Try out the Club

Unlock the fishing spots of Bournemouth, weather forecasts and many other services with the Premium Club.

10-day free trial

Nouveau : FishAndYou, l'appli des concours de pêche

Avec FishAndYou, vous pouvez créer votre propre concours de pêche, et gagner de l'argent.

Créer mon concours de pêche

Discover everything to fish in Bournemouth

Find the best moment to go fishing in Bournemouth, the most caught species, the techniques used, go fish with anglers nearby, find a fishing charter or guide, save your spots and discover new ones.

Go for it!

N°1 | The Bull Huss

The Bull Huss belongs to the Scyliorhinidae family. Small in size, they usually measure 60 to 80 cm, although there are larger ones, since they can reach 1.5 m in the Mediterranean and 2 m in the Atlantic. This fish can live for 75 years. It spawns a hundred eggs all year round, especially in the late winter and in July. It is abundant every day of the year. This fish is not really active but still is hard to catch. The upper part of the Bull Huss is light brown in color, covered with small dark brown spots. Because of this pattern of spots, it is also called spotted cat shark. The part of the flank is white and grey. The mouth and nose holes are below his obtuse head. The particularity of the Bull Huss is that its nostrils are linked to the mouth by a curved line.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 58 cm

Difficulty :

N°2 | The Pouting fish

The Pouting fish belongs to the Gadidae Family. Its longevity is short: 4 years for a maximum size of 45 cm and a weight of about 1kg. Breeding takes place in March-April and is fished all year round. This small fish, generally 20/30 cm, rarely 45 cm, has an oval body, flattened laterally. Beige/pinkish white, slightly coppery, it can, especially when it is close to a poorly lit area (cave, wreck), have four to five wide dark vertical stripes. These bands may be absent in sunlight or on dead fish. The lower jaw is slightly set back, giving the pouting fish a characteristic profile with a small "nose". The eye is quite large, and a barbell is clearly visible under the "chin". The pouting fish has, like other Gadidae, three dorsal fins and two anal fins. A black spot is clearly visible at the base of the pectoral muscles.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

N°3 | The Mackerel fish

The Mackerel fish belongs to the Scombridae family. The average size of adult mackerel is 30 to 40 cm and its weight ranges from 500 g to exceptionally 1.5 kg. It can live up to 17 years. It reproduces from March to September. The female can lay 450000 eggs. It can be fished all year round. The streamlined body and pointed head of the mackerel, give it an excellent swimming quality (up to 10 km/h). The characteristic feature of mackerel is its blue-green back zebra with more or less oblique and parallel dark lines, while the sides and belly are silvery white. There are 23 to 33 dark chevrons depending on the individual and include the forehead between the two eyes. The fins of mackerel are grey. It has two widely spaced dorsal fins, the first being characterized by 10 to 13 thorny rays. In addition, it also has two pectoral fins (dark based), two ventral, one anal and one caudal. The caudal is preceded by 5 small feathered fins on the dorsal and ventral sides called pinnules. The tail is very indented.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 20 cm

Difficulty :

N°4 | The Ling fish

The Ling fish belongs to the Lotidae family. It generally measures 1.60 m in adulthood, but can reach a height of 2 meters and weigh up to 45 kg. Its longevity is estimated at 10 years for males and 14 years for females. Breeding takes place from March to July. The female can lay up to 60 million eggs. It can be fished all year round except in winter. The Ling has a cylindrical and very elongated body. The head is flattened with a prominent upper jaw. The fairly long chin barbell is larger than the diameter of the eye. This species has two dorsal fins and one anal fin. The first dorsal fin is shorter and often shows a black spot on the back, the second one runs the rest of the body to the tail. The black caudal fin has a white border on the tip. It is uniformly greenish brown in color, but slightly darker dorsally in adults. The young are often lighter, with its coloring more or less marbled orange.

Fishing period : all year except in winter

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Thornback Ray

The Thornback Ray belongs to the Rajidae family. The size of this line can reach 1.20 m long for females, 70 cm for males, and 60 cm wide. Its lifespan is estimated at about fifteen years. It reproduces in the spring. The female lays between 70 and 140 young each year. It can be fished all year round. The looped line has the flattened shape of a narrow, diamond-shaped disc, sometimes wavy at the back. The pectoral fins are large, triangular in shape. They are welded to the head and to the whole body. The tail is long and thin, with a triangular pelvic fin on either side. The snout and rostrum are short and pointed. The eyes are close together, in front of the spiracles. The color of its back is greyish or light brown, sometimes solid, but usually marked by dark spots assembled or in sinuous lines. This drawing is completed with large yellowish, irregular spots. These are then surrounded by black in young people. An adult individual may also be adorned with grey-bordered eye-spots. The belly is whitish, underlined with grey on the periphery. The mouth and 2 series of 5 gill slits are located on the ventral side. The upper jaw is armed with powerful teeth, pointed in males and flattened in females. Finally, the tail is adorned with a series of dark or light, uneven rings. The skin is rough. In adults, the dorsal surface of the disc includes a few large curls (curved horny spines with an oval base) arranged irregularly. The young have a very pronounced median line, up to the t

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 36 cm

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Coalfish

The Coalfish belongs to the Gadidae family. With a size of up to 1.30 m, the coalfish can weigh up to 10 kg. It has a life span of 8 to 10 years. The breeding period varies according to the location. The female lays up to 4 million eggs. It can be fished all year round but at a minimum catch size of 61 cm. Its body is fusiform and elongated, covered with small round scales. In profile, the lower jaw is slightly prominent. The back is greenish brown; the belly is silvery. The clear and almost straight lateral line is well marked. It extends along the entire length of its sides. There may also be a black spot at the base of the pectoral fins. The mouth is terminal. She's black on the inside. The fins are soft-raked. They are dark like the back of a fish, except for the lighter pelvic fins. The coalfish has 3 dorsal fins, the first being triangular, the others longer, and 2 anal fins. The pelvic fins are positioned well forward, under the head, and the caudal fin is a little concave. Young people may have a small barbel on their chin.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 61 cm

Difficulty :

N°7 | The Monkfish

The Monkfish belongs to the Lophiidae Family. The height, in adults, is between 70 and 200 cm. The weight of large individuals is around 40 kg, with a maximum of 58 kg recorded. The longevity is about twenty years. It breeds in winter. The female can lay millions of eggs at once. It is fished in abundance from December to March. With its enormous head (it constitutes 60% of the animal's weight), its widely split mouth and highly developed pectoral fins, anglerfish cannot be confused with any other fish. The body has a round section at the level of the tail, flattened towards the head. The first three rays of the dorsal fin are placed very far forward; the first, located in front of the eyes, carries a flap of bifid skin that the animal uses as bait. The skin is smooth, flake-free and slightly viscous. A row of branched appendages, more developed around the head, borders the median part of the body. The gill holes in the highest position are protected by two bony caps inserted under the skin. The teeth are strong, pointed and curved backwards. The general color is a light brown marbled with darker areas, which may vary according to the environment. Despite their large size, anglerfish are quite good at camouflage.

Fishing period : in winter

Minimum size : 50 cm

Difficulty :

N°8 | The Garfish

The Garfish belongs the Belonidae family. It measures from 30 cm to more than one meter and can weigh up to 5 kg, the average weight being around 400 g. It has a lifespan of about 10 years. It breeds from Mai to June. The female lays thousands of eggs. The Garfish is a fish with a very tapered body of oval cross-section. The head extends into a long beak formed by two thin jaws armed with sharp teeth. The lower jaw is slightly longer than the upper jaw. The nostrils are located in a depression in front of the eyes. The ventral fins are located approximately in the middle of the body, the caudal fin is very indented, the dorsal and anal fins are very far back, at the same level. The back of the dorsal fin is the same height as the back of the anal fin. The caudal peduncle has a strong hull. The very low lateral line is on the belly and not on the sides like other fish. The back is a dark blue-green, the sides are silvery, the belly white, the edges green.

Fishing period : Spring and summer

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°9 | The Haddock fish

The Haddock fish belongs to the Gadidae family. The average size of haddock is 30 to 50 cm. It can measure up to 1.20 m and weigh up to 14 Kg and can live until the age of 20 years. It reproduces in spring. The female can respond to up to 3,000,000 eggs. This fish can be caught all year round outside of spawning periods. Like all coastal fish of which it is a part, haddock has three dorsal fins and two anal fins. Its body is more or less dark, crossed by a black lateral line and characterized by its silvery reflections. Its belly has a lighter shade on its back, it can be olive green and sometimes black. Two distinctive features for this fish: the black spot at the base of its pectoral fin and a small barbel on its lower jaw.

Fishing period : July to February

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°10 | The Gurnard Fish

The Gurnard Fish belongs to the Triglidae family. their sizes vary from 250g to 1 kg. The maximum size recorded is 6 kg. The maximum age that was reached and measured in this fish was 15 years. It is fished in August in April. The gurnard can be identified by the way he moves on the bottom using the first 3 rays of his pectoral fins transformed into locomotor appendages allowing him to "walk" on the seabed. The longest rays of the pectoral fin reach the beginning of the anal fin. This fin, when the individual begins to swim, shows its underside decorated with a bright blue border. It may also have a fairly central black area with blue spots. The bluish coloration of the pectoral fades with age. This fish has two distinct ridges, the first of which is quite short. With a maximum height of 75 cm, but usually not exceeding fifty centimeters, it is the largest representative of the family. Its maximum referenced weight is 6 kg. As with other gurnards, the head is massive and armored. It has a snout extending far forward and ending in a curvature or a slight indentation. The spines on the lids and pre-lids are quite short. The general color varies from grey to reddish to brown with varying degrees of dark spots. Her belly is white. Small scales give it a very smooth looking integument. The lateral line, which is similar in color to that of the body, shows only a slight relief.

Fishing period : from August to April

Minimum size : 200 g

Difficulty :

7.6

10 am

Take out your rods! The fishes are here.

High

Medium

Low

The best moment to go fishing!

The fishing forecast allows you to forecast your fishing trips and always go at the right time to the right place!

How it works

This is a score of 1 to 10 calculated city by city according to some forty criteria affecting fishing: moon, weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, sunrise / sunset. sun, tides, swell etc .