Pollock

Spelled pollack or pollock depending on which side of the harbour you stand, Pollachius pollachius is the reef angler's bread and butter - and one of the hardest-hitting fish in our seas. Bronze-backed with a pale lateral line and a protruding lower jaw, it ambushes baitfish above kelp and structure.

The take is the thing: a pollock grabs a lure and crash-dives for sanctuary, and the first ten seconds decide everything. Light tackle over a shallow reef turns even a 4-pounder into an event; over the deep wrecks, double-figure fish demand proper gear and stubborn arms.

They are catchable all year, but the biggest fish stack up over deep wrecks from autumn through winter. Soft plastic eels worked slow and deep are the modern standard; live sandeel drifted along a reef edge is deadlier still.