Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)
Current record: 4lb 10oz
Water: Clay Lake
The rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) is a silvery, deep-bodied fish with vivid reddish fins and a distinctly upturned mouth, built for feeding at the surface rather than off the bottom. That upturned mouth, along with golden eyes and a dorsal fin set further back than on similar species, is the key to telling it apart from the roach it's most often confused with. Roach have a red patch above the pupil rather than golden eyes, and the scale count between the anal and pelvic fins differs too, one or two on a rudd, five on a roach, though the mouth position alone is usually enough at a glance.
Rudd favour clean, vegetation-rich, non-acidic water, and shoal near the surface hunting moving prey. Diet shifts with age: young rudd take zooplankton, insects, and the odd small fish, while mature fish, which can reach around 18 inches and 3lb, switch to feeding mainly on aquatic plants once water temperatures push past 18°C. Spawning happens in shallow, weedy backwaters, where a mature female can lay up to 200,000 eggs onto submerged vegetation.
They're a genuinely good sport fish: aggressive feeders, responsive to bait, lure, and fly alike, and their willingness to take on light tackle makes them a solid choice for anglers of any experience level.