Josh Pickett

  2025 has been a mixed bag; I set out with a list of 20 new UK species to catch (across different disciplines: LRF, shore casting, boat, coarse, and game) fully expecting no more than 10–15 lifers. I wasn't interested in targeting species I've previously caught, but inadvertedly, I beat my previous year's tally before July's end, catching old species while pursuing new ones. As the year progressed, plans changed and opportunities arose for other species that weren't on my list at the start of the year. Lure fishing took a backseat when it came to hunting most new species; windows were small (sometimes an hour or less at marks), although lures accounted for virtually all of my regular fishing and competitions (except for the Angling Trust). All photos/icons are my own catches

   Read the full review for free on the British Wildlife website, here . 

    The Midlands Mission Species Hunting with Jack Perks & Leigh Clifton   For a few months myself, and the one-and-only 'fish twitcher' , Jack Perks, had been planning a species hunting trip in his neck of the woods, Nottingham. Quite frankly, Jack had been overstaying his welcome on several occasions when he'd come to crash at mine in Cornwall; drinking my rum, scoffing our pasties, and ravishing our women—admittedly, I seldom got time off work, so I can only assume this is what went on 9–5. It was Jack's turn this time, and luckily, I was only interested in the fishing!  The (rather insane) plan was, to catch a 13-hour, overnight coach in mid-Cornwall with 2 changes, after work on Tuesday; I don't drive myself, so this probably screamed desperation to catch a few fish to you, reader... I know, I know; that can't actually be the case — but I assure you it is. We had planned all manner of fishing, so in a successful effort to be compact, and a fruitless one...

  Read the full review for free on the British Wildlife website, here .  My review is overwhelmingly positive, although I do flag some very minor errors, which I'll note here ( the author has amended these for the e-book, and future printed editions ): Shore Clingfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster is likely absent from Britain. Cornish Sucker  Lepadogaster purpurea is instead more widespread here, and not restricted to Cornwall. A photo of Small-Headed Clingfish Apletodon dentatus in its reef markings was used for Two-spotted Clingfish Diplecogaster bimaculata. Two-spotted Goby is now Pomatoschistus flavescens, not Gobiusculus flavescens. The genus  Pomatoschistus has been moved out of the family Gobiidae (typical gobies) to Oxudercidae (estuarine gobies, mudskippers & allies). Black-faced Blenny Tripterygion delaisi is a true blenny. They belong to the tripterygiid (triplefin) blenny family, which is nestled within the suborder regarded as the ‘true’ blenni...

For this article, my primary reference on where taxa are situated is Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii) by Near & Thacker, 2024, which I regard to be the most   authoritative r evision of actinopterygiians at the time of this article's publication.    Who wants to be a Blennionaire? An overview of the true blenny families, with a guide to British species.   I can't think of many questions where the potential answers could be 'true' or 'false' without actually being a proper 'true or false' question, but when talking of blennies, it makes a pretty good case. The answer of course is "A"; the triplefins are one of six families of true blennies, unlike, let's say the Vivaparous blenny, which is not a blenny at all (and isn't even vivaparous) , and would informally be considered a false blenny —what a poser. So what exactly are blennies? What makes a blenny true? How many species are ...

      "Josh Pickett looks at one of the rarest and most sought-after fish by LRF species hunters. It won't win prizes for beauty or fighting strength. It might, however, win you a species comp. All hail the bizzare Connemara clingfish!" As seen in Sea Angler , issue 647, April 2025. Read the full article here .     Also included in the issue is a Sea Angler Selects piece on the best fish identification books [preview below]. "Even the most seasoned angler will not know every species in our waters, and with the rise of species hunting and ultra-light tackle, it has never been more useful to know your blue skate from you Montagu's blenny. This month we choose the three best fish identification books, with the help of conservationist and author, Josh Pickett."    

    "The Bullhead is a small benthic freshwater fish. The species shown to be present in Britain, Cottus perifretum , has suffered a history of misrecognition. Everard and Pickett describe the natural history, ecology and taxonomy of the Bullhead in Britain and highlight the consequent problems of its continued misidentification. " As seen in British Wildlife , 36.4, February 2025. Read the full article here .    

    "Josh Pickett explores the exciting return of red bream to the shores of the UK and investigates how they got here and if they’re here to stay." As seen in Sea Angler , issue 645, March 2025. Read the full article here .    

  2024 has been a great year! I picked up where I left off in 2023 with light rock fishing (LRF), accounting for most of my fishing, though I didn’t limit myself, and did some boat charters, shore fishing with bait, and went back to freshwater to tick off some species I had not yet caught. Below is a tally of all the rod and line species I've ticked off this year... All photos/icons are my own catches  

    1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025 Shore fishing only (sea), with bait and lures   TOTAL 32 SPECIES *8 new species    I found out about this competition late into 2023, and really wanted to join. I decided to start it at the beginning of next years hunt, to give myself a fighting chance. Like all competitions, I don't go in with the intention of winning, but rather my own personal goals; I think these hunts are a fantastic incentive to get out of the house! As these catches overlap with my 2024 species tally, I won't go into detail on every catch, rather I'll do a brief overview of each month.

♪ Scales 29 lateral, with markings unnatural; that's Amur-ay ♪ Joshua Pickett   Adorned in sunset red daubs; peppered with dalmation-esque speckling; shiny, steel blue scales; streaked in vibrant orange; or completely piebald—these ornated fish come in a wild assortment of markings and colours that would've made the likes of even Vivienne Westwood envious. To the Japanese, they're called Nishikigoi, to species competition organisers, they're known as a nightmare, and to you and me, they're the kicky koi carp!

  *Please note, this is the short version of the article, which excludes discussion around the Cottus revision, their migration history, and the reasons why they are surrounded with misinformation. The full version was published here , on CE Fish Essentials*  The northern branch of Cottus perifretum from the River Wharfe, Yorkshire © max-pics, iNaturalist, 2024   For many years, the classification of the freshwater bullhead has been a topic of much confusion. So what species do we have in Britain, and how did they get here? Growing up along the river Avon, before I’d ever considered fishing with rod and line, as all young children should, I explored! I can recall many fond memories of walking along the margins with a little dip net, catching Three-Spined Stickleback, Minnows, and tadpoles; turning up stones in chalk streams, clutching Stone Loach and prickly Bullhead by hand; and even the using the age-old jam-jar-tied-to-string-with-a-chunk-of-bread-inside tec...