Grey Mullet: The Three UK Species

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Every summer, shoals of mullet cruise under harbour walls in plain sight, ignoring bait after bait. Grey mullet in the UK means three related species: the thick-lipped (Chelon labrosus), the thin-lipped (Chelon ramada) and the golden grey (Chelon aurata). All three live around every coast of Britain and Ireland, usually in brackish water in estuaries and harbours, and most commonly in the top 10m.

Red mullet is a different matter. It belongs to an unrelated family, it is a kitchen fish, and this page does not cover it.

What follows is a side-by-side ID table, the bankside checks in order, a profile of each species, where and when to look, the basic approach, then records and rules. For the other fish around our coast, see the UK sea fish species guides.

Grey Mullet at a Glance: The Three Species Compared

Two features settle most grey mullet identifications: the upper lip and the folded pectoral fin. Everything else in the table is a cross-check.

Feature	Thick-lipped	Thin-lipped	Golden grey
Scientific name (older name)	Chelon labrosus	Chelon ramada (Liza ramada)	Chelon aurata (Liza aurata)
Upper lip	Large and pronounced, often with papillae (small bumps)	Narrower and thin	Not thick; the gill mark is the giveaway
Pectoral fin folded forward	Not the test to use; check the lip instead	Does not reach the eye	Reaches the eye
Gold mark on gill cover	Present on some fish, so do not rely on it	Not a feature	Yes, the key mark
Dark spot at pectoral fin base	Not a feature	Usually, but not always	Not a feature
Size at maturity	280 to 320mm	Males 250 to 290mm, females 250 to 320mm	250 to 280mm
Maximum length	Up to 70cm	Not stated by NW IFCA	About 60cm, commonly about 30cm
Typical water	Estuary mouths, areas of flow, harbours	Several miles up tidal rivers	Sandy ground, natural harbours, surf beaches; rarely rivers

Maturity and maximum lengths come from the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NW IFCA); the fin test is set out by Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Current naming puts all three in Chelon. Older books, and the British Record Fish Committee list for the thin-lipped and golden grey, still use Liza. Same fish, older label.

For the general method, see how to identify UK fish species.

How to Tell Thick-Lipped, Thin-Lipped and Golden Grey Mullet Apart

The gold spot that makes many anglers call a fish a golden grey also turns up on some thick-lips. The dark spot at the fin base is no safer, because not every thin-lip has one. Single features mislead, so check them in a fixed order.

Look at the upper lip first. A deep, pronounced upper lip, often covered in small bumps called papillae, means thick-lipped. If the lip is thin and smooth, go to the fin.
Fold the pectoral fin forward along the head. If the tip reaches the eye, you have a golden grey. If it falls short, you have a thin-lipped grey mullet.
Confirm with the gill cover. A clear gold mark backs up a golden grey. Treat it as a second opinion, never the whole answer.
Confirm with the base of the pectoral fin. Thin-lips usually show a dark spot there.

Handle the fish as little as you can. Wet your hands first and keep the fish low over a wet mat, or in the water. A photo of the head and the folded fin lets you confirm the identification once the fish is back in.

In clear harbour water, a shoal of grey mullet and a sea bass can look alike at a glance. If you are unsure which you are watching, read how to identify a sea bass.

If the lip leaves you unsure, the fin test decides it.

The Three Species in Profile

All three take the same baits and methods, but each favours different water and grows to a different size. Knowing which one you are likely to meet tells you where to stand.

Thick-lipped grey mullet (Chelon labrosus)

The British shore record for thick-lipped mullet, 14lb 2oz 12dms (6.427kg), has stood since 1979. R S Gifford caught it at The Leys, Aberthaw, in Glamorgan, and in 47 years nobody has beaten it.

This is the largest UK mullet, growing to around 70cm. It is the typical harbour and estuary-mouth fish, and it pushes up into areas of flow where food is carried past. Thick-lips graze on weed and algae and are highly selective about anything else, which is why so many anglers watch them feed and still blank.

Best for: a first grey mullet from a harbour or marina. Skip it if you want quick bites, because this fish rewards patience above everything else.

Thin-lipped grey mullet (Chelon ramada)

The thin-lip is the river mullet. It runs several miles up tidal rivers, travelling further into fresher water than either of the other two species.

That habit changes where you fish for it. A thick-lip stays around the estuary mouth and the harbour, while a thin-lip can turn up on a tidal river well inland. Mullet in a tidal stretch far from the coast are most likely thin-lips, but run the fin test before you decide.

Thin-lips grow big enough to matter. The British shore record is 8lb 8oz 13dms (3.88kg), taken on the east coast of Guernsey in 2017, and the boat record from the same coast is less than 2oz lighter. The full set is in the records section below.

The thick-lip is the estuary-mouth fish; the thin-lip is the one that keeps going upstream.

Golden grey mullet (Chelon aurata)

The golden grey is the smallest of the three. NW IFCA gives a maximum of about 60cm, but most fish are nearer 30cm.

It is most common in the English Channel, south-west England and Wales. Look for it on sandy ground, in natural harbours and along surf beaches. Unlike the thin-lip, it rarely enters rivers. Beach anglers take golden greys on bunches of harbour ragworm.

The British shore record is 3lb 8oz 8dms (1.601kg), from Christchurch Harbour in Dorset in 2005. Set against a record that size, a golden grey of a couple of pounds is a very good fish.

This is the beach mullet. Fish worm over sand.

Where and When to Find Grey Mullet

Mullet that crowd a harbour in summer can be hard to find in winter. Place and timing both decide whether you see fish at all.

Where

Harbours and marinas: grey mullet shelter around moored boats, overhangs, bridges and creeks. The water is usually calm and the fish are often visible just under the surface.
Estuaries: thick-lips hold at the mouth and push into areas of flow, thin-lips travel well up tidal rivers, and golden greys use sandy estuary ground and surf beaches.
Range: all coasts of Britain and Ireland, usually in brackish water, most commonly 0 to 10m deep.

Cod fishing and fishing for pollack usually mean deeper or rougher ground. Mullet are a shallow-water, sight-fishing target.

When

NW IFCA sets out the life cycle. Adults move offshore to spawn in winter and feed less while they are there. Eggs drift in open water from February to April, and juveniles move into estuaries and lagoons from April to June.

So the feeding fish anglers target inshore are mainly a spring-to-autumn proposition, with winter the slow period. That pattern follows from the life cycle rather than from a fixed calendar, and local conditions shift it.

How to Catch Grey Mullet: Tackle, Bait and Approach

If you can see the mullet, they can probably see you. The first job is staying unseen; the second is offering something small enough that they will take it.

Approach: move slowly, keep low and stay off the skyline.
Float set-up: use a transparent float from the freshwater range, small split shot only and a fluorocarbon hooklength. Vary the depth until you find the feeding fish. Cast beyond them and let the float drift over, rather than landing it on their heads.
Bread: free-line a piece of bread flake, or fish bread on the surface. It is the simplest grey mullet bait to start with.
Other baits: small pieces of skinless mackerel, ragworm, lugworm or mussel on a small hook. Golden greys from beaches take harbour ragworm.
Attraction: hang a mesh bag of fish scraps and bread in the water to draw fish in, instead of throwing groundbait.

Keep terminal tackle small and light: a small, fine-wire hook matched to the bait, and a light fluorocarbon hooklength, which is harder for the fish to see in clear water. The right hook size and breaking strain depend on the venue and the size of mullet you expect, so ask a local tackle shop that knows your harbour or estuary.

Expect refusals. Watching a shoal inspect a bait and drift off is a normal part of mullet fishing in the UK. Change the depth, the bait size or the line of the drift before you change venue.

If you try one method first, make it bread flake under a small float in a harbour or marina. It is a starting point, not a guarantee.

Grey Mullet Records, Size at Maturity and the Rules

The thick-lipped boat record was set in 1952 and still stands, more than 70 years on. These are the current British records from the British Record Fish Committee sea list, updated 3 September 2026.

Species	Shore record	Boat record
Thick-lipped	14lb 2oz 12dms (6.427kg), R S Gifford, The Leys, Aberthaw, Glamorgan, 1979	10lb 1oz (4.564kg), P C Libby, Portland, Dorset, 1952
Thin-lipped	8lb 8oz 13dms (3.88kg), Gary Marquis, east coast Guernsey, 2017	8lb 7oz 4dms (3.834kg), Ollie Stenning, east coast Guernsey, 2015
Golden grey	3lb 8oz 8dms (1.601kg), D Woolcombe, Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, 2005	2lb 15oz 4dms (1.340kg), Ms Naomi Coulson, Brixham Harbour, Devon, 2013

Records change, so check the BRFC list before you quote one.

Size at maturity

Grey mullet mature at roughly 25 to 32cm, depending on species and sex (the exact ranges are in the comparison table above). NW IFCA describes them as slow growing and long lived.

The rules

NW IFCA points out that where no minimum conservation reference size applies, mullet can be taken before they have had a chance to mature.

A national minimum size for grey mullet could not be confirmed for this guide, and local byelaws can apply. Check the rules where you fish with:

England: your local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA)
Wales: Natural Resources Wales
Scotland: the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate
Northern Ireland: DAERA

Most UK anglers return mullet anyway. They are not a popular food fish in Britain, and commercial boats do not generally target them in UK waters.

Put them back, especially anything near or under maturity size.

Frequently asked questions

Is red mullet the same as grey mullet?

No. Red mullet belongs to a different, unrelated family of fish and is best known as a kitchen fish rather than a UK angling target. The grey mullet that anglers stalk in harbours and estuaries are three separate species: thick-lipped, thin-lipped and golden grey.

Is there a minimum size for grey mullet in the UK?

A national minimum size for grey mullet could not be confirmed, and local byelaws may apply. Check with your local IFCA in England, Natural Resources Wales, the Marine Directorate in Scotland or DAERA in Northern Ireland. Either way, return your fish: grey mullet are slow growing and mature at roughly 25 to 32cm, depending on species.

What is the British record grey mullet?

The British shore record grey mullet is a thick-lipped mullet of 14lb 2oz 12dms (6.427kg), caught at Aberthaw, Glamorgan, in 1979. The thick-lipped boat record is 10lb 1oz (4.564kg), from Portland, Dorset, in 1952. Both figures come from the British Record Fish Committee sea list updated 3 September 2026.

Why are mullet so hard to catch?

Grey mullet are highly selective feeders that graze on weed and algae, and they spook easily in the clear, shallow water where they are usually seen. Stealth gives you the best chance: keep low, use small baits, and fish light, hard-to-see tackle such as a transparent float and a fluorocarbon hooklength.