Saltwater Boat Angling — December 2017

Saltwater Boat Angling 53

Simon Everett

wonders why

these fish are in

decline and

remembers what

fun they are to

catch

T

he humble flounder used to

be one of the mainstays of

inshore fishing through the

winter months but over the

last few years the numbers of

flounders in our estuaries have been

noticeably reduced. The knock on

from this is that fewer people are

targeting them and they seem to

be falling out of favour, yet for

the kayak angler they can provide

fantastic fun.

There are a couple of theories as

to why the flounder numbers

have reduced, one reason is the

reprehensible practise of commercial

trawling for them in the estuaries to

use for pot bait. I remember one

massive flounder that had it been

caught on rod and line would have

been a British Record, it was trawled

up in the Teign and after paying the

seller’s premium the 5lb 6oz fish was

worth less than the price of ½ pint of

beer. £1.37 I seem to remember was

the final figure paid to the fisherman

for what would have been the fish of

a lifetime for any angler and one that

would have had anglers flocking to

catch a big flatty.

Nitrate Runoff

Another theory I have heard put

forward and there was a study

being done into it, is the effect of

excess nitrate runoff into the rivers

that feed the estuaries. These nitrate

levels were thought to be affecting

the fertility of the male flounders,

reducing the success of the

spawning effort. I haven’t heard the

result of this study or if it is still

ongoing. Perhaps the truth lies

somewhere in the middle and it is a

cumulative effect of both the

trawling and nitrates in a double

whammy. However, the good news is

there are still areas where the

flounder fishing is worth pursuing.

The estuaries off Southampton

water, the West Country estuaries are

still good for flounders, even the

Teign and the Exe which were the

main targets for the trawling on the

south coast, and virtually all Welsh

estuaries and as far north as the

Lakeland coast. I have to admit, I

have little knowledge of the east

coast, but surely they must be full of

flounders too.

Good target in rough weather

The beauty of flounder fishing is that

you don’t need to go far and when it

is really rough outside, the sheltered

waters of an estuary offer a good

opportunity to fish the tide in. There

are plenty of places to launch within

an easy paddle of good flounder

marks and the actual fishing is

simplicity itself. One aspect of

flounder fishing I have noticed over

the years is just how heavy many

people fish for these surprisingly

sporting and obliging fish.

Realistically speaking a 3lb flounder

is a big specimen, even though there

may be the odd one lurking in the

4lb+ range by far the majority of

flounders will be below 2lbs, so there

is no need for anything stronger than

a light lure rod and outfit, in fact a rod

rated for about 5g – 13g is ideal,

matched with a small fixed spool reel

loaded with braid of 10lb or 15lb

maximum. If using plain mono for

your main line then 8lb is plenty

because long casts are unnecessary.

Personally I use an HTO Rockfish 7g-

28g with a Daiwa Procast 2500

loaded with 10lb braid. In water up to

about 2m deep this allows me to use

Live ragworm is a good

bait in most places

A juicy rag rig with beads

Rig components, not the small weights, up to 12 grams only

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