flatfish (plaice, flounder, turbot & co.)

Plaice, flounder, turbot, and the like belong to the group of flatfish. This group, in turn, belongs to the species of bony fish.

Plaice, flounder, and dab have a minimum size of 25 cm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, so there's no closed season to observe. However, these fish are not particularly good during the winter months and early spring. Therefore, I personally take a break from flatfish fishing during this time; I need the time much more for seatrout.

Turbot is protected from June 1 to July 31 of each year and has a minimum size of 30 cm, just like brill. There are no bag limits for flatfish.

The best way to catch flatfish is by surf fishing from the beach.

There are numerous excellent and promising spots all around the island of ruegen. Popular spots include the beach at Danske, via Kreptitz and Bakenberg to Nonnevitz. You also have further chances to catch flatfish on the beach from Juliusruh to Glowe. The chances of catching fish are also very good between Mukran and Binz.

Another option is fishing from the piers. Please note that not all piers are open to fishing. In Binz, the pier is closed to fishing during the summer season from May 1 to September 30 during the day from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. You can fish from the Sellin pier without restrictions, except for the bathing area and the boat docks. In Göhren, the pier is closed to fishing year-round. When fishing from our piers, please ensure that you do not pollute them by killing and gutting fish and that you leave the fishing spots clean.

On the beach, I use surf rods that are approximately 3.70m to 4.20m long. The rods have a casting weight of approximately 200g. I use 0.35mm monofilament spooled onto my 12,000-rpm reels. I place a shock leader in front of this, which gets thicker towards the leader to better absorb the weight load during casting. I use a double grinner knot. I choose weights between 100g and 200g depending on the wind and current. A few claw weights should always be on hand; these keep your bait in place and prevent it from drifting away so quickly.

I currently use pre-tied leaders with long-cast clips; you can attach the mouth lines to these, and the bait stays intact during casting.

From the piers, you can use significantly shorter, stronger spinning rods that can carry and cast 80-120g of lead. However, casting distances aren't absolutely necessary here, as the fish are usually already directly under the bridges.

For bait, you can use lugworms, ragworms, garfish scraps, herring scraps, or even flavored shrimp. You can pre-order lugworms and ragworms from the two fishing shops in Bergen or Prora. In a pinch, a worm will also do, although I've never had particularly good catches with them. For some time now, you've also been able to buy artificial lugworms and ragworms in tincture. I'm still waiting for long-term results with these.

Flatfish are excellent in the kitchen when lightly salted and floured and fried.

The smoker is also a great place for flatfish. On our island of Rügen, they are probably one of the few fish species that can still be found on menus as a regional fish.

Good fishing!