South & West Coasts, England & Wales

European Seabass

Dicentrarchus labrax

Europe's number one saltwater lure fish — a silvery, hard-hitting predator of surf beaches, estuaries and rocky shores from the Mediterranean to the North Sea, and still expanding northwards. It is tightly managed across Europe, so always check the current local minimum-size and bag rules before keeping one. Called Wolfsbarsch in German, bar or loup in French, lubina in Spanish and zeebaars in Dutch.

Plaice

Pleuronectes platessa

The staple flatfish of the North Sea and Baltic — a smooth, right-eyed flatfish everyone identifies by its bright orange spots. Scholle in German, plie in French.

Sole

Solea solea

The night hunter of the flatfish — a tongue-shaped sand-dweller that buries by day and emerges after dark to feed, the classic quarry of summer night sessions on sand. Seezunge in German, tong in Dutch, lenguado in Spanish.

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.

Smooth-hound

Mustelus asterias

The summer shore star of southern Britain — a fast, clean-fighting smooth shark sprinkled with white star-spots, and almost always released. Its Mediterranean relative is the very similar M. mustelus, which accounts for most Mediterranean records.

Thicklip Grey Mullet

Chelon labrosus

Britain's 'mullet cult' fish — famously wary, infuriatingly hard to hook, and worth a devoted following around harbours and marinas for exactly that reason. It will eat bread in plain sight off a harbour wall while seeing everything you do.

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.

Black Bream

Spondyliosoma cantharus

Despite the similar name, this is NOT the guide's black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii of East Asia) — it is a different genus of the English Channel and Mediterranean, spawning over gravel with males that turn almost black.

Atlantic Horse Mackerel

Trachurus trachurus

The Atlantic horse mackerel is the Atlantic member of the jack mackerel genus — a hard-fighting, plentiful shoal fish of summer piers and party boats. It is a DIFFERENT species from the Pacific's Japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus), and also distinct from the Pacific jack mackerel (T. symmetricus): this is the Atlantic Trachurus. UK anglers call it scad; in French it is chinchard and in Spanish jurel.

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.

Dab

Limanda limanda

The rough-skinned little flatfish of sandy North Sea and Baltic ground — modest, numerous and a mainstay catch on light gear with simple worm rigs. Its calling card is the lateral line curving in a semicircle over the pectoral fin, and its skin feels like fine sandpaper, quite unlike the smooth plaice.

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.