2017 sole season
2017 was a year dedicated to targeting Dover sole from the Bristol Channel. I don’t know why I’ve become obsessed with this species, it could be the scenic locations I find them, specialist tactics required to catch them or the pursuit of landing a 3lb specimen. More than likely, it’s because they taste so damn good caught fresh from the shore.
2lb soles were for the taking, but finding them this year wasn’t easy. Travelling to South Wales and Somerset shores, read on for where was hot, and where was not.
May
During the winter months, sole seek deep water, so targeting them from UK shores is not advised. As the seas warm, sole head for shallower water to feed and spawn. Late May tends to be a good time to tackle up and start your sole campaign. This year, May was a month too early, but it enabled time to refine rigs and explore fishing ground.
June
For a brief week, the UK basked in glorious sunshine and the warm, settled weather certainly brought the soles to the shore. South Wales was the place to be, a few soles of around 1lb were coming in, with one bigger fish of 2lb 1oz warming the season up nicely.
July
Mild weather remained throughout July, but the wind was not as settled as the month previous. Most of my successful sole trips on the Bristol Channel usually coincide with calm seas, but a choppier July didn’t disappoint. Angling Facebook groups are a fantastic resource for what’s trending and sole were certainly a dominate feature this month.
With the increase of sole, I put some hours in, grabbing 2 hour trips after work and Saturdays. One stand out trip from South Wales produced three quality soles of 1lb 13oz, 1lb 14oz and 2lb 1oz. A mark I’d also been fishing regularly was Battery point, Portishead which produced my best sole of the year weighing 2lb 4oz. Slack tide over low water has produced most my sole from here.
August
Reports from South Wales were starting to thin, whereas the fishing back over the English side wasn’t too bad. Burnham-on-Sea and Aust were producing small slip sole, places I tend not to target sole that often, but these beaches do throw up good fish from time to time. I took just the one keeper sole, 1lb 5oz.
September
A mass of pin whiting arrived in the Bristol Channel, finding a sole was hard work. I took two from Battery point, and sadly, that was the last for the year.
October
Directly targeting sole this time of the year is tough going due to the winter species that have moved in. However, its not unheard for anglers whom are cod fishing to pick up unintended specimen sole of 3lb. I tend to target cod from late October onwards, 2/0 sized hooks ensure a good hold for codling but also enable the outside chance of hooking a decent sole. It didn’t happen this autumn (for me) but social media did showcase a couple 3lb specimens. Never rule out a quality sole as winter nears.
Below are some Bristol Channel Dover sole caught by local anglers. Thanks to James Madsen at Bristol Channel Fishing News for sharing.
2017 summary
Some might say sole fishing in recent years has declined, and it probably has due to commercial pressures and the species becoming a popular target by the shore angler. Considering most of my fishing trips were geared around the species this season, finding just 10 keeper sole wasn’t exactly great, but you could argue, 3 of those being 2lb+ was a fair stamp.
Trips = 16 (approx)
1lb sole = 7
2lb sole = 3
Best sole = 2lb 4oz
Most productive month = July
Bait = Ragworm
Rig = Various with 6″ snoods
Tide = Small neap
Weather = Settled/Choppy
Ground = Mud, clay or peat ledges
Perhaps I’ll move on from targeting this species when I find a 3lb specimen, but for now, what can beat a warm summer evening trying.
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