Devon Angling Centre Guide to:
Plaice fishing help text - (Pleuronectes platessa - Rødspette - Plie, Carrelet - Goldbutt)

The best way to catch plaice is to drift over sand banks.

· Bait up the hook and attractor rig.
· Use a weight that is heavy enough to hold the bottom only, but do not use excessive weight.
· Carefully lower the rig and bait into the water, allowing the tide to straighten the bait away from the weight.
· Very slowly let the line out so that the rig and bait are lowered to the bottom without twisting. You will feel the line go slack for a few moments. It is important to go slowly with this, as tangles from going down too fast must be avoided. A whole drift may prove to have been a waste of time if the rig comes back in a tangle.
· Let the boat drift away from the rig on the bottom by about 30-50yds. Then hold the line and let the rig be dragged by the boat movement across the bottom.
· When you feel a bite, instantly let about ten more yards of line go from the reel and then hold and let the boat take up the slack.
· You should then feel the weight of the fish on the line. Do not strike.
· Always use a net, or you may loose the fish.

· Baits: The traditional most common bait is probably worm tipped with squid. To bait the hook, fully feed the worm up and even onto the line, leaving little or no worm trailing. Then cut a strip of prepared squid, (i.e. red speckled skin, innards and tentacles discarded leaving a thin white sheet of flat flesh) about 1.25 - 2"" long by an three sixteenth wide. Hook it onto the hook once at one end and leave the rest as a trailing fleshy attractor. A convenient and very successful alternative is 'Fish & Strips' synthetic bait. I get offered many new ideas, but this works. Last April I out-fished eight very experienced fishermen from Bristol with this bait, and the bonus is that one strip lasts several hours and will not fall off or get bitten off and has a virtually indefinite shelf life, even after opening the packet.

If you would like additional help or require a tackle and rig set up suited to this style of fishing, our staff will happily help and advise you.

Anglo Dawn Charter Boat Will take you straigt to the Plaice. Click on image for contact information.

Devon Angling Centre, Units 4/5 Orchard Way, Chillington, Kingsbridge, Devon. TQ7 2LB.

01548 580888

Tight lines,

Malcolm.