Dover Sole Fishing, Dungeness

Sole Searching

Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29, UK

Not A Bad View

It's been a very long time  since I last caught a Dover Sole, which was back when I was a little kid, being taken to Dover by my Father and fishing off a sea wall throughout the night, happy memories of not being able to see over the wall, and having the fights of a life time, only to realise that you had caught a plastic bag, the constant hissing of a ferociously burning Tilly lamp eerily sending long scary shadows adding to a uncomfortable feeling, and of coarse the big scary Lice which scampered all over the concrete structure making you wonder what may crawl over the sea wall next, and at times, nearly freezing to death in high winds on stormy winter nights with the relentless ringing of rusty bells, attached to every rod tip with a stinky bait stained wooden peg. It's really quite amazing that I still remember those sessions from so long ago, and the memories and images those trips instilled in my mind, all exaggerated by my young inexperienced mind, are something that I'll never forget. And to think that's not even mentioning any fish!.  So with a few reports of them showing around Dungeness, it was time to reacquaint my self with one of the most expensive flat fish around, and attempt to add another species to my list.

Little Hook For A Little Mouth

I arrived at Dungeness at 8am, just in time for the bait shop to open and picked up a just score of black Lug, plenty of bait for what i needed, for the 6 hours session. I had decided to only fish 1 rod, my 14' Vercelli Spyra Fiamma coupled with a Shimano Ultegra 10000 XS-C loaded with 20lb Power Pro braid, I wanted to just be able to concentrate my effort on the one rod, which makes for a easier fish, as I was feeling quite tired from work. My rig was a simple 2 up 1 down flapper, which would ensure my baits were firmly on the sea bed which is most likely to attract a bite from a Sole, and to match their tiny mouths I used short shanked size 4 hooks, baited with a 1/3 of a Lugworm. Using a breakaway 5oz lead would help me hold bottom and keep the bait still allowing the Sole to pick up the scent and find the bait as they are not visual hunters, the only chink in the armour was that it was daytime, and these fish are normally nocturnal, but with a spring tide and coloured sea combined with a cloudy overcast day, I felt confident that I would be able to catch one.

Shingle Camo Dover Soles

I was into the fish from the off, tiny Dabs, Flounders and Whiting by the pair, flicking the bait gently out no further than 60 meters, I had caught about 18 fish, the tide had turned and was on the rise, I was struggling to hold bottom in the current, the colour of the water started to clear, even the sky had cleared to reveal a scorching hot sun, this didn't forebode well for catching a Sole, but then a bite that was clearly very different to the rest, and again the rod tip violently rattled into a big curve, thinking a Bass bite, I picked up the rob and gently lifted into a fish, I knew something was on, but what?, it felt bigger than normal, and I couldn't believe my luck when I saw a flat fish skimming across the sea into the surf, Yes a Dover Sole! and not a bad size either weighing 10oz and 35cm long it was a plate sized keeper, my target fish caught, and just in time, the water was now crystal clear with the sun burning down and now the tide was in full flood, all the fish seemed to disappear, leaving me searching near and far for bites. I even tried feathers for Mackerel over high water, but alas no more fish, not even a bite. It had been a lovely day compared to the incorrect weather forecast, and the lack of bites for the most part gave me plenty of time to enjoy the peace and quite, relax and catch the sun, of coarse I didn't mind, I had already got what I came for, another species for the list, taking my year tally to 17 species caught from the shore of Kent, and a dinner that would cost a staggering £20+ in most restaurants, happy days :)