Lakes, Rivers & Coast, Ireland

Northern Pike

Esox lucius

A toothy ambush predator of northern weed beds, famous for explosive strikes and slime. Pike sit motionless in cover and lunge at spoons, spinnerbaits and large flies passing within range.

Common Bream

Abramis brama

The common bream is the number one stillwater and slow-river fish of German lakes and canals. Its shoals graze silt beds at night for bloodworm, and a well-fed swim can produce for hours. Deep-bodied, slimy and dark bronze, it is the benchmark lowland coarse fish.

Roach

Rutilus rutilus

The roach is Europe's most-caught fish by numbers and the benchmark 'specimen' coarse fish — a 2 lb roach is a fish of a lifetime. Red-eyed and red-finned and always in shoals, it is everywhere from canals to reservoirs and feeds all year, including in mid-winter.

Pollack

Pollachius pollachius

IMPORTANT NAME NOTE: in German this species is called 'Pollack' — but the English 'pollock' in this guide is its cousin Pollachius virens, whose German name is Seelachs. The two names are false friends across the Channel, so check the Latin name, not the sound-alike word. Pollack itself is a kelp, cliff and wreck fish of the Atlantic coasts. Lieu jaune in French.

Conger Eel

Conger conger

The classic of British and French rock-mark night fishing — a scaleless giant that lives in wrecks and harbour holes, with big females staying on one mark for years. Its dorsal fin starting just behind the pectoral fins separates it from the freshwater eel. Congre in French.

Thornback Ray

Raja clavata

Britain's number one shore ray — the 'roker' of English beaches — and a regular boat catch all around Ireland and the Channel. Its back and tail are armoured with thorns, but they are only sharp, not venomous. Numbers have recovered well under catch-and-release, and most anglers return them.

Ballan Wrasse

Labrus bergylta

The rock and kelp specialist of Europe's Atlantic coasts — thick-lipped, strong-toothed and dressed in colours from emerald to rust-red. A punchy fighter on light tackle that knows exactly where the next ledge is.

Whiting

Merlangius merlangus

The winter staple of North Sea piers and boats — a slender silver cod-family fish that arrives inshore in big hungry shoals as the water cools. It bites freely after dark on simple bottom rigs, which makes it a first sea fish for many beginners, and fresh whiting is mild and sweet despite its modest size.

European Hake

Merluccius merluccius

A night-rising predator of deep Atlantic and Mediterranean water — the merluza of Spanish kitchens. By day it holds deep near the bottom; after dark it rises to hunt whiting and sardines, and boat anglers target it on night tides over shelf mud with fish baits.

Monkfish

Lophius piscatorius

The great flattened ambush predator of European shelf bottoms, burying in sand and luring fish with the fleshy flap on its fishing-rod illicium right in front of its enormous mouth. Only the muscular tail is eaten. Its inward-angled sharp teeth mean careful handling after landing — never reach near the mouth.

Lesser-spotted Dogfish

Scyliorhinus canicula

Britain's commonest shore-caught shark — the 'doggie'. A small, harmless spotted catshark with sandpapery skin, feeding at night over sand and mixed ground and obliging on almost any fleshy bait. For many anglers it is a first-ever shark, and as 'rock salmon' it ends up in fish-and-chip shops.

Bull Huss

Scyliorhinus stellaris

The big, bold-spotted rock-mark cousin of the lesser-spotted dogfish — also called the nursehound. A night fish of rough ground that lies up in kelp and rock by day and is fished after dark with strong pulley rigs and big fleshy baits. A powerful, dogged fighter for a shore shark.