Flounder, Dab and Plaice
Flounder can be easily confused with a Plaice. A Plaice has a series of bony knobs starting between the eye and working rearwards, whereas the Flounder has roughened scales that protrude from the skin above the pectoral fin and to the upper rear of the gill slit. They are dull brown when resident over sand but never as rich in colour as a Dab. They sometimes have pale orange spots and can again cause confusion with Plaice. The belly is pale white. Plaice have a slightly more rounded shape than a Flounder and the spots on a Plaice are usually more vivid orange than on the Flounder. Orcadian flounder range between 1lb and 3lbs (0.45kg – 1.36kg) with Plaice ranging up to 3lbs (1.36kg).

The Dab is the smallest of the flatfish species and is found on sand and gritty bottoms. It prefers a strong tide and rarely grows much above 2lbs (0.9kg)in weight. Unlike the Plaice and Flounder, Dab do not have any bony knobs between the eyes or rough scales. It is usually a tone of sandy brown with small pale yellow spots. Shingle caught Dabs are more grey in colour. The belly is white. Orcadian Dabs have been caught up to 1½ lbs (0.68kg).

Flounder, Dab and Plaice can be caught from both the boat and shore. For shore fishing a standard one hook or two- hook paternoster rigs work best with hook sizes 1 or 2, but you can go bigger, up to 1/0, for Flounder. Couple this with baits such as lugworm or Mackerel strips. Light tackle is best, try using a specialist light beach rod, bass rod or even a carp rod! This light tackle provides more sport and is easy to carry for the angler that wants a spot of fishing in the days or hours between boat fishing.

Boat fishing tactics should also be biased towards the light tackle. Trolled baited spoons can be highly effective but will only work on truly clean sand which can be difficult to find in some of the bays inside Scapa Flow and mainland Orkney. Simple paternoster type rigs fished downtide using lugworm or Mackerel baits will also provoke a response. For Plaice add coloured beads and sequins to the hook trace. Plaice are attracted to the coloured beads and added movement. It’s best to use light tackle as light as 6lb class gear with a small reel such as a dedicated 6500 sized beach casting reel.

Turbot and Brill
Although rare, Turbot and Brill can be caught around the Islands, particularly when fishing sandy banks near to wrecks. Turbot are a thin, broad and diamond shaped fish, with a large mouth and small sharp teeth. It is covered in blunt bony tubercles on the top side. It is usually a brownish grey, speckled with lighter and darker markings, it has a white belly. The Brill differs from the Turbot in that is has a rounder body. It also has no tubercles and is smooth scaled. It differs slightly in colouring as they tend to be more greenish and have a more marbled look.

Boat fishing tactics tend to be drifting over sandbanks with running ledger rigs. Turbot can respond well to spoon rigs as this gives the bait a little more movement. For both species long strips of Mackerel taken from the white belly tend to produce more as they represent a small fish or sandeel swimming. Tackle is dependant on fishing location. Heavy tackle may be needed when fishing around the wrecks up to 20lb class although an uptider is usually sufficient for most fish likely to be caught around the Islands.