Pouting (and Poor Cod)
By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026
The pouting fish (Trisopterus luscus), also called bib or pout whiting, is a small member of the cod family found all around Britain and Ireland, and most common in the south and south-west. Look for a deep body, a chin barbel, three or four pale vertical bands and a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin.
It is often the commonest bite of a session, a blank-saver and a notorious bait thief. Below: identification, the poor cod lookalike, tactics, records and rules.
Pouting at a Glance
The key facts, drawn from MarLIN, FishBase, GOV.UK and UK sea angling sources.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Trisopterus luscus |
| Other names | Bib, pout, pout whiting; locally Scotchies, Scotch haddock, bleg, white eyes, gilligant, brown bream |
| Family | Cod family |
| Typical size | Adults 20 to 30 cm; shore fish usually 8oz to 1lb (about 225g to 450g) |
| Maximum | About 45 to 46 cm; maximum reported age about 4 years |
| Habitat | Shoreline to about 300 m; small fish over shallow sand, bigger fish around rock and wrecks |
| Diet | Crustaceans (shrimp a favourite), small fish, squid, worms |
| UK minimum size | Not on the GOV.UK MCRS list for UK waters; check local byelaws |
How to Identify a Pouting
Fresh pouting are easy to name. Old adults cause the trouble: they can lose their bands and turn dark brown. Check for:
- A deep body for a cod-family fish
- Three dorsal fins and two anal fins
- A long chin barbel
- Three or four pale vertical bands on a coppery body
- A black mark at the base of the pectoral fin, roughly the size of the eye
- An upper jaw longer than the lower
On small fish, the first anal fin starts under the middle of the first dorsal, and the long pelvic fins reach past the vent.
Haddock have a shorter chin barbel and different colouring, and small codling lack the deep, banded body. For other lookalikes, see the UK fish identification guide.
Quickest field test: black pectoral spot plus deep body.
Pouting vs Poor Cod: How to Tell Them Apart
A small poor cod and a young pouting look near enough identical, until you know where to look.
Poor cod (Trisopterus minutus) shares the genus but tops out at about 26 cm. It is less common inshore, living mostly at 25 to 200 m, and takes the same small baits and sabiki lures.
| Feature | Pouting | Poor cod |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Deep | Slender, with a small head |
| Vertical bars | Usually 3 or 4 visible | Lacks the dark vertical bars |
| Pectoral spot | Black, about the size of the eye | No larger than the pupil |
| Jaw | Upper jaw longer than the lower | Upper jaw projects |
| Maximum size | About 45 cm | About 26 cm |
| Where caught | Shore to about 300 m, common inshore | Mostly 25 to 200 m, less common inshore |
Compare the pectoral spot with the eye: it is the most reliable single check. Any fish of this shape over about 26 cm is not a poor cod.
Where and When to Find Pouting
Pouting live from the shoreline to about 300 m, but the ground decides the size you catch.
Small fish favour shallow sand. Larger fish shoal near rock and wrecks and move offshore, so shore anglers mostly catch small ones while boat anglers find the better fish.
They spawn in spring, when adults move inshore to 50 m or less; Planet Sea Fishing gives March to April. They also come shallower and feed more willingly once the sun starts to set.
For shore pouting, fish a sandy or shingle beach or mixed ground at dusk. More species from the same marks are in our UK sea fish species guides.
How to Catch Pouting: Rig, Hooks and Bait
Pouting are not fussy, and you do not need expensive bait:
- Choose sandy, shingle or mixed ground from the shore, or wrecks and rock from a boat.
- Tie on a two or three hook flapper rig with size 1 to 2 hooks.
- Bait with ragworm, lugworm, mackerel strip or squid.
- Fish hard on the bottom, ideally from dusk onwards.
Fish strip and squid pick out larger pouting, and big pout often take a whole mackerel flapper meant for conger. That rock and wreck ground also holds pollack.
Small sabiki lures or mini-eels fished hard on the bottom also catch them.
If you are returning fish, unhook and release them quickly.
Best for: beginners and saving a blank. Skip: whole-fish baits, if a bag of pouting is the aim.
Pouting as Bait, and as a Bait Thief
Shore anglers after cod or bass often curse pouting as bait thieves. They will wedge surprisingly big baits into their mouths, which says more about their ambition than their manners.
Scaling up bait does not reliably keep them off, so many anglers put them to use instead. Pouting are fished dead for conger and tope, and livebaited from piers for big bass (check the pier’s rules first).
See our guides to bass fishing and cod fishing.
The verdict: treat persistent pouting as a free bait supply.
Size, Records and the Rules
Pouting grow fast and die young: about 15 cm after one year, mature at around 22 cm, and a maximum reported age of about 4 years.
The British Record (rod caught) Fish Committee (BRFC) lists the boat record as 5lb 8oz (2.49kg), set in 1969, and the shore record as 4lb 9oz (2.07kg), set in 1991. For more on how UK records work, see our guide to British fishing records.
Pouting and poor cod are not on the GOV.UK list of minimum conservation reference sizes in UK waters. Local byelaws can still apply, so before keeping fish check with your Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (England), the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government Marine Directorate or DAERA (Northern Ireland).
Frequently asked questions
Can you eat pouting?
Yes. Pouting is sold as a cheap white fish, and commercially it also goes into fishmeal and pot bait. The flesh is soft, so it is best eaten very fresh. If you plan to keep fish, see Size, Records and the Rules above for the byelaw check.
Is pout whiting the same as whiting?
No. Pout whiting is another name for pouting (Trisopterus luscus). Whiting is a different species, Merlangius merlangus, although both belong to the cod family.
Is a bib the same fish as a pouting?
Yes. Bib is the other common name for Trisopterus luscus, and MarLIN lists the species as "Bib or Pouting". If someone tells you they caught bib fish off the pier, they caught pouting.