Two fishes, one tank.

At the beginning of last week, I made the last minute decision to drive down to the southwest coast of the UK for three days to do some species hunting. Based on what some other anglers had been catching in September, I had five targets in mind. Four of them I’ve caught before, but never in the UK. These were...

Black faced blenny. I caught this one on São Miguel, in the Azores.

Comber. I caught this one on Gran Canaria.

Common pandora. I caught this one on Madeira.

Couch's seabream. I caught this one on Lanzarote.

I also had some reliable info from my mate Donny on a spot where I could perhaps catch a Couch’s goby, a rare species that I’ve never caught before. There are very localised populations of this species of goby in the UK, but they are also found in Ireland and in the Mediterranean, where this one was photographed...

A Couch's goby, photographed in Croatia. Note the second dorsal fin is taller than the first, a key distinguishing feature.
Like Couch's seabream, both species are named after Jonathan Couch, the Cornish ichthyologist and naturalist.

I decided to base myself in Weymouth, and arriving midafternoon after the long drive down, I headed over to Portland to check out a black faced blenny spot my mate Donny had found whilst snorkeling and had shared with me. The shipwrecks and reefs inside Portland Harbour are known to hold a healthy population of this diminutive species and over the last year or so, lots of anglers have been wading and snorkelling in various coastal spots around Weymouth and Portland both observing and catching the UK’s only resident triplefin.

The spot is only really fishable over low tide, and quite by chance the tide was still dropping and approaching low when I got there. It's also great because it allows you to sight fish for the black faced blenny without having to get wet! I fished for just over an hour, and in that time, despite the wind creating a bit of unwanted surface disturbance, I did manage to spot a couple of black faced blenny! Sadly, when I presented my small ragworm bait to them, I managed to spook both of them, and they quickly shot off out of sight. Feeling tired, I was encouraged by successfully locating them and would return two days later when the conditions were calmer, which might help me present my bait a little better. Before heading off to check into my accommodation, I fished nearby and caught some sand smelt, juvenile pollock and wrasse.

The following morning, I got up very early and drove west to Devon, where I met up at first light with a group of light rock fishing enthusiasts. The Big Lerf Weekender Worldwide Species Hunt had just taken place the weekend previously, and a visiting angler from Switzerland named Mathias, who was one of the anglers I would be fishing with, had caught half a dozen comber whilst participating. It’s a species that has been turning up more often this year, caught mainly by boat anglers, but also occasionally from the shore, so we were all hopeful that we could perhaps catch them too! Being a very aggressive predatory species, I knew that if any were around, there was a very good chance that we would catch them.

Rather disappointingly, it was a very slow morning, with the bites being few and far between. A few juvenile pollock, a whiting and a couple of black goby were all I caught, and the other guys also struggled. Just before high water I caught a nice ballan wrasse, but other than that the fishing was very poor.

This small ballan wrasse was the only real highlight of a very poor session.

In the afternoon, when the tide was almost fully out, the fishing became even slower. I tried moving around, but all I caught were a few more pin whiting and some sand goby. Feeling like I had caught the sun, I had a break and a spot of lunch. Meanwhile, some of the lads tried to keep themselves entertained by seeing who could be the first to catch a trio of goby species.

Donny, Rich and Aaron battle it out to see who can be first to catch a black, rock and sand goby.

It was around that point that I decided to call it a day and make the drive back to Dorset. I was feeling pretty shattered and might have stayed for longer if the fishing had been good, but it had been nothing short of terrible really, and I just didn’t think it was going to improve that much when the tide came back in, so I said goodbye to the lads and headed off.

The next day, I had a much-needed lie in. Feeling slightly refreshed, I drove back to Portland for another go at catching a black faced blenny. The wind had changed direction, and as a result the surface of the sea was nice and flat. This helped me to sight fish and I located a large specimen fairly quickly. Slowly lowering my split shot rig down fairly close to it, at first the fish didn’t react at all, but then it suddenly turned around, greedily ate the small piece of ragworm that I’d baited my tanago hook with and then sat motionless again. Quickly striking, the fish was hooked, and lifting it up out of the water into my waiting hand, I’d caught my first ever black faced blenny in the UK! Quickly unhooking it, I carefully popped it into my photo tank and put the lid on.

I’ve been after one of these in the UK for a very long time. I had my first attempt on Swanage Pier over a decade ago!

Having added a species to my UK lifelist, I was keen to add a second and as the Couch’s goby spot wasn’t very far away, I headed straight there. I thought it might be a fairly easy one to catch, as most goby species are not in the least bit shy. Three hours later and all I’d manage to catch on my one up one down rig with tiny pieces of ragworm on size 26 hooks were a few corkwing wrasse and over a dozen rock goby.

A few corkwing wrasse located and ate my tiny pieces of ragworm.

There were plenty of very hungry rock goby around.

I was beginning to think perhaps I wasn’t in the right spot when I finally caught a smaller goby that looked a little different. I moved away from the water’s edge, carefully unhooked the goby, and gently placed it into my tank for a better look to confirm my suspicions.

My first ever Couch’s goby! Difficult to make out in this photo, but its second dorsal fin was noticeably taller than its first.

Very pleased to have added two species to my UK lifelist, I headed back to my Weymouth to get some food and an early night as I planned to make an early start the following day.

I didn’t sleep very well that night, and when I got up in the morning, I couldn’t decide if I should make a seven-hour round trip to Cornwall to fish for common pandora and Couch’s seabream, or just forget about adding species to my UK tally and make the much shorter drive to Swanage Pier, where I could just have a relaxing day fishing. In the end, I tossed a coin and ended up “heading” all the way to Cornwall. I wish I had flipped tails, because after driving all that way, I didn’t get a single bite!. Not a single nibble! A blank was a terrible end to what was overall a pretty poor three days' fishing. By the time I got back to Weymouth, I was completely shattered and decided just to drive up the road the next day.

So, it was without doubt the worst fishing I've ever experienced in Devon and Cornwall, but thanks to the information given to me by Donny, Dorset had produced two of my five target species, so I can’t complain too much. I’d probably have settled for catching two new UK species at the start of the trip! Next year I'd like to spend more time down there over the summer, hopefully the fishing will be much better, and I can add a few more species to my UK lifelist. I've now caught eighty-nine species from saltwater in the UK, and I'd like to get that up to one hundred!

Tight lines, Scott.

Black and gold.

I visited the west coast last month to see if could get myself onto the pontoons in a large marina. Inspired by a series of Instagram posts from Scandinavia and the east coast of the US, I wanted to see if I could see any juvenile lumpsucker lurking close to the weed growing around the edge of the floating platforms and their ropes and chains. Upon arrival, it soon became obvious that all access was controlled via a single keycard operated security gate, and there were lots of boat owners around, so I ended up aborting my reconnaissance mission before it had even got underway! I decided instead to fish around the edge of the marina for a while. Perhaps in the weed around that I might spot something unusual? The water was crystal clear, but I couldn’t see any fish at all in close and casting out onto the marina’s silty bottom, it quickly became apparent that one species in particular was totally dominant.

After catching one black goby after another for about an hour, I decided it was time for a total change of scenery and target. 

A fairly short drive later, I was soon trying to spot a completely different species. Whilst there was absolutely no possibility of seeing a lumpsucker, there were also no access difficulties either, despite the small body of water being in front of a public building. The long, narrow pond in Greenock I was standing in front of contains goldfish. No doubt one time family pets that had been irresponsibly released. Walking along the edge of it, I soon spotted one slowly working its way through the weeds in the pond. As it reached some lily pads, I lowered a small piece of bread through a gap in them into its path and, after a brief pause, it turned towards it, swam forward and lazily gobbled it up. If only finding and catching a lumpsucker was so straightforward!

Only my second every goldfish from a Scottish venue. 

Popping the fish back, I carried on working my way along the side of the pond, looking for another colourful fish to catch. The weed was pretty dense, but eventually I spotted a second, much bigger goldfish methodically nudging it’s way through it. This one didn’t show any interest in my baked bait, so I decided to try something completely different, an isome worm. Somewhat to my surprise, the fish aggressively attacked the heavily scented lure straight away, darting over and inhaling the entire thing in one go. Striking quickly to set the hook before the fish could reject and eject my artificial worm, I quickly pulled it up through the vegetation and lifted the fish out onto the grass by the side of the pond. 

About the size of my hand, I believe this rather plump goldfish is an example of the shubunkin variety, due to its scattering of beautiful pearlescent scales.

Popping the fish back, I decided to call it a day. I was reasonably confident I’d just caught the nicest looking goldfish in the pond, and besides, people passing by asking me what I was fishing for had become mildly irritating. The photo I took of the first goldfish I caught in Scotland a few years ago wasn’t the best, so I was happy to get some better ones. As far as locating lumpsucker goes, I might need to rethink my marina fishing plans. I’ll either need to seek permission, sneak in behind someone or find a different marina that has less or no accessibility restrictions. With more horrible weather on the way at the end of this week, I might also have left this project a little too late in the year and might have to revisit it next summer instead.

Tight lines, Scott.

In the right plaice, at the right time.

I was supposed to drive down to Pembrokeshire at the beginning of September to spend a few days targeting grey triggerfish with fellow species hunter Ben Price, but conditions were terrible, so we took the decision to postpone the trip for two weeks. In the meantime, I’ve had a few sessions down at the inlet area of Torness Power Station, fishing at the spot where the striped red mullet was caught recently. For the first session, I headed down there with my mate Ryan to have a go at catching my one hundred and third Scottish species. Fishing three hook flappers baited with ragworm on two rods didn’t produce that many fish sadly. After several hours, I’d only caught three in fact!

A tiny dab,..

…a nice chunky flounder,..

…and a solitary coalfish.

Despite the lack of fish, it was still an enjoyable session and we were rewarded with a nice sunset before calling it a day and heading back up the road. 

Barns Ness Lighthouse and the Bass Rock off in the distance. 

Over the following week I returned three more times for another three attempts. I couldn’t get my hands on any ragworm, so I grabbed a bag of frozen raw prawns from the supermarket and dug some small blow lug to use as bait. Sadly, all three sessions turned out to be just as slow as the first one. Over twelve hours in total, fishing two rods, only produced a few tiny whiting and some flatfish. Mainly small dab, but in amongst them I was rewarded with a nice plaice. 

At 30cm, this is by far the biggest plaice I've caught on the east coast. Their numbers here seem to be increasing. 

So, some pretty tough sessions that didn’t produce a first Scottish striped red mullet for me. I’ve subsequently been told about more of them being caught in the area by other anglers though, so I’ll just keep trying. Hopefully there’ll be some more around for a little bit longer before the water temperature starts to drop and I think it’s just a simple case of being in the right place at the right time. I was supposed to be heading down south again soon, but Mother Nature seems determined to sabotage that  again, which will allow me to have a few more cracks at adding another species to my Scottish tally. 

Tight lines, Scott.

A Scottish species hunting side quest.

As catching new species of fish in Scotland has now become very difficult, I decided earlier this year to feed my addiction with a side quest. It's been a fantastic year for butterflies, so I decided to start looking out for them when I’ve been out and about, and sometimes even travelling around the east coast of Scotland specifically to find them. I’ve done quite well and here's a selection of some of the species I've managed to photograph this year.

A dozen of the different species of the Scottish butterflies I have spotted and photographed this year.

Top row: Comma. Common Blue. Green Veined White. Large White.
Middle row: Orange Tip White. Painted Lady. Peacock. Red Admiral.
Bottom Row: Scotch Argus. Small Blue. Small Tortoiseshell. Speckled Wood.

There are thirty five species in total in Scotland plus three others that have been spotted here over the last few years that do not breed here. In total, I've seen twenty three species this year, which I think is pretty good going. I've really enjoyed chasing them around armed only with my iPhone, trying to get a few photos of them. Next year, I plan on spending some time hunting down the ones I haven't seen yet.

Scott.

The species hunting bug.

I’ve been species hunting for over a decade, setting myself targets, both short and long term, and having lots of fun working towards trying to achieve them. It seems to be a branch of angling that is gaining popularity, whether that be individual anglers doing their own thing like me, or people taking part in species hunting competitions, either with friends or taking part in sponsored events where there are prizes to be won. 

My mate Ryan has caught the species hunting bug this year. For a bit of fun, he’s doing a saltwater species hunt with a few of his mates, and they're now exploring new ways to fish in places they've never fished before, targeting as many different species as they can. 

Earlier this month, after spending a day with him locally during which he added lesser weever, short spined sea scorpion and three spined stickleback to his tally, we drove across the country to Stranraer, to see if we could add a few more species to his tally. I wanted to see if I could catch a new species too while we were there. Inspired by another species hunting friend of mine Mike, I planned to spend some time fishing with tiny sabiki to target juvenile herring, hoping that, like he did last year, I’d perhaps get lucky and catch my first ever sprat in amongst them. To begin with though, we targeted sand goby straight down the harbour wall using small hooks baited with tiny pieces of ragworm. We quickly caught a few of them, another addition to Ryan's 2025 species hunting tally.

This is a sand goby. There are two other closely related species that can be found in the UK, out in deeper water usually. They are the Lozano’s goby and the Norway goby. I’ve been reading up on them recently, trying to get a handle on identification methods for both, but I'm very confident I’ve ever caught either of them. I really enjoy learning about new fish species and building up my knowledge.

After initially catching dozens of them from the cleaner areas on the bottom, we started moving around, dropping our rigs closer to some structure. This produced some small wrasse and two additional goby species, but Ryan had already caught all the species we caught earlier in the year.

Fishing close to rocky patches produced a few fairly large black goby,…

…and the odd rock goby too. 

At this point in the session, we got a slight surprise when we turned around to discover we had been joined by a third fisherman, who had decided to get rather close to us. A rather friendly juvenile European shag had landed nearby and had slowly made its way over to where we were fishing. I've been doing a spot of birdwatching this year, so I took a break from fishing to take a few pictures of the bird.

Even efficient predators appreciate a free meal!

Shifting my attention back to fishing, I then switched over to a slightly heavier setup and a set of sabiki. Casting them around in different directions and working them back towards me to try to locate any herring shoals, I didn't get that many bites initially, but eventually I did manage to catch a couple of juvenile herring. They're not a species I particularly enjoy catching if I'm honest, as they don't react well to being handled, their scales being very delicate and coming off very easily. I quickly did the necessary checks to confirm that they were indeed herring and put them back. Ryan hadn't caught a herring this year, so I let him use my sabiki rod for a while, but he didn't manage to catch one, so we decided to move to a second spot. 

We were unsure if the area we wanted to get to would be accessible, but after a quick drive and a short walk, we discovered the long man-made structure was and started fishing from it. Ryan dropped tiny pieces of ragworm down the side to begin with, whilst I focused on catching a sprat again. I managed to catch another couple of juvenile herring, and as Ryan wasn't having much luck down the side, he had a go at slowly jigging the sabiki again. After a bit of patience, he eventually got a couple of juvenile herring, his first of the year.

Then as we were chatting, Ryan spotted a strange fish and pointed it out to me. I realised almost straight away that it was a pipefish! It was quite small and was swimming around slowly in an upright position just underneath the surface of the water. Sadly, it didn't hang around for long before disappearing out of sight. That's the first time I've seen a pipefish in the UK. There are six species of them found here, and I'd love to catch any of them. Next month I plan to go hunting for them!

Before we left, we moved along to the end of the pier and tried our luck there. My sabiki didn't produce anything, so I switched back to fishing down the side again. In amongst lots of black goby, rock goby and goldsinny wrasse both of us pulled out a few small pouting.    

Yet another addition to both our species tallies for this year.

It had been quite an enjoyable day trip to Stranraer and worth the long drive to get there. We'd caught some interesting species, made a feathered friend and seen a pipefish! Next month Ryan and I are hoping to head down south to fish Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. If we go, I'm confident we can both catch some new additions to this year's tally, and I might hopefully catch a new species too!

A week or so later, I met up with another convert to species hunting, welsh angler Ben Price. For years Ben was a specimen angler, targeting large fish around the Pembrokeshire coast, where he lives. A few years ago, he decided to give species hunting a go, and it's safe to say he's now addicted! A reader of this blog, he was so inspired by some of my posts about the fishing around Scotland that last year he decided to visit and had a very successful trip. Some of the fish he caught up here helped him to win the Angling Trust's 24/25 Elite Species Hunt with an incredible total of seventy six species! 

Spending a week up in Scotland again, after spending several days on his own up in the highlands, where he added butterfish, coalfish, cod, flapper skate, sea trout, tadpole fish, and two spotted goby to his tally for the 25/26 competition, he headed down to Edinburgh. It was good to meet up with Ben again, and the two of us spent a couple of days fishing around Edinburgh and East Lothian, trying to catch reticulated dragonet, short spined sea scorpion, topknot, viviparous blenny and Yarrell's blenny.

One of the venues we fished was St Abbs Harbour. Ben was blown away with the place and we caught quite a few fish. Whilst fishing with tiny hooks trying to catch a reticulated dragonet, we caught quite a lot of small flatfish.  

St Abbs Harbour has a health population of tiny plaice in it.

In amongst all the juvenile plaice and flounder, I also caught this tiny dab.

After catching several long spined sea scorpion, Ben caught a short spined sea scorpion, which was one of his target species. He then spotted a small group of dragonet in close, and we both managed to catch quite a few of them. Carefully inspecting each one, they all sadly turned out to be common dragonet. Still, this was a first time capture for me on the east coast of Scotland. Whilst targeting them, I also caught a painted goby, also a first time capture for me on the east coast of Scotland.

My painted goby with its distinctive dorsal fin markings and pale saddles.

Casting out into the middle of the harbour again, we caught a few more tiny flatfish, and then I caught another dragonet. This one turned out to be the one Ben was after, a reticulated dragonet. Sadly, like a lot of fish in the area, it was riddled with black spot disease. Its eyes in particular were badly scarred because of this.

My second Scottish reticulated dragonet. Not the most photogenic example of the species.

I was hopeful that Ben would catch one too, but after a while we threw in the towel and turned our attention to the area where I caught a topknot earlier this year. We both knew that it was a long shot and predictably, even if there was one down there, the resident wrasse had other ideas, our ragworm didn't stay down there very long before being munched by one.

A nice male corkwing wrasse. One of several wrasse we caught.

Soon it was time to head back up the road to Edinburgh, Ben had one last late evening session targeting viviparous blenny before making the drive back down to Wales the following morning. Next week I'm heading down to Pembrokeshire to meet up with him again. He's going to hopefully help me catch my first grey triggerfish in the UK, something I'm really looking forward to!

On Saturday morning, I received a message from Ryan, telling me that his mate had caught a striped red mullet. A few hours later, I received a message from Ben, telling me that someone in Scotland had caught a juvenile lumpsucker. Inspired by these captures, on Monday, I headed down to where the striped red mullet had been caught. Having caught the species a few times in the past in both the Mediterranean and also from Swanage Pier in Dorset, I'd love to add one to my Scottish species tally. Collecting some live prawns on my way to the venue, I found a tiny fish in my net with the prawns after scooping them out of a rockpool.

The tiniest corkwing wrasse I've ever seen!

Armed with my bucket of live bait, I had a pretty slow session fishing two rods and only caught a few dab and whiting. Unsurprisingly, no striped red mullet were around or if they were, they weren't tempted by the prawns. I think perhaps they'll be more partial to a nice worm bait, which is what Ryan's mate caught his on, so I'll be baiting up with them during future attempts.

I might be a dab hand at this species hunting lark, but sometimes persistence and luck are what's required!

So, I'm well aware that catching a striped red mullet in Scotland is a real long shot, but as I know about two that have been caught this year fairly locally and also that two were caught last year as well, they're clearly around, so I'm going to keep trying to catch one throughout September. Anyway, I just can't help myself. It's obvious that I too still have the species hunting bug, and I don't think there's a cure!

Tight lines, Scott.