Haddock species guide • Sea fish • Easy (4/10)

Haddock junior fishing guide

Melanogrammus aeglefinus

A clear, plain-English guide to haddock for parents, coaches and juniors. See where they live, the best starter tackle, simple bait choices and a three-step plan to help young anglers catch their first one safely.

🎣 View starter tackle setups 📋 Log a Haddock catch
Junior-first & welfare-aware • 3-step beginner plan • UK venues & seasons
Skill & size • Seasons • Beginner baits

Skill level

Easy (4/10)

Great for coached juniors and confident beginners.

Best time

Spring–Autumn

Pick mild, settled days for junior sessions.

Typical size

1–4 lb common; larger fish offshore.

Always match hooks, nets & lines to expected fish size.

🐟

Beginner baits

Black lugworm, Blow lugworm, Cockles …

Keep it simple — small hook baits, little-and-often feeding.

Typical venues: Offshore banks and hard ground; limited inshore marks.
Scroll down for detailed tackle setups, methods and parent-friendly guidance.
Catch your first haddock with confidence

Catch your first Haddock in 3 steps

A simple, repeatable plan juniors can follow with help from a parent, coach or older angler.

  1. Step 1

    Find clean offshore ground

    Look for clean sand or mixed offshore ground or deeper beaches in winter. Haddock prefer cooler, deeper water and clearer seabeds.

  2. Step 2

    Use small baits on a simple rig

    Fish small worm or squid baits on a paternoster or two-hook flapper. Keep hooks small to match their mouth.

  3. Step 3

    Wait for steady knocks

    Expect gentle, repeated plucks. Keep the line tight and lift smoothly to set the hook.

Tackle setups that work

Designed with juniors and fish welfare in mind. Start with an IDEAL or GOOD setup for easier casting and safe unhooking.

👉 Swipe sideways to view different setups.

Beachcaster

Beginner tip: Fish from safe, flat marks with an adult. Cast straight out, keep the line tight and watch the rod tip for rattling bites. For species with spines (like weever or scorpion fish), let an adult do the unhooking.

IDEAL

Rod: 9–10 ft light beachcaster or pier rod (2–4 oz rating).

Reel: 4000–5000 size fixed spool reel.

Line: 10–15 lb mono or 20 lb braid with short 15 lb trace.

Terminal tackle

  • ["Two- or three-hook flapper rig"
  • "Size 2–4 hooks with small worm or fish strip baits"
  • "Optional simple running ledger for rough ground"]

Extras

  • ["2–4 oz plain lead"
  • "Glow beads or small attractors"
  • "Headlamp for low-light sessions"
  • "Disgorger or forceps"]

Light beach or pier setup for small bottom-dwelling sea fish.

About the Haddock

Haddock are white-fish with a dark lateral line and thumbprint mark above the pectoral fin. They are mostly a boat target on offshore banks.

Junior tip

Use simple paternoster rigs with worm, squid or shellfish baits over clean to mixed offshore ground when boat fishing.

Logged a Haddock recently?

Add a catch report so juniors can see where they’re being caught, which baits work and how your tackle was set up.

Submit a catch report

Want to discover more species? Browse the full species guide.

← Back to all species

Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies.