When you spend hours at the seaside with a rod in your hand, sometimes your gaze wanders to your feet, and you discover that just a few centimetres of water can be teeming with exciting fish life.
Introducing red tripterygion
With its scientific name Tripterygion tripteronotum, the red triterygion can also be referred to as the red-billed triterygion. It's an easily identifiable fish if you have good eyesight. Its adult size rarely exceeds 10 centimetres. Its body, colored red with five rather dark stripes, is fusiform and has a pointed snout. Its dorsal fin is divided into three parts. The first ray of the male's second dorsal fin is longer, and its head takes on a black color during breeding season (summer).
Nutrition and behavior
This small, colorful Mediterranean fish feeds mainly on small crustaceans and micro-organisms. The red triptérygion is present from the very first centimeters and can be found at depths of up to 10 meters. It prefers sunny locations where rocks and algae are found side by side. It often hides in small holes to protect itself from predators.
Fishing for red triptérygion
Fishing for tiny fish like the red triptérygion means above all taking an interest in the fish fauna that surrounds us and discovering a rich and atypical fauna even in very little water.
To target the red triptérygion, you'll need to be patient and, above all, fish very finely. Your tackle will be rudimentary: a simple, sensitive scion will do the trick, so you can fish at your feet along rocks or dykes in calm weather. A 12/100 line terminated by a fine hook from number 14 to number 20, above which we'll add a small pinched sinker to weight our presentation. It's possible to fish with very small pieces of worm or shrimp, or even to use very small pieces of soft lure like Power Isome to attract the red triptérygions present on our fishing grounds.
