Session savers
How to target the dabs and transform a slow day afloat
Regardless of their sweet taste, dabs are not at the top of our target list when planning a great day afloat. They are the smallest of the UK flatfish and, despite weights recorded in excess of 2lb, are generally widespread in the 8oz bracket. A dab that exceeds 1lb would be considered a great catch, unless you’re fishing in Norway or Iceland, where the average size is 1lb-plus.
Often, when the winter cod fishing has died away and even the whiting are scarce, the good old dab can turn a slow day into an actionpacked session – you just have to scale down your gear and actually target them.
The dab is easily identifiable when compared to other flatfish such as the flounder and plaice. They have a white underside and normally a light brown topside. Dabs have light spots on the top that are more a yellowy-orange colour than the striking red of a plaice, yet occasionally they are misidentified by anglers, especially when the fish small.
A key way to be certain that it’s a dab is to run your fingers along its back, from the tail to its head – dabs have a rough skin to touch, with quite a rough and pronounced lateral line.
The flounder has a mottled greenish-brown colour on its topside, occasionally with dull red spots. A plaice, on the other hand, has a smooth topside when rubbed either way.
Commonplace around the whole of the UK, dabs can be routinely found in waters between 20 and 40 metres in depth. The habitat of a dab can vary, but most are caught over clean sand or mud. If you travel to Norway or even the northern ports of the UK, the chances are that you are likely to encounter the ‘long rough dab’, which is very similar to the regular dab, except it is much longer and slimmer in appearance.
TACKLE AND BAIT
The choice of rod and reel is dependent on the ground, depth of water and tide of the particular mark that you are fishing. The lighter you can fish, the more fun you’re going to have.
A 7-35g lure rod matched with a fixed-spool reel, in the 3000 size, loaded with 10lb braid would be my choice, but in some cases you can go even lighter and use dedicated LRF tackle. For general boat fishing, though, if you can’t get away with using less than 3oz to hold bottom, I would suggest a 12lb-class boat rod with a really soft tip.
Dabs have a varied diet that includes small crustaceans, worms and fish. As anglers, we tend to use various worm baits, often tipped with fish or squid.
Just like other flatfish, dabs will readily attack a moving bait, and it’s quite common to catch more dabs on the drift than laying at anchor. This is further qualified when reading various articles and exploits of other anglers where they concentrate on LRF methods, and in particular the use of soft plastic baits. For instance, it’s noticeable the number of small flatfish being caught on slightly twitched baits.
Boat anglers can adopt similar tactics with soft plastic baits during a day afloat, whether at anchor or indeed on the drift for targeting all manner of flatfish. I’ve seen dabs caught on Isome worms over in Norway, so I know the tactic works.
“A hook with a longer shank helps with presentation”
RIG AND BAIT
When looking for dabs, your chances of a double or triple shot are usually good, so two or three-hook rigs are the norm.
It’s important to keep the rig as tight to the seabed as possible – a three-down scratching rig fished off a boom is the correct rig choice. The rig body needs to be around 4ft long, with the three hooks spaced equally along the body.
Use 40lb line for the body and 20lb fluorocarbon hooklengths, which is ample for all fish that may take the baits. However, additional care needs to be taken when landing anything bigger than a dab.
Flatfish respond to attractors. Plaice especially are regularly caught using a vast array of colourful beads and sequins on the snoods in addition to the baits. Dabs are no different, and 5mm beads in either a bright yellow and red, or red and luminous combinations have been proven to work well.
Hook choice is crucial, bearing in mind that
the vast majority of baits being used will be worm-based, so a hook with a longer shank will help with good presentation.
With dabs having fairly soft mouths, a finewire hook can be used when targeting them specifically; something like a fine-wire Aberdeen pattern in size 2 is a good starting point.
A ragworm or rag tipped with squid can be a lethal cocktail for dabs from a variety of ports. Small harbour rag (maddies) bunched together can result in some very good-sized specimens, especially when fished on the drift over undulating sandbanks.
Similar to when fishing for plaice, the worms are bounced slowly over the seabed depressions seeking out the ambush points of the larger dabs.
In many areas, especially during the winter, sticky black lugworms are one of the best baits available. Sticky black is the name given to black lug that has been frozen, thawed and refrozen a number of times. The process dries out the worm and leaves it very sticky to touch and also with a very strong smell.
The worm can be used in a couple of different ways, either threaded up the hook and just passed over the eye of the hook and then tipped off with a sliver of mackerel or squid. This sliver helps prevent the worm from slipping along the gape of the hook and masking the point.
Alternatively, with a baiting needle and some elastic, you can prepare some black lug sausages to offer a solid piece tipped off, once again, with mackerel or squid. ■