Pav,
Just a little tip from the West Wales beaches....so the information may be relevant...similar beaches, fish etc. I have a fair bit of luck with mainly flounder but occasionaly place and the odd small turbot. Find a sandy beach with lots of long gullies ( running up and down the beach) that are sand filled but are partially or fully exposed at low tide. The surf will have to have been totally flat for a few days or you wont see a thing. The next thing your looking for is for the rocks between the strips of sand to be covered in seaweed.....particularly fucus serratus (brown weed with serated edges and no bladders ...google image it if your not sure). This should give you some zone or area on the beach to start your search. Now when the water gets to about 5ft deep over the gullies......less over the rocks, start your search by looking for the fucus serratus and in particular areas where the weed sticks directly out of the sand (as if the sand has moved and covered the gully margin or the actual outcrop of rock)
I always find my flatties right at the base of this weed, and sometimes right in it. They are often easy to spot because of their light apearance against the dark weed although its frequently only a tail seen sticking out.
Its also prudent to check any margins sand where there is a change from clean to broken sand or boulders.
In both these situations follow the previous advice re shooting or not. Flatties can often be simply spiked and a hand put underneath. If you do shoot make sure ther are no rocks direcly under the weed and make sure you get a good shot through the head or behind the gills.
I still have trouble killing flatties though, so if anyone has a quick effective and fool proof method i love to know.....
ben
Just a little tip from the West Wales beaches....so the information may be relevant...similar beaches, fish etc. I have a fair bit of luck with mainly flounder but occasionaly place and the odd small turbot. Find a sandy beach with lots of long gullies ( running up and down the beach) that are sand filled but are partially or fully exposed at low tide. The surf will have to have been totally flat for a few days or you wont see a thing. The next thing your looking for is for the rocks between the strips of sand to be covered in seaweed.....particularly fucus serratus (brown weed with serated edges and no bladders ...google image it if your not sure). This should give you some zone or area on the beach to start your search. Now when the water gets to about 5ft deep over the gullies......less over the rocks, start your search by looking for the fucus serratus and in particular areas where the weed sticks directly out of the sand (as if the sand has moved and covered the gully margin or the actual outcrop of rock)
I always find my flatties right at the base of this weed, and sometimes right in it. They are often easy to spot because of their light apearance against the dark weed although its frequently only a tail seen sticking out.
Its also prudent to check any margins sand where there is a change from clean to broken sand or boulders.
In both these situations follow the previous advice re shooting or not. Flatties can often be simply spiked and a hand put underneath. If you do shoot make sure ther are no rocks direcly under the weed and make sure you get a good shot through the head or behind the gills.
I still have trouble killing flatties though, so if anyone has a quick effective and fool proof method i love to know.....
ben