Scientific name
Labrus bergylta (Ascanius, 1767)
Morphology
The oldsmelt is a carnivore whose powerful jaws crush all shellfish. Its mouth has strong conical teeth and large, thick emerald-green to bluish lips. Their color varies from dark brown mottled with light beige to orange-red with white spots.
Old fishing grounds
It hides in rocky crevices, faults, kelp beds and wrecks. Found in the North Sea, English Channel and Atlantic, it lives at depths of up to 25 m.
Fishing techniques
This fish loves soft lures on a sinker head moved slowly over the bottom. The touch of an old lure is explosive, so bridle this labrid fish firmly as it will immediately seek refuge in a crevice from which it never leaves. Beware of this carnivore's teeth, which can crush oysters and mussels. A severed soft lure often signals the passage of an old one.
Reproduction
The old hen reaches sexual maturity between 6 and 9 years of age at a size of 18 cm. The old hen lays her eggs in a cavity carefully lined with seaweed by a male. After the eggs have been laid, the male covers them with seaweed and watches over the nest until they hatch after about ten days' incubation. If you'll pardon the pun, the "young old ladies" reach the seaweed-covered depths at 6 or 8 cm after a pelagic larval life. They are born female and become male between 4 and 14 years of age. The old juvenile itself is a victim of sea bass, pollack, conger eel, cuttlefish and squid, as these carnivores flush it out from the kelp fields. As an adult, it has virtually no predators.
Size and weight
- Catch size (legal minimum): none, I recommend 40 cm
- Size at sexual maturity: 18 cm
- Average size: 30 to 40 cm
- Maximum size: 60 cm (4.5 kg)
- French record: 3 kg (Guérande, Pays-de-Loire, July 29/1995)
Good to know
Watch out for those old-fashioned teeth that can crush oysters and mussels - they won't give a damn about your nails!
