WHERE T0 BOAT FISH
David Mitchell joins a group of Sussex-based anglers on their annual pilgrimage to Weymouth in search of the giant flatties of the famous Shambles bank
Why’s it called the Shambles then, skipper?” I asked. “I did find out once,” said Colin, skipper of Flamer IV, the Weymouth-based charter boat we were fishing aboard. “Because of the number of ships that have been wrecked by hitting it – it must be a mess – a total shambles down there.” Subsequent research using Chat GTP told me “the Shambles sandbank off the coast of Weymouth in Dorset is believed to have derived its name from the Old English word “sceamel,” which means a ledge or shelf. The sandbank resembles a shallow shelf or ledge, hence the name “Shambles”. Either way, that’s where we were with the ‘rips’ in the water visible as the tide pushed the water up and over the vast banks of shingle beneath us. It’s behind these banks that our target species – turbot, brill – lie in wait ready to ambush sandeels moving over the banks with the tide.
The Shambles is only about nine miles from Weymouth meaning it’s easy to reach, leaving more time for fishing and less time travelling to and from the mark. On a calm day like today there were plenty of other charter boats and private boats of all sizes lining up their own drifts. Don’t let it fool you though: on a big tide racing around Portland Bill and a strong wind the rips can be a treacherous place to be for the inexperienced or unprepared. Conditions can change quickly and when they deteriorate you can very quickly understand why so many ships came a cropper on the Shambles!
Reg Phillips and pals from his club in and around Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex take a week in Weymouth every year and had already had a few good days on the Shambles before I joined them – the best of which saw 18 fish brought aboard including a magnificent 8lb brill.
Skipper Colin has vast experience fishing the mark and had soon lined us up for the first drift of the day. Varying between 20ft to 60ft of water the tactic in a good tide is to drift your bait in striking range of these ambush predators which lie in wait, buried in the sand and perfectly camouflaged, before striking and engulfing sandeels with their large mouths. Running ledger rigs with flowing traces ending in 4/0 Aberdeen style hooks are recommended by Colin. Twenty pound rods with multipliers loaded with 20lb-30lb braid are sufficient to tackle the turbot and brill – the braid helping you to feel for the gentler bites and reduce the amount of lead needed (typically between 8-12oz) as the braid cuts throug
