Fresh Water Fish of the Derwent

	Roach (Rutilus rutilus) Average Size : 35cm Spawning : April and May Distribution : throughout most of Europe Fishing : Sweetcorn, maggots or worms. Description : Red fins, bluish silvery body. White belly. Recognized by the big red spot in the iris above and beside the pupil.
	Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) Average Size : 5 cm Spawning : From late April Distribution : Asia North America and Europe. Northern Hemisphere only. Fishing : Hand net and a jam Jar. Description :The base of the tail is slender. The caudal fin has 12 rays. The dorsal fin has 10 to 14 rays; in front of it are the three spines that give the fish its name. Colour is normally mottled, brownish-green, paler on the underside. A breeding male has a bright red belly and blue eyes.
	Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus) Average Size : 15 cm Spawning : spring Distribution : Europe and Asia Fishing : Caught on waggler-fished maggot Description : subterminal mouth; subequal jaw, upper lip tip about level with center of eye; 47-52 scales in lateral line; caudal fin forked with 19 rays.
	Barbel (Barbus barbus) Average Size : 75 cm Spawning : May, June and July Distribution : Europe, Asia, Africa Fishing : Maggots, worms, luncheon meat, halibut pellets Description : The name barbel derived from the Latin barba, meaning beard, a reference to the two pairs of barbs on the side of the mouth — a longer pair pointing forwards and slightly down.
	Gudgeon (Gobio gobio) Average Size : 11 cm Spawning : Eggs are laid from April to August. Distribution : Found in lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Fishing :Use maggots. Gudgeon feed on insect larvae such as midge, caddis-fly, bloodworm, may-fly, crustaceans and molluscs. Description : Long, slender, rounded body. There is a labial barbel at each corner of its mouth. Its head is wide and flattened. There are 40 to 45 large scales along the lateral line. Usually greenish-brown above and silvery on the sides, this fish has a row of six to twelve faint dark blotches running along the flank.
	Pike (Esox lucius) Average Size : 70–120 cm Spawning : Pike spawn in spring when the water temperature reaches 9 °C Distribution : Found in fresh water throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Fishing : Dead baits, lure fishing, and jerk baiting. Description : Olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The flank is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish. The lower half of the gill cover lacks scales and it has large sensory pores on its head.
	Bream (Abramis brama) Average Size : 42 cm Spawning : April to June, when water temperatures are around 17 °C Distribution : Europe north of the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as the Balkans. It is found as far east as the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Aral Sea. Fishing : Sweetcorn, Maggot or Boilies. All three can be fished using a paternoster rig, and cage feeder with the bait. Description : It has a laterally flattened and high-backed body with a slightly undershot mouth. It is a silvery grey with greyish to black fins.
	Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Average Size : 71 to 76 cm Spawning : October until late February Distribution : Atlantic salmon breed in the rivers from northern Portugal to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. In North America from Connecticut northern Labrador and Arctic Canada. Fishing : Wet fly, Dry fly, lures. Description : Atlantic Salmon can be identified by the black spots above the lateral line, although the caudal fin is usually unspotted. The salmon has a fusiform body, and well-developed teeth. All fins, save the adipose, are bordered with black.
	Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) Maximum Size : 60 cm Spawning : End of March to the first weeks of June. Distribution : Widespread throughout northern Europe, from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia. Fishing : Using the fly, good results can be achieved using the grayling witch, klinkhamers, czech nymphs and 'red tags'. Description : Large scales, small mouths, showy, sail-like dorsal fins and highly colourful, with spots of red, orange, purple or green.
	Brown trout (Salmo trutta) Average Size : 40 to 80 cm Spawning : October–December Distribution : Northern Norway to the White Sea. Arctic Ocean to the Atlas Mountains. Western limit, Iceland. Northern limit, Atlantic. Eastern limit Aral Sea. Fishing : Worms, Waxworms, corn worms, dry-fly or lure. Wet fly at night. Description : brassy brown cast fading to creamy white on the fish's belly, with medium-sized spots surrounded by lighter halos.
	Chub (Leuciscus cephalus) Average Size : 38 cm Spawning : May-August, when temperature rises above 14ºC Distribution : The species is distributed in most of the countries of Europe. Fishing : Any natural bait. Cheese, sweetcorn, bread, earthworms, and wasp larvae. Description : A thick-set fish with brandy coloured flanks, grey tail and pinkish fins. It has a rounded head and large mouth. The Chub has 3 dorsal spines in total, 7-9 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, 7-10 anal soft rays and 42-48 vertebrae.
	Perch (Perca fluviatilis) Average Size : Spawning : May and April Distribution : Common in rivers lakes and ponds across Europe. Naturally found in England and introduced to Ireland, Scotland and Wales Fishing : Live or dead fish, or alternatively use lobworms. Description : A deep bodied fish with bright red fins and bold vertical stripes on a dark green background. The fins have strong leading rays, which form a row of sharp spines along the dorsal fin.
	Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) Average Size : 10 to 15 cm Spawning : Middle of April through to June. Distribution : Temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. Fishing : Small worm on a size 16 to 20 hook. Description : The ruffe's colors and markings are an olive-brown on its back, paler on the sides with yellowish white undersides. It has a large, spiny dorsal fin and two fins on top, the front fin has hard and sharp spines, the back fin has soft spines called rays. The ruffe's most obvious features are the large, continuous dorsal fin and its slightly downturned mouth.
	Bleak (Alburnus alburnus) Maximum Size : 25 cm Spawning : Late Spring. Distribution : Europe and Western Asia: north of the Caucasus, Pyrenees and Alps, and eastward toward the Volga basin and North-Western Turkey. Fishing : Worms or Maggots will do the trick - two to three maggots on a size 14 Description : The body of the bleak is elongated and flat. The head is pointed and the relatively small mouth is turned upwards. It has a shiny silvery colour; and the fins are pointed and colourless.
	Bullhead (Cottus gobio) Average Size : 6 to 8 cm Spawning : Spring Distribution : Freshwater fish, widely distributed throughout the rivers of Europe. It thrives in the brackish water of the Northern Baltic Sea. Fishing : Net and a jam jar. Description : Large broad head and tapering body, large fins and a rounded tail. The eyes are located near the top of the head. When it rests on the bottom, the pectoral fins flare out resembling wings. It is light brown, mottled with darker colour and its pelvic fins are colourless.
	Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) Average Size : 8 to 10 cm Spawning : Minnows spawn several times between April – August. Distribution : Found throughout much of Eurasia, from Britain and Spain to eastern Siberia. Fishing : A minnow trap baited with onion. Description : Small, slender, dark-coloured with blunt snout and small scales. Belly is cream to pearly in colour.
	Stone loach (Nemacheilus barbatus) Average Size : 14 cm Spawning : The stone loach spawns from April to June Distribution : The stone loach is a common species found over most of Europe. Fishing : Small live baits of squats, red worms or blood worm in late evening. Description : A small, slender bottom-dwelling fish. Its eyes are situated high on its head and it has three pairs of short barbels on its lower jaw. It has a rounded body with rounded dorsal and caudal fins. The general colour is yellowish-brown with blotches and vertical bands of darker colour. An indistinct dark line runs from the snout to the eye. The fins are brownish with faint dark banding.
	River lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) Average Size : 32 cm Spawning : Distribution : Found in the coastal waters of Europe from the north-west Mediterranean to the lakes of Finland, Scotland, Norway, Wales and Russia. Fishing : Cotton glove to catch them by hand. The accumulate rather than excrete toxins so large quantities should not be eaten. Henry I was said to have died of food poisoning after eating lampreys. Description : These fish lack paired fins and possess a circular sucking disc instead of jaws. They have a single nostril and seven small breathing holes behind the eye.
	Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Average Size : 45 cm Spawning : May to July. Distribution : Northern Atlantic along the shores of Europe and North America, in the western Mediterranean Sea and around the shores of the Great Lakes. Fishing : Previously commercially fished throughout Europe, but now generally limited to some small local fisheries. Description : It is brown, gray, or black on its back and white or gray on the underside.
	Flounder (Platichthys flesus) Average Size : 30 cm Spawning : Distribution : Found in European coastal waters from the White Sea in the north to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south. Fishing : Description :Dull brown or olive with reddish spots and brown blotches. The underside is pearly-white. The fish has a small mouth at the end of a blunt snout. It has no dorsal spines but has between 53 and 62 soft rays. This fish is usually right eyed and can change colour to suit its background.
	Eel (Anguilla anguilla) Average Size : 60–80 cm Spawning : The spawning grounds are in an area of the southern Sargasso Sea, in the middle of the North Atlantic. Distribution : Eastern central Atlantic; northeast Atlantic; western central Atlantic; Mediterranean and Black Sea. Fishing : Trapped and netted in estuaries and inshore waters Description : The European eel is a snake-like, catadromous fish – that is, it spawns and is born at sea, and then migrates into inland waters to eat and grow.