Species › Europe, UK & Ireland · Saltwater › Pollack

Saltwater

Pollack

Pollachius pollachius · pollock, European pollock, lythe

Water temp
46–59°F
Peak season
Apr–Aug
Best light
Daytime
IGFA record
27 lb 6 oz (12.41 kg)
Pollack (Pollachius pollachius 02.jpg)

Photo: Tino Strauss · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

OverviewWhere & WhenHow to CatchGearRegulationsRecordsForecastCatches

Overview

Pollack are streamlined gadoids with a protruding lower jaw, no chin barbel, a dark curved lateral line and olive-brown to golden flanks, ranging from Norway and Iceland south to Biscay, with Britain and Ireland's western coasts and Norway's fjords the prime grounds. They hover over wrecks, pinnacles and kelp edges in 30–300 ft of water hunting sandeels and sprats, moving inshore in summer where they can be caught from rocky shores at dusk. Their trademark is a powerful crash-dive the instant they are hooked, which puts them among the best sporting fish in cold European seas.

Typical size3–8 lb (1.4–3.6 kg); 20–28 in
Trophy15 lb+ on English Channel and Irish wrecks; 20 lb+ is exceptional
Table fareGood — flaky white fillets, best eaten fresh

Where & when

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Wreck pollack fish well year-round offshore with a spring peak after spawning; inshore and shore fishing is a May–September affair as sandeels arrive in the kelp.

English Channel wrecks off Plymouth, United KingdomDeep-water WWII wrecks; the classic big-pollack charter groundsDingle Peninsula, IrelandKerry reefs and shore marks with excellent inshore pollackSørøya, NorwayArctic island with giant pollack over inshore reefs

How to catch

Flying-collar rig over wrecksDrop a long 10–20 ft trace behind a boom and weight to the wreck, then wind up slowly and steadily for 30–60 turns with a soft-plastic eel or shad. Pollack follow and hit on the retrieve; keep winding through the pluck until the rod folds over, then hang on through the dive.
Shore lure fishing at duskFrom rocky points over kelp, cast weedless soft plastics, metal jigs or slim plugs into 15–40 ft of water in the last hour of light and retrieve slowly with the rod high. Fish the deepest, most tide-swept marks you can reach safely.

Gear

Rod7–8' 12–20 lb-class boat rod, or 9–10' spinning rod rated 20–60 g
ReelLever-drag multiplier or 4000–5000 spinning
Line30 lb braid; 20–25 lb fluorocarbon trace

Lures

soft-plastic sandeel imitationspaddle-tail shads on jigheadsslim metal jigs

Baits

live or frozen sandeelmackerel stripsquid

Regulations

Sea angling needs no license in the UK or Ireland, though EU minimum sizes apply and Norway limits the fish tourists may export. Some Irish and UK charter fleets practice voluntary release of big pollack; check national marine agency pages.

Records

IGFA all-tackle world record: 27 lb 6 oz (12.41 kg) — Salcombe, Devon, England, 1986 (Robert S. Milkins). State and regional records are kept by each fish & wildlife agency.

Frequently asked

Is pollack the same as pollock?

Not quite. European pollack (Pollachius pollachius) is the bronze, big-eyed fish caught over wrecks and kelp around Britain, Ireland and Norway. Pollock in the North American sense usually means Pollachius virens, the saithe or coalfish, a darker, more open-water species that also occurs in Europe. The two are often caught side by side and the names are swapped freely.

Bite forecast — Pollack

Recent catches

Posted by anglers on the live map, filtered to Pollack.

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