FLOUNDER FISHING..

Well a couple of weeks ago i got the urge to have a bash at catching a flounder or two, and when that certain fishing itch strikes you have to give it a scratch. Checking the local tide times it turned out that the following nights tides were ideal, highwater about 8pm, so i promptly ordered 2 packs of lugworm from a local bait digger which i picked up an hour later and set about tying up some flattie bashing rigs.

After a couple of hours fiddling with my tackle, ooo eerrrr missus, i had numerous rigs made up and two of my pike roads set up ready to rock the following evening. I like using my lighter pike rods for flounders as they detect even the smallest knocks and when you do actually hook a fish they allow you to enjoy the fight. Flounders do actually give a good scrap when fished for on lighter tackle, as do small bass and even whiting. The only downside with the lighter rods is they compress a lot when used in waters with strong currents, not very good if i,m fishing my local River Crouch as this has a very strong tide run. The rods are ok when i,m fishing close in though as the current isn,t as strong and i think because there is less line in the water there is also less drag.

Well i set off to my chosen destination, Old Leigh, with absolutely no real hope of catching anything as the reports had been of blanks all round and to top it off the temperature had dropped considerably the previous night and during the course of the day. Either way i had my bait to use up so at 5pm i was sat on the Wharfe bench baiting up my first rod ready for my first cast. It had started to get a little foggy on the drive there but i didn,t really think much of it but by the time i had baited and cast out my second rod you could only just see past the rod tips. Luckily i,ve fished here for more years than i care to remember and know that there is a deep gully that runs close to the wharfe no more than 20 yards out so it was an easy chuck to land the rigs in there.

Over the course of the next few hours the fog got heavier and the temperature took a serious plummet southwards but i had my thermal gear on so it didn,t really bother me. Regularly re-baiting and re-casting every 15 mins showed that there was barely anything alive out there as most of my baited hooks were coming back in untouched. I did have a couple of small rattles which could of been small fish or maybe just crabs, who knows, but those little rod movements kept the fire burning for the chance of something coming along. Unfortunately it was not to be and about 9.30pm i packed up the gear and set of for home in seriously thick fog. In the time it took me to tackle down my rods etc the droplets of water that were hanging from my rod rings had actually frozen, and it took the 15 minutes car journey home to warm my hands and fingers up. In fact i can honestly say that my fingers have not been so cold since i was a kid, and bloody painful they were too. Maybe its me getting old but i do seem to feel the cold more nowadays.....

Although it was a fruitless fishing trip i can honestly say i thoroughly enjoyed myself and will be having a bash for flounders again very soon as they should be coming into the shallower waters to spawn pretty soon.

TIGHT LINES..........

Comments

  1. Brandi7 April 2017 at 05:28

    My husband and I love to fish for flounder as you do. We always use pike rods because they are the best for detecting nudges. The hooks we use are made of a very strong metal as well, usually brass. We usually do not fish in colder temperatures but are hoping to do so one day!

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