Danube Basin

Zander

Sander lucioperca

The zander is Eurasia's glassy-eyed, fang-toothed perch-pike — in China mainly a fish of Xinjiang's Irtysh and Ulungur waters and stocked reservoirs — that feeds hardest at dusk and after dark.

Wels Catfish

Silurus glanis

Europe's largest freshwater fish, a broad-headed giant catfish native to the Danube and central European rivers and famously introduced to Spain's Ebro, where it grows to record size. Mostly nocturnal and caught on heavy tackle, deadbaits and the traditional clonk. In the UK it is present only in stocked stillwaters.

Huchen

Hucho hucho

⚠ HIGHEST-CAUTION STATUS: The huchen is listed as Endangered by the IUCN (2024 re-assessment) and in Habitats Directive Annex II + V. Real licensed fisheries survive only on some Danube tributaries in Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia: a very short season, a high minimum size (commonly 70 cm+), single-fish quotas and club permits — among Europe's most expensive freshwater licences. It is fully protected in other countries (e.g. Romania). Always check the specific water's rules; catch and release is the norm. Also called Danube salmon, it is a close relative of the Siberian taimen.

Volga Pikeperch

Sander volgensis

A smaller Danube and Black Sea relative of the zander, called bersh in the east. The quick in-hand test: it has no canine teeth — the jaws carry only small, even teeth, unlike the fang-toothed zander. It shoals in deep Danube channels and is caught on the same jig methods scaled down.

Ide

Leuciscus idus

The ide is the big silvery shoal fish of Europe's large rivers and, as the winde, the Netherlands' number one river fish. It is NOT the same fish as the guide's amur ide (Leuciscus waleckii) — this is the true European ide, L. idus; its golden form is the ornamental orfe of garden ponds.

Zope

Abramis ballerus

The zope is a Danube and Baltic-lagoon bream recognised by its pointed, upturned snout and the longest anal fin of any European bream. Shoals run up from the lagoons into rivers and flooded plains in spring, where feeder and float anglers intercept them over baited silt.