Roger's Angling Pages
The Bleak Alburnus alburnus		Carp family Cyprinidae

This fish is well known to anglers as an excellent bait fish. It never grows very large, usually up to 15 cm and seldom up to 20 cm. It does not live longer than 6 years. It only grows quickly in the first year of its life, when it reaches 6 to 10 cm. In some ways it is similar to small Asp for which it can be mistaken as regards body shape and its silvery coloration. It has large eyes and a mouth in an upper position. It lives almost everywhere in Europe, except in Scotland and Ireland.

Bleak travel about in shoals near the surface in the zone where Barbel are found, but more often in the zone where Bream are found. Sometimes large groups like to stay in places into which various sewers open. It feeds largely on plankton, but it also likes to eat insects.

The Bleak provides excellent bait for all predators, whether dead and fished near the bottom for Pike and Perch or alive and swimming near the surface. It is best caught on small hooks with a baited fly, but can also be caught on a small artificial dry fly. Care must be taken, as its muscles are very soft and it can wriggle off the hook easily.

Bleak used to be known for the fact, that the silvery pigment from its scales called 'Essence d'Orient' was used in the manufacture of artificial pearls. It takes about 4,000 Bleak to produce 4 oz of this essence.