SOLE SEARCHING
A clever rig twist makes all the difference when fishing for big specimens
In search of a specimen fish.
With autumn upon us, it was time to hit the famous Chesil Beach coastline for another attempt at catching a 3lb Dover sole. As I headed off to this massive stretch of shingle, accompanied by Rob Yorke, Gav Cuthbertson and Adam Slack, the weather forecast looked good for our latenight attack at a stretch of the ‘Big Beach’ known as Cogden.
Known for its clay beds that form a feeding ground for many species, including specimen soles and plaice, it is a spot where, over the years, many anglers have caught some fantastic specimens.
Access to the beach at Cogden, which is on the B3157 coast road between Burton Bradstock and Abbotsbury, is easy thanks to a footpath leading down the hill straight to the pebble beach. There is plenty of room for paid parking.
The plan was to get to the car park around 9pm, and darkness was about to arrive as we parked the car and unloaded the fishing gear. Moon phase is important when it comes to targeting big soles, and a pitchblack sky and a slightly coloured sea are perfect. With little or no breeze coming over our heads, we hoped that one of us would hit our target. We fish as a team, and the target is our group challenge – as long as one of us catches the specimen we’re after, we’re all very happy.
BUSY VENUE
By the time we hit the shingle we’d turned on our headlights, which showed the sea had a slight chop, but, overall, it was the perfect night.
On reaching the part of the beach we intended to fish, we were greeted by around eight anglers stretched out along the shingle. Luckily, no-one was fishing our chosen part of the bank, which was a little further along the shingle. Being in the right area is the key to specimen hunting, and it would have put a big downer if we could not have got in where we’d selected.
The reason is there is a bank around 150-160 yards out, which if you can get your baits over it, you simply pull back your rigs until you feel your line tighten as your lead weight comes up the bank. This is where you will find the soles feeding. Yes, fish will feed close in to the edge of the shingle, but the bank will give you a better chance of catching bigger specimens.
As we walked past the anglers, they reported that it was quiet on the fishing front. As I set up, the guy next to me told me he’d caught only a sole around 1lb. However, I remained confident as I pieced together my Century T900 rods and fitted a pair of Penn Fathoms, which have been customized by Phil Stares with a mono magnetic braking system for total casting control. This allows me to get my baits out over the clay banks and on to the drop-off every time. It’s a very long way and I don’t want a reel that holds back in the cast.
The reels are loaded with Asso 15lb Ultra Cast line with a 60lb shockleader.
BAIT AND RIG
September, October and even November are the best months for catching the really big soles at Chesil. Bait-wise, there is only one key bait and that’s black lug and the fresher the better. It’s not expensive fishing because one roll of blacks costs around a fiver from most places and would see you through an evening’s fishing.
Unless my local tackle shops have fresh blacks, I get mine delivered from Hooker’s Baits, in Lancashire. These worms are perfect for sole fishing as they are neither too big nor too small, and a whole worm baited on a hook makes a perfect sole bait.
Many anglers use a rig with two or three booms holding very short traces because it is important to pin the baits on the seabed, and the booms do this. However, big soles can be spooked when moving over the top of the rig or grip weight.
With a 3lb sole being a big fish, a dropdown pulley rig with an added twist as a way of keeping the hook away from the lead weight is my choice. My twist is that the main rig body is made with a 70lb line and the hooklength with 20lb Asso fluorocarbon. An extra trick is to place a float stop up your trace followed by a
small bead and then a small ball weight, followed by another bead and a float stop, which helps to keep it in place. On the end of the 20lb line I attach a size 2 Cox & Rawle Uptide Extra hook.
Yes, many sole anglers would opt for a size 6 hook because this species has a very small mouth, but a specimen sole will take a size 2 hook without a problem. In addition, it is very strong and copes with a big fish.
Between the ball weight and hook I tie a small water knot using a small piece of line. The reason is that when I’m putting on the worm, I slide the worm over it and add bait elastic above and just below to keep the worm in place.
BITE AT SUNSET
With both rods ready to go, I stepped forward to the top of the shingle, released the magnets on my reel and performed a pendulum cast to put out the bait.
The tide was running right to left and, as the lead weight settled, I pulled back the grip lead into the bank and knew I had hit the spot. Many anglers will use plain weights, but I find a gripper allows me to slacken the mainline slightly when tightening into the rig. Once a fish shows interest in the bait, it will not be spooked. As it takes the bait, the resistance of the grip lead will hook the fish, resulting in a pull-over bite or slack liner.
I cast out the second rod and put it alongside the first on my tripod before baiting up two spare rigs ready for next casts. Having everything ready to go between casts is really important.
As the sun faded away in the distance, I noticed a slight bite on my left-hand rod tip. Soon the rod tip smashed over, the grip lead tripped out and the line went slack. It was a perfect indication of a big sole, so I picked up the rod and gained line, all the time feeling the power of the fish on the other end.
The fish dived down to the clay beds as it was coaxed towards the shingle. The sea had a little chop to it, meaning I had to ensure I beached the fish with the swell and not before the swell, otherwise I could lose it. As the fish neared the shoreline my mainline stayed deep.
Having made my way to the water’s edge, I played the fish in behind the swell and reeled faster to keep it in the broken water and up on to the shingle. I was greeted with the sight of a superb-looking sole touching the 3lb mark.
By now Rob was beside me. We were both elated at hitting our target. As Rob unhooked the fish, I sent a spare baited rig out in search of another. My fish weighed 2lb 14oz, a new personal best. I was over the moon. Adam and Gav came over to check out the fish and both congratulated me on what was a true slab.
MORE FISH
After baiting some more rigs, I sat down to watch my rod tips again and noticed small bite indications on my other rod. After a few minutes I picked it up and waited for the pull. I felt small tapping bites on the tip and started to retrieve line and bring in the next fish, which weighed 1lb 10oz.
My first casts on both rods had produced and we were only four hours into the flood and had two hours until high water. However, things started to slow down for me. I put out fresh baits every 15 minutes because the black lug bait was being stripped.
Soon I spotted Adam on the top of the shingle with rod in hand. By the time I got to him he had beached the fish, a tiny
thornback ray that had picked up Adam’s small hooks. By now it Gav was on the top of the bank too with his T900 arching over. After gaining lots of line on his reel, we were greeted with another sole of around 1lb 10oz. He was using a drop-down rig with a lead core trace to keep his baits pinned down. As I walked back to my rods, the other anglers to my right were leaving. It was 1.45am and only 15 minutes until high water. Our plan was to fish until 3am to get an hour on the drop before heading back to Devon for a well-earned sleep. After attacking the sea with bait after bait for another hour or so, it was time to call it a night. We had managed to catch the specimen sole we wanted to make our trip more worthwhile. Sole fishing can be a very rewarding and enjoyable part of the sport...give it a go.