Most Wanted : Atlantic Wolf Fish.

This year I'm going to try to catch some unusual species, ones that are only found in localised areas or perhaps ones that may be widespread but are not really targeted by anglers. Being a big fan of blennies a few of them are on my most wanted list and I'll discuss them in a future post but first of all I'd like to feature a fish that looks like a blenny, a huge blenny in fact! The Atlantic wolf fish.

Looks like a huge pale blue blenny. Cool!

Also known as the catfish or seawolf, it normally lives in deep, cold water at depths of between 100-300m although around the North East coast of Scotland they can be found in much shallower water. With a face only a mother (or a blenny basher) could love, nasty looking fangs, a set of powerful jaws it uses to crush its main diet of shellfish and sea urchins and growing to over a metre in length, this fish certainly isn't one I would allow to bite me for a laugh!

These large powerful fish live in rocky areas making their lairs in crevices or under large boulders. Divers see quite a lot of them around the St Abbs area and this is where I plan to go and target them. I already have a mark in mind and have figured out how to get down the cliff to it! Hopefully when I return with some whole mussels, whole prawns with their shells still on or perhaps some edible crabs I'll be able to tempt one.

So with the beginnings of a plan of attack on the drawing board I'm looking forward to trying to catch one but I'll have to wait for favourable conditions before I can get started. I'll need good weather and flat seas before I can access the mark and fish from it safely. Oh well perhaps I can target some other unusual species in the mean time?

Tight lines, Scott.