Targeting rays & flounder

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These are two species I have never caught from the shore and am interested to try. I am a bit unsure for rigs and baits.

For flounders, am I right in thinking think I would be targeting these close in? Seeing as I wouldn't need to cast far I guess I could use flapper rigs in order to try various baits and find out what works.
Do people tend to go with one up one down rigs or two up? I have found that rigs with a snood below the weight are a disaster for getting tangled in the wires of a grip lead.
Also do people tend to use a plain lead in order to search out depressions etc or do you prefer to keep the baits in one spot?
Finally, if people could advise the best hook size and baits!

For rays, I will be using a pulley rig. I know some people use loop rigs/up and overs etc. but I am very lazy in what rigs I tie and I like my rigs to be flexible enough to target different species. I use pulley rigs a lot for cod and bass so I will also use for ray. I don't know what hook sizes are best though and also whether to use a pennel or not. It seems that fish baits are best: sandeel, mackerel, squid - any others?

Lot to ask I know, thanks in advance.

[JimC]

I like fishing for them from time to time. In the areas I fish crab is best but I have caught plenty on lug too. I've had them in estuaries but also on open beaches so you should have little problem picking up a flattie or two. They will also take a lure. moving your bait about helps too.
You'll find a piece on flounders here:
http://www.topfisher.eu/fat-flatties-flounder-time/

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Cheers Jim

[kieran]

Flounder
FWIW...

Miscasts often catch flounder in under six inches of water. They will also come over rather than around sand banks in similar levels of water when you are fishing beaches.

In estuaries, flounder follow the EXACT same route in and out of the tide often running up one side and out the other of the river, not bothering with the deepest part of the channel at all, so you may need to experiment or ideally find someone who will save you all the experimentation... right on top of sandbanks in estuaries is a hotspot. I know it feels mad casting into the shallowest place in the river but it works...

Use very light leads and twitch them in, keeping them moving, a couple of turns every few minutes, to keep you warm!
On beaches, cast in a semi circle to cover more ground and don't be afraid to fish your baits right into the suds.

A lot of people advocate all manner of bling - beads, sequins, small spoons - but really fresh bait (lugworm) is better. Razor is a good option as is tiny strips of squid.

In some creeks in Mayo, sandeel is the only bait that will work.
In the Saleens in Tramore, which has (or had?) a monster population of bigger than usual flounder, peeler crab is the ONLY bait that will work.

If you want to fish Saleens, you need to fish it from two hours after HW down, from just to the right in front of the car park, and no more than 30 yards out casting into the weed. I've never tried to fish the opposite bank but presume it would work from two hours after LW up, to account for the fish moving into the back strand area. There are some deeper holes in the back strand itself where they may well lie up around low water, but you'd need to be very desperate to walk all the way out in all that mud!

At Saleens, it will work for about 1-2 hours at which point all the fish have left so move on...

Don't be afraid to go very small on the hook size, and I mean very small, as you might get a sole. No one fishes for them in Ireland due to their tiny mouths (only found on the south coast in any numbers, yet to catch one) but the record came from Ballycotton pier so you never know...

Hope this helps...

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Kieran- great post. I am very tempted to take a medium spinning rod and reel loaded with braid and lob out a 2 oz lead into the very shallow breaking water

[Sweetwrasse]

Kieran- great post. I am very tempted to take a medium spinning rod and reel loaded with braid and lob out a 2 oz lead into the very shallow breaking water

Good idea-you actually get a decent scrap off flounder when you go light! Great way to keep the bait moving too.