targeting sole?

[Ben]

this is something i have never tried befor and never really thought about trying
there have been quite afew caught recently from a beach near me and i want in on the action really
so other than small hooks and rag worm what do i need to do?
what time, tide, rig distance etc....
thanks alot, any help would be great

[FlyingFox]

Hiya Ben,

Down my way we also pick quite a few of our sole up on Blow lug so could try giving that a go....i tend to find the best times to fish for the are over a big tide on very calm conditions and night time not sure on what distance from your sure but i find them in more of the deeper what down here! another tip id give is to use long shanks on your hooks to make for easier unhooking and a normal one up one down does the job for me.

Ollie

[geejayy]

ben, smallish hooks , i use size 2's , could go smaller but i find em fiddly,+ deep hook other speicies,
definately worm bait, i prefer blow lug to rag as bait. needs to be fished hard on the bottom.
distance depends on venue but i'd expect them to be close in.

have caught them at ;- lee on solent, and hillhead some time ago.
and more recently at;- highcliffe, milford, and magazine lane.

plenty at maglane last year but tended to be small.

justask if ya want the exact spots.

geejayy.

[Ben]

thank mate, exact spots would be great if you dont mind sending me a pm
thanks

[pingu]

reading an article in tsf you want a hightide about 1 hour after dark aparently, every thing else has been said, good luck

[Ben]

cheers, some good tides later on in the week then

[Old Smoothound]

Hi Ben,

Small hooks Kamasan B940 longshank Aberdeens is a good hook for sole or Varivas Aberdeens. Size 1 or 2.

We use Blow lug and small rag up here. Best tides are big with high just after dark if water is clean. In the Channel it does not matter as water is coloured anyway.

Good luck and catch a big 'n

[Solent Fisher]

Hi Ben,

Targetting sole is great fun and I actually prefer the challange to smuts.

I have a quite a lot of success from my local Gosport beaches. The best rig I have found is the Portsmouth rig which allows a long bottom snood clipped down to prevent tangling during the cast. Hooks dont need to be smaller than a size 2 and I find rag outfishes lug in this area. Baits dont need small but make sure you dont have much dangling of the hook for the fish to tug off.

Keep your rod tip low as possible to keep the upper traces hard on the sea bed. Dont strike or touch the rod if you detect a bite. The fish will hook itself signalled when you rod tip bangs up and down violently as the fish tries to swim off.

Best times are the first few hours after dark when the sea is flat calm. In my experience actual tide state low, high, flooding or ebbing doesnt seem to make any difference. Casting distance all depends on the beach. At low water check the range of where the shingle/stones end and the sand/mud begins and cast there. The closer in this is the lower the rod must be to keep the line angle low and the baits on the bottom. Letting out a bow of line rather than tightening right down helps to acheive this as well.

Hope this helps and let us all know how you get on because now is the prime time before the pin whiting and small pout ruin your chances.

James

[Margate Mick]

I have fished Walmer beach specifically for sole. I used size 4 hooks on a 2 or 3 hook flapper with french booms. I also used a very short snood, in the region of 9 inches. I can't claim total success but managed 2 decent sized ones on my first attempt. They were caught on rag worm after about 3 hours of a rising tide at about 10p.m. I did this on the instuctions of the bloke who owns the tackle shop at the end of Deal Pier. Subsequent efforts drew a blank but I was elated to hit my target fish on my first attempt. I am still a bit of a novice but would suggest that, at least in this area, small hooks, short snoods and fishing after dark at any stage of the tide , is likely to produce results.Good luck!

[Ben]

thanks for your help, bream have gone now which makes targeting them abit easier, gonna get a session out for them soon