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Fish guide

Pogge

Agonus cataphractus · Small fish and rockpool species

Also called hooknose, armed bullhead

Pogge
Photo: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A small, armoured bottom fish found around Britain and Ireland. It comes inshore over sand, shingle and mud in summer.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Large head, tapering tail and a stiff body covered in hard bony plates.[1]
  • Small barbels around the mouth and under the head, and a pair of hooked spines on the snout.[2]
  • Mottled brown, grey or greenish with a pale underside; most are 10 to 15 cm.[1]

When and where

Season
May–Sep[1]
Found over
sand, shingle, mud[1]

It comes inshore in summer and moves into deeper water further offshore in winter.[1]

Sources

  1. British Sea Fishing: Pogge
  2. FishBase: Agonus cataphractus (hooknose)

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