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Fish guide

Poor cod

Trisopterus minutus · Cod and relatives

Poor cod
Photo: Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What fish is this?Identify a fish from a photo

A tiny cod relative, up to about 25 cm, found in shallow inshore water around the UK. It is often caught when anglers are after bigger fish.[1]

How to recognise it

  • Small, up to about 25 cm, with a small chin barbel.[1]
  • Large eyes, and a lateral line that curves up towards the eye.[1]
  • Brown to yellowish-green back with a silvery-white belly, and a dark blotch at the pectoral fin base; pouting are bigger and deeper-bodied.[2]

When and where

Found over
shallow inshore water, wrecks[1]
Baits
ragworm, lugworm, mackerel strip[1]

Sources

  1. British Sea Fishing: Poor cod
  2. FishBase: Trisopterus minutus

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