Trigger Fish

Trigger fish numbers in British waters are steadily going up and are moving further around our coast lines, Grey trigger is one of the only trigger fish you can eat and is a fantastic table fish! Triggers are also a great sporting fish with a lot of fight in them and powerful for their size. Triggers are generally grey with a spiny dorsal fin although round fish appear somewhat squashed. Their teeth look like a humans centre bottom row teeth, and they have a small squat tail. They are grey on top and have a white belly the shore record is just under 6lb but average size caught is 2-3lb.
Legal take home size is not allocated to this fish but many recommend a size of at least 30cm/12 inches

Rigs:
2 Hook flapper: 60lb main rig body & at least 30lb hook length with a strong hook patter of size 1 - 1/0 hook.
Running ledger: 60lb main rig body & at least 30lb hook length with a string hook pattern of size 1 - 1/0 hook.

Baits:
Crab: a triggers main food source, peeler or hardback work put on hook whole and whipped to the shank.
Squid: Squid strips or small sections/rings of squid whipped to the hook shank.
Mackerel: Strips of mackerel whipped at the top of a hook shank.

Grounds:
Trigger fish tend to be found where the crab are plentiful which is rough or broken grounds, their bite is very strong and have been known to break hook points of thin wire hooks.
Be careful with your fingers as the spine in the dorsal can be painful if you spike yourself and they can give a good nip taking the tip of your finger off!