If there is a theme to my angling life it’s my obsession with catching as many different species over the Jersey specimen weights as possible. To be honest the current Jersey specimen list is somewhat out of date with some weights pretty much impossible while other species that have improved in recent years still having relatively low specimen weights.
It’s fair to say though that it has always been the case that some are much harder than others and for me Plaice at 3lb has always been super challenging.
It’s hard to believe today but back in the late 80’s & early 90’s Plaice were one of the main target species locally but the average fish were 1lb – 1lb 8ozs with anything over 2lb a really good fish. Despite a lot of time and effort I had only managed a couple over the 2lb mark with the best just over 2-2 so well short of the required 3lb target.
It seemed to me that most of the bigger fish that came up were often caught away from the more popular flatfish marks of the north coast, in fact a lot of the biggest Plaice were caught at St Catherine’s Breakwater, so I spent a fair amount of time at less popular marks.
The day it finally happened for me was in December 1992. I dug a bucket full of redcat and went out St Aubins fort for a full day trip targeting flatfish and chucking a couple of bigger baits out. Just on dusk I reeled in to have a bait check having not seen a bite only to have a fair bit of weight on. As it got closer in it got heavier and heavier and starting diving. A big flattie actually gives a hell of a scrap. When it hit the surface I could see it was a really big flatfish. I grabbed my drop net – incidentally the same drop net I have just used to net my pb flounder some 33 years later! – and threw it out. What I didn’t realise was the weight on the bottom of the net had swung over the net meaning it had no depth and was just a flat board. I guided the fish into the net with the light fading fast and quickly pulled it up the wall. It was only when it got to the top that I realised what had happened with the net, thankfully the fish didn’t move!
When it came over the wall I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, it was a truly massive Plaice. On the scales it went 4lb 2oz 8drms, and one of the hardest specimens was crossed off.
I would say today Plaice at 3lb would be close to impossible, I doubt I have caught one over 1lb in the last 20 years but I have heard rumours of a big one recently and I know of a 3 pounder caught last year so if your out there fishing miracles can always happen.
Shore Fishing Jersey 
Leave a comment