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Discover everything to fish in Hickling

Find the best moment to go fishing in Hickling, 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.

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N°1 | The Sting Ray fish

The Sting Ray fish belongs to the Dasyatidae family. The total length of this line is generally greater than 1 m, with a weight of 15 to 20 kg. The maximum known length is 2.50 m. The maximum lifespan is 20 years. Breeding usually takes place in summer. The female gives birth to 4 to 9 young. It can be fished all year round. The body of the sting ray is flattened, diamond-shaped, pointed at the front, with large pectoral fins: it is as wide as it is long. The tail, representing 60% of the total length, looks like a whip and, at one third of its base, it has a serrated spine, connected to venomous glands under the skin. The dorsal surface is bluish grey or reddish-grey in color, sometimes with white spots. This back is smooth, without tubers. The ventral side is clear. The sting ray has no dorsal fin or caudal fin and its pelvic fins are very small. The eyes are located on the dorsal surface while the mouth, nostrils and gill slits (five slits on each side) are on the ventral surface. The eyes are prominent, which gives him a very wide field of vision. Next to the eyes, an inhalant valve, called a spiracle, carries water into the gills. The mouth is located quite far back. Teeth are numerous and small, pointed in males and molar-shaped in females. The tail acts as a simple rudder and is not used for movement. It is done by the large pectoral fins, by beating. These fins are also used for burying in sand.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 36 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 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°4 | Seabass

The Seabass belongs to the Moronidae family. Its size is usually between 70 and 80 cm (1.10 m maximum). The life expectancy of the seabass is variable: about thirty years in an aquarium, 24 years in Ireland, 6 years maximum most often in the Mediterranean. Breeding takes place between December and March or January to May depending on the location. The female lays 200,000 eggs at once. The body of this fish is elongated and slightly compressed. The two dorsal fins (the first thorny and the second soft) are well separated and have almost the same length and height. The anal fin is composed of 10 soft rays preceded by 3 thorny rays. The caudal peduncle is quite elongated and the caudal fin is indented, with an upper lobe often slightly longer than the lower lobe. The pectoral fins are short. The upper part of the head is quite straight, the upper jaw is a little shorter than the lower jaw. The operculum may have a more or less visible black spot in its posterior upper part. The scales are small in size but clearly visible. The lateral line is slightly arched in the front part of the body. The back is grey in color, the sides are lighter, with yellowish or silvery reflections. The pectoral and ventral fins are yellowish white; the others are darker. Mostly in young individuals, black spots may be present in the dorso-ventral region.

Fishing period : Refer to section below

Minimum size : 40 cm

Difficulty :

N°5 | Black Bream Fish

The Black breamfish, also known as Acanthopagrus butcheri, is a Sparidae. In general, its average size is 15 to 35 cm and its weight is 500 g to 2.5 kg. However, some individuals can reach up to 60 cm and 4 kg. The black bream has a lifespan of 27 years. Its spawning period is between August and January. It can have up to 300,000 spawn each season. It is not hard to catch and offer a little resistance. The Black bream has a high body and relatively compressed laterally, with symmetrically curved dorsal and ventral fins. The mouth is of moderate size compared to the body and has six incisors in the front of the lower and upper jaws. The body is covered with large scales that can be cycloid or slightly ctenoid. The head is essentially flake-free, except for the lids. A flake sheath covers the soft ray bases of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. The Black Bream is silvery, from golden brown or bronze to grey-green on the back as well as on the sides with sometimes greenish reflections, depending on its habitat. The belly is white. The fins are all dark, with black borders. The caudal fin is often dark olive-brown.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

N°6 | The Dab fish

The Dab fish belongs to the Pleuronectidae family. It has an average size of 25 to 40 cm with an average weight of 1 kg. It has a lifespan of 12 years. The Dab fish breeds from February to April. The female lay up to 150,000 oocytes. The Dab fishing is open from October to Mars. the minimum catch size is 25 cm. The Dab fish, scientifically named Limanda Limanda, is a teleosteal species that belongs to the pleuronectidae or flatfish family. It has a flattened body with a more or less oval shape. The eyes of this dexterous fish are both generally located on the right side. The animal has a tiny mouth with small teeth. Its lateral line is curved at the pectoral fin. A characteristic feature that allows it to be easily distinguished from other species with similar morphology such as flounder. Thin scales cover the upper surface of the flounder, making its skin rough to the touch. The back is golden or yellowish brown in color and has dark spots. The belly or blind face is white. Varying from beige to light brown, the general color of dab allows it to blend in with the backgrounds.

Fishing period : October to March

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

N°7 | 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°8 | 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°9 | The Red Bream

The Red Bream belongs to the Sparidae Family. The Red bream is a fish with a common length of 15 to 30 cm, the maximum known size being 60 cm. This fish can live for about twenty years. It breeds from May to August or March to July. Although it is fished all year round, it is between fall and winter that catches increase. The body is oval in shape, compressed laterally, as in most Sparidae. The head has an almost straight profile, a pointed snout, a fairly small mouth in a low and inclined position. The diameter of the eye is much smaller than the length of the muzzle. The inside of the mouth is greyish or whitish. The 2 jaws have sharp teeth in front (larger outer teeth, with small teeth) and 2 or 3 rows of molar-shaped teeth in the back. Like all Sparidae, it has only one dorsal fin. It begins at the plumbing of the pelvic bones and includes 12 spines and 10 to 11 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 8 to 9 soft rays, the length of its base is one-third that of the dorsal fin. The pectoral fins are high and very long, reaching almost vertically from the beginning of the anal fin. The caudal fin is forked. The body color is silvery pink with bluish reflections, the back and top of the head being darker. The upper part of the body is dotted with small blue spots. The upper outer edge of the lid is marked with a carmine red. The bases of the pectoral fins have a reddish spot and sometimes a spot is also observed at the base of the last rays of the dorsal fin.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 15 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

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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 .