2025 Species Tally

 

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

JANUARY

#1 - Northern pike (Esox lucius) NEW SPECIES

Wading in the reservoir to cast past the foliage.

18th January
With January having quickly arrived, I knew the first species I had to catch! Having never pike fished, I wanted to go with someone more experienced, so I could see the best way to handle them. I went with Cal, and dead baiting was the plan. After several hours with nothing, we had a chuck around with some lures. Cal had the first pike, and I lost many lures casting into the margins where they seemed to be hiding. I decide to cast into open water with a glide bait, where I couldn't possibly snag—snagged immediately! Right on a branch hidden just beneath the surface. I decide on one last cast into open water before calling it a day, and hook into a little jack Pike. Mission success[ish].

 

FEBRUARY

#2 - Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta)

1st February
Keen to move onto the next species, me, Alex and Cal head to my favourite fishing town to search for Cornish Suckers. Waiting for the tide to go down enough, I tried for some of the wrasse; it was slow going, with just one Ballan coming out, so eventually we walk down to the rockpools, briefly stopping to watch a Kingfisher searching for fishes in the inner harbour.

#3 - Giant goby (Gobius cobitis)

1st February
Pretty quickly into the session, Cal catches a Cornish Sucker, so we all look around and find another four, all in the same place. By this point, the tide is making this area unfishable, and we end up retreating across the gulley and back to the main pools, where I'm greeted by some Giant Gobies darting out from underneath the rocks.

 

#4 - Common blenny (Lipophrys pholis)

1st February
There were plenty of Common Blennies (Shannies) about too, in their breeding colours. I thought this was unusual, as it was only the first day of February. 

#5 - Rock goby (Gobius paganellus)

1st February
Trying underneath some more rocks along the shallower pools, hoping for a Rockling (they're so adundant here, but extremely hook shy), we end up pulling out many Rock Gobies. 

#6 - Sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus)

9th February
Having worked out a Cornish Ruffe mark, me and Caleb go to give it a try, not knowing what to expect, we were in for a tough time, exposed to cold winds, Caleb reels in a gorgeous Winter Ruffe, but that was the only fish we saw. I was getting the tiniest of bites which I found out much later in the year that these were Minnows. After the Ruffe attempt, we decided to have a scout around for new good spots for trout, then ended the session on a sandy harbour and effortlessly caught Sand Gobies on a little splitshot with some pink Isome.

 

MARCH 

 #7 - European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) NEW SPECIES

2nd March - Wiltshire Road Trip
On to our first road trip of the year, me, Cal, and Caleb head to my home town to target the fish I would forever see as kid, but never actually fished for. The first species on the agenda was Grayling, so we go to one of the best venues for them in the country, and incredibly a stretch that was a 5 minute walk from my old house. We spent a few hours there trotting maggots, it wasn’t super productive that day, but Caleb caught a Grayling, followed by me, which ended as the biggest of the trip at 36cm. 

#8 - Brown trout (Salmo trutta) NEW SPECIES

2nd March - Wiltshire Road Trip
We agreed to move onto a different stretch of the river, in search of some trout, and hopefully more Grayling. The river was high and very fast, so we didn’t have big expectations, but that changed, after I was hooking Brown Trout after Brown Trout, every two or three drops; and even a 32cm Grayling snuck in too. 

#9 - European minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) NEW SPECIES

2nd March - Wiltshire Road Trip
For the final leg of the trip, we spent the late afternoon wading in a stream I used to catch bullhead as a kid with my hands. Fish were everywhere when you looked closely, with plenty of Minnows and Three-Spined Stickleback. Half a maggot just on the margins of some weed and tens of Minnows would come out and hammer it, so that was ticked off quickly!

#10 - Common bullhead (Cottus perifretum) NEW SPECIES

Caleb wading for Bullhead.

2nd March - Wiltshire Road Trip
I started turning up stones looking for bullhead like I used to as a kid, we saw a few Stone Loach too, but these would spook well before we could present a hook in front of them. The bullhead, which we expected would be our bogey fish of the trip, were pleasantly willing to take the bait, I caught one then showed Cal and Caleb the method, and then we all caught, and even had a bit of time left over to catch some more.  

 

#11 - Common goby (Pomatoschistus microps)

6th March
I met with Jack Perks in Plymouth, and we aimed to have a miniature species hunt comp, before recording an episode of his Bearded Tits Podcast. Too preoccupied with laughing and chatting sh*t, we caught hardly anything, even with bait, bar a few gobies and wrasse; with the first being a Common Goby.

 

#12 - Painted goby (Pomatoschistus pictus)

6th March
…followed by a Painted Goby, and even what looked like Painted X Common hybrids (not pictured); always hard to know for sure with hybrids, and it’s typically a rarer occurrence in saltwater, but it’s perfectly reasonable in [mostly] closed inner harbours.

#13 - Black goby (Gobius niger)

6th March
A single Black Goby came out, it felt weird putting in that much effort to catch one, as the previous year (and this year), they were in plague proportions in Falmouth (this picture was from a Black Goby caught in another later session this year, as the previous photo was not great).

 

#14 - Corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops)

6th March
Fishing a deeper mark between the shore casting anglers, I winkled out a Corkwing Wrasse (nice to see so early), and a poor, little red Ballan with no top lip.

 

#15 - Perch (Perca fluviatilis)

7th March
A birthday trip to Devon, saw me and Becca at Angler’s Paradise for a day. We fished one of the day ticket lakes that supposedly still had Orfe in. They lost them just before I stayed there in 2022, but had restocked the Orfe the following year in the resident lakes. It wasn’t a good start, we got the car stuck in deep, soft mud, so had to wait to be pulled out, and worst of all, float fishing for Orfe was a complete write-off. I caught a rogue perch, but couldn’t locate a shoal, nor draw one in. 

#16a - King carp [Common] (Cyprinus carpio var.“Communis”) 

Playing the first carp of the day.

7th March
After eventually seeing some fish on the surface, I decided to do some carp stalking; nothing was actually taking from the top, but I began to work out where they were held up, and gently cast a method feeder nearby. I used the smallest carp hooks the venue allowed to see if a hungry Orfe would take it (it didn’t), but what resulted was near constant action on the carp, inc. this 16lb 3oz Common, which Joe, the manager, said was now too big for the General Top Lake, which is primarily for silvers and small carp. 

#17 - Amur carp [Domesticated] (Cyprinus rubrofuscus)

7th March
The carp action end up getting too busy with two rods, including some double takes, which Becca landed, the second biggest of the session was a Mirror which fell to her, and they were followed by some lovely looking Koi; now considered ornamental Amur Carp (see this article explaining).

#18 - Cornish sucker (Lepadogaster purpurea) NEW SPECIES

Using my new tanago rod, from On The Drop.

15th March
Now mid March, and motivated by Cal’s recent capture of his Cornish Sucker, I returned to the same mark on a big low tide in search of them. A few shannies later and I find the clingfish peeping out from under a rock, it takes the bait quickly, but remains stuck to the floor of the rockpool. I wait around 30 seconds or so before it releases. To confirm it was a Cornish Sucker and not the (probably absent from the UK) Shore Clingfish, I counted the papillae on the stomach (see article here). Working my way slowly back up the beach, I see a spooked fish dart underneath a rock in another pool, assuming it was a goby or another shanny, I bounce the cheb in the gap between the rocks, get a hook up, then snag. I go to lift the rock, so I don’t snap off and lose my end tackle, and the line lifts out and it wasn't a snag, it was a clingfish. I did not have two Cornish Suckers in a row on my bingo card this year!

#19 - Long-spined sea scorpion (Taurulus bubalis)

15th March
With the clingers caught, I fish a few of the shallower pools, hoping for a scorp to come out from under an overhang and smash into my bait, like I had seen before, and just after another Giant Goby, a scorp with a bright blue stomach, does exactly that!

 

 APRIL

#20 - Gilthead bream (Sparus aurata) NEW SPECIES

12th April
Feeling ahead of schedule with the first six lifers of my list ticked off before the end of March, I wanted to put the sessions into Gilthead Bream. They had dominated my thoughts since the end of last Summer, and I did so much prep and research. After seeing one or two come out already to the early season Gilt anglers, Caleb offers to take me to a spot on the estuary where he has had them before. I fully expected to dedicate many sessions before I caught my first one, and Caleb wanted to manage my expectations, by saying it was probably too early in the season, and that we’d likely blank. It genuinely didn’t take long for my rod to bend, and I see that flash of silver as I wind a small Gilthead Bream in. It turned out to be the only fish of the day, but it didn’t matter to me; I allocated the most time to catch a Gilt, and it was supposed to be my biggest target of the year; and I had one first session—a bigger one next then!

 

 MAY

#21 - Goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris)

4th May
After a carp fishing trip to France for Alex’s stag (see the bottom of the page), me and Becca headed to Devon for a short camping break. One evening we make our way to Brixham, and see the odd person dressed as Jack Sparrow. Confused, I needed a cheeky fish, so had an hour to fish for a species I’ve only ever caught once before, Rockcook Wrasse. I catch a nice, little Goldsinny Wrasse, along with some others of the usual suspects. 

 

#22 - Rockcook wrasse (Centrolabrus exoletus)

4th May
I cast back to the same spot I had my first Rockcook, and am greeted by an almighty thump. It never even crossed my mind that this would be a Rockcook, as my first was such a delicate bite, I didn’t even realise I had hooked it. I can see why it was a thump, however, as it was the biggest I’ve seen caught and photographed. This one was certainly flirting with the currently recognised 109 gram record, possibly pushing 100g or more; it was a broad fish with a full stomach. Happy with that catch, we headed to the pub, where we were greeted by hundreds of pirates. We ran into fellow lerfer-turned-ship mate, Lee, who said it was the tail end of the annual pirate festival—coming back for this next year!

 

#23 - Tompot blenny (Parablennius gattorugine)

13th May
A brief fish after work in my favourite town harbour, I caught a Rock Goby with a bright yellow dorsal, and one of my favourite LRF species, the Tompot Blenny. This session marked the first so called ‘Tuesday Club’ where me, Cal, Caleb, and sometimes Huw would have an evening social on the harbour, before hitting the pub. 

 

#16b - King carp [Mirror] (Cyprinus carpio var.“Specularis”)

18th May
I had planned this weekend to target the Wels Catfish at Angler’s Paradise, sleeping under the stars, as the nights were perfect for it and the cats were really switching on. A change in ticket price put much of the group off, so I opted for surface fishing for carp at a local venue with Becca. It was great fishing as always here, with plenty of Commons, Mirrors, and even an ornamental Mirror Carp (a first for me, see the bottom of page). [Mirror Carp is a breed of the cultivated King Carp, and counts as the same species as Common Carp; which is why they share the same number in this tally, 16]

#24 - Common bream (Abramis brama)

18th May
This lake isn’t known for their bream, in fact, there’s few places in Cornwall which have decent sized Bronze/Common Bream, but whenever I catch one above my usual stamp of bream, even if I’m after carp, I’ll always take a picture! 

 

#25 - Blackspot red bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)

25th May
I went down to Falmouth with Huw and Alex to try some shore fishing. Huw wanted to try something different, having done most of his shore fishing in St. Austell bay. Didn’t really have any set targets in mind, but all of the first marks we tried we’d get blown out by the wind. Caleb recommended a rock mark that might be more sheltered, so we tried that. It was snag city, so I changed tactics and it became a productive wrassing session (included my biggest Corkwing of the year). Curiously I was getting some smaller bites at distance, so I go to change to the smallest hooks I had on my person, and cast out. Alex manages to pull in the culprit first, a young Red Bream, then I reel one in after. Being the 25th May, this was the earliest I had heard of Red Bream showing since their recent recovery. 

 

 JUNE

#26 - Common dragonet (Callionymus lyra)

1st June
A bit of exploring around Fowey with Becca, and a delicious Sunday roast in the pub, and I was allowed to sneak off for an hour to catch a dragonet or two. First cast, dragging a splitshot rig along the bottom and I’m into the target. A few more casts and a small Corkwing and a couple of Painted Gobies follow. 

 

#27 - Sunbleak (Leucaspius delineatus) NEW SPECIES

5th June - Somerset Road Trip
Me, Cal and Caleb had a boat trip booked with Jack for sole, rays and smoothound, unfortunately it gets cancelled due to wind, so we had a change of plan. My friend Nick had mentioned his local carp venue had been plagued with Topmouth Gudgeon a few years after I left Bristol, so this became our main focus fishing. I did some research online and could see the occasional LRF angler was catching them, although perch had been added which thinned the Topmouth numbers down. Nick was adamant they were still there in great number though, so we scouted out the lake when we arrived, with Caleb catching one immediately, and we all caught Sunbleak. The bailiff showed up just as I swung in a Sunbleak to his surprise; he wasn’t aware this fish, which is now probably the dominant species in the lake was present, and showed concern as to how fast they would’ve propagated since the last EA inspection. 

 

#28 - Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)

5th June - Somerset Road Trip
While fishing the margins for the Topmouth, we caught many rudd of various sizes, which became a bit of a pest, as they disturbed the swim for a while. The lake was also teeming with rats, and we heard a report of somebody passing of Weil’s disease after falling into this lake, so we wanted to reduce contact with fish as much as possible; ideally touching only the target species to unhook them. No more Topmouth came out, but decided to return the following afternoon.

 

#29 - Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculaeatus)

6th June - Somerset Road Trip
The next morning, I had found a nearby confirmed Nine-spine stickleback spot, so we hiked to the location, only to see it had completely dried out; gutted! On the walk back, we checked out the stream, and can see small stickleback, we fished through them for a while, hoping some of them were Nine-spines, but alas, all Three-spines. 

 

#30 - European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

6th June - Somerset Road Trip
We head up to near where we were supposed to get on the boat, and try some heavier fishing there, in hopes of the sole. Bites were thin on the ground, and LRF felt more productive on Mars, but I was happy to catch my first bass of the year, and Caleb was unhappy to catch eel-after-eel, wrapping up in his lines, so we called it quits and be-lined straight for the Topmouth spot.

 

#31 - Topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) NEW SPECIES

Caleb (left) buzzing after me and him have both caught our Topmouths, and we get to move to the nice part of the lake, whereas Cal (right) losing the will to live still trying to catch one while fighting off the local rat population and Weil's disease (probably).

6th June - Somerset Road Trip
10 minutes at the mark and yes! My first Topmouth, knowing the EA were planning to eradicate them, this felt like my only chance to catch one, so anxiety and adrenaline were high. We stayed longer hoping Cal would catch one, then I hear him scream, and heads turn on the lake! “Yes, he’s caught one”, I run over to his swim, and see him hunched on the floor, as he panickedly explains a rat came right up to him, and that he did not, in fact, catch a Topmouth. Defeated, our poor, suriphobic Cal drives us all home, as me and Caleb hide our joy of catching two new species. It took a few more trips without us, but Cal did eventually catch his Topmouth! 
 

#32 - Red gurnard (Chelidonichthys cuculus)

21st June - Atlantis
A boat trip out of Newquay with Greater Weever and Tope on the agenda was an exciting prospect; a potential two new species that are high on the list for me! We kicked off looking for bait inshore, and the first drop for me resulted in a stunning Red Gurnard; no good boat trip is complete without at least one of these showing up.

 

#33 - Greater sand eel (Hyperoplus lanceolatus)

21st June - Atlantis
Subsequent drops brought up a few sand eels, including a Greater Sand Eel, which to this day, I still haven’t got a picture of. I think it’s because before I can think, they’re already in the bait box! Next time (I always say).

 

#34 - Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

21st June - Atlantis
Plenty of mackerel came up on the feathers; nothing much to say on these, they were caught on feathers with heavy rods, no skill involved. Although I had great fun later in the year catching them on ultra light at dusk, absolutely peeling the line off!

#35 - Grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus)

21st June - Atlantis
Another gurnard, there were many of the Greys about this trip, always fun to see them, but I do need one from the shore still.

#36 - Greater weever (Trachinus draco) NEW SPECIES

Pan-fried skin on, with minced ginger, spring onion and red chillies, over a bed of brown rice and drizzle of chilli oil. Arguably the best tasting fish in Britain!

I = Infant; RN = Regenerating; D = Devolping; SC = Spawning Capable; AS = Actively Spawning; RG = Regressing. (Garcia-Fernandez et al., 2024).

21st June - Atlantis
After we gathered enough bait, we moved onto the weever patches, some great Greater Weever came out, including one just shy of the British record, another with an unusual spot on either flank. I later read a paper about them, describing those spots as the male's spawning markings (Bañón et al., 2021). Even a huge turbot came out; only the second I’ve seen caught in person now.

#37 - Poor cod (Trisopterus minutus)

21st June - Atlantis
I had a little Poor Cod, again, no pictures of it, at this point, I’m being careful not to be laughed at for taking pictures of all the small fishes haha!

 

#38 - Tope (Galeorhinus galeus) NEW SPECIES

21st June - Atlantis
The afternoon was spent focusing on these, and the final hour was carnage. Two or three people were always hooked into one at the same time (which meant bringing in lines a lot to avoid tangles). One tope which someone else hooked on the other side of the boat even dove down to grab my bait as I dropped it in; they were on it. Eventually, I was able to keep my bait in the water long enough to bring a tope up. Although someone else's line wrapped around it as their tope was bombing it everywhere, so as we grabbed the leader, it pings off as we're getting it in—devastated! Interestignly, it was wrapped around their line still, so we never lost it, and got it in for a photo, and luckily the tope was unharmed.

 

#39 - Couch's bream (Pagrus pagrus) NEW SPECIES

24th June
Everyone who fishes with me has probably heard me say that I want to catch my first Couch’s on a boat. A silly rule, but after seeing some specimen Couch’s come out, I wasn’t interested in the smaller ones from the shore just yet. For whatever reason, I came to my senses, and decided to hit a shore mark known for them on a Tuesday after work. There wasn’t much activity close in, so I switched to the estuary rods; sabikis on both, and one tipped with squid strips. A couple of hours in, and I get the first fish on bare sabikis—a Couch’s! I’m ecstatic; what was I thinking about catching them on a boat first? I returned to the same mark the following week with Huw and his kids, and catch a PB Gilthead, then fished higher up in the estuary another session, and would catch around 10–15 Couch’s a session; great sport!

 

 JULY

#40 - Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)

8th July
The pollack were weird this year, normally they’re one of the first species I catch, and I’ve never needed to target them, just bycatch LRFing or kayaking, but countless times I’ve seen them dart over to my lure (or even bait) then swim off; even with the most subtle presentation. Very frustrating for what is normally an easy fish, but I never put the effort in to catch them, thinking I’ll pick one up eventually. Then I see Huw’s kids effortlessly catching them in the shallows, as me and Huw were fishing for the bream. Of course, they show me how its done, so now I fold and concede I’ve got to target them. What did the trick, was a tiny piece of white maggot (and white artificial), retrieved fast across the shallows, and they would attack it as it looked like the bait/lure was about to hide in the weedy crevice in the slipway.

 

#41 - Thick-lipped grey mullet (Chelon labrosus)

12th July
A trip to Plymouth to watch the new Jurassic World in 4DX with Becca, left me a couple of hours to spare in the evening before driving home. I was hoping to sight fish some flounder, but after finding none, only where they had burrowed, I turned to the micro mullet. I switched to the smallest tanago hook pattern I had, which kept afloat with the surface tension, until the mullet shoal passed. It took a couple of bites and dropped fish before I got a hookup. I didn’t think I’d ever catch a mullet smaller than my previous one! I should probably target the larger ones now.

 

#42 - Pouting (Trisopterus luscus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
Out on a Falmouth charter, Anglo Dawn arranged by Jack Perks, with great company inc. Leigh, Donny and Jon. The targets were Red Bandfish and John Dory, but the tides were a bit too strong, especially for the dories. It turned into a bit of species hunt, setting a boat record for most species caught, 23. The first fish which came out to me was a Pouting, while trying a popular Couch’s Bream mark. 

 

#43 - Reticulated dragonet (Callionymus reticulatus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
The next came from a Butterfly Blenny mark we were investigating; a mixture of female Reticulated Dragonet, red from the maerl beds they were living on, and Common Dragonet. We discerned them from each other by feeling for the presence and absence of the fourth opercular spine; the most definitive way to tell them apart. The snout lengths on most of the Reticulated were marginally longer than the type specimen (so easily confused with Common), but this is likely the result of phenotypic plasticity. 

 

#44 - Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
Realising the tides were too strong for the dories, but may still be okay for the Red Bandfish, we headed straight to one of the bandfish beds, where plenty of whiting and Grey Gurnard came out. 

 

#45 - Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
The occasional scad came out too, but things were slow for the bandfish. We move to another mark and hope we can find one or two.

 

#46 - Red bandfish (Cepola macrophthalma) NEW SPECIES

16th July - Anglo Dawn
We were told with the bandfish, that you will feel a light bite, then nothing, so bring the rod in. I felt a small twitch, then reeled in, only to see a Red Bandfish on the sabiki and another fish (gurnard or whiting, I can’t quite remember) on the bottom. I’m certain I only caught the bandfish as I felt the bite from the second fish, which prompted me to reel in, otherwise I would’ve never noticed, and the bandfish would’ve came off. Quite easily one the most unusual fish I’ve ever caught!

 

#47 - Corbin’s sand eel (Hyperoplus immaculatus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
One thing I’ve noted is prevalent down West, are Corbin’s Sand Eels, often confused with the similar Launce (Great Sand Eel). Corbin’s have a black-tipped chin, and sometimes a slightly brown body, as opposed to a black spot on each side of their upper jaw and a silvery body. While fishing for the sand eels, several mackerel and Red Gurnard also made an appearance.

 

#48 - Black bream ​(Spondyliosoma cantharus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
I was very happy with this one, my second ever Black Bream, the first being a juvenile I caught LRFing in Charlestown a couple of years prior. I ended up catching several more after this down at Chesil Beach, but this one was ultimately my PB.

 

#49 - Cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
The Cuckoo Wrasse were in full force this boat trip, again, I hadn’t caught one in years, not since kayaking, but it was great fun to catch a mixture of nice-sized males, females, and those transitioning between sex. The takes were great, and you could [mostly] tell when you had one on. We found you needed to bring them in very slowly compared to the other fishes, even though the mark wasn’t particularly deep, as they just wouldn’t go back alive otherwise. The novelty wore off with catching them, as we wanted to avoid killing fish on this primarily catch and release trip, especially when we already had more than enough bait. 

 

#50 - Lesser-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula)

16th July - Anglo Dawn
Whilst aiming to increase the boat’s tally, and keep a scent trail in the water, I fished large baits on the bottom; in hopes of a ray. Of course, a doggie pops up! 

 

#51 - Bull huss (Scyliorhinus stellaris) 

16th July - Anglo Dawn
There were plenty of Bullhuss showing too, being a species Jack needed, I scaled down a bit, hoping any nearby huss would take Jack’s bait rather than mine. Of course, that didn’t happen, so I end up having to land a huss on light end tackle; genius move, Josh.

 

#52 - Conger eel (Conger conger)

16th July - Anglo Dawn / Dorset Road Trip
One of the last new additions I added to the boat tally was a strap Conger, again, no photos, but I went down to Chesil a few days later with Huw and Alex and we caught loads. We fished overnight on the beach, and despite my warning of the beach being huge and that we’d have a lot of ground to cover to get to the spot, they thought it would be a good idea to bring a trolly instead of pack light; nearly gassing out over the first dune. You can guess we didn’t walk far at all, in fact, not far for the car park. Despite that, we had plenty of Black Bream, Scad, Pouting, Congers, and a single dogfish. 

 

#53 - Sand smelt (Atherina presbyter)

A record turnout for the fundraiser!

19th July - Dorset Road Trip
The following morning, we headed into Weymouth for The Big Lerf Fundraiser. I didn’t really have any targets in mind, except for avoiding swathes of Pouting like we had last year. It was a great social, as we slowly made our way around the harbour. We caught a lot of the usual suspects, and I had nothing to add to the yearly tally, except for a Sand Smelt. 

 

#54 - Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus)

25th July - Wiltshire Road Trip #2
Me and Becca took a week from work to visit friends and family in Wiltshire. We had allowed one day I would get to fish the rivers, so I scouted out a stretch I had fished earlier in the year, that has plenty of dace, particularly big ones too. Unfortunately we had just had a hot dry spell, so the river was very low. I searched for fish, and found some small dace in a deeper pool, a few minutes later, I’ve caught my first dace since I was a kid, and the only one I’ve actually photographed!

 

#55 - Roach (Rutilus rutilus)

A very proud Jack, holding an impressive canal reel; a personal best!

26th July - Wiltshire Road Trip #2
My full day fishing eventually rolls over to Mark Everard’s charity fishing match for Prostate Cancer UK. Originally I wasn’t going to fish it, only to pop over to say hello and show my support, but Mark convinced me to fish for an hour or two, and then eventually I was able to do the full day. I fished mostly with Jack and Donny, with intervals where I went off by myself in search of Silver Bream. My method was just a waggler float with maggots fished at various depths. Roach and Rudd were among the first catches, followed by a PB spinning reel by Jack.

 

#56 - Gudgeon (Gobio gobio)

26th July - Wiltshire Road Trip #2
A nice surprise were several gudgeon, including one impressively caught on an unscented lure by Donny. 

 

#57 - Silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna) NEW SPECIES

Not the biggest perch, but a PB for me, and the biggest one of Mark's comp!

26th July - Wiltshire Road Trip #2
By this point, the comp has ended and I didn’t catch my Silver Bream, but I did win a couple of prizes for Biggest Predatory Fish with a PB perch (also above), and Smallest Fishing Rod. After the prizes, and everyone heads home, I power walk back to the canal, thinking that the Silver Bream would switch back on as the sun is much lower in the sky. The sun was directly opposite me, still lighting up much of the canal, although there was one area that was somewhat shaded, but it was tight up against the opposite wall. I cast the float with the intention of hitting the wall itself, so it drops directly beneath. In seconds the float vanishes, and I have what looks like a Silver Bream; checking in with Mark and Jack with photos, they confirm it!

 

 AUGUST

#58 - Fifteen-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia) NEW SPECIES

19th August
Every Tuesday after work for just over a month, me and Cal have been targeting a population of Fifteen-spines; without fail, we always see about 5–10 each time we’re there, depending on the tide. The first few weeks, we had no luck catching them, but one week, I spent time led down, just watching how they were feeding, and how best I could present my hook to them. I came back the following Tuesday, hooked a big one very quickly which dropped off the tanago, then searched til I could find another, and hook and land a slightly smaller one! Persistence and a bit of understand in fish behaviour pays off! 

 

#59 - Tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna) NEW SPECIES

19th August
That very same Tuesday following the Fifteen-spine, we had some great fun on the lures after the scad at dusk on ultra light. I switch to a Komushi lure, that doesn’t produce much, so have one last cast before calling it a night, then I hook into what felt like another scad, but no! It was a small Tub Gurnard! I spent a lot of time targeting this species last year (arguably in not the most reliable spots), so I was grinning ear-to-ear after finally catching one!

 

#60 - Couch's goby (Gobius couchi) NEW SPECIES

Ready for some snorkel fishing!

23rd August - Dorset Road Trip #2
A bit of a last minute trip with Cal upcountry, keen to try some snorkel fishing, inspired by Donny’s videos. The target was Black-Faced Blenny! We hit two different marks with my tanago rod, the first was rather unproductive, until the tide pushed out, then we saw plenty of gobies and Corkwing Wrasse, and enjoyed watching the Shore Crabs hunting the Sand Gobies, but alas, not a Black-Faced Blenny in sight. The second mark, was rather smelly and dirty, but Cal winkles out a Broadnosed Pipefish in ankle-high water. Then right at the same time, from opposite ends of the mark, we both catch the rare, and protected Couch’s Goby. Initially believing them to be Black Gobies, we quickly release them, upon realising what they were. Shortly after, Cal catches a female Black-Faced Blenny, or a male that has lost their yellow breeding colours (that time of year now). I keep trying, even hooking then dropping one, but couldn’t spot anymore; back next year for those I think!

 

 SEPTEMBER

This was a month I was looking forward to, but wow, it was a wash out virtually all month! Comber had been coming out of a shore mark local to me, they would be a lifer; I got to fish it there one day, and caught my biggest Blackspot Red Bream to date, and even a lip-hooked dogfish on a tipped sabiki, but no Comber (I needed a miracle break in the weather to align with my free time). My planned boat trip for triggers was cancelled due to the wind, but I did manage to get out on Alex's boat, where we did some inshore wrecking. 

 

 OCTOBER

 

#61 - Chub (Squalius cephalus) NEW SPECIES

8th October - Road Trip to Jack's
A long, overnight journey up-country to visit Jack, hit the ground running, with canal fishing right off the coach. The first target was Chub, with a few little ‘chublets’ caught under a float, with a single maggot, by an overhanging tree. I caught several more on Isome a few days later, in a different part of the canal.

 

#62 - Ide (Leuciscus idus) NEW SPECIES

8th October - Road Trip to Jack's
Having tried a couple of times for the ornamental variety of Ide (Golden Orfe) at a venue closer to me, then finding out they were no longer there; I had to travel further afield. Expecting only small fish, I kept a size 18 hook on, with one pound hooklink, I caught one larger than expected, as well as some moderate size carp; all landed!

 

#63 - Dab (Limanda limanda) NEW SPECIES

9th October - Road Trip to Jack's
I don’t often target the flatfish species, so it was great fun to join Jack and Leigh on a session for Dab. I never expected it would be so productive, with one or two Dab every cast; all had no problem finding the bait in the chocolate coloured water!

 

#64 - Sparling (Osmerus eperlanus) NEW SPECIES

9th October - Road Trip to Jack's
Also called European Smelt, as they are Britain’s only true smelt, a close relation to the Salmoniformes. They are one of the rarest, native fish I've come across; they were once abundant, but are now protected due to their population steadily declining for over a century. We stumbled across this fish, which reeks of cucumber, when we were fishing for the smaller flatfish species.

 

#65 - Flounder (Platichthys flesus) 

9th October - Road Trip to Jack's
With all the Dab coming out, we assumed conditions must be perfect for Flounder, and perhaps some other flatfish species too, so thought it only a matter of time til one comes out. Only one did, which proves they were there. It's a species Jack needs, so if you're willing to power through all the Dab, I'm sure there's plenty more Flounder where that one came from. 

 

#66 - Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) NEW SPECIES

10th October - Road Trip to Jack's
Sturgeon had been a bucket list fish of mine for years; massive thank you to Clifton for getting us on the venue. Tactics were not dissimilar from how I target Wels Catfish, but what surprised me was that they hardly fought at all; feeling like pulling in a big ball of weed that would occasionally pull back.

 

#67 - Zander (Sander lucioperca) NEW SPECIES

10th October - Road Trip to Jack's
Also called Pikeperch, due to the mistaken belief that they were hybrids of pike and perch (although those two species can hybridise, albeit rarely). We didn’t have long to fish for the Zander, but managed to tick a couple of small ones off quite quickly, dead-baiting under a float, waiting for the bites to develop.

 

#68 - Common barbel (Barbus barbus) NEW SPECIES

12th October - Road Trip to Jack's 
It was the last day of my trip up-country, and I only had 3 hours to fish this misty morning on the Trent. Unsure of the chances of catching my first Barbel, the rod whacks down just 50 minutes in, and it’s a belter of a fish, comfortably into double figures! If I didn’t live so far down south, Barbel would probably be all I’d fish for; they’re so impressive, especially when reaching sizes like this!

 

 

NOVEMBER

I spent a week in Fuerteventura with Cal and Caleb, fishing early mornings for the predators and species, then late nights for the larger fish. The weather was pretty dire (storms, wind, and even a Calema), so we picked our moments to fish. I wont delve into the details of each species, as I've got a dedicated article for the trip in the oven. 

 #69 - Madeira rockfish (Scorpaena maderensis) NEW SPECIES

17th November - Fuerteventura

#70 - Ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo) NEW SPECIES

17th November - Fuerteventura

 

#71 - Macronesian sharpnose-puffer (Canthigaster capistrata) NEW SPECIES

17th November - Fuerteventura

#72 - Diamond lizardfish (Synodus synodus) NEW SPECIES

17th November - Fuerteventura

 

#73 - Mediterranean Cardinalfish (Apogon imberbis) NEW SPECIES

17th November - Fuerteventura

 

#74 - Canary damsel (Similiparma lurida) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#75 - Rockpool blenny (Parablennius parvicornis) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#76 - Madeira goby (Mauligobius maderensis) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#77 - Azores damsel (Chromis limbata) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#78 - Planehead filefish (Stephanolepis hispidus) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#79 - Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#80 - Golden grey mullet (Chelon auratus) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#81 - Flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#82 - Bastard grunt (Pomadasys incisus) NEW SPECIES

18th November - Fuerteventura

#83 - Pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) NEW SPECIES

19th November - Fuerteventura

#84 - Atlantic lizardfish (Synodus saurus) NEW SPECIES

19th November - Fuerteventura

#85 - Blacktail comber (Serranus atricauda) NEW SPECIES

19th November - Fuerteventura

#86 - Annular bream (Diplodus annularis) NEW SPECIES

20th November - Fuerteventura

#87 - Guinean puffer (Sphoeroides marmoratus) NEW SPECIES

20th November - Fuerteventura

#88 - Derbio (Trachinotus ovatus) NEW SPECIES

20th November - Fuerteventura

#89 - Bogue (Boops boops) NEW SPECIES

20th November - Fuerteventura

#90 - Moroccon white bream (Diplodus cadenati) NEW SPECIES

21st November - Fuerteventura

#91 - Bright glass-eye snapper (Heteropriacanthus fulgens) NEW SPECIES

21st November - Fuerteventura

#92 - Two-banded bream (Diplodus vulgaris) NEW SPECIES

21st November - Fuerteventura

#93 - Striped bream (Lithognathus mormyrus) NEW SPECIES

22nd November - Fuerteventura

#94 - Madeiran sardinella (Sardinella maderensis) NEW SPECIES

23rd November - Fuerteventura

DECEMBER

A sole two hour session was the only chance I got out fishing this month, and I went back to an old haunt to see if I could tick off a Grayling as my final fish of the year, alas, my final fish was a Minnow instead 🤣 Have a great New Year, everyone!

NOTABLE CATCHES

On top of the usual species tally, I wanted to mention some memorable catches too:

I caught several big carp on a trip to France for Alex's stag...

 

A seldom seen ornamental Mirror Carp from a local venue...

 

A PB Ballan Wrasse caught with Will, followed by another PB caught in town later in the year...

 

...and some nice-sized Gilthead Bream, both over 2lb.