2024 Species Tally

 

2024 has been a great year! I picked up where I left off in 2023 with light rock fishing (LRF), accounting for most of my fishing, though I didn’t limit myself, and did some boat charters, shore fishing with bait, and went back to freshwater to tick off some species I had not yet caught. Below is a tally of all the rod and line species I've ticked off this year...

All photos/icons are my own catches

 


 

#1 - Flounder (Platyichthys flesus)

Keen to start off the 2024 tally, I headed over to Charlestown for a couple of hours on New Year's Day for the ever-so-reliable Flounder, which I had some sucess on a few days prior. The conditions weren't really in my favour this time, being right in the middle of the day, and during a bout of hellish rain; though after some persistence, I finally hooked one, on what has fast become one of my favourite lures, the Ecogear Aqua Shirasu.

#2 - Painted Goby (Pomatoschistus pictus) 

A stunning January morning in Plymouth gave me the opportunity to catch some relatively common species which weren't as obliging in the marks I had back in Cornwall. The first being a little Painted Goby down on the steps in the harbour, caught on a tanago with Marukyu Snow.
 

#3 - Pilchard/Cornish Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) 

I saw a big shoal of silver fish swim past us just minutes after the goby catch, thinking they were Herring or Pilchard, I let the tanago I still had on from the goby, drift through the shoal, and within seconds, I hook into one; a lightly lip-hooked Pilchard, nice! I wouldn't ever use a tanago for such a fish, but knowing I wasn't fishing blind, I felt like I could avoid deeply hooking the fish.
 

#4 - Common Blenny (Lipophrys pholis)

I catch the ferry over to Mount Batten breakwater for the afternoon, in hopes of finding something a bit more special. It's not long before I catch a Shanny, in its breeding colours (or should I say, colour, as it is just black). I thought this would've set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, but it was the only one I caught! It confidently took Marukyu Power Isome.
 

#5 - Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) 


With the Winter bites proving challenging to get, I opted to give fishing between the rocks a break for a bit, to cast ahead of the rocks. This didn't take long until catch a Pollack, admittedly an easier, but welcome addition to the tally.
 

#6 - Goldsinny Wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) 


Deciding to jump back between the rocks, I wanted to refocus on the Goldsinny in here. Being more localised in the spots I've fished in Cornwall, I wanted to check them off in Plymouth where they are borderline 'pest' level before the sea gets too cold. Changing over to Berkley Gulp Isome in Slim, those delicate tail nips translated quickly into a hookup!

#7 - Poor Cod (Trisopterus minutus) | NEW SPECIES


With the bites drying up again, I changed back over to a Shirasu between the rocks, in hopes of the elusive Topknot; afraid I didn't catch one of those, but changing to this lure was the right decision. With bites becoming harder to get in the cold temperatures, the wiggle of the Shirasu's tail was clearly getting the attention of the shy biters. Out first comes a Poor Cod, my first new species of the year.

#8 - Tompot Blenny (Parablennius gattorugine) 


Then as the sun begins to set, a suprise Tompot comes out on the Shirasu too, a fairly common catch where I fish in Cornwall, but I thought I missed the boat on them for the Winter League. 
 

#9 - Two-Spotted Goby (Pomatoschistus flavescens) | NEW SPECIES


I headed back to the harbour with Tom Pakes, who was keen to show me the best ways to target the Two-Spots. Finally, as dusk approaches, they come out for us to sight fish! We both manage to catch several on Tanagos with Marukyu Snow. A very frustrating fish, but wow, when you see them, it's worth the effort.
 

#10 - Common Goby (Pomatoschistus microps) | NEW SPECIES


I continued fishing the steps in the harbour, trying to get some Sand and Common Gobies, quite quickly I pull out a Sand, then I spend the best part of the last hour trying for a decent size Common Goby which wasn't interested at all. A day or two later, I discover the Sand I had, was actually a Common Goby! Just means I needed to return for the Sand. A great way to end the first full day session of 2024, with 9 species.
 

#11 - Rock Goby (Gobius paganellus) 

 
 
Returning to Plymouth later in January, I had one fish in mind, Sand Goby! Working the spots, I quickly had a Rock Goby first.  
 

#12 - Sand Goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) | NEW SPECIES 

 

As darkness descended, I had plenty of Two-Spots again, as did Caleb Dunn, until the final hour (why is it always the final hour) I catch two pristine examples of Sand Gobies! 

 

 #13 - Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis)

As a way of forgetting about the marching of time and inevitable abyss which awaits us all (I just turned 30), I booked a trip to Spain to fish for monster catfish in the Segre River with two good friends, Huw and Alex. It was great fun, and a very raw experience. Spending a week under a piss-stinking bridge next to a homeless man who would occasionally threaten to shoot our sweary Bavarian guide’s enthusiastic dog, was not what I would associate with one of the best fishing experiences of my life, but here we are! The first and biggest catfish I had was this one, at 143lb.

 

#14 - European/King Carp (Cyprinus carpio) 

This one was a rollercoaster of emotions. The cat rod bends, I rush to grab it, and feel nothing as I wind it. I shout out “I think it’s just weed”, then I feel a twitch, “No, there’s a fish on, maybe a kitten or small Zander”… “No, no, it’s just weed”… “Actually, it could be a fish, just a small one though”… “It’s got to be weed knocking the line”… then as the line gets close in, I see a big Common. 32lb of solid river carp and I couldn’t be sure I had a fish on; goes to show, just how strong a rod you need for these cats!

 

#15 - Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta)

Having not had an LRF session since January, and in the final days of the Winter League, I managed to have a wander down Mevagissey for an hour, and was graced by a Ballan Wrasse, adorned in a rainbow of colours. Certainly one of the nicer ones I’ve caught, and finally, something else added to the tally!

 

#16 - Black Goby (Gobius niger)


The first catch of the Angling Trust Species Hunt, must mean it’s April. I decided to kick off in Falmouth, a place which I’ve always found reliable for 10 species days, it definitely wasn’t that kind of day today though. The wind had a chill, and the sea temps were near their coldest, but at least the Black Gobies were out in numbers (a sign for the rest of the year, as they were in abundance at my favourite marks).

 

#17 - Ringneck Blenny (Parablennius pilicornis) 

In the back of my mind, I had came to this spot for a Ringneck Blenny; reading that they’re territorial, I thought I would be able to catch them from the same place I had one from before. Knowing they’re a Mediterranean species which migrated here no less than a decade ago, I really didn’t expect to actually catch one when the sea temps were this cold, I had never heard of any being caught this early in the year too (14 April), so I was over the moon to land this one. Caught on Berkley Gulp Isome in Slim.

 

#18 - Corkwing Wrasse (Symphodus melops)

I know you can catch them near enough year round, but the Corkwing really were few and far between in April, with the only one I was able to catch this month being one of the smallest I’ve ever caught. This changed drastically though, with them accounting for nearly half of all my LRF catches in Cornwall the rest of the year.

 

#19 - European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | NEW SPECIES

It’s mid-May now, and I’ve seen a lot of Bass come out, I’ve never had one before, and I’ve only tried for them once, I bump into Reuben and Cal who are keen to get me on one. The light on a certain famous mark had been switched off, so the spot which would’ve been my go-to is now a no-go now. The guys were doing some bait fishing, and suggest I use some of their ragworm, so I flick out to a spot, and into the hours of darkness, I finally have my first Bass! I really need to get into Bass more in 2025, I’ve had a few bigger ones on metals since, but nothing shout about.

 

#20 - Giant Goby (Gobius cobitis) | NEW SPECIES

I came down to one of my favourite rockpool marks to pickup a Montagu’s Blenny, not many here on this tide, but I saw some movement under a rock, I bounce an offering in front of the gap and in an instant it’s inhaled and a strong pull of the line, I could guess what I might’ve hooked. Another new species, and a protected one at that. It went back unharmed in the same location.

 

#21 - Long-Spined Sea Scorpion (Taurulus bubalis)

This is up there as one of my most memorable catches of the year. I just see a large, broad figure dart out from the margins of a rockpool, grab my hook and vanish back in the edge before I even have time to process what just happened. Luckily the hook set itself, and I catch a stunning scorp!

 

#22 - Pouting (Trisopterus luscus)

I headed back to Plymouth in June to tick off some more species for the Angling Trust hunt. It was an interesting session where I was plagued by the Poor Cod for a change, but I did manage to tick off Pouting between the rocks.

 

#23 - Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) 

With Cornwall not really having any proper coarse rivers, all my freshwater fishing is limited to lakes, and it’s a lot of the usual suspects, Rudd, Roach, Common Bream, Carp etc., but this particular lake is said to hold Gudgeon and Goldfish. I was so excited for this session, I struggled to sleep the night before. It wasn’t long, in fact, almost instantly before the float rod sinks, and I’m into a Rudd. Where a lot of these silver coarse fish share a lake, they will hybridise, so I’m not particularly fussy for this tally if they’re not pure.

 

#24 - Tench (Tinca tinca)

I get the rod out with the method feed, and seconds of it landing (again), it twitches, a beautiful olive green Tench. Glad to have ticked this one off in the morning, as they tend to feed less as the day progresses.

 

#25 - Brown Goldfish (Carassius auratus) | NEW SPECIES

15 minutes into the session, the method feeder rod goes off again. Clearly the fish is too small to strip line, even on the loose drag, so I assume it’s a Roach or Common Bream; nope, it’s the first target species! The pressure if off. I had two at 8oz. Now I can focus my attention onto the Gudgeon.

 

#26 - Roach (Rutilus rutilus) 

Fishing for the Gudgeon, I had plenty of Roach on the float, same as the Rudd, and a bit later into the session, I tried targeting the larger ones.

 

#27 - Gudgeon (Gobio gobio) | NEW SPECIES

Focusing on the margins with the float and maggots, and over 30 Rudd and Roach later, I finally get the Gudgeon! Such a cool fish to catch, I continued to target them a while longer, and ended on 7!

 

#28 - Common Bream (Abramis brama)

My method feeder rod was getting lots of attention, but not many more hookups, something was picking away at it; I wanted to know what. I had my ultralight rod with me, so tied on a dropshot with a single maggot, and covered the weight in method mix. This got lots of attraction immediately and I could feel each bite, so I was able to get a hookup. It turns out it was plenty of good sized Roach, and Common Bream.


#29 - Perch (Perca fluviatilis) 

I knew the lake had Perch in, so hoped with all the action of the Roach and Rudd would attract them, I was right, after a few hours, they move in. Nothing big, but I was happy, they were my first Perch in years!

 

#30 - Corbin's Sand Eel (Hyperoplus immaculatus) 

A species trip out on one of my favourite boats, Unleashed, is always a great day. The targets were Couches Bream and Tope, we didn’t get them, but I did catch a few species for the 2024 tally. The first being a Corbin’s Sand Eel. I’ve had them in countless number on the kayak before, but these were the first of the year. It didn’t cross my mind to take a photograph of them though!

 

#31 - Greater Sand Eel (Hyperoplus lanceolatus) | NEW SPECIES

The next species was a Greater Sand Eel, I might’ve caught them before on the kayak, but just assumed they were all Corbin’s. In any case, this was my first verified Greater Sand Eel, again, I forgot to photograph it, as these were all to be used as bait. I said to myself I’ll photograph the next one; but just my luck, it was the last one I caught!

 

#32 - Lesser-Spotted Catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) 

Drifting along the sands, in hopes of a Tope, or maybe a ray of some description, we get plagued by the classic Cornish dogfish, at least there was a chance of some Bull Huss though, which would be a new species.

 

#33 - Bull Huss (Scyliorhinus stellaris) | NEW SPECIES

Yes, I got the Bull Huss, and of course, I get the most energetic one. It swings its head round and bites down on the hand I’m holding its tail with. Luckily they don’t have big teeth, so it just feels like velcro with a sting. The fish goes back safely and I disinfect my hand.

 

#34 - Conger Eel (Conger conger)

As we change spots to try for the Couches, I end up picking up a strap Conger, not complaining, as I needed it for the yearly tally. The skipper unhooked it at the side of the boat though, so no picture.

 

#35 - Lesser Weever (Echiichthys vipera)

Had a nice little evening session in Charlestown hoping for a Lesser Weever, and they were obliging as always, taking everything from Uneune Sticks to metals. Their caudal fins were exceptionally yellow this year, which was cool to see!

 

#36 - Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

The evening continued to fish well, with an abundance of micro Whiting unusually sat on the sand. They too were obliging, picking up just about anything thrown at them.

 

#37 - Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) 

Had a great summer day on a lake in Newquay with Caleb, hoping for him to get his PB carp, the afternoon was fantastic, just freelining carp from the surface, and earlier in the day we both had Crucian Carp, another species I’ve not had in years!

 

#38 - Mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

Off on a sharking trip, and catch some Mackerel for bait in the morning; no picture unfortunately, but I end up catching some off the wall in Charlestown on metals not too long after boat trip anyway (pictured).

 

#39 - Red Gurnard (Chelidonichthys cuculus) | NEW SPECIES

One of the most vibrant species in our waters, the Red Gurnard. I’ve seen them caught on the boats before, and have been envious. Glad to have finally caught one! People always tell me how good they taste, but I found their texture like eating a fishy sponge, not for me, so this one was safely released.

 

#40 - Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) | NEW SPECIES

A bucket list capture for me! It felt like the stars had to align to find a charter taking on individuals on a day I was able to get off work or have a free weekend, and also have the funds; all for so many to get cancelled (at no fault of the skippers) due to weather or not enough people booked on. Then there’s always a risk of not catching one when you do book on (as is fishing), and the cycle continues. Well, it finally happened! The sea temps were colder than expected, so we pushed miles offshore, hoping for an increase, but it was negligible. We all drew straws for rods, and as others were catching throughout the day, the pressure I felt to catch was huge, but luckily I end up catching my first shark right at the end of the day!

 

#41 - Rockcook Wrasse (Centrolabrus exoletus) | NEW SPECIES

This fish marked this first target species of a great road trip with Cal. We were on a tight deadline, so used bait, but will return with lures. We drove to Brixham in the morning, in hopes of a Rockcook Wrasse. An hour and lots of wrasse (Goldsinny, Ballan, Corking) later, I decide to try in deeper water, and immediately hook into a Rockcook (I didn’t even realise it was hooked), I tell Cal to go in the same spot, and a few fish later, he gets one too! Fantastic, an hour in this spot, and we’re ahead of schedule.

 

#42 - Baillon's Wrasse (Symphodus bailloni) | NEW SPECIES

We then move onto Swanage for the Baillon’s Wrasse, I always heard in this spot, you’d normally get 1 Baillon’s for every 30 Corkwing, though we did have plague levels of Pouting to deal with too. I end up catching a female Baillon’s surprisingly quickly, but time was ticking on, and we were now in overtime. A quick change of spots, ended up in Cal catching too. We then journey to the Solent for a less successful bash on the Stingrays and Undulate Rays; we’ll be back!

 

#43 - Sand Smelt (Atherina presbyter) 

An early morning LRF session down Charlestown with a couple of friends, saw a good few species. The braid on my reel kept catching the tag end of the fluorocarbon arbor knot, which mean’t I had to manually unwind to get my rig in the water (time to respool), but as I’m doing so, some particularly voracious Sand Smelt take the lure. Hey, I’ll take that!

 

#44 - Connemara Clingfish (Lepadogaster candollei)

After a tough first light session at Charlestown with Huw and Alex, I got the train to Falmouth to meet up with Cal, we heard some bream were showing, so tried a bit of bait fishing on the heavy rods, to see if we could catch any, nothing, but Bass and Corkwing. Towards the evening, I headed down to a spot where I knew Connemara Clingfish come out, I worked through what felt like endless wrasse and blennies, before I finally detect the gentlest bite; I lift the rod an inch and feel that distinct *flap* *flap*, and I knew what I had hooked.

 

#45 - Three-Spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculaeatus) | NEW SPECIES

I have to thank Lee from On The Drop for pointing me in the direction of this spot, I didn’t think we’d had Stickleback in rivers in Cornwall. In fact, the particular part of the river which is a stone’s throw from the sea, held a few species. An hour or two here, and I had 12 of them from a deeper part of the river away from the flow; the largest coming out at 7.2cm.

 

#46 - Red Bream (Pagellus bogaraveo) | NEW SPECIES

I headed to Plymouth to watch Alien Romulus in 4DX on launch night, and on the way there, I see mention of Red Bream being caught, an unusual species to see. With the rod already in the car, and just 15 minutes until the film starts, I blitz it round the harbour looking for them. It’s not long before I find out where they’re residing, so I chuck of some soft pink Isome on a splitshot rig, and as it sinks, the lure vanishes, and it’s a fish on! As it turns out, I didn’t need to rush for them, as less than a month later, they appeared all over the South West coast, seemingly becoming the dominant species caught in the estuaries down here.

 

#47 - Common Dragonet (Callionymus lyra)

Another visit to Plymouth (it’s just such a great place to fish), this time with Caleb and Cal, we’d hoped for a few interesting species to tick off, and we did get just that! The biggest shoal of micro Red Mullet we’ve ever seen in the UK appeared before us, it was a testing experience to catch them! You had to work out their path (darker spots where they were grubbing around were telltale signs), place the lure or bait there, and wait until they pass over it. They were so skittish, and the Dragonets were being a nuisance for a change; every time we’d find the perfect spot, they’d try to take the lure, which would then spook the Red Mullet. In the end, Caleb caught a Red Mullet, whereas me and Cal had what seemed like hundreds of Dragonet!

 

#48 - Montagu's Blenny (Coryphoblennius galerita)

Back to my favourite place in Cornwall… Falmouth! I thought I’d have a crack at the Montagu’s again. I wish I could say they were always present, but I’ve found sometimes the pools appear to be devoid of them, other times they’re in greater number than the shannies; I suppose not every tide is the same. I certainly lucked out this tide, and there was plenty willing in just one pool, I had several small ones, and two 7cm, which for a Montagu’s, is a brute!

 

#49 - Reticulated Dragonet (Callionymus reticulatus) | NEW SPECIES

This one I was in Fowey for a few hours, seeing what a low tide would throw up on the sands. Quite a few species which was nice to see, including some Dragonets. There was a lot of discussion recently on differentiating female Common Dragonet from female Reticulated Dragonet, and applying that information to this catch, (lack of anterior facing fourth opercular spine, counting second dorsal fin rays etc.) I came to the conclusion it was a Reticulated. This makes sense, as St Austell Bay has one of the country’s largest seagrass beds, surveyed Reticulated Dragonets in too, and shore surveys have tallied a 50/50 ratio of the two species also. Reticulated Dragonets have also been caught on rod and line on the sands along the bay’s harbours too. I welcome this to open a debate, but for the purposes of my personal tally, I’m including it; though I hope to catch one which is more visibly obvious as a Reticulated.

 

#50 - Thick-Lipped Mullet (Chelon labrosus) | NEW SPECIES

Me and Huw headed to Plymouth to watch Deadpool & Wolverine, but had a couple of hours to spare before the movie, so with our rods in the van, we fished the harbour. It was the Big Lerf Weekender too, but as I was heading to Greece a couple of days later, this would be my only chance to fish it. Huw managed some species he’s never caught before, including a Goldsinny Wrasse (a species big on his list). I had a Tanago still on from trying for the seemingly absent Two-Spotted Goby, and see some micro Mullet feeding in less than an inch of water. I drop my lure down there, thinking there’s no chance they will ta— THEY TAKE IT! They’ve been haunting my dreams for a while, glad to have ticked this species off now.

 

#51 - Horse Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)

Off out on a trip to catch Triggerfish, with over 10 coming out each boat trip recently, hopes were high. Alas, nothing; it seems we missed the boat on them this year, so we spend the afternoon on the bream. 17 Couches to the boat, incredible! I didn’t get a single one either, very annoying (though one man did have 10), but that’s fishing. I was able to catch a few decent fish to take home for dinner though, and ticked off Horse Mackerel for the tally, again, no picture of these. They were thrown back quickly, as I was in the zone for those Couches!

 

 

NOTABLE CATCHES

On top of the usual species tally, I wanted to mention some memorable catches too:


I had my PB UK Wels Catfish at 50lb on a blinder of a session with good friends Alex, Huw, and his son Jake, in May...


...several monster sized Corkwing Wrasse out with Lee, Cal, and Alex, respectively...

 

...a Rock Goby aspiring to be a Giant Goby...


...a Three-Spined Stickleback approaching its maximum size...


...and a Ballan which really tested the LRF gear; landed with a broken net, just after I recovered my phone, which I had dropped in the sea!

 

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The Big Lerf Fundraiser & Weekender 2024

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A rough result from a really rough day in Weymouth with Lee. We got up early and headed up together, both with certain goals in mind. Immediately, we found fishing to be tough! Very little was coming out on unscented, and we suspected that the hammering Weymouth got in the lead up days to the event, left many fish bite-shy. Though reliably we had plague levels of Pouting; at least 100 caught by myself alone. The extremely heavy rain ended up defeating us, as it had got underneath our waterproofs, so we headed home a couple of hours early. FUNDRAISER TALLY STATUS #1 Pouting Trisopterus luscus Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #2 Pollack Pollachius pollachius Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #3 Corkwing wrasse Symphodus melops Slim Isome camo 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #4 Black goby Gobius niger Soft Isome pink 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth #5 Rock goby Gobius paganellus Soft Isome pink 20 Jul 2024 Weymouth Completely soaked through, this was mine and Lee's view for much of the day.   I di...
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The Big Lerf Winter League 2023–24

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  1st December 2023 - 31st March 2024 Shore fishing with lures only   TOTAL 15 SPECIES *6 new species   This was my first Winter League, and having planned ahead and scouted marks and methods throughout November, I felt prepared. I had certain targets in mind, and had taken a week holiday in December specifically to hit the spots early, before the temperatures got too cold. I was probably too ambitious; and I did not take into account that I would catch Covid-19 right before my time off; scuppering my plans. I ended up mostly fishing an hour or two after work some days, plus a couple of full days in January and December. I got out briefly in February, with nothing to add, and didn't fish the league at all in March. Happy to say, I did at least catch six new lifers! WINTER LEAGUE TALLY STATUS #1 Pollack Pollachius pollachius Uneune Stick on light split shot 1 Dec 2023 Charlestown  #2 Pilchard Sardina pilchardus   Shirasu on glow cheb 1 Dec 2023 Charlestow...
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