Rays and sharks · Boat
Tope
Summer boats out of North Wales and Morecambe Bay. Use a circle hook, don't strike, and unhook in the water.
- Know it
- Slim grey shark with a notched tail and sharp, triangular cutting teeth.
- Bait
- Half mackerel, small whole flatfish
- Rigs
- Tope trace
- Table
- Return it Catch and release only.
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
Tope
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 | No legal minimum |
| North Wales | No legal minimum |
| Yorkshire to the Tyne | No legal minimum |
| Northumberland | No legal minimum |
In England you may not land a rod-caught tope at all.
No size for this fish is listed in the regional rules we checked for Cardigan Bay and the Llyn, Pembrokeshire, Gower and South Wales, Severn estuary, Somerset and North Devon. That may mean none is set, or that the national rules apply: check locally.
and 11 other regions
Rules change, usually each spring. Check the regulator for the area before you keep a fish.
A headline fish in
June to September
Ayrshire, Galloway and the Scottish Solway
Luce Bay, mostly from boats and kayaks. Barbless hooks and quick release.