READER STORY
Flounders are just what ‘The Doctor’ ordered.
Flounder fishing is something we associate with frost and many hours spent on the estuaries and rivers. It has been a pastime that has always excited me ever since I was a nipper, when I used to spend endless hours with my father fishing the River Teign.
Having always fished the South West creeks, I never thought to target flounders from the beach here in Kernow. That was until my friend Tony Clarke (aka The Doctor), a shore fishing guide based in Falmouth, told me that he catches flounders from the golden sands of Cornwall’s beaches.
The Doctor picked me up in his fishing wagon and off we went on a drive through the countryside to our chosen beach venue. There was a strong north-westerly wind that would have been a nightmare on the north Cornish coast, so he recommended a lesserknown south coast beach. Well, he knew his stuff, as the wind was blowing right over our heads – but as we were in a valley, it looked as if the fishing would be comfortable.
FRESHWATER OUTLET
The moon was full and bright, illuminating the sand majestically, and the beach was a quiet, picturesque and strangely serene cove. It just felt super-fishy. Parking in the evening is free, and you are only metres from where you intend to fish – an added bonus.
Our bait was ragworms, procured from Falmouth’s Terminal Tackle, where Marc Smith takes enormous pride in what leaves the shop. We had also dug lugworms and foraged for razor clams, so we knew that the menu we were serving up was super-fresh, top quality and most certainly local.
With widespread snow forecast and the white stuff hitting many parts of the United Kingdom, here in Cornwall, although a little chilly, we managed yet again to dodge the bullet. On fixing the tripods into the yellow sand, The Doctor pointed out a freshwater outlet that ran into the sea from the nature reserve. “That’s what we want, we’ll set up here,” he said, rubbing his hands with a twinkle in his eye. A freshwater outlet has always been a draw for flounders.
OPEN AND SHUT CASE
As I am a creature of habit and definitely an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ kind of guy, I stuck to what works for me in the rivers and estuaries. That’s a simple running leger with a long flowing hooklength.
This led to a discussion about attractors. We argued over beads and sequins like two boys in the playground. His rigs look like a haberdashery shop window, while mine only include black and green beads or, if I am feeling saucy, a lumibead.
The Doctor opted for a one-up, one-down rig laden with bling, and he double-hooked on the first cast. An open and shut case, your honour. Court dismissed! Then it went quiet… for 25 minutes.
The tide started to drop, clouds eclipsed the moon and the surf picked up, and it
SEA ANGLER ISSUE 555
was at this moment that the fish decided to appear. The depth of water could not have been more than a few feet, but we know that flounders only need to cover their backs with mere inches of water.
The rod tips never stopped bouncing – the flasks of coffee were left untouched. I managed a flounder of around 1lb caught on ragworms, followed by a tiddler on the next cast using fresh razor clam bound on with bait elastic. I could not bait up quickly enough. I opted next for lug and caught another flounder of just over 1lb.
The Doctor flashed up his headtorch and walked down to the sea, pulling in another flounder. That was four in 15 minutes. I glanced over, he grinned and gave a salute. I saluted back. What else was I do? I wanted to high five him and tell him his knowledge of beach flounder fishing was second to none, but I didn’t, because he might have thought I was a bit odd. A salute was more than enough.
When the flounders went for a short break, I thought we might be able to have a quick coffee and a chat about how the session was going so far. I had numerous questions, but the break was short-lived when we were greeted by bass and dogfish. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when the fishing is quiet and you go to pour a drink or unwrap a sandwich, it’s at that moment that you get a bite and, inevitably, miss it.
Not tonight, Josephine! The flounders came back on the feed, but we only saw the smaller ones, which smashed through our bait supply – incredible fun for all that.
TARGET SPECIES
On reflection, when we arrived at high tide (something I have never done when flounder fishing, as I always fish the flood in the mud), it still produced the target species as the fast dropping tide got them feeding in numbers.
We packed up after three hours of frantic fun. “Always like this here, is it?” I asked The Doctor. “Well, I usually catch more around high tide, so I am a bit disappointed, actually,” he replied. Wow! I think I may have to return for a marathon session to fish both states of the tide.
I want to say that Tony was wonderful company but, truth be told, other than a passing salute, we barely talked because we were kept so busy. Luckily, we headed off to a pub complete with open fire where I could pick his brains and plan our next trip.