5 Bearded Rockling

[keith 405]

Me and my mate were up at Arbroath on Friday at Deils head we caught nothing we walk back down to the carpark and fished from there he caught a small codling then he caught a 4 bearded rockling the two of us have never seen one before then when i picked up my rod i have one to, His one looked like it was pregnant we put them both back i have been told if they are there, there will be no cod about as cod eat them dont know if this is true but we never caught any.

[Norrie]

Hi Keith, Re the no cod about when rockling are about,when he caught the first Rockling he did have 2 or 3 small codling, but nothing to write home about.Then last night with his second rockling there were no cod caught, they had to move about 1/2mile, then started catching cod,again, only small ones. So, it might have some bearing on what you heard.

[Vagabond]

Norrie:

Re the no cod about when rockling are about

Without being too dogmatic, lots of rockling about is usually bad news if you are after cod.

 

Somewhat misleadingly, rockling are sometimes referred to as "'ling" here on the south coast.

Other names for small 5-beards include "slipperies" and "Parsons' pr...s" er I mean "thumbs"

[Norrie]

[Kieran Hanrahan]

Does anyone know how to tell a shore rockling (three barbules) from a three bearded rockling (also three barbules) as I tried fishbase and their descriptions are near identical?

[Vagabond]

From "Fishes of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean" A three-volume UNESCO publication

 

Shore rockling - dark brown with light blotches on cheeks and underneath of head. Pointed NARROW head.

 

3-bearded - Light coloured with many dark brown blotches. Blunt BROAD head.

 

Finray counts won't help (overlapping)

 

The different shapes of the heads suggest a difference in life-style (like stone and spined loaches in freshswater)

 

I've only caught 3-bearded, and have never seen shore rockling - perhaps I have not looked in the right places.

 

BTW just to confuse the issue, there are two more rockling that MIGHT turn up on coasts of the British Isles - The Big-eye Rockling, found in deep water to the west of Scotland and Ireland (has three barbules), and the Northern Rockling, (has three main barbules and lots of little ones) a fish of Scandinavia and Iceland, but has occurred as far south as Brittany.

 

Take care with your slipperies.

 

[ 13. January 2004, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

[Kieran Hanrahan]

Cheers vagabond, be interesting to see which species it is Shay is catching every week!

 

If you include the big eyed and northern, that now makes six species!

 

Sometimes I think it is better to live in ignorance!