Coarse Fish
The British record for the Barbel is 19 lb 06 oz 08 dms was established in 2001 in Bedfordshire.
Barbel are long bodied fish with a prominent snout and thick lips, it can grow up to 26" in length. It also is distinguishable by its two barbules each side of the mouth.
The Barbel habitat is fast moving rivers although breeders have successfully produced Barbel, which are at home and thrive in Lakes.
Barbel spawn from April to July in shallow water with gravel. The yellow eggs stick to stones and lodge in crevices and hatch after 10 to 15 days.
The natural food of the Barbel include freshwater shrimp, nymphs, cadis larvae and bottom living invertebrates. The Barbel is renown as a great fighting fish and can be taken on Flavoured Luncheon Meat, Worms and Bread.
The Barbel can live to be 18
years old.
Try Wanda's, Fletcher’s
and Edwards Lake for Barbel.
BITTERLING. (Rhodeus sericeus)
The British record for the Bitterling is 00lb 00 oz 21 grams was established in 1998.
The Bitterling is a small fish barely reaching a length of 3".
The Bitterling looks like a small crucian carp and lives amongst aquatic plants and eats plankton, insect larvae, being especially fond of midge larvae.
The males are bigger than the females which is unusual among fishes. Their colour varies with the season, normally a olive green back with silvery sides with a bright metallic stripe along the sides near the tail. During the spawning season they become beautifully coloured, the sides become a silvery pink and the back turns dark blue, blue-green stripe on the sides at the back, the dorsal and anal fins become a pale red, lined with black, with white tubercles appearing on the snout.
Immediately before spawning, the female grows an ovipositor where she inserts her eggs inside the mantle cavity of fresh water mussels. The male fertilises the eggs by releasing his milt into the current of the respiring mussel.
The eggs hatch after only a few days and the fry remain inside the mussel until they grow to such a size as they no longer require the mussels protection.
The spawning occurs in clear, slow running or still waters, often with a muddy bottom, hence the presence of a near by freshwater mussel bed is of vital importance.
The life span of a Bitterling
is
between 4 to 5 years.
The British record for the Bleak is 00lb 04ozs 09 grams (0.129 Kilo's) and was established in 1998.
The Bleak grows to a maximum length of about 8' and prefers slow moving or still waters and inhabits reservoirs, lakes, gravel pits and the lower and central reaches of rivers. It has a bright silver body with a green tinge along it's back.
It shoals near the surface where it feeds on insects and other animals which falls on or are near the surface. The Bleak can be seen jumping clear of the water for insects which are flying near the surface.
The Bleak spawns between the end of April to early July when the females produce between 5,000 to 6,000 sticky eggs which stick to aquatic plants or gravel. After the eggs hatch the young fish grow up to 50% of their mature size in the first year and reach sexual maturity in 1 to 3 years.
The life span of a Bleak is
rarely more than 6 years.
COMMON or BRONZE BREAM. (Abramis brama).
The British record for Common Bream is 18lbs 15 ozs 03grms was established in 2004 in a lake in Norwich.
The Common Bream habitat is lakes and slow moving rivers.
They are very deep bodied with flat sides, a high back and a small scale-less head with a mouth, which can be extended. The long, dark, dorsal fins are set well back near their dark-gray deeply forked tails
In clay lined lakes the Bream can become almost pure white in colour.
Bream are a shoaling fish and when coming on to feed are voracious feeders and are partial to squatts, casters, chopped worms, bread paste, worms and maggots.
The life span of a Bream is
between 15 to 20 years.
Specimen Bream can be found in Wanda's Lake, at an average weight of 6 to
10 lb. and up to double figures.
SILVER BREAM. (Blicca bjoerkna).
The British record for the silver Bream is 1lbs 12 ozs 00 grams and was established in 2003 in a Stillwater in West Sussex.
The Silver Bream is much smaller than the Common Bream, rarely exceeding 0.25lb in weight.
This fish is silvery-white as found in immature fish of both species. It can be distinguished from young common bream by the larger eye and shorter anal fin and the reddish coloration of the pectoral and pelvic fins. Small silver bream are often seen in mixed shoals with roach, rudd and dace. Most of the larger specimens have been recorded in slow-running water rather than in lakes.
The females can lay up to 100,000 eggs, spread of two or three sessions the light yellow eggs are laid in shallow, weed-filled water and sticks to the plants. The eggs hatch after 10 to 14 days. After the fry have digested the yolk-sac, they feed on plankton. The mature fish will feed on insect larvae and aquatic vegetation.
The life span of a Silver Bream is
about 15 to 16 years.
Silver Bream can be found in Julies Lake.
CATFISH CHANNEL. (Ictalurus punctatus).
The Channel Catfish is at home in slow moving rivers but has adapted well to man-made lakes and reservoirs. Channel Catfish are bluish-gray and sometimes are a greenish-yellow shading to a white belly; again the coloring is dependent on the water type. In an ideal environment can reach 50 lbs. The Channel is renowned as a good fighter and is bread for the table. The best baits are lampreys, worms, flavored luncheon meat and pepperoni: Fly-fishing and spinning for Channels often produces good results.
Channels are more apt to feed during daylight hours.
CATFISH WELS. (Silurus glanis)
The British record for Wels Catfish is 62lbs (28.123 kolo's) and was established in 1997 from a lake in Bedfordshire. The British record claims list was closed in October 2000. No other claims are currently being considered.
The Wels catfish is Europe's largest freshwater fish, it can grow up to 10 feet long. The body is slimy and scale less with a long anal fin. The large head is broad and flat and sports six barbells, two of which are very long and on the upper jaw. The eyes are very small well adapted for low light vision. They do not have any teeth but have a coarse boney rasp just inside the bottom and top of the mouth.
The Wels inhabits deep, slow-flowing rivers and lakes.
The male can be
identified by a pointed flap of skin behind the vent. In the fe-male,
the flap of skin is shorter and fatter.
A large female can lay up to 10 thousand eggs about 3mm in diameter. They spawn when the water temperature reaches 20 degrees The eggs hatch in three to five days (depending on the water temperature). The fast growing fry are guarded by the male until they are big enough to fend for themselves. Only about 10% of the fry willm survive. The fry feed on aquatic insects and tadpoles until they reach a size where they can manage larger food items.
Growth is rapid, reaching 1-2 lb in the first year. The Wels catfish mature after about five years.
Wels catfish generally become active at dusk and generally feed throughout the night. They have no set feeding patterns and are not territorial. They are opportunist feeders which cover the whole water, bank to bank. They are mainly attracted to vibrations, but also depend on smell to capture their prey.
The catfish are amongst the longest lived fish surviving for over 50
years.
Try 'JR’s Lake' for Wels Catfish up to 65 lb.
CHUB. (Leuciscus (squalus) cephalus).
The British record for Chub is 8lbs 14ozs 00 grams and was established in 2004.
This fish has a thick set, long body with dark edged scales and a relatively large mouth. The pale orange anal fin is convex, making the Chub easily distinguishable from other young fish of a similar appearance.
The Chub can grow up to 9 lb and over 20" long.
The Chub habitat is rivers but has been introduced successfully in still waters where it thrives and grows larger than its river counterpart. It breeds during May and June. Breeding males bear white tubercles during the breeding season.
The Chub is best fished for in late winter and can be taken on cheese, bread flake, grubs, slugs and Worms. During February and March the Chub concentrates on Rudd fry.
The life expectancy of a Chub is over 30 years.
Chub up to 6.5 lb can be found in Wanda's Lake, Chub can also be found in Edwards Lake, try bread crumb, tandoori flavored luncheon meat, grubs, maggots or casters.
The chub is an all year round feeder even on the coldest of days.
The British record for Dace is 1lb 05ozs 02 grams and was established in 2002 from the river Weir.
Dace are a slender bodied fish, 25 to 30 cm long with a small head & mouth. Greenish olive on the back with silver sides and a white belly. The iris of the eye is yellow. It feeds on insects and their larvae and small arthropods which fall into the water.
The Dace is at home in fast moving shallow rivers and rapids. Dace are shoal fish and the best bait is insect larvae or bread.
Spawning takes place between February and May in gravel. The eggs are orange and hatch in about 25 days. Young Dace mature quickly many in the first year. Dace rarely grow to exceed 1 lb.
The life span of a Dace is approximately 10 years.
Dace can be found in Fletcher's, Wanda's & Edwards Lake. Dace over 1 lb. can be found in Wanda's Lake.
The British record for the Eel is 11 lbs 02 ozs 00 grams (5.046 kilo's) and was established in 1978.
A fish with a long snake like body, elongated dorsal and anal fins. The eel has no pelvic fins and the scales are either non existent or embedded in the slimy skin.
Eels inhabit rivers, ponds and reservoirs until they reach maturity. Males reach maturity after 4 to 14 years. Females mature between 10 and 20 years. As soon as the eel reaches it's breeding age, it's back turns a dark colour and it's under parts turn to a silvery white. Then it stops feeding living on it's reserves of stored fat. Between the end of Summer and the start of Autumn, the adult eels set off downstream to the sea, with a 5,000 - 7,000 km long journey to the spawning ground ahead of them. Throughout the trip to the Sargasso sea they cover between 25 to 40 km per day. They reach the spawning grounds March to April where they collectively spawn in sea water depths of between 100 & 400 meters over a sea depth of 6,000 meters. After spawning the breeding eels die and sink to the bottom.
The hatched larvae drift in the warm gulf stream which carries them within tree years to the shores of Britain and Europe. They feed in the seas and the estuaries around the rivers feeding the sea. Then the females make their way up the rivers, lakes and reservoirs to start the cycle again while the males remain in the brackish waters around the rivers and estuaries.
Eel's up to 7lb can be found in JR's Lake.
GRAYLING. (Thymallus thymallus).
The British record for the Grayling was established in Dorset at 04 lbs 03ozs 00 grams in 1989.
The distinguishing feature of the Grayling is its long, high dorsal fin, flat-sided body with a small head and snout.
The Grayling’s color can range from a light metallic blue to a greenish-brown on its back with silvery sides with faint violet stripes. The dorsal fin is covered with rows of dark spots.
The Grayling mainly feed on insects and their larvae, the larger specimens have been seen feeding on fish fry and minnows.
It inhabits clear, cool and well oxygenated water such as clear slow moving streams with gravelly or sandy beds; it can also be found in gravel pits or at the lower reaches of streams in brackish water.
The Grayling spawns in large numbers between mid March to mid May in the sand or gravel in water depths as shallow as 2 feet. The female lays between 3,000 to 4,500 eggs per pound of her body weight.
The Grayling can grow to 50 cm long and up to 2.5 kg.
The best baits for the Grayling is insect larvae, snails or slugs.
The British record for the Gudgeon is 00 lb 05ozs 00 grams (0.141 kiolo's) and was established in 1990, from River Nadder, Wiltshire.
This fish has a big
head and slim body with the fins speckled light brown. The characteristic dark spots mark the light or dark brown back, dorsal
fins and tail. In some light the flanks have an indecent purple sheen.
The Gudgeon is a bottom living fish, normally 6” long and 4oz in weight but a specimen fish may reach 8”.
The ideal habitat for Gudgeon is gravel-pit lakes and clear running
rivers. They are found in England and Ireland.
A scavenging bottom feeder always hungry all year round. For Gudgeon, try Emery's Lake.
The Ide is a moderately slender bodied fish, but with a small broad head and back and large eyes with a brassy yellow iris.
The dorsal fin is a grayish blue with other fins a red color. The caudal fin is darker in color and is deeply forked.
The Ide is covered in small scales with a greenish brown coloration on its back is a grayish blue with the sides silvery & white on the belly.
Extremely fast growing, and can grow to 1m long in ideal conditions but are usually to 43 cm. Up to about 4 Kg.
The Ide thrive in Lakes and are a Native fish in the South East counties of England. The immature Ide resembles a small Chub and can be taken on insect larvae, Worms and Prawn Flavored Luncheon Meat. Large specimens eat fry and smaller fish.
Try for Ide on Wanda's and Edwards Lake.
The British record for the Minnow was established in 1998 from a lake in Durham and stands at 00 lb 00 ozs 13.5 dms (0.024 kiolo's).
The minnow belongs to the cyprimid, or carp family and is the smallest of that family in Britain. It's a pretty, darting fish, often seen in shoals of up to 100 strong.
The minnow is small and slender bodied, with a blunt snout and small down-turned crescent shaped mouth. The coloration is dark greenish gold above a white or yellow belly. Dark blotches mark the flanks. The tail fin is deeply forked. Adults are rarely longer than 3 to 4 inches.
They feed mainly on freshwater insects and shrimps, but also eat plants and algae.
The British record for Golden Orfe is 08lbs 05ozs 00 grams & was established in 2000.
The Golden Orfe is the Golden Version of the Ide and thrives in Lakes. The Golden Orfe is slower growing than the Ide and can be taken on Worms, Sweet Corn and Flavored Luncheon Meats.
For Golden Orfe try Gregories Lake for specimens up to 6.5 lbs.
(For 'Blue Orfe' try Edward's Lake.)
The British record for Perch is 05lbs 09ozs 08dms and was established in 2002.
This handsome fish is olive green with six or seven dark vertical stripes with ventral red fins. Its tail is rather small but it can cruise quite fast for long periods. It's one of the most aggressive predators found in the U.K. Perch of 2 lb. and above are considered specimen fish.
Small Perch feed in shoals but start to chase small fish when they reach about 4 oz.
The Perch inhabits Lakes and slow moving rivers providing cover. Perch are a small predatory fish and have dark vertical stripes, which blends in with the weed and reeds. Best bait is Worms, Small live or dead bait fish. Spinning with small lures is a popular and successful method of catching large Perch. Try lobworm, casters and maggots as a ground bait and hook bait.
Perch spawn among marginal weeds between April & June. They take four years to reach maturity. Females lay about 100,000 eggs per pound of their body weight.
The Perch has an average lifespan of about 13 years and can be found in Wanda's, Pointer's and JR's Lake.
For Perch to 4lb. 4oz. try Pointer's, Wanda's and JR's Lake.
Large Perch can be tempted on bunches of lob worm sometimes large coarse pellets.
The British record for the Pike is 46lbs 13ozs 00 grams (21.234 kilo's) was established in February 1992.
The long body of the pike is covered with golden green bands and greenish brown spots. The dorsal fin is as far back as the anal fin, both fins are near the tail. The pike has a broad head with a pointed snout.
The Pike inhabits rivers and lakes, its first class camouflage and size contribute to the pikes success in different habitats. They prefer weedy corners for shelter and grow big when food is plentiful. A monster of 72 lb was captured in the 18th. Century.
Pike will eat most species of freshwater fish, as well as water rats, water birds and frogs.
Spawning takes place early Spring in March early April in quiet shallows, the smaller Pike lay their eggs first followed by the larger fish. For each pound of the females weight between 10 to 20 thousand eggs are laid, so a big female can lay 480,000 eggs.
Pike live for many years, specimens 17 years old have been caught in the Thames.
The British record for Roach is 04lbs 03ozs 00 grams and was established in October 1990 from the river Stour, Dorset.
The Roaches habitat is lakes, fast and slow moving rivers and usually found in shoals near weed or reed beds.
The Roach has a silver body covered in small even scales and has red fins. The Roaches mouth when closed is parallel to its body. The Roach moves around in shoals and are not really particular what they eat but tend to like Worm, casters, hemp, particles, trout pellet paste and Sweet Corn. Large Roach are taken on the drop and feed in the top section of water.
The Roach spawns from April to June laying between 5,000 to 10,000 sticky eggs which adhere to the lakes vegetation. The eggs hatch after about 4 to 10 days.
A specimen Roach is considered to be 2 lb and above. Really big roach are notoriously shy and most anglers never manage to catch to one over the magical 2 lb mark.
They can live for about 10 years.
We have many +2 lb Roach in the Clawford Lakes. Try Wanda's, Fletcher's, Edward's and JR's Lakes.
Wanda's Lake has produced Roach to 3lb 8ozs.
RUDD. (Scardinius erythrophthalmus).
The British record for Rudd is 04lbs 10ozs 00 grams was established in 2001.
The Rudd's habitat is lakes and slow moving rivers.
Rudd is similar in appearance and often mistaken for a Roach. The most prominent factor which distinguishes a Rudd is the upturned lower lip and the beginning of its dorsal fin is set well back from the front of its pelvic fins. The body colour is more vivid in the Rudd.
Rudd have a double set of pharyngeal (throat) teeth. Roach only have a single set. The Rudd has body colours ranging from Green, Brown, and Red to Golden.
The Rudd is predominantly a surface feeder and is best captured using floating casters, maggots, worms, Bread Paste and Trout Pellets. Green Rudd of over 2.5lbs can be found in Wanda's Lake. Green, Red and Brown Rudd can be found in JR's and Fletcher's Lake. Golden Rudd to 2 lb can be found in Gregories Lake.
The British record for the Ruffe is 00lb 05ozs 04dms (0.148 kilo's) and was established in 1980 from a private lake in Cumbria.
This fish is also known as the Pope, it is quite rare and is found only in a few areas of England.
Superficially, the Ruffe resembles its close relative the Perch but is shorter and stouter and its two dorsal fins are joined. The Ruffe is covered with numerous speckles; formed in rows; scattered along the light olive back, on the tail and two spiny dorsal fins which are joined. The belly is white, the body is high and narrow. The head is blunt with marked sensory canals below the large eyes. Ruffe may reach 7 inches in length under ideal conditions.
The main diet of the Ruffe is crustaceans, insect larvae and small fish. The growth rate is fairly slow.
Spawning takes place in April-May, the sticky eggs may stretch over weed beds in lacy, interwoven strands. Females lay up to 200,000 eggs each year with the young emerging 10 to 14 days as 3 mm long fry.
THREE-SPINED STICKLEBACK. (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
The sticklebacks are the smallest of the freshwater fish in the British isles. The three spine stickleback is the most common.
The British record for the three spined stickleback is 00 lb 00 ozs 04 grams from a lake in Cambridgeshire and was established in 1998.
The stickleback can be found in every type of water body from ditches to estuaries. It is one of the hardiest of fish, surviving in waters too polluted for other species.
There are three distinct types of three spine stickleback. The leiurus form, the commonest freshwater stickleback, normally has between two and nine plates. The trachurus, or most heavily plated, form is essentially migratory, spawning in rivers and passing the winters at s0ea. The semi-armatus form has a plate arrangement intermediate between the other two and is much less common. It lives in brackish water, especially along the east coast.
None of the sticklebacks are strong swimmers and they all tend to shun fast flowing waters. Their diet is varied and includes small mollusks, crustaceans and larval insects.
Sticklebacks are the only British freshwater fish to build nests from vegetation and care for their young the first few weeks of life.
During the spring the male develops its red spawning coloration around the throat and belly, together with bright blue eyes.
NINE-SPINED STICKLEBACK. (Pungitius pungitius).
This species has in the past been called both the nine and ten spine stickleback, although as many as twelve spines have been recorded.
The nine spine stickleback is slimmer and more elongated than is three spine cousin.
The male is responsible for nest building and the care of the young. Usually the nest is built near the bottom, built into the vegetation, tubular in shape, 1.5 inches long, and made from thread like algae and willow moss
Sticklebacks are short lived, the life span of a nine spied and three spied species is between three and four years.
There is no British record for Golden Tench as the Green and Golden Tench is considered as the same genus as it is a cultivated variety often kept in ornamental ponds.
The Golden Tench habitat is lakes and slow moving rivers; and is the pretty, hard fighting ornamental Version of the Green Tench. Like all Tench it can survive in water with a low oxygen content.
For specimen Golden Tench, try Gregories Lake. The best baits are Cockles, Flavored Luncheon Meat, Flavored Sweet Corn & Worms.
Gregories Lake contains specimens up to 6.5 lb.
The British record for Green Tench is 15 lbs 03ozs 06 grams and was established in 2001.
Tench are cyprinids members of the carp family and are capable of surviving in waters with low oxygen levels.
The Tench has a thick deep-set and slimy body and has one pair of barbells, and is a green/olive colour with the eyes small and red.
This fish inhabits still waters, lakes and sometimes slow moving rivers. The Tench is also known as the doctor fish and is covered in small scales and is covered in mucus: the mucus is believed to contain healing properties and other species of coarse fish are credited to rub up against Tench when they are in need of its healing effects.
Tench are bottom feeders so feeder fishing and ledgering work well. Don’t strike too early or when the float is wavering, wait until it disappears, Tench tend to take some time to take the bait properly.
A powerful fighter when hooked, is partial to worms, Red maggots, casters, flavored sweet corn, flavored Luncheon meats and cockles.
Tench spawn between April & July when the temperature hits 15 degrees C. A female Tench will lay about 250,000 eggs per pound of her own body weight.
There is a good
head of specimen green Tench in Wanda's Lake up to 12 lb 2oz and to
7lb. in Edwards Lake.
ZANDER. (Stizostedion lucioperca).
The British record for the Zander is 19lbs 05ozs 08dms (8kg 774gm) and was established in 1998.
The Zander has a streamlined body, double dorsal fin, with the front dorsal fin being spined. They have large eyes and large mouths.
Zander thrive in flowing coloured water. Because of their specialist backward pointing teeth and eyes, there is little or no escape for their victims. Their eyes are large and have a reflective material behind the eye lens which aids them to get the maximum benefits from the low light conditions they prefer. They tend to hunt mainly at night and dusk.
When reaching maturity after 3 to 4 years, they develop four large incisor teeth which are used to grip their prey before turning them for swallowing. Once reaching maturity they revert from a shoal fish to solitary hunters.
Prior to spawning in April to June the Male will build a nest in the weed beds. The female will lay between 135,000 to 200,000 eggs per Kilo of her body weight. After spawning, the male will guard the eggs from predators.
