Roger's Angling Pages
The Miller's Thumb Cottus gobio		Bullhead family Cottidae

The representatives of the Bullhead family (Cottidae) largely inhabit the coastal waters of seas and oceans. Their body is spindle-shaped and narrowing towards the tail.

The Miller's Thumb is a freshwater species with a very wide mouth and fine teeth. It has a bony armour on the sides of its head and a sharp thorn on its gill covers. It adapts its coloration to its environment. It can be found in the Trout waters of central and eastern Europe, which are clear, cold and well oxygenated. During the day it usually hides under flat stones. It moves with jerky leaps. In spring it sticks several hundred large yellow-orange eggs on to the underside of stones away from the main water currents. According to the latest data, neither Miller's Thumb nor Alpine Bullhead compete with Trout for food and they themselves occasionally provide an incidental part of the diet of large Trout. It is usually 10 cm long and lives for 3 to 5 years. It is excellent dead bait when ledgering for large Trout. Finally it is often the subject of artificial lures.