...three bearded rockling an' Yarrell's blenny. No doubt some anglers will be horrified that anyone would deliberately try to catch a rockling and some anglers will be asking what the hell is a Yarrell's blenny!
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| The three bearded rockling can grow much larger than its cousin the shore rockling, that rather confusingly also has three "beards". Colouration is the key to telling them apart. The three bearded rockling is light beige/pink with dark brown almost leopard like spots whilst the shore rockling is either uniformly dark brown or dark brown with light mottling. Both are easily distinguished from their other two much less common cousins with more impressive beards. |
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| Here's a shore rockling I caught earlier this year. |
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| I'd be tickled pink if I caught a Yarrell's blenny! |
A few short sessions at various spots along the coast have so far seen my efforts fail to produce either of these new species. I have instead caught the usual suspects. Coalfish mainly, a few mackerel, pollock, flounder, plaice, codling, common blennies and long spined sea scorpions all keeping me smiling as I try to avoid catching them!
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| Don't be embarrassed! It's not your fault. |
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| Maybe I'll fluke a new species soon? |
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| The Scottish harbour equivalent of a pouting. Apologies to Lee and Mal! |
My two year long viviparous blenny saga proved, if nothing else, that I'm a persistent bugger as well as a reasonably patient species hunter and I'll be having further attempts at catching a three bearded rockling soon. No doubt I'll catch loads of other species in the process and have fun doing so but hopefully a three bearded rockling won't take two years to track down, Yarrell's blenny may be, if you'll excuse the pun, another kettle of fish all together.
Tight lines, Scott.
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