Plaice

Distribution:

The Plaice, once a common fish all around the coast has been hit hard by commercial fishing due to it's strong culinary virtues. Less common on the west coast, there are still good pockets of fish to be had on the east and south coasts. Wexford and Wicklow cough up a few good fish each year. Ballycotton pier in Co. Cork produced a record fish of 8.23 lb in 1982. The north of the country can also produce some good plaice on ocasion.

Generally speaking, Plaice like deep water over sand. Running channels where food items are deposited. These areas are the hunting ground for the Plaice angler The Plaice can also be found around sand banks and where rough ground gives over to clean sand. Can also be found in the mouth of estuaries and over mussle beds.

Habitat:

Baits:

Plaice are not fussy fish and will take Lugworm, Ragworm, Razorfish, Cockles,Mussle, Prawns, Peeler crab and Squid. Often cocktails of these baits work very well, particularly Rag and a strip of Squid. Flat fish of all kinds are quite greedy by nature and it is amazing what they can fit into their mouths sometimes. Do not be afraid to put a few worms up the snood length.

Plaice do a lot of their hunting by sight and sound. Clear water and sunny days can work very well. A settled sea after a strong blow can be very productive, especially when using shellfish as bait. The Plaice do not like a choppy sea and these conditions should be avoided. Contrary to what other sources may say night time can be very good for Plaice as they move closer inshore to feed over sandy beach areas. Gentle winds of force 3 or less work well for plaice. Stronger winds really put the fish off as they move further out to sea for cover..

Tides and Weather:

The best Plaice fishing is usually done on the drift using a baited 'spoon'. The spoon kicks up sand much the same way as a crab would along the bottom. The Plaice a bottom feeder covers itself in sand as camoflage and waits to ambush crabs and prawns and sand hoppers etc. For this reason these sand puffs tend to attract the plaice. A long snood should be tied off the end of the spoon as to cover more ground. Bites are usually small plucks and should be given time to develop before striking.  A watch style weight iis often used as the shape often plays up puffs of sand much the same way the spoon operates. Some anglers swear by using attractors like coloured beads and booby beads to attract the Plaice while others say keep it simple as these things put the fish off. Experiment and make up your own mind.

Tactics:

Plaice Profile

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