Plaice
Flatfish
A broad, oval flatfish with smooth brown skin scattered with distinctive bright orange-red spots — by far the easiest UK flatfish to identify at a glance.
Facts
- The orange spots are unique among common UK flatfish, making misidentification unlikely.
- Prefers clean sand and gravel seabeds, often just beyond the surf line on open beaches.
- One of the most commercially important UK flatfish, alongside being a popular shore-caught table fish.
UK fishing rules
MCRS is 27cm.
Where to catch Plaice (22 marks)
| Mark | Region | Season | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Island (Whitmore Bay) | Wales | Sep–Apr (flounder), Apr–Sep (plaice) | worm bait fished on the bottom over the sand |
| Blyth South Harbour | North East | Mar–May | Light leger tackle over sand |
| Bognor Regis Pier | South East | Year-round | Small-hook rigs with worm bait |
| Camber Sands | South East | May–Sep | Ragworm/squid on a two-hook flapper |
| Cardiff Bay Barrage | Wales | Sep–Apr (flounder), spring/summer (plaice) | flapper rigs with worm, squid, crab or fish cast into the channel |
| Chesil Beach (Ferrybridge, Dorset) | South West | Apr–Sep | Worm bait fished on light flowing rigs in cleaner ground. |
| Colwyn Bay | Wales | Apr–Sep | small hook rigs baited with worm fished hard on the deck |
| Duckpool | South West | Apr–Oct | Small strips of fish or worm fished over the clean sand patches at low water. |
| Hastings Stade | South East | All year | Fresh lug/ragworm on a two-hook flapper; sticky black lug best for dabs |
| Hayling Island Seafront (South Beach/Eastoke) | South East | May-Sep | Sandeel or worm bait over clean sand |
| Hunstanton Cliffs & Beach | East | Summer–autumn | Small hooks and worm over clean sand |
| Lee-on-the-Solent Seafront | South East | Mar-Sep | Sandeel or worm over the shallower western ground, first fish show mid-March |
| Nairn Beach | Scotland | Apr–Sep | Similar bait tactics to flounder |
| Newquay (Towan Beach) | South West | Apr–Sep | Worm or sandeel fished on the bottom over clean sand. |
| Praa Sands | South West | Apr–Sep | Sandeel or worm bait fished on the bottom over clean sand. |
| Sandbanks | South West | Spring–summer | Sandeel or worm fished over sandy patches |
| Sheringham West Beach | East | Late evening, year-round | Worm bait fished after dark |
| Sidmouth (Port Royal) | South West | Summer | Bottom fished ragworm or lugworm |
| Splash Point, Rhyl | Wales | Year-round, best Sep–Dec | Two- or three-hook flapper rigs baited with lugworm or ragworm over the flat sand. |
| Wanson Mouth | South West | Apr–Sep | Small hooks baited with ragworm or fish strip on a two-hook flapper cast into the sandy gutters. |
| West Mersea | East | May–Sep | Similar flapper rig fished tight to the flats |
| Whitesands Bay | Wales | May–Sep | worm bait fished on the sand, noted as a cracking mark for plaice |