Gudgeon

Identification

The gudgeon is a small, slender bottom-dwelling fish with a distinctive appearance. The body is elongated and cylindrical, the back olive-brown with dark blotches along the lateral line. Characteristic are the two barbels at the corners of the mouth, used to probe the bottom for food. The belly is whitish and the fins light yellow-brown. With an average length of 8-12 cm it is one of the smaller fish species — specimens up to 15 cm are rare.

Behavior & ecology

The gudgeon lives on the bottom of all sorts of water types: streams, rivers, canals and even ponds with a hard bottom. It is a schooling fish that forages in groups over sand and gravel beds on insect larvae, small worms and crustaceans. Gudgeon are most active at dusk and in overcast conditions. They spawn from May to June: the male digs a shallow pit in sand or gravel where the female deposits her eggs. The gudgeon is an important prey species for larger predatory fish such as perch, pike and trout.

Fishing techniques

The gudgeon is a fun bycatch when light coarse fishing and a popular fish for beginners:

• Light float fishing — small float rig (0.5-2 gram) with a piece of worm or maggot just above the bottom
• Pole fishing — short pole (4-6 meters) with fine rigs; ideal for fishing along banks of streams and canals

Use fine tackle: 0.10-0.14 mm hooklength, hook size 18-22. Feed with fine groundbait or loose maggots to hold a school of gudgeon at your swim.

In the Netherlands

The gudgeon is native and common throughout the Netherlands. The species is found in virtually all water types with a hard bottom, from mountain streams in Limburg to city canals in the Randstad. There is no closed season or minimum size. The population is stable and the gudgeon benefits from stream restoration projects that restore hard bottoms. As a prey species, the gudgeon plays a key role in the food web of Dutch waters.