THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

From the shore it's slightly different. One
thing anyone reading this book will very
quickly become aware of, is that while I do
shore fish and have caught some outstanding
fish from dry land, it isn't my first choice
activity by a long shot.
Most definitely, it's something I do out of
necessity when conditions are not conducive
to offshore fishing, or when I'm out with
someone else who is a shore specialist, both
to kindle my interest and to advise. So I'm
not the best person to talk about shore
fishing with any measure of authority, and
certainly not shore fishing for turbot.
Magilligan Strand Northern Ireland
That said, I do have shore caught turbot
experiences and observations to draw on
which might be worth throwing into the pot.
Shore venues I've seen turbot come from
include the surf beaches of north Cornwall
in the Newquay area and south Cornwall
such as Whitsands Bay. Also over in
Northern Ireland along Magilligan Strand,
plus some of the surf bass beaches in the
south and west of Ireland.
The linking theme from the shore obviously is surf beaches, along with the summer and autumn months.
Moreover, open Atlantic influenced surf beaches if possible, as in the case certainly of the Newquay
area where sandeels come right in close and bury themselves.
I also know for a fact that clean ground areas which can be reached from rock platforms, particularly
along Cornwall and Devon's north coast can also turn up a few.
In all cases, certainly from my experience, these have tended to be small fish, generally around a pound
or so going up to maybe three pounds maximum. Obviously, as with any fish species, bigger specimens
do occasionally also put in a show, but not often.
Generally as their size increases, so too does the turbots tendency to move further offshore, with the
biggest fish most likely to come from where the biggest concentrations of food can be found such as
those offshore banks, though let's not forget the sand build ups around wrecks that have settled out over
clean ground.
As an anchored boat starts to swing off a wreck when the tide picks up dragging conger baits alongside
the iron work, that's when some of the biggest turbot of them all can end up getting caught.
BRILL Scophthalmus rhombus
Bucket List status – result
Brill settle out on the seabed on the right side of their body with their eyes and pigmentation on their
left side. In other words, if the head end is on your right when looking from above, the eyes of the fish
159