea bed. Calm days allow for better contact with your end gear.

Secondary bite detection Factors

Sea weed – High build levels will give you false bites and reduced sensitivity in most types of fishing applications.

Skill – When you have been fishing for a while you will start to recognise the species mouthing your bait. This ability will come in time and increase your catch rate as you can tune your fishing to match interested species.

Sea bed – The types of sea bed offer a subtle contrast to each other. Sand softens takes where pebbles give a lot of false bites.

Bait – A bass hitting a live sand eel is normally a very sudden thing, best described as an explosion. However, when they take a dead bait thy can give a very gentle slack line bite, very hard to detect.

Available light – Even with tip lights night fishing takes on a new challenge. Subtle bites go missed, heavy bites seem like your eyes are playing tricks on you. In the dark fishing takes on a whole new aspect.

Your mind set – There you are freezing your nuts off. No bites, can’t be bothered anymore, and wallop you get, and miss your first and only take of the fishing session. Stay focused and positive all the time. When your eye is off the ball the action will happen.

Storm force winter fishing

The powerful waves (have a look here for cornish storm photos Dec 06) will be hitting the coast line scouring out the food stuffs hidden in the substrate creating a soup for Cod, Dogfish, Whiting and the odd big Bass. Once the worst of the weather is over and it becomes fishable again, get out there at night. Use big baits to create a strong scent trail, and fish hard. You should use a method called double patting, where you use a clip on rig, use two rigs and have one baited ready to go so once you have got your gear on the beach, you can quickly clip the new rig on and cast out. This allows you to maximize the amount of time you have bait in the water, increasing your chance of catching.

Beach casting – how far?

Try to cast a few baits into the same area, so if you have attracted fish to that spot they won’t be disappointed. Then move your cast. Try close in, long range and all areas in between. Spend a bit of time reading the shore line in the daylight to see where all the flotsam is congregating, as this will show you the drift of the beach and where the food is most likely to be. here is a post about this reading the shore for fishing

Most importantly enjoy this time of rich pickings and stay safe (not like this video at Loe Bar.) while winter sea fishing

The general rule of thumb is that Cod come closer to the shore and in range of beach casters when the light goes or the sea is well coloured. This should tell you that the fish are not using vision to hunt their quarry. Scent, touch and feeling for vibration are the tools of the trade, now you know how to fish for them. You need some local advice to find what tidal conditions produce fish in your area. Try large springs first then experiment if this does not produce Cod.

Assuming there are Cod on your mark and with the knowledge of how they will be hunting lets look at how to entice them to our baited rigs.

Scent trails for Cod.

This is the most popular system used for Cod fishing, even if you don’t know you are doing it. BIG baits are good Cod baits and BIG baits create big scent trails, simple!

Fresh fat lugworm dug from your local patch are often considered the best Cod bait. Other popular baits for Cod are Squid, Crab, Razor fish, Mussel and oily fish.

Why not consider using a ground baiting system to attract Cod and get them on the feed. I have used PVA bags full of bread and mashed mackerel to attract them but there are many other methods you could consider and try!

Hunting by Vibration.

As we know fish have the ability to hunt by sensing vibrations in the water. The easiest way to create an attractive vibration is through the use of live baiting. The current edition of Sea Angler follows Shane Pullen who goes to catch Cod using livebait – its well worth a read.

I have never tried using spoons when beach casting for Cod and I cannot remember reading much about it being tried but its worth ago!

Cod use Touch

Touch is really the last method you want to use. You are fishing by chance if you catch Cod by them coming across your scentless washed out bait. It will work if a Cod happens across your bait, but what is the chance, thousands of acres of sea, a few Cod and your bait!!

Remember though that if your rig is a mess, there is a chance that a Cod will be attracted to your bait only to be put off, or not well hooked because the touch and feel is not right – just consider it!

In conclusion

Again do your homework on the mark you plan to fish, prepare good quality bait, sharp hooks and well tied hooks. Balance your tackle to the requirements of the mark and remember,

1. Cod come close in in the dark or colored water
2. Cod hunt by Scent in the above conditions
3. They also use vibrations
4. Lastly they use touch
5. Use trial and error to learn the best system for your mark
6. Consider the conditions you are fishing in
7. Experiment with rigs, bait and casting ranges

I would love to hear any other ideas you have to catch more Cod from the shore.

They look very similar to normal coloured beads but are extremely buoyant. As you know beads are great for attracting many species of fish including, Bream, Plaice and Flounder but these beads allow you to fish in hard situations.

Crabs tend to be a problem while sea angling, they are constantly nibbling at your worm and this can be embarrassing! However, using floating beads will hold your baited hook (I will be sensible now) above the easy grasp of these annoying creatures and allow your bait to fish longer without being destroyed. Another advantage is it holds you bait off the bottom and clear of weed. Many fish hunt just off the bottom, Bream included and they will be hunting the sea bed at this level just where your bait is.

Bait floating in the water often has a more natural look, it moves with the current and just looks right. You can experiment with your snood length, allowing this movement to be exaggerated.

There are a lot of companies making floating beads, I have only seen two types from my local tackle shop so I would love to hear from you about the different qualities and pricing of floating beads.

The last post on Flounder fishing was written to help you improve your catch, so remember the points I raised, because if the numbers are lower you will have to work even harder to catch one.

Just keep researching your fishing marks and trying ideas until you start catching. The Flounder will keep coming once you sus it.

The flounder fishing season is almost here, hundreds of people will be heading to the esturies to catch these endearing fish across the UK

Image from whitbyseaanglers.co.uk

Flounder fishing basics

The traditional method to catch the bottom dwelling flounder was using a moderate weight beach casting set up, a rig with some attractor spoons and lobbing it out into the river expecting to catch flounder because its a flounder river – I know this because I have been there.

Now there is another method, one used by those anglers you see in the glossy magazines and its simply about targeting the flounder in thier habitat and using the flounders inqusative nature and behaviour to increase your catch rate.

Improving your catch rate

I have written a few dits about doing a recce before fishing and reading signs on the shore line. You can use all of that information to help you and assist you improve your catch rate, but here are a few more ideas targeted at the flounder

Get to your mark at low water and look for gullies in the mud, the areas where the flodding tide will reach first. The flounder will follow these channels and hold waiting for the water to flood the main plain of the estuary, when they will leave the gully into shallow water and start feeding.

Fish these channels, and the shallow water, but look for depressions or basins created by an object / tidal currents that would cause food to gather and attract fish.

Some people actually mark and bouy these features, so they know where they are when the tide has flooded

I understand that flounder move in small shoals, so if you hook a fish, remember the spot and cast there again. This is a good tip for all fishing techniques, but over looked in flounder fishing.

Consider keeping mobile. What do I mean? well it might be worth, on the mark you are fishing to move up the estuary when possible with the tide, so you are fishing the freshly flooded areas. To achive this you need to keep your tackle light and compact.

Try a multi hook rig and keep changing the bait (crab, worm, squid etc) and attractors (beads, sequins and spoons) until you find what works for that river. The combination will work next time.

Use enough lead to almost hold the bottom. The moving weight will attract fish and allow you to cover a much larger range of water.

Balanced Tackle

By now you should know my thoughts on balancing your tackle to your target species. There are some great flounder rods out there on the market, I use the Odessa Flattie and I am impressed with it when I require heavier sinkers. For alot of my fishing and friends I know a carp rod or spinning rod will be perfect with 10lb main line. This simple light tackle wil cast a light lead along way and you will have proper contact with your end gear, improving bite detection and sport.

Lure fishing for Flounder

This is somthing I want to try this year. Flounder are a predatory fish and the early season fish are looking from the bottom up to catch food. They will move a shirt distance quickly to capture a meal. Lure fishing with a salt water fly fishing out fit or a light spinning rod with a small delta eel caould produce you some unusual sport and a challange. Sea trout fishermen catch flounder as a by product of thier effort. I have seen one programme on TV (the name escapes me) where a fly fisherman was pestered so much by flounder he felt like giving up! Rember, late season they tend to bottom feed more so you are less likely to catch one on a lure.

I would love to hear from you if you have had sucess lure fishing for flounder, either on fly or plug / spinner

Flounder Rivers / Marks

In Devon the Teign and river Exe are both well known for producing good fish in the season. The Fowey and Camel in Cornwall are another two good rivers to fish. Other marks include Harbours and inlets, my local being Porthleven where good fish are taken regualrly on bottom gear.

If you would like to share some marks please comment below.

I have recently started sea fishing and want to know how often I should change my bait?

The answer to this is the Million dollar question. You never know if a fish is just about to mouth your bait. You need to consider the situation you are in. The faster the flow or the more disturbed the water the faster the bait will get washed out, but also the scent trail will be longer. Try and cast in the same area a few times to allow the fish to follow the trail to your baited hook. If your fishing rig comes to the shore clean every cast then something is taking your bait (crabs most likely), so increase the change frequency so you are not wasting time.

As a rule of thumb fish small worm baits for between 10 and 20 mins depending on the conditions. Large tough fish and squid baits should last longer. Also consider swim feeders and ground bait to increase the scent trail.

Clean you hooks down every cast, remove the bits of skin on the hook.