There are over 600+ species of Wrasse around the world.
Around Poole we can catch the following species of Wrasse:
They love reefs and rough ground and you will catch then off Poole Patch , Poole rocks and all along the Dorset coastline.
They love ragworm and squid.
The Ballan Wrasse grows up to 3 feet long and upto 10 lbs in weight. It is the biggest and most common wrasse in UK waters.
Cuckoo wrasse grow up to 12 inches and upto 2 lbs. They are very coloured and look like a tropical fish. They prefer deeper waters, which is why we catch them mid-channel drifting wrecks.
Corkwing wrasse rarely exceed 8-9 inches in length. Females are brown and are often mistaken for small Ballan wrasse. Males have bright green and gold wavy lines. The best way to identify a Corkwing is to look at it’s tail. Only the Corkwing has a black spot on the wrist of its tail.
Goldsinny is the smallest of the wrasse we catch off Poole. It does not grow above 6 inches and a few ounces in weight. They have a distinct spot on the tip section of their tail. They are a brown, green. orangy/red colour.
Wrasse fishing is great fun and you are sure to pick up a few when targeting Bream.
Corkwing have a black crest behind the eye, most of them also have a black spot before the tail, midway up and a they have a serrated gill plate.
Goldsinny have two black spots, one at the start of the dorsal fin, one at the top of the tail, they are paler colour and elongated in shape.
Baillion’s Wrasse have serrated gill plates and more distinctively have bright red tips on all their fins.
Ballan Wrasse grow bigger and do not have any of the distinctive features the other wrasse have.
Rock Cook Wrasse are rounder in shape with a black band before the tail.
