Ballan Wrasse fishing
Of the five wrasse species, the ballan wrasse is the largest – a specimen adult wrasse will reach around 50-60cm in length, but they are generally around the 40cm mark.
It is quite a common sea fish that prefers rocky or kelp-covered coastlines. So, almost all of our common marks offer good wrasse fishing, except those around the East Anglia region.
Young wrasse can be spotted in rocky pools, particularly if there is seaweed present – great fun for children to find and catch with nets.
They are a long-lived fish that can reach an age of over 25 years.

Identifying ballan wrasse



The ballan wrasse is a solid fish having a large head and thick lips. Its long dorsal fin has an array of spines along the first half, followed by a much softer section towards the tail.
The colouration of the ballan wrasse varies immensely, but in general they are mottled brown or green with a pale belly and pale marks on the fins.
The young fish that might be found in the seaweed of rock pools are likely to be green.
They have a front and back set of teeth to help them remove shellfish and then crush them.

Ballan wrasse feeding
Ballan wrasse, like all wrasse, survive mainly on shellfish. They will eat crustaceans, mussels, crabs and even barnacles which they prize off rocks with their powerful teeth and jaws.
Crab baits work best when fishing for wrasse.

Ballan wrasse breeding
In the summer wrasse make nests of seaweed that are wedged between rocks. It’s in here that they will lay their eggs, which hatch after a few weeks.
The emerging larval wrasse float away with the plankton to settle in shallow water. Every single one of these small wrasse will be female.
They continue to feed and grow until they reach the age of about six, when they will become mature enough to breed. They will breed as females for many years and after this time some females will change sex and function as males, fertilising the eggs of the females.