Pouting

• Deep, compressed body
• Dark blotch at the pectoral base
• Chin barbel
• Four or five broad, dusky bands on the flanks of fresh fish

Mostly 15–30 cm. A 35 cm pout is a good one from the shore.

Colour

Copper-brown with dusky bands, silver belly, dark pectoral blotch.

Fins

Three dorsals, tall first dorsal.

Mouth

Small, with a chin barbel.

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

• LugwormThread the worm so the hook is hidden and the tail still moves. A bunch for bigger fish; a single for dabs.Strong target
• 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
• MusselSeveral mussels bound into a bunch. They fly off a hook if you do not bind them.Good target
• SquidA strip on a flapper; a whole small squid or a wrap over fish on a Pennel.Possible target

• 2-hook flapperThe default UK beach rig. Two snoods above a lead, baits off the bottom, easy to tie, easy to fish.Beginner
• 3-hook flapperThe same idea with a third bait. More fish when they are small and shoaling; more tangles when they are not.Beginner
• PaternosterSnoods standing off the main backbone on booms or stiff snoods. Useful in a tide so baits do not wrap the lead.Beginner
• 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
• Three-hook clipped-downThree short baits held to the leader, released at range. A match-style rig for shoaling small fish when you already clip two cleanly.Advanced

Hooks: 6–2