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Fish guide

Wreckfish

Polyprion americanus · Everything else

Also called stone bass

Wreckfish
Photo: Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A large, solitary deep-water fish that lives around wrecks, caves and rough ground. Uncommon and rarely caught by UK anglers.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Large, powerfully built, bluish to silvery grey with dark brown or black fins.[1]
  • A rough bony ridge across the gill cover, a big head and mouth, and a protruding lower jaw.[1]
  • Looks like a tougher, older bass; juveniles have black blotches on the head and body.[2]

When and where

Found over
wrecks, caves, rocky ground[1]

Sources

  1. British Sea Fishing: Wreckfish
  2. FishBase: Polyprion americanus

These notes are a draft: we gathered them from the sources above and are still checking them. We don't work out best times for this fish yet. The size rules come from the same checked byelaws as every other fish.

Size and bag limit

Minimum size
Sizes vary along the coast. Pick your spot to see the rule there.
Bag limit
None set for the whole UK.
Minimum sizes around the UK
AreaMinimum size
Kent & Essex IFCANone
Sussex IFCANone
Southern IFCANone
Devon & Severn IFCANone
Cornwall IFCANone
Isles of Scilly IFCANot checked yet
North Western IFCANone
North Eastern IFCANot checked yet
Northumberland IFCANot checked yet
Eastern IFCANone
Welsh GovernmentNot checked yet
Scottish GovernmentNot checked yet
DAERA (Northern Ireland)Not checked yet