Plaice

• Right-eyed (eyes on the right side when the head points left)
• Bright orange or red spots on a brown disc
• Bony ridge behind the eyes on the head
• White blind side

Eating-size fish from 25 cm. A 40 cm shore plaice is a good one.

Colour

Brown with distinct orange spots, white blind side.

Fins

Long dorsal and anal around the disc.

Mouth

Small, to the right of the eyes.

Ranked for this species, not as a universal law. Local crab runs and what is actually fresh matter more.

• LugwormThread the worm so the hook is hidden and the tail still moves. A bunch for bigger fish; a single for dabs.Strong target
• RagwormHook once through the head so it wriggles. A whole king rag for bass; a small harbour rag for dabs.Strong target
• Black lugThread so the hook is hidden. A bunch, often bound, for a long chuck. Tougher than blow lug, so it survives the punch better.Good target
• Peeler crabPeel it, leave the catch-legs if you like, bind it on a Pennel so it survives the cast. Half a crab for wrasse, a whole for a hound.Good target
• MusselSeveral mussels bound into a bunch. They fly off a hook if you do not bind them.Possible target
• Razor clamA strip bound on, or the whole clam on a Pennel.Good target

• 2-hook flapperThe default UK beach rig. Two snoods above a lead, baits off the bottom, easy to tie, easy to fish.Beginner
• 3-hook flapperThe same idea with a third bait. More fish when they are small and shoaling; more tangles when they are not.Beginner
• 1-up 1-downOne bait on a snood above the lead, one on a flowing trace below. Covers the bottom and a few inches up.Beginner
• Single-hook clipped-downThe bait is held against the leader with a bait clip so it flies as one and releases in the water. The way to punch a bait into a headwind.Advanced
• Three-hook clipped-downThree short baits held to the leader, released at range. A match-style rig for shoaling small fish when you already clip two cleanly.Advanced

Hooks: 6–1, fine to medium wire.