Ide (Natural) (Leuciscus idus)
Current record: 8lb 5oz
Water: River Hull
The ide (Leuciscus idus) is a solid, deep-bodied fish, silver with dark backs when young, developing a distinct golden sheen along the flanks with age. The red-orange dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins and a fixed yellow eye make it easy to identify at any age.
They favour clear, flowing, well-oxygenated water over gravel or rocky bottoms, and diet shifts noticeably as they grow. Smaller fish stick to shallow margins, feeding on insects, snails, and other invertebrates; larger ide move into deeper water and turn increasingly piscivorous, taking roach and bleak. Shoaling behaviour changes with size too, smaller adults form tight, single-species groups patrolling set routes, while bigger fish mix in with other cyprinids in looser shoals.
Ide are genuinely intolerant of poor water quality compared to some closely related species, they need clean water and get hit hard by eutrophication. Spawning happens in moving water, which makes dams and other river barriers a real problem, block the current and you block the spawning run.
They're a good, reliable fight on rod and line, taking to bait, lure, and fly fishing alike, and their willingness to feed makes them a solid choice for anyone still building confidence as an angler.