Big Flounder

[Davyred]

From the Sunderland Echo May 22nd 1984



This was the start of the surge of anglers to marks on the Wear, which produced some fantastic flounder fishing, particularly Southwick prom. Sadly, this was in the days before catch and release, and the Wear has never recovered.

Some people had the foresight as to what was going to happen, including Jack Melton in the Sunderland Echo dated May 15th 1984...



My own personal story of this was myself and Mick65 from this forum, were members of Sunderland SAA at the time. The minimum size for flounders at that time was 10 inches, and we asked them to raise it to 12 inches to try and counter the large amount of flounders being weighed in. Sadly, it fell on deaf ears until many years later when the horse had already bolted.

[5150]

I remember my dad catching a huge flounder off Amble pier back in the mid 70's and using the term dustbin lid then aswell, mum had a huge frying pan and it was way to big even for that

[YoursTruly]

Some of the better bags of flounder (Bin Lids) came from pickersgill ship yard around first two hours of the flood.
I can remember catching double and treble shots of flounder well in excess of 2lb just about every cast on some days.
When the yard was working you could juat about guarantee some sport with decent flounder.

[adam123]

...

[YoursTruly]

From the Sunderland Echo May 22nd 1984



This was the start of the surge of anglers to marks on the Wear, which produced some fantastic flounder fishing, particularly Southwick prom. Sadly, this was in the days before catch and release, and the Wear has never recovered.

Some people had the foresight as to what was going to happen, including Jack Melton in the Sunderland Echo dated May 15th 1984...



My own personal story of this was myself and Mick65 from this forum, were members of Sunderland SAA at the time. The minimum size for flounders at that time was 10 inches, and we asked them to raise it to 12 inches to try and counter the large amount of flounders being weighed in. Sadly, it fell on deaf ears until many years later when the horse had already bolted.

Davy, i can vaguely remember someone said if anglers are not careful the flounder stocks will diminish rapidly, just about every match angler said No way could the stocks be depleted as there were so many (one of them who shall remain nameless, very high up in the match world also said this) and look at it today.
Sad very sad.

[eddie t]

Some of the better bags of flounder (Bin Lids) came from pickersgill ship yard around first two hours of the flood.
I can remember catching double and treble shots of flounder well in excess of 2lb just about every cast on some days.
When the yard was working you could juat about guarantee some sport with decent flounder.

Them days are long gone mate.

[Charlton]

some of the biggest flounders I have ever seen or caught used to come out of Cullercoats Harbour when fishing for cod with 6/0 hooks baited with great balls of mussell, crab and rag, and they actually took the lot in their mouth, a couple more dusbins lids used to came of Tynemouth Beach, taken by cod anglers.

[Stores]

some of the biggest flounders I have ever seen or caught used to come out of Cullercoats Harbour when fishing for cod with 6/0 hooks baited with great balls of mussell, crab and rag, and they actually took the lot in their mouth, a couple more dusbins lids used to came of Tynemouth Beach, taken by cod anglers.

One weekend we'd fished on the Saturday night and we'd a load of mussel left so we put a trot line down the side of Cullercoats South Pier. Got up sharp Sunday morning and it looked, as we got on the beach, that there was no takers, but the hooks were all taken by flounders, some over 2lb. I've never caught one on a line in the Harbour since I was about 16.

[mark]

I once caught a dustbin lid, bit rusty and had a few holes in, does that count?















I'll get me coat

[codseeker]

i remember southwick used to be a remarkable place for the match anglers double shots of either flounder or coalies and remarkable size too also sometimes at low tide you used to see them dead on the river bank all dotted along the stretch where they had had a match ,also the flounder spoon worked well if you knew how to work it flounder coming to the top of the water taking your baits not sure what its like down there now has the car access has been blocked off and i wouldnt park me motor out of view anyway

[Davyred]

The most disappointing thing about the story I told, was that Jack Melton who wrote the article was on the committee at Sunderland SAA, yet he was out voted so speak by the other committee members when it was brought up during meetings.

Another measure we brought up were closing the river from the town bridge up, during the winter league, but that was kicked out as well. What really annoyed the lads who were against all this flattie bashing was a xmas comp one year. There was lovely sea on, and there were some good codling caught. Then 2 or 3 lads came in with double figure bags of flatties. Funnily enough, one of the main culprits posts on here, but I'm not naming names

[Red5]

I remeber as a kid playing below the pub at Boulmer (me home at the time), and we had made a raft out of a big long railway sleeper type log. The tide was flooding up the gulley that runs about 50 yards from the high water mark and we launched 'SeaWolf' (loved Airwolf at the time). We had a paddle we'd found when we'd been beachcombing, and as we set off (myself and my 2 cousins and my older sister) like the hawaians at the start of Hawaii 5-0 we looked down into about 2-3 foot of water and here was this tail like I had never seen before in amongst the kelp. It must have been easily 8 inches across. Nowing it was a flattie, I grabbed my oar and pushed down quickly onto what I though was it's head and told my sister to pick it up ( I was too scared that this leviathan would eat me). She got her finger under it's gills and lifted up this turbot that must have been close if not over the double figure mark, and as it thrashed around, I could see her panic stricken face and inevitably she dropped it and off it sped to freedom.

I was gutted as I had been off with Bill Wood (a local cobleman) a few days earlier off Seaton Point to his salmon nets and as a reward for not getting under his feet, he gave me a turbot that had been doomd to the pots. My mother had made it for my tea and it was bloody lovely. I think we would have needed a bigger frying pan though!

[Mark Thomas]

A school teacher in Cramlington in the late 70s once took a few of us up to a small river inlet near holy island and we caught about 50 flatties in a session all on rag with awful gear.I went back 6 years ago to try and find it,we did but there wasnt a fish in sight..........we need another world war to take the pressure off the stocks!

[treeboa]

same thing happened on merseyside, the mersey had a good head of them, cracking scrap on nice light gear, all in the past now

[danny boy]

i remember them days and i tried to lift a flattie for one lad and his line broke,this fish was massive and was the size of a dust bin lid.
I was fishing under the wear bridge at the time and i will never forget about that fish.