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Other coarse species in Scotland

Apart from Pike and Carp which have their own pages on this site, there are other types of coarse fish in Scotland. Here are some brief details on each.

Bream

Bream are relatively common in many border and central Scottish areas. Castle Loch, Lochmaben, is the most famous Scottish Bream venue and is home to the present record and much bigger specimens.

Chub

The Chub is not widespread in Scottish rivers and is mainly confined to south-western and Border rivers like the Annan. It has been caught in the Clyde in the past but has not shown in recent years. The current Scottish record was taken from the Annan and the river definitely holds bigger specimens.

Dace

The Dace is well established in a number of Scottish rivers most notably the lower reaches of the Clyde and the Forth. The Tweed, Endrick and Leven are other examples of rivers where the Dace is common and they are also present in other south-western and Border rivers.

Eel

The ubiquitous Eel probably exists in almost every loch or river in Scotland but is rarely targetted by Scottish coarse anglers.

Gudgeon

This diminutive fish is not very widespread in Scotland but has established populations in a number of specific locations including the River Clyde and Strathclyde Park Loch.

Perch

One of Scotland's most common and popular fishes, the Perch has to be the first fish caught by a great many young Scottish anglers. The fact that the Perch is so widespread, prolific and easy to catch has lead to an unfortunate disregard for its value. If you put that aside they provide great sport and Scotland is home to many lochs containing huge specimens. Every year fish of over 4lb are taken all over Scotland, often by game anglers, and anyone targetting the big lochs must have a great chance of a magnificent five-pounder.

Roach

Among the most popular coarse fish in Scotland. While only a few specialise in catching the Roach, most coarse anglers are fond of it and a large Roach is highly prized. Native to most of the rivers and lochs of lowland Scotland, the range of the Roach stops north of the Tay with the exception of isolated populations.

Rudd

The Rudd is one of the most attractive fish, its colouring never fails to make the angler pause in admiration. The image of the Rudd as a warm weather, surface feeding, summer fish does not square well with the cold Scottish climate but surprisingly Rudd are more widespread in Scotland than most people realise. Perhaps through stocking for ornamental purposes and subsequent movement, Rudd exist in many stillwaters in lowland Scotland.

Tench

The Tench has a long pedigree in Scotland, introduced several hundred years ago around the same time as the Carp. Very popular with the coarse angler this hard fighting fish is one of the most prized target species in many Scottish stillwaters. The Forth & Clyde canal is a Tench stronghold where large bags to over 100lbs can be taken. There are also many well stocked lochs in the Dumfries and Galloway area where the current record fish was caught.