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I've decided to bite the bullet and run this years species hunt
The grand prize shall be nothing but basking in the glory of winning the species hunt.... "like a finger pointing away to the moon"
Number one rule is no bitching, moaning, scratching, biting, hair pulling, gnashing teeth, or owt else!
My decision will be final on fish identification as I can't be bothered with any petty arguments for something you don't even win anything for as it's meant to be fun!
Rules:
1. Catch as many different species of marine and estuarine fish as possible. Each species scores one point. Migratory species which spend part of their lives in the sea (salmon, sea trout, eels) are allowed as long as they have been caught in salt water. Fish caught in fresh water, or coarse fish are not allowed.
2. Catches must be fish - other creatures with the word "fish" in their name that are not fish are not eligible e.g. hagfish, starfish, jellyfish, etc.
3. All fish must be caught by rod and line from the shore. Any tactics, baits or lures may be used. Fish caught by boat/kayak etc are not eligible.
4. Foul hooked fish will not count, e.g. belly hooked launce (greater sandeel) on feathers.
5. Fish can be caught anywhere within the UK. Fish caught outside of the UK are not allowed.
6. The challenge ends at midnight December 31st 2015.
7. To register a fish post a photograph of it on this thread with the 2015 card beside it in the picture. If necessary take more than one photograph to show its identifying features.
8. Photos must be clear enough to be able to positively identify the fish. For those using a mobile phone, using the flash helps prevent blurry photos (tapping the screen where you want it to focus on a feature helps too).
You can find the Species Hunt card here:
Species Hunt & Lure Challenge Card
Mike's ID tips for some of the 'mini' species is copied and pasted below, along with a couple of videos I have made showing features to help ID the fish.
To help reduce identification problems please try to take a photograph of a particular species identifying features. This may mean you need to take two or three photos of a fish to clearly show its identity.
For example:
Sea Scorpions/bullheads - please photograph the underside to show the gill flaps and a close up photo of the upper mandible helps too.
Gill flaps attached , small size (up to 18cm) - Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Gill flaps separate, can be large (30cm) - Short Spined Sea Scorpion
Note - you may need to hold the head and tilt it back gently to get the gill flaps to stick out so you can identify it.
Identifying short-spined bullhead / sea scorpions
Identifying long-spined bullhead / sea scorpions
Rockling - please take a close up of the head showing the barbels. If you are unsure of what you have caught then posting several pictures of it from different angles will help us to identify it for you.
Three barbels, bright orange/brown with dark spots, large (typically around 1lb) - 3B Rockling
Three barbels, sometimes drab coloured (plain brown) , sometimes olive green with light mottled spots - Shore Rockling
Five barbels, drab coloured, small size (up to 25cm) - 5B Rockling
Notes -
(1) 5B and shore rocklings are commonly caught in the NE but 3Bs are rare and are mainly caught in some other parts of the UK such as the west coast of Scotland.
(2) The barbels are often stuck down against the head when caught so gently run your finger back from the nose over the top of the head to get them to stand up for a photograph.
Flatfish:
Identifying dab
Identifying flounder
Identifying turbot
Wrasse:
Have fun!
Can a mod sticky this please and I'll also produce a league table as soon as we start getting entries
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