THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

The reference wasn't specific, the
suggested link being that on the one
hand you have totally freshwater
species such as the grayling, while on
the other there are fish such as the
argentines living offshore in very deep
water along the edge of the continental
slope, plus all stages in-between, with
smelt which like to enter estuaries, and
salmon and sea trout which alternate
between saline and fresh, though
always returning to the upper
tributaries of the rivers in which they
were spawned to breed.
Just how related these species all are, and how much credence should be given to that particular
suggestion, I don't know. But it does pose some interesting, if not a little speculative questions.
So the argentine is a small deep water fish which on occasions comes close enough to the shore to find
itself on a small baited hook. Arrochar on Loch Long is the only home waters rod caught record I can
find, which in some ways isn't surprising, as the Clyde sea lochs are deep(ish) water venues with even
deeper water close at hand outside. So as inshore venues go, that part of Scotland probably deserves a
mention on the home waters 'most likely' list.
Otherwise, an elongate silvery fish prone to readily losing its scales when given any sort of rough
handling. The eye is quite large in proportion to the head, hinting at its deep water life style.
The fact that it has that adipose fin will automatically set it apart from 99.9% of other saltwater species.
The only remotely possible confusion could come from the smelt, which is a coastal species with an
adipose fin, a large head and mouth, and a first dorsal fin set well back pretty much directly over the
pelvic fins, unlike that of the argentine which starts well forward of the pelvic fins.
Colouration in the argentine is a greenish grey on the upper back becoming greyish white below, with
a silvery stripe along the flanks separating the two other colours.
My own experiences here are rather limited. I have caught a few when fishing small hooks baited with
tiny fish strips in very deep water when curious to see what was might be down there. In the main this
has been around the Canary Islands, and in particular at the bottom end of El Hierro where water depth
was typically around 1,700 feet or more.
SMELT Osmerus eperlanus
Bucket List status – no result yet
Another species, as with the argentine, that has a small fleshy adipose fin on the upper back just in front
of the tail which is characteristic of salmonids. A further feature it also shares with some freshwater
salmonids, grayling and schelly in particular, is a distinct cucumber smell after death.
A small marine species rarely found too far away from the influence of freshwater, particularly in and
around large estuaries where it mixes with saltwater, creating the type of brackish environment to which
the smelt has become adapted, and to which adult smelt migrate from the nearby coastal shallows at the
height of winter in preparation for a more concerted push on to the higher reaches, maybe even as far
up as the brackish limit, to spawn as winter gives way to spring.
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