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N°1 | The Brill fish

The brill fish belongs to the Scophthalmidae family. The minimum size of capture is 30 cm but can reach 75 cm for 6 kg. He can live up to 3 years. It breeds from late spring to early summer. The female can lay up to 15 million eggs. It can be fished all year. The brill has an oval body. It rests on its right side and has its left side. Thus, when placed with the head facing left, both eyes are located above the mouth. Its common name of brill comes from a particularity of its dorsal fin, whose origin is far in front of the eye and whose first rays are free and branched. The distance between the two eyes is greater than the diameter of one eye. The lateral line is very curved at the pectoral fin. As with many flatfish, the coloring is variable and depends on the biotope. The brill is indeed capable of homochromia, i.e. to match the color of the background. The coloring is rather brown, more or less speckled, and also varies according to the environment on a live fish. It has many round spots whose edges are incomplete rings of darker colors. The blind side is whitish.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°2 | 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°3 | 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°4 | The John Dory Fish

The John Dory fish belongs to the Zeidae family. It measures 30 to 50 cm on average and can reach a maximum weight of 8 kg. It can live up to 12 years. This fish is caught all year round but more easily from April to July. This fish has a high body and very strongly compressed laterally. Its head and the base of its fins carry thorns and bone ridges. The filaments carried by the dorsal fin are very long in juveniles and gradually regress until the animal reaches its adult size. Its eyes are high and his protractile mouth is widely split. An arched lateral line can be seen above the pectoral fins. Its color varies from grey-green with silvery to golden yellow reflections, often marked by longitudinal mottling. A large black eye patch surrounded by grey adorns the middle of each flank.

Fishing period : all year

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Wrasse fish

The Wrasse fish belongs to the Labridae family. Labridaes are marine fish, the Wrasse of the Labridae family, in the order of Perciformes. The family is large and diverse, with about 500 species of fish generally very colourful, grouped into 60 genera. The large number of species of wrasse offers an incredible diversity of colors, shapes and sizes with possible geographical variations between some individuals of the same species. In addition, like parrot fish, many livers evolve over the course of their lives according to their maturity and their position within the group. These evolutions can be considered in different phases (juvenile, intermediate or initial and terminal) at each of them, morphological modifications (size, shape and color) take place. All these variations in livery during the existence of a wrasse make it particularly difficult to identify between species, the risk of confusion is great and this even for specialists. During the juvenile phase, the dominant colors can vary from bright yellow to orange, as well as dull colors such as grey and brown with camouflage patterns. In the intermediate or initial phase, the wrasse is both male and female, adult but subordinate to the dominant individuals and therefore smaller with dull colors and cryptic patterns. However, in the terminal phase, depending on the species, fish can change sex, size and livery. The latter becomes a distinctive visual element within the group and is very colorful with red, yellow, gree

Fishing period : Varies according to the species

Minimum size : Varies according to the species

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Plaice fish

The Plaice fish belongs to the Pleuronectidae family. it does not usually exceed 61 cm. Growth is slow and the average lifespan is between 12 and 15 years. Reproduction takes place between February and May. Fertility is 125,000 eggs on average. It can be fished all year round. The plaice fish is a dexterous flat asymmetric fish: its two eyes are located on the right flank. Its body is thick. The ocular side is generally uniform, ranging from reddish to dark beige and spotted, while the blind side is white. His mouth is big. Its caudal is rounded and of moderate size. The lateral line is almost straight, except for a slight arc above the pectoral muscles. The dorsal fin has 76 to 101 rays, it originates in front of the left eye and ends on the caudal peduncle. The anal has 60 to 79 rays, it begins just below the operculum and ends under the posterior end of the dorsal fin. The head and body are covered with small ctenoid scales, they are rough on the ocular side; those on the blind side are mainly smooth and cycloid.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°7 | 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 :

N°8 | The Conger Eel

The Conger Eel belongs to the Anguillidae family. Its average size is 40 to 150 cm for an average weight of 4 kg. It has a life span of 50 years old. They breed from spring to summer. The best period to fish for Conger Eel is from April to September at night. Snake-shaped, oval body and the rear part is vertically compressed. The skin is relatively thick and covered with mucus that covers the scales. The lower jaw is longer than the upper and the nostrils are tubular. The dorsal and anal fins merge with the caudal fin and this all forms a single continuous fin that starts well behind the pectoral fins. There is no pelvic fin. Back brown-green with yellowish belly for yellow eel but back black with silver belly for silver eel. It turns black with a silver belly in silver eels for individuals ready to migrate to the Sargasso Sea.

Fishing period : April to September

Minimum size : 58 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 Pollack fish

The Pollack fish belongs to the Gadidae family. Its size can reach 1.40 m for an average of 60 to 80 cm. The Pollack grows very quickly and lives between 8 and 10 years, while most pelagic fish have a lifespan of more than 20 years. Reproduction takes place in February March. Fertility can reach 4 million eggs. It can be fished all year round. Elongated body, covered with small scales, orange-yellow color, darker on the back, marbled in young individuals, bright yellowish white in adults. Prominent lower jaw, big eye. The dark-colored lateral line is curved at the pectoral fins, which makes it easily distinguishable from the black locus (Pollachius virens) in which it is straight. The Pollack, like many Gadidae, has three clearly triangular dorsal fins and two anal fins. It is one of the few Gadidae that does not have chin barbells. Juveniles are rather reddish brown with longitudinal stripes of blue-grey.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

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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 .