brill [Species Menu] [brill articles] Latin name: Scophthalmus rhombus Record weight: One of the smaller species of flatfish, the boat caught brill record is a huge fish of 16lb exactly, whilst the shore caught best lies some-way behind at only 7lb 7oz 8 drams. Distribution: Found throughout the North Atlantic, although mainly in deeper water…

Skate [Species Menu] [Skate articles] Common name: Common skate Latin name: Raja batis Record weight: One of our largest coastal fish, the common skate record is also one of the most likely to be broken. The main factor stopping to from being claimed at present is the lack of adequate weighing equipment aboard boats, for…

Dab [Species Menu] [Dab articles] Common name: Dab Latin name: Limanda limanda Record weight: One of the smallest of the flatfish that regularly turns up in anglers catches. The shore record is held by a fish of 2lb 9oz 8 drams, whilst the boat best is slightly bigger at 2lb 12oz 4 drams. Distribution: Found…

Haddock [Species Menu] [Haddock articles] Common name: Haddock Latin name: Melanogrammus aeglefinus Record weight: A relatively small member of the cod family, yet an extremely important commercial species. Haddock tend to be found in quite deep water, so the boat record is considerably greater than the shore best. Boat anglers should set their sights on…

Pouting [Species Menu] [Pouting articles] Common name: Pouting Latin name: Trisopterus luscus Record weight: A small inshore member of the cod family, the pouting is one of the most common fish around the British coast and can make up a large percentage of angler catches. Whilst most fish weigh under a pound, the boat caught…

coalfish [Species Menu] [coalfish articles] Common name: Coalfish Record weight: Not as big as other members of the cod family but still a good sized fish, particularly for the boat angler. The current shore best is a fish of 24lb 11oz 12 drams, whilst the boat best is held by a huge fish of 37lb…

Dogfish [Species Menu] [Dogfish articles] Common name: Lesser spotted dogfish Latin name: Scyliorhinus canicula Record weight: One of the few species where the shore record is larger than the boat caught best. The current boat record is 4lb 6oz 8 drams, whilst the shore best is 4lb 15oz 3 drams. Most fish are much smaller…

Rainbow trout [Species Menu] [Rainbow trout articles] Common name: Rainbow trout Latin name: Oncorhynchus mykiss Record weight: Several fisheries specialise in growing huge rainbow trout with twenty pounders coming out on a regular basis. Current top of the tree is a monster of 36lb 14oz 8 drams. There is currently no wild record, although it…

Zander [Species Menu] [Zander articles] Common name: Zander Latin name: Stizostedion lucioperca Record weight: Despite growing to over twice this size in Europe, the British record has only slowly increased to 19lb 5oz 8 drams. This huge fish, caught by D. Lavender from a Fen Drain in 1998 is by far the largest zander ever…

Dace [Species Menu] [Dace articles] Common name: Dace Latin name: Leuciscus leuciscus Record weight: 1lb 4oz 4 dram. Caught by J. L. Gasson from the Little Ouse River in Norfolk in 1960. Distribution: Once very common in the UK, dace, and particularly large dace, are becoming increasingly rare. Possible reasons for the decline in dace…