claxheugh (again) 21/7/11

[micky-quayle]

fished last 2 hours up again at claxheugh, fished the upriver end. ended up with 12 flounders and 1 eel on the bait rod (nice way to christen a new rod, picked an 11ft flattie fanatic up in mint condition for £60 in rutherfords today, i already have the 12ft version but must say i think i prefer the 11ft one) and 3 flounders on the spoon. the fish only really came on the last 45 mins upto top water.
should get some longer sessions in over the next couple of weeks, just on my way out for nightshift at colditz then two weeks freedom !!!!!

[jimboberellie]

spot on that m8 u love catching them flatties. Whats the crack with spoon never used them before you seem to be getting a lot of action with them. do you just us them like a spinner?

[micky-quayle]

spot on that m8 u love catching them flatties. Whats the crack with spoon never used them before you seem to be getting a lot of action with them. do you just us them like a spinner?

spooning is a much more fun way to catch flounders. the spoon is as it sounds simply a spoon with a series of swivels and split rings attached to the "narrow" end of the spoon then to a hook trailing 1.5" past the spoon. this is then baited with a small crab bait. then simply cast the spoon out letting it sink to the bottom then slowly retrieve the spoon allowing it to tick over just above the bottom. you will need to experiment with various spoons to find ones that work best. you can buy ready assembled flounder spoons in tackle shops, although they will work to a certain degree they should be avoided, home made ones whether they be made from spoon blades bought from tackle shops or from old table/dessert/tea spoons will be infinately more effective.
i used to do quite a bit spooning around 20 years ago with a degree of success but i recently read a book called "sea angling with the baited spoon" written by a man called john.p.garrad under the pen name of seangler. this title has been out of print for about 50 years or so, the author made spooning his lifes passion fishing from a rowing boat in the creeks around portsmouth. he was meticulous in his quest and wrote down all his results/findings. all this took place from just before the first world war. i have found all his findings unbelievably accurate, using his findings and methods has increased my catch rate on the spoon unbelievably. as a general rule of thumb use a largish spoon 2.5 - 3" is ideal, with the hook trailing 1.5" behind, find a spoon that just ticks over, they are much more effective than ones that spin very fast. i find small crab baits very effective but worm/macky etc also work well.

[over par]

Good angling and top info.

Good job you don't eat them flatties, there wouldn't be any left for the rest of us.

[skiny]

well done on you exploits with the spooning ,and some top tips.

[jimboberellie]

sorry for the late reply micky some good info there much appreciated i away with work at the min so ill be trying the spooning in about a weeks time i post how i get on.