MIXING WITH THE MILLIONAIRES
Plaice in the playground of the rich.
Plaice are already being caught from beaches on the South Coast, as proved during an open match at Sussex in January, but mostly anglers view them as a fish of the early spring. Usually, with the first hint that plaice have started to figure, anglers flock to Dorset’s mighty Chesil Beach. Sometimes it can be so busy that anglers are almost shoulder to shoulder on the popular sections of the vast shingle bank. For me, and many others too, the crowds are a turn-off.
If you like a bit of peace and quiet, don’t despair. By doing a little homework you can find some viable alternatives. Take, for instance, last year when, instead of heading down to Chesil and battling among the crowds, I took the easy option of heading to Millionaire’s Row – the Sandbanks peninsula, located at the mouth of the huge Poole Harbour.
MIGRATION ROUTE
At Sandbanks there are a number of fishable groynes which, over the years, have produced some really good plaice between March and June when the red spots filter up into the Harbour for the summer. Keen to ambush a few decent plaice during their migration to the harbour, a trip was set for the middle of April, normally the most productive period. I would be joining noted caster Shane Inman, from Poole, along with England Junior team member Riley Price.
As I battled with the morning rush-hour traffic, shafts of sun were piercing through the early-morning mist. All looked well for a good session, even if the moderate southeasterly wind was making it a tad chilly for the time of year. I pulled up in one of the back roads at the tip of the peninsula, close to the chain ferry that trundles back and forth to Studland, almost at the same time as the others arrived. Fishing near the ferry, in the area near the Haven Hotel, is a much cheaper option than using the main car park at Sandbanks, which will dent a real hole in your wallet for a day’s fishing.
From where we parked, it was just a fiveminute walk through a midway path that exits directly in front of the groyne from which we planned to fish.
STRONG TIDE
Obviously, I wasn’t the only one with the same idea. Word had spread and there were almost a dozen local anglers dotted along the ends of several of the groynes, but our favoured groyne, which gives way to a deepwater channel within 30 yards, was still free.
Having arrived early in the flood tide, our intention was to fish up and over high water. It’s best to fish an intermediate tide because the current will be too strong on bigger ones.
Along this stretch there is a fairly strong tidal pull, with grip weights required especially if there is any weed in the water.
Caution is also needed when casting, because boats entering and leaving the harbour can come within yards of the groyne. Young Riley was to lose at least two sets of tackle due to boat movement.
Bait was simple – a tenner’s worth of ragworms each, along with some fresh squid for tipping off. While this groyne can produce a wide variety of species, especially during the summer, on this occasion we were just targeting the plaice, and kept the baits well away from the rocky edge where lots of small species dwell.
Tackle was fairly simple, with medium beachcasters along with three-hook flapping rigs armed with size 4 Aberdeen hooks presented on a 15lb hooklength. While many anglers use lots of attractive bling on their hooklengths when targeting plaice, we were relying on one or perhaps two, small Bonebass pop-ups as an attractor and bait stop.
The one other vital piece of kit when fishing from the groynes is a good-sized landing net – earlier in the week Riley had lost a big plaice that dropped off just as he was starting to lift it over the rocky edge.
FIRST PLAICE
Eager Riley was the first to send three baits out around 40-50 yards, which is the perfect distance along this stretch when targeting the plaice, quickly followed by Shane.
I sat on my tackle box pondering for a while before taking a few scenic photographs.
Initially, the action was slow, with floating weed getting pushed along as the pace of the tide increased, giving a few false indications. Grip weights were certainly needed. Eventually, I managed to get some baits in the water. As I sat chatting to Shane he had the first inquiry of the session when his rod tip just nodded a couple of times. He left it for a few minutes before lifting into the first plaice of the session. Yes, it was on the small size, but it gave us the confidence that the flatties were in a feeding mode.
Another half-an-hour ticked by, and again I was sat chatting to Shane when out of the corner of my eye I saw my rod tip give a couple of healthy kicks. I left it for a couple of minutes before lifting into my first plaice of the day, not a monster, but a nicely marked fish with stunning red spots.
The pressure was now on young Riley, who was really miffed that the two oldies had both caught fish – his irritation was multiplied 20 minutes later when I had a second decent fish.
IN THE NET
Just as the left-to-right tide started to ease towards high water, and after suffering a number of false bites due to weed, the youngster had a far better pull-down. As he retrieved the fish near the rocky edge, Shane was quick to nip down to the water with the net, just in case it flipped off the hook in the shallows. With the fish safely in the net, the beam on Riley’s face told the real story. Having caught more than a dozen plaice in
the previous few days, he had eventually got off the mark in this session.
The tide easing was really the signal for more to come. On this occasion there were no real big ones, but just a good general stamp of fish. We certainly fared better than many others fishing on the same day.
On occasions, this venue can produce some really good fish, including my personal best of 5lb 6oz caught just a couple of hundred yards to the east during an evening session.
Fishing from the groynes keeps you away from the majority of other beach users, especially the dog walkers who often seem oblivious to anglers and baited hooks.
The groynes close to the entrance of Poole Harbour offer countless opportunities, apart from the plaice. Under the cover of darkness, some real rod-bending creatures move out from the main channel close to the shoreline, but that’s a story for another day. ■