How do you catch dover sole

Dover sole feed during the daytime by sight and smell. Their mouths are well adapted for feeding on small invertebrates that live within ocean floor sediments. Larval Dover sole feed on small crustaceans, eggs, and larval crustaceans as well as plankton.

Juveniles and adults feed on worms, bivalves, brittle stars, and small bottom-dwelling crustaceans. Seabirds and fish that live near the surface prey on larval Dover sole. Sharks, bottom-feeding marine mammals, Pacific cod , arrowtooth flounder , and sometimes sablefish feed on juveniles and adults. Limits on the minimum size of fish that may be harvested. Limit on how much may be harvested in one fishing trip. Certain seasons and areas are closed to fishing.

Gear restrictions help reduce bycatch and impacts on habitat. A trawl rationalization catch share program includes: Catch limits based on the health of each fish stock and divided into shares that are allocated to individual fishermen or groups. These fishermen can decide how and when to catch their share — preferably when weather, markets, and business conditions are most favorable, allowing the fishery the flexibility to be more environmentally responsible, safer, more efficient, and more valuable.

Managed under the Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan : Total allowable catch is allocated by regulatory area western, central, and 2 sub-areas of the eastern Gulf of Alaska. In the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea: Fishermen must have a permit to participate in these fisheries, and the number of available permits is limited to control the amount of fishing.

Managers set limits on how much Dover sole can be caught. Catch is monitored through record keeping, reporting requirements, and observer monitoring. In , commercial landings of Dover sole totaled more than In the Irish Sea and English Channel stocks have been massively deleted but a slow recover appears to be taking place. Environmental groups have stated that responsible consumers should avoid eating sole which have been caught by beam trawling or even worse pulse trawling as these methods of commercial fishing are extremely damaging to the marine environment.

Dover sole have small mouths so small hooks and small baits are necessary to catch this species — using hooks that are too large is the main cause of anglers failing to catch this species. Anglers should use size 2 — 6 hook in long-shanked patterns to aid unhooking — this flatfish rig is ideal for targeting plaice when chosen with flatfish hooks. Allowing bites to develop and avoiding striking too early is also a good idea as sole may take some time before they fully take the bait into their mouth.

Baits should be fished hard to the seabed as this is where sole will be feeding. Avoid long snoods as they may lift off from the seabed in the tidal run and the sole will miss them. Some anglers even add additional drilled bullet weights to the hooklengths to ensure the bait is nailed to the seabed.

Like flounder, sole will come very close to the shore during darkness, and casts as short as twenty yards, or even less, can locate the feeding fish.

Dover sole lives only in the sea waters stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. So, why is Dover sole called Dover sole? I eat it every day, almost. Its flesh is more like a meat, and it has a delicate, mild, and sweet flavour. I know non-fish eaters who love Dover sole. This gives the dish just a little extra something without distracting from the incredible taste sensation that is Dover sole.