Rays and sharks · Rough ground, shore and boat

Bull huss

North Wales rock marks at night. Use a strong trace; the skin wears through light snoods.

Bull huss
Image: Jonathan Couch, A History of the Fishes of the British Islands (1862–65), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Know it
Like a big dogfish with fewer, larger dark spots. Its nasal flaps are separate, not joined.
Bait
Mackerel, squid, crab
Rigs
PulleyRotten-bottom
Table
Good eating Edible like dogfish. Most are released.

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.

Irish Sea
PeakPresentRareIrish Sea = North Wales to Cumbria · North Sea = Yorkshire to Northumberland

Legal minimum size

Bull huss

Last checked 18 October 2026

Measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail (rays: wing tip to wing tip). Each region links to its regulator.

AreaMinimum
North West EnglandNo legal minimum
North WalesNo legal minimum
Yorkshire to the TyneNo legal minimum
NorthumberlandNo legal minimum

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

All year, best June to November

Cardigan Bay and the Llyn

Mixed and rough ground at Aberaeron and New Quay. A whole small mackerel or a big fish bait after dark.

All year, best June to November

Pembrokeshire, Gower and South Wales

Milford Haven and St Justinians after dark. A whole small mackerel closer in once the daytime dogfish ease off.

All year, best autumn

South Devon

Rough rock ground near Brixham. Mackerel or a mackerel and worm cocktail on a pulley with a weak link.

All year, best summer and autumn

Ayrshire, Galloway and the Scottish Solway

Balcary ledges and Ardrossan harbour at night. Mackerel or sardine, with strong traces.

Where to catch it

Regions with marks where bull huss is one of the main fish, and how many marks.

Cardigan Bay and the Llyn 2Pembrokeshire, Gower and South Wales 3Severn estuary, Somerset and North Devon 2South Devon 1Ayrshire, Galloway and the Scottish Solway 2

How to cook it

Edible like dogfish. Most are released. Simple ways to cook it at home. More on bleeding, gutting, filleting and freezing in From sea to plate.

Method 1

Curry or stew

Most huss are released. If you keep one, skin it and cook chunks gently in a curry or tomato sauce for 8 to 10 minutes, as you would dogfish.