Beach Invasion!! 1000s of this Winter Sea fish carpet the sea bed

The Beaches here on the South Coast of England have had their best Sea Fishing Season in living memory for the dab. This little flat fish is a real little character, eats well and can be easily caught by Anglers of every ability. I have never seen them in prolific numbers. Today i head to the beach to see if i can see if the rumours of so many fish being taken were true.
So i hope you too can head for the beach , you can fish anywhere there is shingle in calm conditions at the moment and get amongst these fish.
They might not grow as Big as Plaice but they certainly can be very obliging thats for sure.
I hope you enjoy the video as i try and capture what an underrated species they can be.
The link for the blank catch report book i mention in the video can be found here;
amzn.eu/d/fYhd8Lx
As always i really appreciate you watching i hope that this video gives a good idea of what can be caught in Winter from the Sea

[@jennylesiakowski6456]

Wow what a session, enjoyed the video and nice to see you catching, thanks for sharing with us.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks for watching

[@nicholascavie2464]

Awesome again Matt, loved catching dabs from beach & old Hastings pier, loved eating them as well ,dad would put them under the grill whole, spoke 2 a lady at the gym who just got back from the UK told me the weather was ####$###T, weather here 40 + last week yet Saturday &Sunday under 30 ,days r getting shorter. Happy catching from Australia Nick

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Nick, sorry for the delay. KZbin blocked this comment just because of the hashtags! ill take your 40 degrees!

[@cucinawithlove]

Oh That’ sound of the sea ♥️ thank you good to have you back looking forward to your next one 👍

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes I thought the shingle sounded pretty powerful today despite the calm conditions

[@paulhiggins8774]

Nice afternoon fishing, wish I was there !

[@northeastangling]

Great video as usual. I too share your love of the humble Dab 👍

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Good to hear it Brendon👍

[@northeastangling]

@@SaltwaterAngler Not sure who Brendon is, but I am sure he shares our love 🤣

[@tonycamplin8607]

A very productive session hope that you enjoyed eating them. When I did my sea fishing way back in the 1950s/early 1960s there weren't any size limits and except for cod we kept the smaller ones for eating returning the larger fish. This was particularly so with bass, the ideal eating fish was about 35cm, pan sized. Incidentally I commercially fished for shrimp back then in Pevensey Bay and often had a bonus dab. This video brought back many memories, thanks.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

What a terrific comment tony thank you. Enjoyed reading that

[@tonycamplin8607]

@@SaltwaterAngler Not as much as I did watching your video I'm sure.

[@markmeyer9897]

@@SaltwaterAngler when u coming to cornwall to do a film

[@ManicFishing]

Great to see you back on KZbin 😊🎬

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks, now go watch All the video I’ll be asking questions 😀

[@seafishinggirl]

I love this vid and I love catching dabs too

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Love a dab

[@Abdullah-MakkiMohammed]

hello matt, hope all is well, can you do a video on rod and reel maintenance, I just got my hands on a Sedona what should I do to keep it running smoothly for a long time

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes i will do this for Lure fishing gear in the Summer

[@priestandbakerfishinguk5871]

nice one mate , agree lovely eating fish

[@SaltwaterAngler]

They are sort of sweeter than other flat fish. I prefer Plaice in Summer but as a winter flatfish YES!

[@stevesmith782]

Dungeness was fall of dabs this weekend , good to see more about this year

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes indeed I’m hearing 30 per angler

[@acereflectionsfishing]

great content as always. i to like the trusty old dab, shame they didnt go a few pound bigger for the table

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yea you need a few or just one of those record breaking 2lbers!

[@l.r.sfishing4011]

Great video matt. Really enjoyed it. I had a feeling the first bite you had was a whiting but wasn't expexlcting to see a big slug as well 🤣🤣 i do love dabs as well there a cracking eating fish. I havnt had much if a chance to fish for them but when i do i hope for a good session. All the best mate tight lines 🎣🎣🎣

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Glad you enjoyed it thanks for that ! I think o was expecting dabs so a bit of confirmation bias for me

[@johngeddes8069]

Good video sir !! I used to use a 5 Oz weight but always felt it was too heavy so IV moved down to a 4 Oz and it casts much better and further

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Good stuff

[@nigelmilne3503]

The Dabs up my way are big, chunky things. Great fun on a light set up.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes we have been trying to find bigger specimens this week !

[@kristofrugi5051]

Fantastic video as usual fun to watch thanks for the sharing

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Hello mate , thanks 🙏

[@carperblue]

Nice work again ❤

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks mate, Yea i do like those dabs great fun. Im sure if we refined techniques there could be many more ! But happy for sure

[@patrickchapman219]

well done matt, a good days fishing , and a really good feed. I am surprized that you didn't bring in a few flounders! take care and regards patrick chapman

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes , the flounder tend to come on first of the flood though , thanks Patrick

[@stiofain4693]

Could listen to the waves push the stones all day.. great editing as always champ..🎣

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks 👍

[@davetevens5080]

Nice one Matt. Dabs for tea it is lol 😊 just ordered my book looks great.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Awesome! Thank you! Hopefully filled with magnificent catches. To be honest when patterns emerge it can really help when and how to fish. I think wind direction and previous conditions are golden

[@FitGex]

great to have you back

[@bobbutton6080]

Great session Matt, I had similar last Saturday, good fun and lovely eating fish. P S, Good to meet you at the beach Wednesday

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Hello mate ! Yes what a joy that little fish is mate

[@bobbutton6080]

maybe next year we will see some bigger fish :)@@SaltwaterAngler

[@MrBim10]

Another brilliant Vid, well done mate

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Many thanks!

[@ironix1]

Great video again. Why are the dabs so much smaller nowadays? Such a shame. I don't know why. I have noticed them shrink over the last 40 years.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks as always, no some good sizes here and elsewhere this week compared to previous years. Still a long way short of the 1930s record fish though of over 2lb!

[@ironix1]

@@SaltwaterAngler Thanks Matt. I don't see as many around the 1lb mark nowadays. The local matches to me have noticed the difference too.

[@DavidBing-t5k]

Enjoyable video again Matt, hope you are well. Not seen hardly any rocking here in broadstairs for a number of years. This year however there has been quite a few. Used to be if you caught them that was the kiss of death for anything else! Dabs I agree are great eating better than plaice in my opinion. Best wishes , Dave

[@yorkshireaquatics9537]

Some nice big Dab up in Yorkshire over the last couple of years. Worth taking for dinner at least. 😊

[@excaliber4ps]

Commercial fishing & habitat destruction contribute to smaller sizes

[@chosenone8454]

They always used to be prolific and larger at Langney point before the harbour appeared which messed up a lot of things

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yea some good sizes , I think it’s weather patterns over a number of years too.

[@boyinwaders]

Cheers Matt 👍🏼 another great video as always.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks 👍

[@PilzE.]

How would one go about preparing the dab, Matt? Absolutely LOVE seafood. Had some stunning whiting with some plump scallops, water cress, rock samphire, and chanterelle mushrooms last week. All fresh from a fishmonger at Long Lock, near Penzance, just divine! Got slaughter at work for professing to be an angler then buying fish to eat!!! 😬

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Your making us hungry - with the dab two sort of butterfly fillets a good flexible blade run down the bone. Ha you can do both catch and buy !

[@ukgraffitiwalker8846]

Well done, great session! And video/camera work on point as usual 📸🎥😎😍

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks for noticing I’ve always said our coastline deserves to be filmed as best as possible. Some improvements coming this year.

[@bowlocks]

one of the tastiest fish in the sea

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes I agree !

[@KerbsideClassics]

another great video salt water love dabs

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thanks glad your enjoying it

[@niallharmey7337]

Good to see you back Matt. Nice video what is the problem with rockling? Good day fishing

[@SaltwaterAngler]

They are the slowest to the bait so normally a slug means poor fishing !

[@frankie7826]

Great channel 👍 subbed

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Welcome 🎸🎣

[@brendondavies5035]

Great video matt , didnt realise you could take dab that size, when does the place arrive in Eastbourne? ....Brendon

[@SaltwaterAngler]

There’s no legal size buts plenty of 25 cm fish around

[@dannyboii4351]

I had a dab 2 weeks ago was 31 cm biggest ive ever seen didnt think it was as i was reeling it in, until i saw in was see through

[@SaltwaterAngler]

31 is fantastic !

[@dannyboii4351]

@@SaltwaterAngler I released it as I'm not a massive fish eater, it was caught from Humber estuary via stallinbourgh wall on a rig for a cod 🤣 typical also had a mitton crab weird things lol

[@dannyboii4351]

@@SaltwaterAngler I checked shore caught record as I thought maybe 🤣 but nah to my suprise they grow bigger than I thought can't remember exact weight tho

[@GMT439]

The Little Taps could 'sometimes' be crabs and lobsters' of course.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Generally yes but specially here look how they are more like rattles consistent with a fish.

[@andysimmosimpsonakaeccentr2837]

They say flounder don't taist nice is it true mate

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Yes it’s true. Possibly localised so many flounder from rivers and muddy silty bottoms or even pollution. A flounder from the open sea can taste alright in my experience.

[@andysimmosimpsonakaeccentr2837]

@@SaltwaterAngler thanks mate

[@trevorroberts-o7q]

Must've or must have not must of.

[@SaltwaterAngler]

Thank you !