European sea bass

skyriver

skyriver

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This is not a "fish report" as I didn't fish for them. These are European sea bass in the river mouth in Kotor Montenegro. Not sure if you can legally fish for them there. There were LOTS of them!
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The main small river that feeds this inlet. Crystal clear and I saw a couple of these bass moving upstream. Google tells me that stage in the summer and head upriver. They were most definitely doing that. Their behavior was very similar to staging salmon.
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Nobody was fishing for them so I got the idea the waters right there in town are not open. It would also be weird with all the tourists watching.

Kotor is also known as the City of Cats. They had a major rat issue so they brought in cats. They were everywhere.
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Chucker said:
That looks suspiciously like a mullet to me
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Some people in the UK call them white mullets or king of the mullets. Locally here in the Adriatic they call them branzino.
They had some size to them. I saw a few that were pushing 7 or 8 pounds. They are game fish for sure.
 
skyriver said:
Some people in the UK call them white mullets or king of the mullets. Locally here in the Adriatic they call them branzino.
They had some size to them. I saw a few that were pushing 7 or 8 pounds. They are game fish for sure.
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I have never heard of anyone using the name mullet for sea bass in the UK, but they do look somewhat similar and sometimes they can be found together. However, sea bass don’t behave like the fish in your picture, and mullet do. Look at the position of the pectoral and dorsal fins, shape of the head and lower lobe of the tail of the fish in your picture. All those signs say thick lipped grey mullet. They do get that big!IMG_0336.png
 
Chucker said:
I have never heard of anyone using the name mullet for sea bass in the UK, but they do look somewhat similar and sometimes they can be found together. However, sea bass don’t behave like the fish in your picture, and mullet do. Look at the position of the pectoral and dorsal fins, shape of the head and lower lobe of the tail of the fish in your picture. All those signs say thick lipped grey mullet. They do get that big!View attachment 158284
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Gonna have to disagree with you. I think you may be giving my pic too much credit. 😁
From what I could see (with my eyes) they had a spiny front dorsal and deeper body like the branzino (sea bass). Also, based on signs and menus branzino are very common. The internet tells me they do in fact stage in brackish waters and even go upstream into freshwater.
They also weren't as shiny as those mullets you describe. I can see where my pic looks like a mullet, but pretty darn sure they were branzino.
The only way to know for sure is catch one. Next time! 😁
 
skyriver said:
Gonna have to disagree with you. I think you may be giving my pic too much credit. 😁
From what I could see (with my eyes) they had a spiny front dorsal and deeper body like the branzino (sea bass). Also, based on signs and menus branzino are very common. The internet tells me they do in fact stage in brackish waters and even go upstream into freshwater.
They also weren't as shiny as those mullets you describe. I can see where my pic looks like a mullet, but pretty darn sure they were branzino.
The only way to know for sure is catch one. Next time! 😁
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I’m with mullet, they’re much thicker at the head, almost squared so a mullet. Mullet are dark on top but when they roll when feeding are bright silver. All said and done both take flies and are apparently a blast to catch. Cool nonetheless.

My 2 cents,

Dave
 
Rialto fish market in Venice
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Big boys. I'd guess 15+ pounds for the filleted one.
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And speaking of mullets, there were some hitting bread and other food waste in the canals last night. No action shot, but this is better than a fish hitting bread
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Well, I better get ready for the big wedding. 😁
 
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