Gilthead Bream

Look for the gold band across the brow and the dark smudge on the gill cover - the gilthead is the aristocrat of the bream family, and one of the most exciting arrivals in modern British sea angling. Once a rarity, warming seas have made it a reliable summer resident of the south coast, and nowhere more so than Poole Harbour.

Gilts hunt the shallow flats and channel edges on the flooding tide, crunching cockles, mussels and crabs with crushing jaws that will straighten a cheap hook. Hook one in three feet of water and it leaves like a bonefish - long, fast runs that have earned the species a cult following among light-tackle and fly anglers.

Peeler crab fished light on the flats is the classic ambush; lure anglers take them on small soft plastics, and a few specialists stalk them with crab-pattern flies. They are wary, moody and utterly addictive - a fish that makes you a better angler. Most UK gilts are released to keep this young fishery growing.