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🐟 Bream
A deep-bodied, slab-sided coarse fish that shoals in large numbers, often called 'slabs' by match anglers for its flat profile and the way big catches come in bursts.
Identification
Bronze to greyish flanks with a noticeably deep, laterally flattened body and a small head relative to its size. Covered in a thick coat of protective slime. Young bream ('skimmers') are more silver and can be mistaken for other species until they mature.
UK habitat
Common throughout English and Welsh lowland rivers, canals and lakes, particularly in slower, deeper, coloured water. Shoals feed over silty or gravelly bottoms and can produce very large catches once a feeding shoal is located, a key target for match anglers.