Hunting Flatfish
A beginners guide by Jack Metcalfe
Flatfish are perhaps the most elusive target in UK Spearfishing. Whilst they are abundant and caught with ease on rod and line, a large proportion of Spearos have never shot one, due to their exceptional camouflage.
Successfully hunting flatfish required a good understanding of their habits, a solid plan to make the most of the time spent hunting and a good degree of luck! Whilst flatfish spend the overwhelming majority of their time buried in the sand, impossible to find, during certain conditions all the flatfish will lie on top of the sand and become extremely easy to hunt
North Wales is home to several species, Flounder are the most common, alongside Plaice, with Turbot and Sole also present. Each species exhibits different behaviours, and prefers different terrain.
Flounder
Flounder tend to be found in extremely shallow water, indeed I have never seen one deeper than 3 meters, and will move up the beach with the tide. I have taken Flounder in water as shallow as 0.4m, and have even heard stories of Dogs catching them! They like sheltered coves and seem to be present most frequently in areas with worm casts. Flounder can be distinguished from Plaice by the shape of their tail, they have a large & powerful tail, and spook easily, when you see one it's best to shoot immediately.
The Flounder is not especially good eating, the flesh can be mushy and has a slightly muddy taste. 5/10.
Plaice
Plaice are also found in the shallows, not usually as shallow as Flounder, but can also be found in much deeper water. Around Anglesey they eat mostly Sandeels and small Crabs, and enjoy areas with extremely fast currents, in which they are often sat on top of the seabed in full view.
They do not seem to spook, giving the spearo plenty of time to assess the size before taking a shot. Small Plaice have very little meat on them, and only those over 40cm are worthwhile eating, above 50cm they become exceptional eating and have 4 thick fillets of meat.
The Plaice is good eating, the meat is sweet and tender and rivals the Bass. 8/10
Two excellent Plaice taken from a remote Anglesey beach. Image of Spearo Jack Metcalfe
Turbot
Exceptionally challenging to hunt, precious few spearos have seen even a hint of a Turbot, let alone bagged one. The author has shot only 2, both in 10-12m of water over barren sand close to a rocky headland with a gentle current.
The Turbot has exceptional camouflage, far better than the Plaice or Flounder. It’s eves are virtually flat on it's head, and do not stick out when buried under the sand. It hunts small fish, and has a huge mouth for its size.
The 45cm Turbot shown above is as obvious as they will ever be - the entirety of its body and fins exposed. image credit Jack Metcalfe.
When hunting Turbot be mentally prepared for many long and arduous sessions staring at barren sand, and the frustration of seeing numerous imprints of where Turbot were present but seeing no actual fish.
The Turbot is one of the tastiest fish that swims. 10/10
Tracking Flatfish
When hunting it is crucial to assess whether the target species are present early on in the session, to avoid wasting time when other species can be targeted. Generally flatfish are not possible to hunt when there is any degree of swell, if sand is being moved around on the seabed they usually sit well under the sand and you won't see them.
If they're present and feeding actively, and therefore on top of the sand, you will see numerous imprints. These give an indication of which direction the flatfish are swimming in when they change position, and of course give you the confidence to continue hunting over the sand.
Spotting Flatfish
There are 7 main ways in which things are seen, all Royal Marines learn this early on during basic training, not only does this aid a Marine in spotting enemy fighters, but also enables him to avoid being seen and therefore shot himself. This is referred to as the 7 S’s.
In spearfishing it is important to understand how to look for fish and of course how to avoid the fish seeing you.
SEVEN S’s
Shape - The round shape of a flatfish against the straight edge of a ripple in the sand
Shine - The glint of an eye on the sand
Shadow - More relevant for hunting Bass during shallows stalking
Silhouette - Ensure you have cover behind you when diving in Aspetto
Spacing - The even spacing of a set of flatfish eyes
Sudden movement - A flatfish changing position on the sand
Signature - The puff of sand when a flatfish moves it's fins
Shooting Flatfish
Due to how close it is possible to get to a flatfish it is important to correctly size up the fish. As stated previously flatfish are only worth shooting when over 40cm in length, despite the minimum sizes being far less than this. Aim for a spine shot, 5cm behind the head.
Before pulling the trigger assess the seabed that the flatfish is lying on, if it is resting on stones then consider lowering the power of your spear by putting the band onto a notch/fin that requires less band stretch. Another option is to drop down to change the angle of the shot, however this can often spook the fish, especially with Flounder
Be especially careful that the flopper on your spear has engaged before retrieving your flatfish, after shooting into sand it will often fail to engage. To avoid losing the fish, swim down (after surfacing and breathing up again if needed) and hold the spear to both sided of the fish, ensuring it cannot get off.
A 55cm Plaice shot at depth - don't let this get off the spear. Image Credit Jack Metcalfe
Flatfish are notoriously difficult to dispatch! The brain is located in a completely different area to most other fish, and may require several goes with the dive knife to dispatch the fish. Alternatively cut the gills.
Session planning and tactics
A crucial aspect of spearfishing that is completely overlooked by most. Tactics are the final piece of the puzzle that separate those that consistently succeed from those who consistently blank. Far too much time, energy and resources are put into buying the latest equipment, and far too little time expended on actually understanding fish behaviour.
The dive:surface time is important too. Most spearos dive a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, meaning the majority of their session is breathing up on the surface and not actually hunting. A 1:3 ratio means only 15 minutes of each hour are spent underwater, with much of that spent swimming down and back up.
When hunting Bass I tend to do 1:15 - 1:45 dives, with 3 minutes recovery, it is important to spend enough time on the bottom to allow the fish to come in.
However, when targeting flatfish the overall underwater session time is more important, and I tend to do 1:00 dives with 1:00 recovery, doubling the total time spent underwater per hour.
In addition to this how we structure our sessions makes a big difference. Two days ago I hunted flatfish from a remote Anglesey beach, that I'm pretty certain I'm the only spearo who will put up with the 45 minute insertion yomp to reach. The plan was to hunt Turbot, starting at 0945, with low tide at 1145. By 1100 it was clear that Turbot were either not present or underneath he sand, so a rethink was required. I swam 1km to hit an offshore pinnacle that is not shown on Navonics charts, but for a brief window at low slack holds large Bass.
Reaching the pinnacle at 1140 I shot a 68cm Bass immediately in 2m of water. Having taken that Bass I took some GoPro footage on the rocks, then reloaded my gun before getting back in the water. Within a minute I came across a 60cm Bass in a shallow kelp gully and shot it.
Following this I headed to an area of shallow water which flatfish like as the current picks up when the tide runs, and took a 50cm Plaice, 48cm Flounder and a 40cm Plaice.
Had I continued to hunt Turbot the likelihood is I would have blanked, but switching things up enabled me to take an excellent catch.
A nice mixed bag of Sea Bass and Flatfish. Image credit Jack Metcalfe.
Summary
Work out quickly if flatfish are present - if imprints are seen carry on, if not find a different area
Search different depths, often fish are in very shallow water
Have belief that fish are there - it will make you look harder
Size up your flatfish correctly, ensure your shot is accurate and that you grab both sides of the spear to prevent losing the fish
Enjoy the moment when you finally see a genuinely big Plaice!
GOOD LUCK AND SAFE HUNTING.
BLOG AUTHOR: Jack Metcalfe May 2023.