Plaice in the good aul days.

Hello fellow fishing lovers,

I remember like it was only last week when my dad brought me to Greystones south beach
with a big heavy duty poker or as he liked to call it a boat rod! It would have been around 1986
when i was six every Sunday we would arrive on the beach with a bucket of rag and lug.
we would be there for at least 10 hours till every last cast turned into just another for good luck!
for at least ten years till mid to late 90's we would have plenty of Plaice and codling. While on the low
tide on the hungry acre we would find it the best hitting Plaice and once it got to the evening the
cod would come on. Well as we all know those days are well over but the recent report up the other day
and that specimen plaice really got me thinking back. So i was just wondering are they on the way back?
Or is there still beaches that are producing a few plaice so i just wanted to throw it out there to see what
your view is on the plaice situation was. I for one fish Wexford and Cork a fair bit and the beaches i fish certainly
don't produce plaice or there could be something I'm doing very wrong!!

Regards,
P Bracken.

I caught about seven plaice in Wexford two days ago and the best one was about a pound.The small ones were caught on rag and the big one on some old squid ,try adding a weight to the top of your.sometimes it can make a big difference

I caught 2 nice plaice in the last few weeks around wexford maybe they are making a comeback

It would be nice to think that they might be making a comeback, but as soon as there are any numbers of them I feel it won't be long until their dredged into the back of a net again. Unless there are some serious protection measures put in place we will continue to see Angling quality slide into the abyss. Irish politicians do not have the interest not inclination to push against the commercial lobby as it is too strong.

Unless there is a change in thinking the only time anything will be put is place is after the commercial fisherman loose interest and I fear it will be too late then!

Bleak reading, but at the moment, I can't see it going any other way.

bleak reading indeed,im one of the lucky ones can remember the epic sessions on greystones south beach, fish all day long long, cod , plaice etc, summer and winter, never forget the look on my dads face when we went to greystones one year and there were no fish there and i asked him why, made me think of a picture quote on someones wall in a house i was working on a few years back...
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
, not easy to get youngsters interested in sea angling these days when most fish are 20cm or less but thats the way it is , makes you wonder tho if managed properly could still be the same now

The above is a quote from the movie Koyaanisqatsi (1983), the film's title is a Hopi word roughly translated into English as "life out of balance" and it sadly has become true to large extent nowadays.
The message is clear: humans are destroying the planet, and all of human progress is pointlessly foolish.
Well worth seeing it, mind blowing pictures, music is by Phil Glass which is an added bonus. Should be a compulsory watch in every school in our 'civilised' world. Alas the damage is done and people responsible for these crimes on the environment have all employed the attitude of the infamous three apes.

Great to hear of a few knocking around. I hope that wind don't push the away too far. Hope to get down
to wexford in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the south wexford beaches throw up a few decent fish
as they never let me down but I've never had a decent plaice there yet. Cheers for all your replies too lads.

Tight Lines...

I know a few beaches and rock marks in Clare where the plaice are still plentiful.
Due to preserving the stocks I wouldn't dare post it up here.
Our beaches have been decimated by trawlers and happy clappy fishermen who
eat all they can catch.
Nothing like putting back a 4lbs turbot and 2lbs plus plaice and to be able look
back and see they lived another day...

It's a bit off topic but when I was in my very early teens we used to catch 3 and 4 pound cod with ease off killoughter and the monkey pole and some seriously big flounder and plaice. Half way up the old pier in Wicklow was a great spot for plaice as was bray seafront.

Your right not to post up your hot spots It is just great to know that there are some decent plaice
still to be got on our Irish beaches. 4lb Turbot. Wow. I have only ever had tiddler turbot. They love the
fish baits. What baits do you find good for the plaice in Clare if you don't mind me asking?

I know a few beaches and rock marks in Clare where the plaice are still plentiful.
Due to preserving the stocks I wouldn't dare post it up here.
Our beaches have been decimated by trawlers and happy clappy fishermen who
eat all they can catch.
Nothing like putting back a 4lbs turbot and 2lbs plus plaice and to be able look
back and see they lived another day...

Your right not to post up your hot spots It is just great to know that there are some decent plaice
still to be got on our Irish beaches. 4lb Turbot. Wow. I have only ever had tiddler turbot. They love the
fish baits. What baits do you find good for the plaice in Clare if you don't mind me asking?

It's a bit off topic but when I was in my very early teens we used to catch 3 and 4 pound cod with ease off killoughter and the monkey pole and some seriously big flounder and plaice. Half way up the old pier in Wicklow was a great spot for plaice as was bray seafront.

I really believe those days are gone Eoghan. I remember them well. we could easily have had 6-8 plaice ranging from about 12-14 inches and a nice few codling of about 2lb. I remember fishing a compo when i was a junior in the wicklow open on Killoughter and having a coalie about 50cm and not been in the pool!!!! good times/bad times!!

I usually catch the plaice on fish baits or lugworm, they are very
far out on low tide, a clipped down long pully trace usually does it
for me.

Long flowing traces work too from the rock marks.

I started up bodyboarding last year, my surfing mates showed me
some nice reefs and unknown beaches, they're full of bass mullet and
pollock. ...roll on the summer. ...

The surfer's and die hard spongers really don't know the fishing
potential to their kegs and barrels

I usually catch the plaice on fish baits or lugworm, they are very
far out on low tide, a clipped down long pully trace usually does it
for me.

Long flowing traces work too from the rock marks.

I started up bodyboarding last year, my surfing mates showed me
some nice reefs and unknown beaches, they're full of Bass mullet and
pollock. ...roll on the summer. ...

The surfer's and die hard spongers really don't know the fishing
potential to their kegs and barrels

Brilliant Roll on the summer is right...