Putting my heart and sole into it.

Whilst checking the tides and weather conditions recently, I noticed that there was an opportunity to head down to the Solway Firth again for another go at adding a Dover sole to my Scottish species list. Between deciding to go and making the drive down there, I was sent an email by a fellow species hunter asking for my assistance identifying some fish he’d caught during a holiday to Lanzarote. During our conversation, he told me he was one of the anglers that I’d heard had caught a topknot whilst fishing in Greenock. He also told me that a week later, his friend had also caught one there at pretty much exactly the same spot, that by examining their photos they knew it was two different fish, and he also confirmed that I had been fishing in the right area when I had been trying to catch one myself. This was all the encouragement I needed to turn an evening sole session into a full day flatfish mission!

Leaving early, so I could avoid the morning rush and get the right spot before lots of feather flinging mackerel bashers turned up, I arrived in Greenock at about 08:30 and set up two 10ft feeder rods. Dropping small sections of ragworm down into the area where the topknot had been caught had predictable results. Wrasse, after wrasse, after wrasse, after wrasse!

Goldsinny made up the majority of the wrasse I caught.

Corkwing wrasse also chipping in to munch all my bait in rapid fashion!.

I was hopeful that perhaps a topknot would somehow muscle its way past the ravenous wrasse, but after over six hours of fairly frantic, non-stop action, the only other species I had caught was a solitary pollock, and I only caught that because I cast a bait just out past the rocks away from the area that the topknot had been caught from!

This pollock was a reasonable size and put a nice bent in my feeder rod!

By the middle of the afternoon, I had used up fifty percent of my ragworm, and had long since lost count of the number of wrasse I had caught. Admitting defeat and packing up my gear, I got back into my car and made the drive south to begin phase two of "Operation Odd Flatfish". Before starting my evening session, I spent almost two hours digging some blow lug, ensuring that, along with my remaining ragworm, I had enough worms to fish two rods for four hours at least. 

Armed with quality bait and using a baiting needle to improve their presentation would hopefully improve my chances of success!

I began fishing just after halfway into the flooding tide, just after the current begins to ease off. Rather predictably, the first fish that found one of my baits on the muddy bottom was a thornback ray. In my limited experience of fishing there, they are easily the most common fish in the area, or at least the most active feeders!

No surprises really. This was the first of many thornback ray.

It was an overcast night anyway, but as the sun got lower on the horizon, and it began to get a little darker, I was hopeful that any sole in the vicinity might begin feeding too and be drawn to the scent of the juices slowly leaking from my worm baits. The thornback ray kept coming though, interspersed with a few lesser spotted dogfish. 

A nice change from the endless thornback ray.

The action was pretty hectic, with most casts producing a bite, if not a fish. After just over an hour, I’d lost count of the number of thornback ray I’d caught, including a double shot of thornback ray and a double shot of a thornback ray and a bass. Eventually my rod tip rattled and lifting it and winding in I felt something a little lighter that came in relatively easily. Definitely not a thornback ray or a lesser spotted dogfish I thought, but what was it? As it came to the surface I realised that it was a flatfish, when it rolled over flashing a bright white underside. It was also a good size for a flatfish too, but as it came closer I knew it wasn’t a sole due to its rounder shape. It turned out to be a very nice flounder. Normally I’d have been thrilled but given it wasn’t my target species I wasn’t as excited as perhaps I should have been. 

Despite this being a new personal best flounder of 40cm, I was slightly underwhelmed. It was a sole I was desperate to catch!

More thornback ray followed, but as high tide approached, the bites dropped off a bit. By this point it was almost pitch black, such was the amount of cloud cover. After winding in and rebaiting, I cast out both rods again. One at distance and one closer in. I got an aggressive bite on the closer in rod and lifting it and winding in I felt something putting up a decent fight. Again, I thought to myself this definitely doesn't feel like a thornback ray or a lesser spotted dogfish, but also it didn't feel like another flounder either. Shining my headtorch out into the dark, I waited to see what species would appear. I wanted to get the fish in quickly but also didn’t want to pull the hook, so I just wound it in steadily. When the elongated shape of a sole did appear, I felt my heart rate increase dramatically, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous pulling a flatfish up onto a beach in my life, especially when it started wriggling around like crazy! Quickly putting my rod down, I grabbed the fish firmly by its head. I needn't have worried about it escaping, as my super sharp Sakuma Manta hook had done its job and the fish was well hooked. I’d done it! My first Scottish Dover sole! One more step taken towards catching one hundred species in Scotland! 

My first Scottish sole was a reasonable size. They are a very strong flatfish making them tricky to handle but I took it well away from the water's edge before unhooking it and taking some photos.

What a weirdly simple mouth they have, with virtually no articulation.

Popping the fish back, it swam off strongly, disappearing into the murky water with a few thrashes of its long body. I was standing there in disbelief, but absolutely buzzing. Even though it wasn’t my first ever Dover sole, as I've caught one on the south coast of England many years ago, it almost felt like it was! I was pretty tired from a long day, but with worms left to use up and adrenaline still pumping through my body, I fished on for another couple of hours until I had exhausted all of my bait. I didn’t get home until 04:00 and was absolutely shattered the next day. Driving, fishing and digging bait for twenty-two hours straight, I think that’s the longest and most intense solo fishing trip I’ve ever done! Catching one of my target flatfish species meant it was well worth the effort!

Tight lines, Scott.