Sea Bass

Regarded as a premier marine sport fish in the United Kingdom. The sea bass (Dicentrarchus labraxis) a highly targeted fish for UK sea anglers.

The sea bass is an excellant fighting fish, and the bites are often a real heavy clunk followed by a long run. They provide sea anglers with great sport.

The bass is a very powerful fish, its features include a very large muscular mouth, sharp pointing fins and gills like razors. The scales are menium sized and the colur a steelish bluey grey.

They mainly feed in the surf, for sandeels and on clear days can often be seen swimming, sometimes in depths of water less than a few feet.  Other feeding grounds include rock peaks, and ‘School Bass’ can be found entering estuaries during the summer. Juveniles venture far up estuaries into brackish water, where salt water meets fresh.

Bass move inshore to spawn during March through to June, they are a very slow growing fish and a few year ago were becoming very rare.

Thankfully strict size limits, and a marketed catch and release policy has helped preserve stocks. Cleaner coastal waters are also all helping populations of bass to become re-established in many areas, but commercial fishing is still the major obstacle.

Brown Trout

The brown trout can found in UK brooks, streams and rivers. The size is dependant on their environment, a trout in a brook may reach only 7 inches, yet a brown trout on a larger river can easily reach 5lbs.

There diet consists of small fry, worms, snails, flys and general insect life.

 

Mullet

The mullet is the ‘coarse’ fish of the sea. They are very difficult fish to catch and a grat deal of patience is required.

Mullet can be found all around the coast, but are best targeted where frequent food is present. For example, harbour walls, slip-ways, jetty’s and even sewage out-lets. Estuarys and creeks are also a great place to fish for them.

To get the fish feeding groundbait should be used, a mixture of bread flake with mashed up mackerel is great. Coarse fishing or fly tackle is best, simply use light tackle with a waggler float, a size 8 or 10 hook is ample. With a fly rod, just use a hook with either bread, maggot or a thin strip of mackeral and cast out.

Bites are very small so strike as soon as the float goes, or fly line moves. These fish put up a great fight and can vary in size, a fish of 5lb is common.

 

Barbel

The barbel are very slim and streamlined making them well suited to fast flowing rivers. Barbel tend to feed mainly on various bottom dwelling creatures including insect larvae and crustaceans such as crayfish, freshwater mussels and shrimps.; larger fish also catch crayfish, molluscs and small fish.

With it’s streamline body and large, deeply forked caudal fin the barbel has got to be one of the hardest fighting fish you will ever catch. They won’t give up until they are totally exhausted. Therefore care must be taken when returning them to the water. Hold them in their natural position until they are ready to swim off. Failure to do this especially in rivers could cost the Barbel its life.

Characteristics

• Upper jaw protrudes over lower jaw
• 4 Barbules
• Long slim body
• Powerful pharyngeal teeth
• High, short dorsal fin