Grey Mullet
Fish
A thick-set, grey-silver fish with a blunt head and distinct dark horizontal stripes running along its flanks, often seen cruising in tight shoals near the surface in harbours and estuaries.
Facts
- Famously wary and hard to catch on rod and line — mullet can see anglers from a distance and spook easily.
- Feeds mainly on algae and detritus by sucking at surfaces, which is why bread flake is a classic bait.
- Can tolerate a huge range of salinity, moving freely between full seawater and brackish estuaries.
UK fishing rules
No statutory recreational size limit in most areas, though many angling clubs apply a voluntary minimum of around 30cm and encourage release of larger, breeding-age fish.
Where to catch Grey Mullet (29 marks)
| Mark | Region | Season | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Stone Jetty | Wales | Jun–Sep | Light float tactics with bread or fine worm baits worked along the harbour wall edges. |
| Barmouth Bridge & Harbour | Wales | May–Sep | Light float tactics with bread or maggot around the harbour and slipways where fish shoal up. |
| Berwick-upon-Tweed / Spittal | North East | Summer (calm spells) | Float fished bread/maggot around the harbour |
| Brightlingsea (Bateman's Tower) | East | Summer | Float-fished bread |
| Bude Breakwater | South West | May–Oct | Freelined bread near the river mouth |
| Budleigh Salterton | South West | Jun–Sep | Sight fished with bread or small fly in the pool under the cliffs at Otter Head at high water |
| Caernarfon | Wales | Jun–Sep | light float tackle with bread or small bait in the harbour, though they're easily spooked |
| Cardiff Bay Barrage | Wales | Jun–Sep | fish bait after dark for conger, float-fished bread for mullet |
| Christchurch Harbour (Mudeford Quay) | South West | May–Sep | Float fished bread or a small spinner sight-fished to visible shoals |
| Hayling Island Seafront (South Beach/Eastoke) | South East | Summer | Float tackle at the Langstone Harbour entrance |
| Littlehampton West Beach & East Bank | South East | May-Sep | Float-fished bread around the harbour and East Bank |
| Llandudno Pier | Wales | May–Oct (historic) | Float or lure fished around the pier structure and landing stage on a rising tide. |
| Looe Harbour & Banjo Pier | South West | May–Oct | Ledgered bread or float-fished bread flake tight to the harbour wall near the fish market and West Looe Quay. |
| Lymington Town Quay & Pennington Wall | South East | May-Sep | Float-fished bread around the Yacht Marina, best early morning |
| Maldon Promenade Park | East | Summer | Float-fished bread or light float tactics — notoriously hard to hook here |
| Margate Harbour Arm | South East | May-Oct | Float-fished bread or maggot around the harbour steps |
| Milford Haven | Wales | Sep–Mar (flounder), Jun–Sep (mullet) | worm bait for flounder on the bottom, float-fished bread for mullet |
| Mount Batten Breakwater | South West | May–Sep | Float-fished bread or maggot tight against the walls. |
| Newquay (Towan Beach) | South West | Jun–Sep | Bread or maggot float-fished around the harbour and quay walls. |
| Orford Quay | East | Summer | Float-fished bread or bait in the river |
| Paignton Pier | South West | Jun–Sep | Float fished bread around the pier structure |
| Penarth Pier | Wales | Apr–Oct | Mixed bag on standard bottom rigs or float tactics. |
| Point Clear, St Osyth | East | Summer | Float-fished bread in the estuary shallows |
| Porthcawl Breakwater | Wales | May–Sep | Light float tactics with bread or mackerel flake in the calmer harbour-side water |
| Portreath | South West | Jun–Sep | Bread or bacon float-fished in the harbour, where hundreds can shoal up in summer. |
| Pwllheli | Wales | Mar–May | ragworm or lugworm fished on the bottom in spring |
| Rye Harbour | South East | May-Sep | Float-fished bread near the harbour moorings |
| Salcombe (Bolt Head) | South West | May–Sep | Bread or float-fished bait in the estuary around Salcombe town and Snapes Point, where mullet grow large on scraps. |
| Teignmouth Seafront & Back Beach | South West | May–Oct | Light float tackle with bread or maggot around the harbour quays and Back Beach on a rising tide. |