Almost all sea anglers I know enjoy catching the unusual, the unexpected, a new species to add to their life list. And when it comes to new species size really doesn’t matter, as you’ll likely get the same buzz from boating some obscure species of goby or blenny, as you would catching a much larger fish. Species hunting is all about the tick, the challenge is to catch something different.
There are two ways you can add to your species life list. The first is blind luck, the second being a targeted approach. If you fish often enough then it’s a fair bet that from time to time you’ll catch a new species, and this is an approach that works for many. However, an increasing number of anglers want to set out specifically to catch a new species; these are the guys we label as ‘species hunters’.
Catching a new species by design relies upon many factors, key amongst which is location, location and location. In this article I have chosen five species that in themselves are not rare, rather they are rarely or at least not frequently caught by sea anglers. Each of these five species can, with a little planning, be fished for with an excellent chance of success. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
And late summer and early autumn is absolute prime time for catching many of our more unusual species. So this year
