Smoothhound

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

A smoothhound is a small, live-bearing shark of sandy bays and estuaries that feeds mainly on crabs. It moves inshore from spring, takes peeler crab readily and pulls hard enough to drag a rod off its rest, which makes it one of the sharks UK anglers can catch from the beach.

Much of what is written about the smooth hound, or “smoothie”, is out of date, including a 51cm “minimum size” that isn’t law. Below: ID, which species you’re catching, season, bait, rigs, the actual rules, records and release.

Smoothhound at a Glance: Key Facts for UK Anglers

Figures come from NatureScot (citing ICES and IUCN), the angling press and the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC).

Fact	Detail
Scientific name	Mustelus asterias (starry smoothhound)
Type	Live-bearing shark
Maximum size	140cm recorded in UK waters; most shore fish are far smaller
Maturity	About 70cm (males), 82cm (females)
Lifespan	Up to 13 years observed in the wild
Diet	Mainly crabs and other crustaceans
Inshore season	From around April, peaking with the crab peel and summer
UK catch rules	No UK catch restrictions; check local IFCA byelaws
British records	Boat 28lb 2oz (12.757kg), shore 23lb 2oz (10.488kg)
Status	Near Threatened globally; abundance increasing in the NE Atlantic

How to Identify a Smoothhound (and Tell It From Tope and Spurdog)

A slim grey shark on the beach at dusk could be a smoothhound or a tope. The difference matters, because tope come with their own landing rules.

A smoothhound is slim and grey to grey-brown. Starry smoothhound can show small white spots on the upper flanks, but the spots are often faint or missing, so don’t rely on them.

Check the mouth instead. A smoothhound has flat crushing plates for cracking crabs, not cutting teeth. A tope has sharp teeth.

A spurdog is easier still: it carries a sharp spine in front of each dorsal fin, and a smoothhound has none. For other look-alikes, see the fish identification guide.

Quick comparison: if it has teeth that could cut you, treat it as a tope and read the tope page before doing anything else.

Starry or Common Smoothhound? Which One UK Anglers Actually Catch

Plenty of angling sites say Britain has two smoothhounds, the common and the starry. The scientific evidence says you are almost certainly catching only one.

NatureScot, citing ICES (2018), states that the starry smoothhound (Mustelus asterias) is the predominant and possibly only Mustelus species around the British Isles. There are no reliably confirmed common smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus) records north of Portuguese waters.

The confusion persists for three reasons: the spots are unreliable (see the ID section above), landings are recorded at genus level, and older guides used both names. In November 2023 the BRFC merged its two listings into one Smoothhound entry, which its December 2025 list still labels Mustelus mustelus.

The verdict: in UK waters, treat any smoothhound as a starry smoothhound.

Where and When to Catch Smoothhound in the UK

Tagging shows smoothhound migrate every year, summering in the southern North Sea and wintering in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay. They tend to return to the same areas, and females travel further than males.

The first small fish arrive around April as evenings lengthen. Bigger fish follow once the crab peel starts, and big females come close inshore in summer, when 20lb-plus fish are landed. Staggered peels across crab species stretch the season.

Many of those females are pregnant: gestation lasts about 12 months, and pups are born in February in the western Channel and in June and July further east, so keep handling brief.

They favour large bays, sandy beaches and outer estuaries, out to 200m, and feed mainly from dusk into the night. Calm seas bring them within casting range.

Smoothhound fishing in the UK is strongest from Sussex to Dorset, around the Bristol Channel, Anglesey, the Fylde coast, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Kent. Those areas come from undated magazine copy, so check access, tides and local rules first.

For a first smoothhound, fish a sandy, crab-rich beach on a calm evening in late spring or summer.

What Smoothhound Eat and the Best Bait to Use

Smoothhound feed mostly on crabs, which makes the bait choice simple.

NatureScot lists hermit crab and flying crab as the main prey in the NE Atlantic, along with velvet swimming crab, small edible crab, squat lobsters and shrimps. Only larger fish take the odd fish.

Bait	When it works best	Note
Peeler crab	During the peel	The top bait
Hard crab	When peelers are scarce	Ranked behind peeler
Hermit crab	When peelers are scarce	A main natural prey item
Squid, ragworm, lugworm, sandeel, mackerel	Back-ups	Also attract other species

Peel the crab fully so no shell masks the hook point, then bind it on neatly with elastic cotton.

Best for: peeler crab, whenever you can get it. Skip if: you’re relying on mackerel alone during the peel.

Smoothhound Rigs, Hooks and Tackle

A smoothhound of a few pounds can drag a rod off its rest if the clutch is locked up.

A pulley rig suits rough or mixed ground and casts well, but takes longer to tie. A one-hook clipped paternoster with a long snood is simpler and suits cleaner ground. Typical spec: a 60lb-plus rig body and a 30lb snood.

The basic shore set-up:

Pick clean to mixed ground that holds crabs, in calm conditions.
Use a single strong 3/0 hook, clipped down behind a bait clip or impact shield.
Bait with a fully peeled peeler crab, bound with elastic cotton.
Set the clutch to give line, or use a line-out alarm.
Wait for a firm pull-down rather than striking at the first knocks.

Boat anglers catch them over the same sandy ground. Bites are hit-and-run, so a clutch that gives line decides whether you land a fish or watch a rod go into the surf.

Is There a Minimum Size for Smoothhound? UK Rules and Conservation Status

Several angling sites list a 51cm UK minimum size for smoothhound. The official sources don’t back it up.

NatureScot reports no management measures and no catch restrictions for starry smoothhound in the UK. UK management plans for sharks, skates and rays are still in development. Sea Angler magazine adds that 51cm is a competition convention, not a minimum on the Defra list.

No GOV.UK or MMO page confirming this was found, and local byelaws can differ. Before keeping a fish, check with your local IFCA in England, the Marine Directorate in Scotland, the Welsh Government or DAERA in Northern Ireland, and see sea fish minimum sizes.

Starry smoothhound is Near Threatened globally (IUCN, 2020), after a 20 to 29% decline over three generations, mainly from Mediterranean and Black Sea fishing. Abundance is increasing in the North Sea and wider NE Atlantic. By contrast, the Shark Trust lists porbeagle and spurdog, not smoothhound, as Critically Endangered in the NE Atlantic.

The verdict: targeting smoothhound is legitimate. Release them, especially big summer females, because post-release survival in angling is poorly studied.

Smoothhound British Records

The boat record has stood since 1998 and the shore record since 1972.

Category	Record	Year and captor
Boat	28lb 2oz	1998, A Bowering, off Minehead, Bristol Channel
Shore	23lb 2oz	1972, D Carpenter

The weight-based boat list was frozen in June 2024, so new boat claims must be measurement-based; shore claims can be by weight or length. The qualifying length for a length-based claim is 125cm, boat or shore. Check the latest BRFC list before claiming.

How to Handle and Release a Smoothhound

Never lift a smoothhound by the tail. Do this instead:

Support the belly with one hand and the tail area with the other.
Unhook quickly and keep the fish wet, with minimal time out of the water.
Return it promptly, especially a heavy female in summer.

The Shark Trust publishes best-practice handling guides and runs a catch recording scheme for anglers. Read them before your first session, and see the catch and release guide for general technique.

Frequently asked questions

Is a smoothhound a shark?

Yes. It is a small, live-bearing shark and one of several UK shark species. Females carry their young for about 12 months, British fish hold 4 to 20 embryos, and pups measure 20.5 to 32.9cm at birth.

Are smoothhound dangerous?

Not in the way tope are. Smoothhound have flat crushing plates rather than cutting teeth, so biting isn't the risk. They are strong and slippery, so handle them with wet hands and support the belly, as in the release steps above.

Is it "smoothhound" or "smooth hound"?

Both. Smoothhound, smooth hound and smooth-hound are the same fish, often nicknamed "smoothie". The British Record Fish Committee uses the single word "Smoothhound" in its official list. In UK waters, all three names almost certainly refer to the starry smoothhound, Mustelus asterias.

How long do smoothhound live?

The oldest smoothhound observed in the wild was 13. Estimated lifespans are 7.3 to 13 years for males and 9.9 to 20.2 years for females. Males mature at four to five years and females at about six.