Introducing the red mullet
A member of the mullidae family, the red mullet is a common species on all French coasts. A small fish with a slender reddish-beige body and rather imposing scales for its size. Its two barbels under the chin make it easy to identify. The red mullet, whose scientific name is Mullus surmuletus, can live up to 10 years, grow to 40 centimetres and weigh around 1 kilo.
Habitat and behavior
Red mullet can have a misleading name. In fact, even if this fish sometimes evolves on rock, the red mullet is mainly found on sandy or sandy-muddy bottoms. They prefer soft bottoms, biotopes where they can dig into the ground with their two barbels. Red mullet can be found from the first few meters down to a depth of 100 meters for the largest specimens.
The red mullet is a fish that feeds mainly on small crustaceans, worms and molluscs, which it digs up with its two barbels. On sandy or muddy bottoms, the red mullet raises small clouds as it searches for food, making it easy to follow its trail for several meters.
Rock red mullet fishing
The red mullet is a fish much appreciated by gourmets and therefore by many anglers. These anglers use baits, mainly worms, for surfcasting or landing. To target the red mullet, the bait must be placed on the bottom. The rigs should be fine enough to search for red mullet. You can also search for red mullet by rockfishing, sometimes even by sight-fishing. A worm imitation on a small lead head can be used for slow, bottom-scraping fishing.
The size limit for red mullet is 11 centimetres. The red mullet can also be used as a live fish, for bass and wolffish, pollack and conger eel.
