THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

Almost identical, though not directly
related to the garfish, the skipper is
more of an open oceanic fish, and
therefore more likely to be caught
around the south west of Britain and
Ireland.
Not a fish you should expect to see on
rod and line, but it can happen, so as
with the short beaked garfish, give all
garfish-like fish the quick once over,
which in the case of the skipper is very
quick and easy by checking if it has
finlets or not. If it has then it's a
skipper. See the garfish account above for a more detailed explanation.
NOTE: Finlets are best described as a row of tiny easy to miss mini fins which for reference are also
present in mackerel.
THE HERRINGS
The herring is another of those fish people tend to think of as a stand-alone species, which on the one
hand it is, while on the other it is also the father figure of a family of species of which five have been
recorded on rod and line around the British Isles, including two, the allis shad and twaite shad, which
are now officially classed as critically endangered.
HERRING Clupea harengus
Bucket List status – result
A small pelagic shoaling species and
potentially major prey item for
numerous large predators around the
entire British Isles. A fish with a
prominent lower jaw and up-pointing
mouth, enlarged easily detached scales,
and no ridged keel formed by the scales
along the belly line which other similar
family members have.
Colouration is dark blue on the upper
back lightening through to silvery white
on the lower flanks and belly,
occasionally with golden tints.
Primarily a planktonic feeder, but occasionally caught on small feather type lures such as sabiki's and
shrimp rigs. Grows to around sixteen inches.
Probably one of the best examples of over-exploitation of an aquatic resource ever, leading in the mid
1950's to a moratorium on fishing for them which brought the pursuit of the so called 'silver darlings',
along with a complete way of life for many fisher-folk along the North Sea coast, to a very abrupt and
hard hitting close.
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