Flatfish · Beach and boat
Dab
Winter and early spring on clean sand. Small hooks (size 4–1) catch more.
- Know it
- Small, sandy-brown and rough to the touch from tail to head. Lateral line bends sharply over the pectoral fin.
- Bait
- Lug, ragworm, mussel, small fish strip
- Table
- Excellent eating Sweet and underrated. Gut, trim the fins and fry whole.
Season
Typical months on the North West and North East coasts, with this month ringed. Seasons shift a few weeks with water temperature and run differently around the coast: see each region's headline fish below.
Legal minimum size
Dab
Last checked 18 October 2026Measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail (rays: wing tip to wing tip). Each region links to its regulator.
| Area | Minimum |
|---|---|
| North West England | 15cm |
| North Wales | 15cm |
| Yorkshire to the Tyne | No legal minimum |
| Northumberland | No legal minimum |
| Cardigan Bay and the Llyn | 15cm |
| Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 15cm |
| Dorset, Hampshire and the Solent | 23cm (check locally) |
| Kent, the Thames and Essex | Check locally |
No size for this fish is listed in the regional rules we checked for Pembrokeshire, Gower and South Wales, Severn estuary, Somerset and North Devon, South Devon. That may mean none is set, or that the national rules apply: check locally.
and 7 other regionsRules change, usually each spring. Check the regulator for the area before you keep a fish.
A headline fish in
October to March
Cardigan Bay and the Llyn
New Quay pier and the clean beaches. Small hooks with black lug tipped with squid on a two-hook rig.
February to May
Pembrokeshire, Gower and South Wales
Pembrokeshire sandy beaches in early spring. Ragworm and black lug on a three-hook flapper with beads, twitched back now and then.
November to March
Kent, the Thames and Essex
Dungeness and Deal. Small hooks with lug at 30 to 40 yards.
All year, best autumn and winter
Lincolnshire and the Humber
Holderness and Lincolnshire sand. Small hooks with lug tipped with mackerel.
All year, best autumn
Moray Firth, Caithness, Orkney and Shetland
Lossiemouth, Nairn and Embo beaches. Multi-hook flapper rigs with beads and mackerel or rag.
Where to catch it
Regions with marks where dab is one of the main fish, and how many marks.
How to cook it
Sweet and underrated. Gut, trim the fins and fry whole. Simple ways to cook it at home. More on bleeding, gutting, filleting and freezing in From sea to plate.
Method 1
Fried whole
Gut, trim the fins and dust the whole fish in seasoned flour. Fry in butter and a little oil for 3 to 4 minutes a side until golden. The flesh lifts off the bone easily.