Black bream

• Deep, compressed body
• Steep forehead
• Dusky bars on a silver-grey body, more obvious on younger fish
• A single long dorsal with spines at the front

Shore fish 25–35 cm are typical. 40 cm is a very good shore bream.

Colour

Silver-grey with dusky vertical bars, dark fins.

Fins

One long dorsal, spiny at the front.

Mouth

Small, with noticeable teeth.

Ranked for this species, not as a universal law. Local crab runs and what is actually fresh matter more.

• RagwormHook once through the head so it wriggles. A whole king rag for bass; a small harbour rag for dabs.Strong target
• MackerelA thin strip on a small hook; a side on a Pennel; a whole fish on a running tope rig.Good target
• SquidA strip on a flapper; a whole small squid or a wrap over fish on a Pennel.Good target
• Peeler crabPeel it, leave the catch-legs if you like, bind it on a Pennel so it survives the cast. Half a crab for wrasse, a whole for a hound.Possible target
• MusselSeveral mussels bound into a bunch. They fly off a hook if you do not bind them.Possible target

• 1-up 1-downOne bait on a snood above the lead, one on a flowing trace below. Covers the bottom and a few inches up.Beginner
• 2-hook flapperThe default UK beach rig. Two snoods above a lead, baits off the bottom, easy to tie, easy to fish.Beginner
• Running ledgerThe lead slides on the line so a shy fish does not feel the weight. Simple and sensitive close in.Beginner
• LRF / light lureA very light lure rod, a tiny jig head or creature, and a close hunt for wrasse, pollock, school bass and whatever lives in the first drop.Intermediate

Hooks: 6–1, strong in the wire. They have teeth.