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Last winter I was given a new design of scratching rig
for dabs and whiting to try out on the Mersey by
'Jensen II' skipper Tony Parry. One which allows you
to adapt to changing conditions and the changing
moods of the fish.
It's a forty two inch length of one hundred pound bs
monofilament, with a swivel at one end, a Gemini
Genie Bent Link G3002/2 clip at the other, and three
further link clips at fourteen inch intervals trapped by
micro beads either side stopped by a mono crimp.
By doing this you can then clip on the twelve inch
long hook lengths which have an attachment swivel,
plus the lead, in any number of combinations ranging
from three up to three down, and all variations in
between. You can even vary the droppers with
different hook sizes and bling combinations without
having to tie on a new trace every time you want
something different. Simple, but very effective.
One other tactical difference between dabs and plaice
is that dabs are much better approached from a boat
fishing at anchor. They will take slow moving baits,
and can be taken by a technique I've already gone into Steve Quinn, Mersey Dab brace
detail with for the plaice known as plaice hopping, but
could just as easily be dab hopping if it works for them, which to an extent it does. But I personally
would back myself for a better session if the baits were static on the bottom.
As for the addition of bling, again, for me at least, the jury is out. Some days snoods festooned with
beads and sequins seem to score best, while on other days they don't. Or is it just that the people catching
most fish on those occasions and under the prevailing circumstance would have done so regardless
either way. Who can say.
If I happen to have beads and sequins on a rig I pick out for dabbing, then there they stay. If I haven't,
who cares. As I've said elsewhere, in some ways it pays always to add bling to flattie rigs, because even
when it doesn't attract, it never seems to detract either, so better to have some there just in case it does
turn out to be a bling day.
The only other point I would make with regard to having success with dabs, is to try them on tiny
mackerel belly strips. Start with it on just one hook, because on some occasions they seem less interested
than on others. But if it is what they want on the day, they can really go for it big time.
Old manky bait too, including fork chopped blowlug or damaged worms that are on the turn can also
catch well. So not the fussiest of feeders, which can be a God send, certainly on the charter fishing
scene.
Turning to the shore now, again, they can be part of the staple diet, depending of course on where it is
you fish. From the beach working out over clean ground it's going to be simple dropper rigs. Piers,
harbour walls, and deep water rock marks allow tactics a bit more akin to the boat such as scratching
rigs, bling, and slowly twitching the baits back in to give them movement.
As I've said, I don't mind catching dabs from the boat when the going is slow for other stuff, but from
the shore, and the beach in particular, I will positively target them with 1/0 fine wire hooks, worms
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