Smooth Hounds
Last Updated October 2022
Smooth Hounds also known as Gummy Shark, Common Smooth-hound, Smut, Smooth Dogfish are a species that have really come to everyones attention in the recent years. They are are now quite widespread and anglers are discovering just what a sporting fish they are. The smoothie is gaining a huge following and becoming a must catch fish for almost every sea angler. Whether you’re an old hand at catching them and searching for that large double or a relative virgin at the art I assure you it won't take long to become an aficionado and you'll want to catch more of these great sporting fish.
The fish start to show off our shores around May. The early fish are usually smaller but quickly their numbers and size start increasing and the season really starts around very late May to early June. To be consistent concentrate your efforts from late May to August. In some areas the fish will stay on well into October.
A search of the Internet will suggest a number of venues with a good reputation for producing smooth hounds. In the main these marks are the ones that produce year after year. But in the last 4 or 5 years fish are turning
Brian Campbell - Smooth Hound from Brunswick River Mersey
up at many beaches which have no real history of producing fish or weren't considered as venues that offered you much chance. Why this should be happening is most likely down to their stocks increasing in numbers and the fish having to widen their range.
If your setting out to target hounds and want to give yourself a good chance I'd start out by doing some research on the various fishing face book pages where members are posting reports.
" Peeler crab is a must have bait for early fish "
The best bait without doubt for smooth hounds is crab. Many people use hard crabs but I'd always say use soft or peeler crab. Frozen peeler seems to fish just as well as fresh (I don't know why) but some anglers use frozen as their first choice.
The advantage of peeler is other fish will take it when they won't generally take hard crabs. Bass and thornback rays especially and these are species often found in a similar habitat to the smoothies.
Use peeler crab and hedge your bets a bit giving a wider variety of species. Smoothies will also take hermit crab, rag worm tipped with squid as well as prawn. Personally I'd had a session at Talacre where I fished 2 rods, one with peeler crab the other with Asda whole frozen tiger prawn. The prawn out fished the peeler with 7 fish on prawn and 3 on peeler. So It's a bait I'll be happy to use in the future.
As well as the baits above rag worm, hermit crab and even hardback crab are also worth trying.
Smooth Hounds are powerful fish so don't be afraid to use big hooks. 5.0 pulley rigs are about right for the large crab, squid and tiger prawn baits. Scale down to 2.0 or 3.0 hooks if using small crabs or local UK prawns.
When handling smooth hounds try and avoid holding the fish by the tail alone as this is not good for the health of the fish as it can cause damage to internal organs.
Smooth hounds being sharks have rough skin but not as rough as huss and dogfish. Also they're known as 'gummy sharks' for a good reason; unlike other members of the shark family they don't have any nasty sharp teeth to worry about at the business end!
According to http://britishseafishing.co.uk/ - Over the last few years there has been considerable debate over exactly which species of smooth-hound are present in British waters. While it is still widely believed that both common and starry smooth-hounds are found around the UK there is growing evidence that it is not the case. The theory is that the spots on the back of the smooth-hound is not an accurate way of determining species, and it is in fact only the starry-smooth hound which are found in the UK – some with distinctive spots and some with no spots at all.
Last Updated October 2022
Smooth Hounds also known as Gummy Shark, Common Smooth-hound, Smut, Smooth Dogfish are a species that have really come to everyones attention in the recent years. They are are now quite widespread and anglers are discovering just what a sporting fish they are. The smoothie is gaining a huge following and becoming a must catch fish for almost every sea angler. Whether you’re an old hand at catching them and searching for that large double or a relative virgin at the art I assure you it won't take long to become an aficionado and you'll want to catch more of these great sporting fish.
The fish start to show off our shores around May. The early fish are usually smaller but quickly their numbers and size start increasing and the season really starts around very late May to early June. To be consistent concentrate your efforts from late May to August. In some areas the fish will stay on well into October.
A search of the Internet will suggest a number of venues with a good reputation for producing smooth hounds. In the main these marks are the ones that produce year after year. But in the last 4 or 5 years fish are turning
Brian Campbell - Smooth Hound from Brunswick River Mersey
If your setting out to target hounds and want to give yourself a good chance I'd start out by doing some research on the various fishing face book pages where members are posting reports.
" Peeler crab is a must have bait for early fish "
The best bait without doubt for smooth hounds is crab. Many people use hard crabs but I'd always say use soft or peeler crab. Frozen peeler seems to fish just as well as fresh (I don't know why) but some anglers use frozen as their first choice.
The advantage of peeler is other fish will take it when they won't generally take hard crabs. Bass and thornback rays especially and these are species often found in a similar habitat to the smoothies.
Use peeler crab and hedge your bets a bit giving a wider variety of species. Smoothies will also take hermit crab, rag worm tipped with squid as well as prawn. Personally I'd had a session at Talacre where I fished 2 rods, one with peeler crab the other with Asda whole frozen tiger prawn. The prawn out fished the peeler with 7 fish on prawn and 3 on peeler. So It's a bait I'll be happy to use in the future.
Must have baits
Peeler Crab
Fresh or frozen both as good
Fresh or frozen both as good
Squid
Frozen Squid
Frozen Squid
Prawn
Frozen or Fresh and even
Super Market Tiger Prawns
Frozen or Fresh and even
Super Market Tiger Prawns
As well as the baits above rag worm, hermit crab and even hardback crab are also worth trying.
Smooth Hounds are powerful fish so don't be afraid to use big hooks. 5.0 pulley rigs are about right for the large crab, squid and tiger prawn baits. Scale down to 2.0 or 3.0 hooks if using small crabs or local UK prawns.
When handling smooth hounds try and avoid holding the fish by the tail alone as this is not good for the health of the fish as it can cause damage to internal organs.
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Smooth hounds being sharks have rough skin but not as rough as huss and dogfish. Also they're known as 'gummy sharks' for a good reason; unlike other members of the shark family they don't have any nasty sharp teeth to worry about at the business end!
According to http://britishseafishing.co.uk/ - Over the last few years there has been considerable debate over exactly which species of smooth-hound are present in British waters. While it is still widely believed that both common and starry smooth-hounds are found around the UK there is growing evidence that it is not the case. The theory is that the spots on the back of the smooth-hound is not an accurate way of determining species, and it is in fact only the starry-smooth hound which are found in the UK – some with distinctive spots and some with no spots at all.
