Plaice (Floe) Spearfishing – Catch and Cook – Haugesund Norway

In this blog u will find anything what you need to catch a Plaice with your Speargun while Spearfishing. A Catch and Cook video you will find in the end, which was shot in Haugesund Norway.

Targeted fish: Plaice (Floe)

We were once again on the road in Haugesund, Norway and some nice flatfish (plaice, floe) could not hide from us.

Belongs to the family of the Pleuronectidae. Will be up to 50 cm long. The surface of the plaice is smooth in contrast to the flounder. The “top” of the adult plaice is the former right side with an average of 75% of the animals. Some floes (mainly the young ones) go into the brackish water and have even been found in different rivers. Often in droves on the sand floor. Feeds mainly from soaps and small fish.  They range geographically from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean. European plaice are characterised by their smooth brown skin, with distinctive red spots and bony ridge behind the eyes. They feed on polychaetes, crustaceans and bivalves and can be found at depths up to 200 metres. 

Particularly conspicuous are the red / orange spots which the floe carries on the back, the water is relatively clear, these clearly visible.

Hunting and catching

Actually the perfect entry-level fish: The floe does not float away and lies on sand, no danger that the good speargun arrow is ruined.

The plaices were shot with a 100 cm teak speargun, about 12 m deep. The animals lie on the sand and are recognizable from a maximum of 3 meters. The fish melts/ camouflages completely with the sand, but the typical orange spots of the plaice are clearly visible. Dive down and swim 2/3 meters above the ground, watch out for the typical plaice form and the red spots. If you found one you can dive up before hunting it down, the fish wouldnt swim away because its trusting on his camouflage.

Flounder: Preparation and Recipe

1. Cut the side fins and the tail fin
2. The head and the innards are simply removed with a half-moon cut (see video)
3. Wash the plaice well and dab dry
4. Heat pan with neutral oil, medium heat
5. Add plaice to flour
6. Fry the plaice on both sides for several minutes until the plaice is golden brown.
7. Enjoy with fresh salad 🙂

Plaice Fishing: Bait and Tackle

With the fishing rod, we also caught nice flatfish with so-called “floats” cheap on Amazon.

Zebco Magic Flatty Rig 8  Flatfishrig*