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Gudgeon – The Mighty Midget
If the perch is the first fish for many anglers, gudgeon run it a close second. Although the species remains small even when mature – a 3oz fish is a giant – it is obliging, widespread and hardy.
Externally, gudgeon are distinctive fish adapted for live on the river or lake bed. The slightly flattened belly and the underslung mouth give obvious clues as to its way of life. Indeed, gudgeon can be found in remarkably fast water, often in large shoals, where they search the gravel or sandy bed for invertebrate food. They can also exist in muddy conditions, in canals and various bodies of still water.
Unlike its near cousin, the barbel, the mouth is flanked by just one (not two) pairs of fleshy barbules. The fish is somewhat more thickly set, with a brown mottling to the flanks and the main fins – all of which barbel lack. Many anglers have commented that were gudgeon capable of attaining the size of barbel, they would be even more formidable fighters once hooked.
Life in the fast lane
Gudgeon are short-lived, like many small coarse fish. Fish rarely live for longer than four or five years, which means that they can decline in abundance – or appear in great numbers – within short spaces of time. Spawning takes place in May or early June, when the water temperature has reached about 14°C.
Gobble, gobble
In Victorian times gudgeon were regarded as an edible delicacy, but nowadays they are more often used as bait for trout, perch and for pike, all of which also act as natural predators. The fish’s problems don’t end there as they are also small enough to be consumed by most fish-eating birds. Luckily, populations recover quickly from such reverses.
Gudgeon have often saved anglers from a bank days sport, and they are usually welcome captures. Maggots or small worms fished hard on the bed is the most successful method, and bites are usually confident and unmissable.
