No fluke, it's flattie time!

Last weekend I hooked up with Callum Conner at an east coast bass mark. The plan was to fish the rising tide in hope of bass. After a few hours of nothing though we decided to turn our attention to the blennys in order to avoid the blank! Oh well can't win them all!

Blennys provided a plan B when there were no bass around.

A couple of days later I had a job delivering some antiques to Berwick so with Scott along helping me do the job we decided to drop in at St Abbs on the way back to Edinburgh. Scott as always was organised as he had quickly rigged up a 7g IMA Gun and scampered off to fish, leaving me flailing in the back of the van with bags of tackle! I grabbed about 20 kilos of gear and lumbered off after him and after unloading said bags I went with the same 7g IMA Gun. The plan was to use our LRF gear in the hope of finding the big coalies which have started coming into the shore areas again. I jigged the small metal lure about for five minutes or so before I decided to set up a dropshot rig. The rig is my standard, #8 offset worm hook tied via a palomar knot halfway down a four foot fluorocarbon leader and roughly 18 inches below that a 7g dropshot weight is clipped on. I rigged a tail section of natural gulp sandworm and began to cast about retrieving the lure by hopping it along the bottom with lots of little twitches. As I searched around with my dropshot rig Scott was cycling through various lures with still no sign of coalies.

After about twenty minutes a big grey seal rose up where we were fishing, this may well have explained the absence of coalies! Time was running out again and we were preparing ourselves for blanking when I saw a dark shape following my lure before bolting off when it saw us. The fish was either a pollock or a coalfish and gave us that bit of hope that we may  avoid the blank yet! Scott had found a miniature coalie which was attacking his isome/jighead rig but it was probably too small to take the lure properly. It was at this point our mate Ritchie Bewsey gave us a call and wondered if we wanted to try a new mark that had been throwing up some jumbo coalies. I couldn't make it but Scott could so it was hastily arranged that Ritchie would come down to St Abbs and pick him up.

After this was done I only had time for a couple more casts before I had to leave to get back to Edinburgh. I made a long cast then began the slow shaky retrieve. The lure had traveled about twenty feet when I felt a soft plucking at the lure, I lowered the rod tip a bit, pluck, pluck and strike and fish on! It stayed deep and started racing towards me putting a good bend in the rod as I tried to raise it from the sea bed. I knew it was a flattie and this was soon confirmed when it rose up through the water and we caught sight of our first flounder this year. A nice size fish indeed which needed Scott to climb down the ladder, grab the fish, then climb back one handed while holding the flounder!

1lb 4oz and first flounder this year, hence the cheesy grin!

Cracking fish from a cracking spot, I love St Abbs!

It was a fine St Abbs flounder in great condition and after a couple of photos I released it, watching as it sped away back to its sandy lair. Time was up and I had to go, so I said cheerio to Scott and left him to recce the new mark with Ritchie. I really enjoy catching flounders on lures and I have been awaiting their return. It was amazing that there return has been heralded by such a fine fish, hopefully I can catch a few more soon!

Tight lines, Schogsky.