Try out the Club

Unlock the fishing spots of Birstall, 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 Birstall

Find the best moment to go fishing in Birstall, 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 Tench fish

The Tench fish belongs to the Cyprinidae family. It rarely exceeds a length of 50 cm for a weight of 2 kg (maximum 70 cm for 8 kg). He can live up to 15 years. It breeds from May to August. Fertility is 300,000 to 800,000 eggs. It can be fished all year round. The Tench is a fish with a stocky body and compressed laterally. Its head is triangular with a small red-orange eye and a relatively long snout. Its mouth is terminal, small with thick lips and a well-developed barbell at each corner. Its characteristic caudal pedicle is rounded and short. Its skin is thick and viscous. Its scales are very small and covered with a thick layer of mucus. All fins are rounded. The caudal fin has 19 rays. The overall coloring is olive green (sometimes dark green or even almost black) with golden reflections on the ventral side. From the age of two years, males can be distinguished from females: they have ventral fins that reach the anus and the second ray of these fins becomes stronger than the others. It is a groundfish, rather shy, that can be found in small groups of maximum 4 individuals.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

N°2 | The Three Spined Stickleback

The three spined stickleback belongs to the Gasterosteidae family. The usual size of the three-spined stickleback is 4 to 5 cm for females, with males being a little smaller, about 3 to 4 cm. The life span of the three-spined stickleback varies from 3 to 5 years in natural environments and up to 8 years in captivity. Spawning season extends from March to June. Fertility is 200 to 400 eggs. It is fished from June to March. The three-spined stickleback is a tiny fish with a tapered, laterally compressed body. Its head is quite small, with fairly large eyes, and ends in a narrow mouth that is slightly oriented forward and upwards. The caudal peduncle of the three-spined stickleback is very narrow with a slightly indented caudal fin. The long dorsal fin is set far back, plumbing the anal fin. The dorsal fin of the three-spined stickleback is preceded by three spines, two long and one short, placed on the back of the fish. A curved spine also precedes the implantation of the anal fin. The pelvic fins are replaced by two thorns. The color of this fish is greenish brown for the back, with metallic reflections, silvery for the sides and whitish for the belly. Along the lateral line of the three-spined stickleback, there are no scales but bone plates called "badges", a kind of natural shielding that accompanies the thorny defenses of this fish.

Fishing period : June to March

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°3 | Bleak Fish

The Bleak fish is a Cyprinidae. In general, its average size is 10 to 15 cm and its weight is 15 to 50 g. However, some individuals can reach up to 60 g for a size of 25 cm. The bleak has a lifespan of 6-7 years. The spawning period is between April and August. It can lay up to 7000 spawns. You can fish bleak from June to September. This fish swims quite fast and offers a little resistance during the catch. The bleak is a fish with an elongated body that is very compressed laterally, allowing it to have a high velocity. The upper jaw is shorter than the lower jaw. The mouth of the bleak is oriented upwards (above), a typical character of fish that seek their food on the surface. The caudal fin is strongly indented and the caudal peduncle is thin. The dorsal fin is inserted behind the pelvic fins and has a shorter base than the dorsal fin. Its name refers to the bright white color of its scales, which gives the bleak a metallic sheen. Its back is darker greenish-blue, its sides are silvery white and its fins are pale grey. During the breeding season, nuptial tubers appear on the backs and sides of males and their fins become orange.

Fishing period : June to September

Minimum size : 10 cm

Difficulty :

N°4 | The Common Carp

The Common Carp belongs to the Cyprinidae family. Its average size is 40 to 60 cm (up to 1 meter for some specimens) with an average weight of 6 to 8 kilos (up to 37 kilos for some specimens). It can live up to 20 years in the wild. Common carp breed from spring to summer. The female lays 250,000 eggs per kg of weight. Carp can be fished all year round in the 2nd category rivers! It is a massive fish, green in color (except the koi). Its head is conical, its mouth is protractile, it has no teeth but has 2 pairs of barbels. Its growth is fast; it exceeds one kilo in 3 years. The fins are strong and grey, except for the pelvic and anal fins, which are slightly orange.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 40 cm

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Chub fish

The chub fish belongs to the family of Cyprinidae. The common catch size of the chub fish varies from 15 to 30 cm, but it can reach 80 cm for a weight of 8 kg. The longevity is estimated at about ten years. The reproduction of the chub takes place between April and June. The female lays 20,000 to 100,000 eggs. It can be fished from July to Mars. The body is long and cylindrical with a terminal mouth, pointing upwards, with large lips. The big head has a flat forehead. The large, black-edged scales give it a reticulated appearance. The anal fin has a convex rear edge. The back and upper part of the head are greyish-green to brown in color; the flanks have silvery or even golden highlights; the belly is whitish. The fins are grey except for the bellies and the pale red anal fin.

Fishing period : From July to February

Minimum size : 15 cm

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Goldfish

The Goldfish belongs to the Cyprinidae family. This fish can reach 60 cm and live up to 15 years. It breeds in spring for an average of 1000 eggs. In the wild, the species Carassius Auratus or Goldfish has an elongated, laterally compressed and slightly high body. The small triangular head is free of scales and barbells. The dorsal fin, concave or straight, begins at the top of the body and ends at the caudal peduncle. The caudal fin, larger and more indented than that of the Crucian carp, has 17 to 20 soft rays. The ventral and pectoral fins and the anal fin are small and thin. The body is covered with small scales. There are 26 to 31 scales on the lateral line. The colors of the Goldfish vary greatly with the environment in which it evolves, from yellowish to bright golden and bronze. Its back is generally darker and his belly lighter. The main distinctive features of the ornamental shape are its flamboyant red color and its many morphological shapes and aberrations.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : X

Difficulty :

N°7 | Brown Trout

The Brown Trout belongs to the Salmonidae family. According to the location, the adult size varies from 25 cm to 80 cm for 300 to 800 g. It lives for 3 to 6 years. The spawning period starts in October and end in January. The female can lay up to 4000 eggs. The fishing period is open from the second Saturday of March until the third Sunday of September. This fish is not hard to catch but the fishing needs complex skills. Depending on its environment, the brown trout have a very variable color, but the brown trout, as its name shows, is rather brown with scattered black and red spots, depending on the spawners. It has a certain mimicry according to the bottom of its living spaces since the dominant brown will become a green dress if it lives close to the banks where yellow and even sometimes silvery white will mix. It has a "useless" adipose fin between the dorsal fin and the caudal fin. The head is tapered, strong and has a powerful jaw. Its back is a pretty black or night blue.

Fishing period : March to September

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°8 | The Crucian Carp

The Crucian Carp belongs to the Cyprinidae family. Its average size is 45 cm for 3 kg. It can live up to 15 years. It breeds from Mai to June. The female lays up to 300,000 oocytes. It can be fished from spring to fall. The Crucian carp is ovoid, stocky and laterally compressed. The protruding back gives it a high body. The most common specimens have an average size of 15 cm and a weight of about 250 g, but they can reach more than 50 cm and a weight of 4 kg. The head, small and conical, has no barbels. The pectoral and ventral fins and the anus are slightly rounded and have a reddish colour. The dorsal fin is characterized by a convex line. Finally, the caudal is slightly indented, and has 20 soft rays. Large scales cover the body and 31 to 36 scales run along the lateral line. Overall, it is greenish in color, dark on the back, with golden reflections on the sides and lighter on the belly. A black spot at the base of the caudal fin characterizes juveniles of this species. This stain disappears with age.

Fishing period : Spring to fall

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°9 | The Lesser Spotted Dogfish

The Lesser Spotted Dogfish belongs to the Scyliorhinidae. It has a height of about 80 cm in length and a maximum weight of 5 kg. It can live up to 8 years. It breeds from November to July. The female lays about a hundred eggs. It is fished in winter. The lesser spotted dogfish is a small spotted shark with a rounded snout. The spots are small, numerous, brown to blackish-brown on a light beige to red background, the belly remains light. Five gill slits are located just behind the black and oval eyes. As with all species of the Scyliorhinidae family, the first dorsal fin D1 is located behind the pelvic fins; the second dorsal fin D2 is located just behind the anal fin. The distance between the 2 dorsal fins D1 and D2 is greater than the length of the base of the anal fin. The nasal valves are contiguous.

Fishing period : in Winter

Minimum size : No restriction

Difficulty :

N°10 | The River Lamprey

The River Lamprey belongs to the Petromyzontidae family. It measures 18 to 50 cm (average 25 to 35 cm) and weighs 30 to 150 g (average 50 to 70 g). Females are larger than males. The maximum age of the river lamprey is estimated at 10 years. Reproduction takes place between January and May. The number of eggs varies between 4,000 and 40,000. It is caught from January to May. A vertebrate with a cartilaginous skeleton and no jaws, the river lamprey has an anguilliform body, without scales and covered with toxic mucus. Its back is bluish to brownish green. Its sides are greyish, tanned, without mottling. The belly is white. The eyes are very well developed but remain primitive. A single nostril is located between the two eyes. In adults, the circular mouth in the lower position is a suction cup adapted to suction. The buccal disc and tongue are covered with only a few horny denticles, but most of them are strong and acute. On each side of the head, this species has seven pairs of circular gill holes (spiracules). The river lamprey has three fins: one caudal and two dorsal. The two dorsal fins are separated by a small interval, the second being triangular in shape, longer and higher than the first. The larvae are light-colored and its mouth is horseshoe-shaped. His eyes remain hidden under the skin. So it’s blind.

Fishing period : January to May

Minimum size : 20 cm

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 .