A DAY OUT AT OUR PLAICE

On Thursday evening I was talking to Paul Bright on the telephone when he suggested I might like to join him and David Pakes aboard their very smart 20 foot Orkney Day Angler, "Reel Value" fishing the Skerries off Dartmouth for Plaice.

I needed no encouragement.  About 9.45 am the following morning they picked me up from the steps outside the Harbour Master's Office on Dartmouth's South Embankment and we glided out of the harbour entrance with Paul at the helm.

David and I swapped stories and caught up on all sorts of fishy tales.  He is the Hon. Secretary of the Dart Angling Association who own or lease about 9 miles of excellent fly fishing water, mainly in the non tidal reaches of the River Dart where with feather and fur members, guests and ticket holders may catch Salmon, Sea Trout and Brown Trout.

Once we were past the imaginary line between Inner Froward Point on the east side and Coombe Pint on the west of the Dart estuary, to where the Dart Harbour Authority 6 knot speed limit extends, Paul gunned the throttle and the 75 hp Mariner 4-stroke engine increased its beat to 4,200 revs as we settled at a comfortable 18 knots.  We sped seawards on one of the smoothest journeys I have enjoyed across the 4.2 nautical miles to the Skerries banks.

The development of the Orkney showed its thoroughbred class.  This boat did not slam and bang, but cut effortlessly through the waves without any fuss or bother.

I like the way the three 5 gallon plastic fuel tanks are neatly stored in a purpose built covered well in the centre of the deck, safely out of the way and low down towards the keel of the boat, at the centre of gravity.

There is also a fish storage hold below the deck, alongside the fuel tank compartment, on the port side of the boat.

The cabin is both spacious and lockable with plenty of purpose built integral storage.

For the interest of all you "electronic junkies" out there:-

I noticed that at the boat's helm position the later model of the Furuno GPS chart plotter than that which I have on my own boat had been fitted.  The full colour display appeared brighter and clearer than in my own earlier version.  The depth finder was integrated into the single unit.  Very convenient and simple to use.

I also saw that David and Paul had fitted an additional Furuno colour fish finder on the stern bulkhead at the rear of the deck of the boat.  A nice touch which allows anglers to clearly see what sort of bottom they are fishing over and whether any fish are showing, without having to resort to the unit in the wheelhouse.

Now something for all you "tackle tarts" :-

I chose my newly bought "Northwestern" 12 lb class 8 foot Kevlar boat rod, fitted with one of my trusty Abu "Morum 6600" multiplier reels, filled with 10 lb braid.  I like these "Northwestern" rods.  Last season I purchased their 20 lb class model, but I've recently bought the 12 lb and 30 lb class models too.  They are all built on their own very good quality blanks.  Top quality and not too expensive.

David had a Ron Thompson uptider with a soft clear glass tip.  His reel was one of those small gold modern Penn lever drag multipliers which appear to be built like a classy watch; I think it was the 975 model, but I'm not certain of that.  David was also fishing a braid line on his reel.

His end tackle was a mixture of black and yellow beads and small revolving blade spoons just above the hook.  He also had a short flying trace held clear of the main line by a short length of fine yellow plastic tube which also sported yellow and black beads.

Paul used a Ron Thompson 12 to 25 lb class "Downrigger" rod.  It is somewhat similar in appearance to a 12 lb class Shakespeare Ugly Stik.  Paul described it to me as "Stockier than a spinning rod; with good tip and middle action, but with solid power in the butt. A good all rounder, particularly if you encounter a larger than usual fish"  It certainly looks to represent good value for money.

Paul repairs fishing reels as a way of earning a living, so he clearly knows quality & value when he sees it.  Paul had sensibly chosen a Shimano Charter Special 1000 multiplier reel, also filled with braid line.

Now for some fishing:-

We had Peeler Crab; Fresh Mussel; Frozen Razor Fish; Fresh Ragworm; huge Freshly Dug Lugworm; & long thick strips of Frozen Squid as our available baits.

We fished the last hour or so of the flood tide and were soon into fish using all manner of combinations of those baits.

David's first fish took both traces on his rig!  It was obviously hungry and tempted by the choice on offer.

Greedy Plaice in landing net two traces and baits in mouth

As the tide turned to ebb, we fished several alternative marks on the banks and continued to catch fish all while we were drifting.

Yours truly managed to catch a few too - here's one nice fish - just to prove to you that I can still do it on occasions.

Mike Concannon with a Skerries Plaice caught on a large spoon & bead rig using a cocktail bait of Peeler Crab; Ragworm; Lugworm & Razor Fish

The fish clearly understood they would be shown to a wider public and willingly obliged.  We all caught Plaice.

David Pakes (l) & Paul Bright (r) proudly display a brace of Skerries Plaice

Altogether we caught in excess of two dozen Plaice.  We kept some of the more deeply hooked fish for the table and returned the remainder to swim, grow and fight again another day.

Who says Plaice don't fight?  They can be feisty scrappers.  Here's David bending his rod into one nice specimen.

Dave bends his rod into a good Skerries Plaice

Ok!  So you want to see the fish?  Here's David with the rod bender.  It weighed 3 lbs 4 ozs and he hooked it on the last drift of the day.

Dave Pakes Skerries Plaice 3 lbs 4 ozs