Starry smooth-hound
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-08-10
A small crab-eating shark of European coasts with crushing plate-like teeth rather than cutting ones, and white spots along the flank.
Safety: injury while handling fish — can cause injury needing treatment.
Catching Starry smooth-hound
Everything here on fishing for it. Each entry opens the page behind it.
- When
- Apr–Oct — months recorded at the places that document it, not a season for the whole range.
- Where
- 42 places FishingHQ documents — strongest claim anywhere: regular local target · From the shore, From a kayak
Starry smooth-hound is a small coastal shark that eats crabs. Its teeth are not the blades of a typical shark but flattened crushing plates arranged in a pavement, suited to grinding hard-shelled prey — which means it does not bite in the way people expect a shark to.
It is a slim, grey, elegant fish scattered with small white spots along the flank, and it hunts over sand and mixed ground in summer. It is a major target of European shore and boat anglers, prized for a fast, strong, clean fight on light tackle.
It gives birth to live young. That, combined with modest litter sizes and slow maturity, is why the species is treated carefully and released almost universally.
How it is caught
Gear for this fish
- Crab and shellfishPeeler and hermit crab fished on the bottom over sand.
- Peeler crabEvery published account of a shore smooth-hound fishery read for this names crab and offers no alternative. A Wexford club match landing a hundred and sixteen hounds in four hours, and a Lincolnshire session of more than fifty fish per angler, both fished fresh peeler.
- Uptide rigA shallow-water summer target over sandbank ground, fished from anchored boats on crab baits well away from the boat's disturbance.
Where Starry smooth-hound is documented
Places where public sources describe this species as fished, with how it is fished and how strongly the evidence supports it. This is not a range map and it is not a recommendation — it is what has been written down about a fishery rather than a record of any individual catch, and being listed is never permission to fish.
The Severn Estuary
5 documented places
Headland
Regular local target
From the shore
Cove
Recorded here
From the shore
Beach section
Regular local target
From the shore
Around Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
Estuary mark
Recorded here
From the shore
Rock mark
Regular local target
From the shore
The Channel shingle coasts
4 documented places
Shingle bank
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Beach section
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
Beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
Pier
Repeatedly reported
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
The Norfolk and Suffolk sandbank coast
4 documented places
Beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Beach
Recorded here
From the shore
Beach
Seasonal
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct
Beach
Seasonal
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct
The Wexford coast
4 documented places
Surf beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Surf beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Surf beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Surf beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Around Apr, May, Jun, Jul
The Cornish and Devon coasts
3 documented places
Beach section
Recorded here
From the shore
Headland
Occasional
From a kayak
Surf beach
Regular local target
From the shore
Morecambe Bay and the north-west England coast
3 documented places
Promenade
Regular local target
From the shore
Blackpool piers and the north wall
Pier
Seasonal
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct
Beach
Seasonal
From the shore
Around Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
The Solent and the Hampshire coast
2 documented places
Shingle bank
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Selsey Bill
Headland
Regular local target
From the shore
Around May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept
The Solway Firth
2 documented places
Silloth promenade and Tommy Legs
Promenade
Recorded here
From the shore
Bay
Regular local target
From the shore
Also documented on 8 more coasts
Fewer places each, or less strongly supported. Each one names its own marks.
The Wash and the Lincolnshire coast (4) · The Welsh coast and Anglesey (3) · Cardigan Bay and the sarnau (2) · Anglesey (2) · Weymouth Bay (1) · Pembrokeshire and the south-west Wales coast (1) · The Gower and Carmarthen Bay (1) · The Purbeck coast and Poole Bay (1)
What these strengths mean
- Regular local target
- Fishing sources describe this as a normal local target here, not merely as caught.
- Recorded here
- At least one credible public account of this species being caught here. That is all it means.
- Seasonal
- Well supported, and concentrated in part of the year rather than spread through it.
- Repeatedly reported
- Several independent public accounts. Enough to say it happens more than once; not enough to call it a fishery.
- Occasional
- Caught here, and described as unusual rather than normal. Do not plan a session around it.
When to fish for starry smooth-hound
Where the places here state a season for starry smooth-hound, it clusters in May–Sep. This is a count of how many documented places name each month — evidence about when people fish for it, not a prediction of what any particular day will produce.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January: no place here names this month — no place names it. | February: no place here names this month — no place names it. | March: no place here names this month — no place names it. | April: 4 places name this month — few places. | May: 23 places name this month — many places. | June: 28 places name this month — most places. | July: 28 places name this month — most places. | August: 24 places name this month — most places. | September: 20 places name this month — many places. | October: 3 places name this month — few places. | November: no place here names this month — no place names it. | December: no place here names this month — no place names it. |
28 of the 41 places that record catches of starry smooth-hound state which months. The other 13 name no season, so they are counted in neither direction: the shape above is what the dated records say, not the whole picture. The dated records span 12 separate areas.
Identification
No photograph of Starry smooth-hound has passed identity review yet, so none is shown. A photograph is published only once somebody has checked the animal in it against the diagnostic features described on this page.
- Scientific name
- Mustelus asterias
- Family
- Triakidae
- Water
- Saltwater
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened
- Regions
- Britain & Ireland, Western Europe, Mediterranean
- Small white spots scattered along a plain grey flank, giving the species its name.
- Flattened pavement-like crushing teeth rather than cutting blades.
- Two dorsal fins of similar size with no spines, and a slender body with a pointed snout.
- No black-tipped fins and no bold bars, which separates it from other small European sharks.
Size
- Typical
- 2–5 kg (4.4–11 lb)
- Large
- 6–10 kg (13–22 lb)
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 154 cm and 4.8 kg
Skin like sandpaper, crushing plates, and a shark that is not a dogfish
Smooth-hounds are frequently confused with the spurdog and the lesser-spotted dogfish, and the handling differences between them are exactly the things that matter.
WHAT IT DOES NOT HAVE. No dorsal spines. That distinguishes it from the spurdog, which carries a venomous spine in front of each dorsal fin and is a genuinely hazardous fish to handle. A smooth-hound is safe to hold across the back in a way a spurdog is not, and knowing which one is in your hands is the first requirement.
WHAT IT DOES HAVE. Dermal denticles — skin that is functionally sandpaper. A smooth-hound drawn across a forearm removes skin, and holding a thrashing one bare-handed leaves the marks for days. The abrasion runs one way, so the damage happens when the fish moves against the grain.
AND CRUSHING PLATES rather than teeth. Smooth-hounds eat crabs and shellfish, and the mouth contains flattened pavement-like plates. It cannot cut a finger; it can crush one uncomfortably.
HANDLING. Wet cloth or gloves, support the body along its length, and keep the fish flat. Sharks lack the skeletal support of bony fish and a smooth-hound held vertically or by the tail is being damaged internally.
AND THEY ARE OFTEN CAUGHT IN NUMBERS ON A RISING TIDE from open beach ground, which is where the actual hazard lies: an angler working fish quickly at the water's edge on a flooding tide, watching the rod rather than the sea.
What experienced anglers do — why, and the sources (2)
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Dentition, fin and spine morphology, body form, air-breathing capability and distribution for the species, which are the anatomical facts the handling practice below follows from.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated angling practice for handling this species, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Smoothhound and crab: one diet, and a season built on it
Smoothhound fishing is organised around a single prey item to a degree matched by almost nothing else in British sea angling, and knowing why explains the bait, the season and the ground together.
THE DIET IS CRUSTACEAN. Smoothhounds have pavement-like crushing plates instead of cutting teeth, and they eat crabs, hermit crabs and other crustaceans almost to the exclusion of anything else. That is not a preference; it is what the mouth is for.
SO PEELER CRAB IS THE BAIT, AND THE REASON IS BIOLOGICAL. A peeler is a crab about to moult, which has shed the hard shell beneath and is soft and defenceless underneath the old one. It is the most vulnerable a crab ever is and predators target it specifically. Hardback crab works and peeler works better, and the difference is not superstition.
WHICH TIES THE SEASON TO THE CRABS RATHER THAN TO THE FISH. Smoothhound appear inshore as water warms and their arrival coincides with the crab moult, which is itself temperature-driven. The fishery has a season because the food does. In a cold spring both are late, together.
THE GROUND FOLLOWS THE CRABS TOO — mixed and rough ground, mussel beds, and the margins of estuaries and banks where crabs are abundant. Clean open sand holds fewer.
AND THE FIGHT IS THE OTHER HALF OF THE REPUTATION. Smoothhound run hard and long for their size and are among the best sporting fish available from British shores, which combined with their being poor eating makes the fishery almost entirely catch-and-release.
IDENTIFICATION MATTERS BEFORE HANDLING. Two smoothhound species occur, and both are routinely confused with the spurdog, which carries a venomous spine in front of each dorsal fin. The handling section on this page covers what follows from that; the short version is to know which fish is in your hands before you grip it.
AND THE CRAB SUPPLY IS A CONSERVATION QUESTION. Peeler crab is collected from the shore, collection can damage the habitat it comes from, and it is regulated in places. Return turned rocks the way they were found, and check local rules on collection.
What experienced anglers do — why, and the sources (2)
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore and boat practice in north-west European sea angling for the ground, method or species described, presented across multiple independent contributors.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Diet, dentition, reproductive strategy, longevity and habitat association for the species described.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Lifecycle and reproduction
Slow-maturing and long-lived by comparison with bony fish, bearing live young in modest numbers after a long gestation. Reproductive output is low, which is the basis for the release culture around the species.
Viviparous, with females giving birth to live young after a gestation of about a year. Litters are small, and pupping occurs in shallow coastal areas in summer.
Feeding and senses
Feeds principally on crabs and other crustaceans, crushing them with plate-like teeth, along with small fish and molluscs. Hunts over sand and mixed ground close to the bottom.
Locates prey by smell and by electroreception close to the bottom, which is why crab baits fished hard on the ground are so effective and why scent trails matter.
Through the year
Moves inshore in late spring and summer to feed and to pup, and moves offshore into deeper water in winter. The summer inshore period is the whole of the recreational fishery.
Distribution
Northeast Atlantic: British Isles and North Sea to Canary Islands, including the Mediterranean and Mauritania
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
A prime European summer shore and boat target, taken on peeler crab and hermit crab fished on the bottom over sand and mixed ground. Its significance is the quality of the fight on light tackle and its accessibility from open beaches, and it has become one of the most sought-after British shore species. Almost universally released.
Handling and returning
It does not have cutting teeth, but the crushing plates can still injure and the skin is abrasive enough to remove skin from a forearm. Support the body horizontally, never lift a shark by the tail alone, keep it off dry sand, and return it promptly and head-first into the water.
Safety
Injury while handling fish — Can cause injury needing treatment
The pavement teeth can crush a finger and the dermal denticles are abrasive enough to graze skin badly when the fish twists.
What reduces it: Keep fingers out of the mouth, support the fish with both hands rather than gripping, and wear gloves or use a wet cloth.
Where to go next
Similar and related fish
Where it lives
Where you will find it
- Chesil BeachWorks the clean ground offshore, strongly associated with crab as prey.
- The Norfolk and Suffolk sandbank coastA summer species over the mixed and clean ground of this coast, associated with crab as prey and therefore with the periods when crabs are moulting.
- The Severn EstuaryA characteristic species of the estuary's sand and mud ground, hunting crab in water with effectively no visibility.
- The Thames EstuaryOver the clean and mixed ground of the outer estuary in summer, where the crab it feeds on is abundant on the bank edges.
- The Wash and the Lincolnshire coastOver the clean sand and mixed ground off the Lincolnshire beaches in summer, feeding on crab.
- The Wexford coastThe discovery of smooth-hound in numbers on this coast produced what its own source calls a revolution in east-coast fishing, and — outside the Shannon estuary — this is where an angler goes in Ireland for one. The evidence is a competition rather than an anecdote: thirty anglers, four hours, a hundred and sixteen fish, averaging over two and a half kilos. The season is spring into early summer and nobody understands why it falls away after it.
- The Yorkshire coastOver the clean sand and mixed ground of the southern half of the coast in summer, where the crab it feeds on is abundant.
Told apart from
Sources and evidence
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Family, maximum size, depth and environment, distribution and the IUCN assessment for Mustelus asterias.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature (Conservation authority)Relied on for: The Near Threatened assessment for Mustelus asterias, assessed 04 August 2020.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Why the 16 connections on this page are here, and the sources
Similar and related fish
Backed by research — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Rig
Mustelus lenticulatus reaches 125 cm around New Zealand and the Kermadecs; Mustelus asterias is the north-east Atlantic species a British shore angler meets. Both carry pavement crushing plates rather than cutting teeth, both take crab baits on the bottom, and both are live-bearers with small litters.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The morphology, size, depth range and distribution that separate these two species from one another.States this directlyPassage read and verified
How it is caught
What experienced anglers do — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Ledgering
A practitioner claim about how Mustelus asterias is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for starry smooth hound.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for starry smooth hound and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Surfcasting
A practitioner claim about how Mustelus asterias is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for starry smooth hound.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for starry smooth hound and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Gear for this fish
What experienced anglers do — 3 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Crab and shellfish
A practitioner claim about tackle commonly used for Mustelus asterias.
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of this presentation for starry smooth hound.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of comparable presentations for the species group.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Peeler crab
Named as the smooth-hound bait by two independent publishers in two countries, each attached to a dated session with a fish count.
- Sea Angling in Ireland: the shore marks of Wexford — Sea Angling Ireland (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: A county shore directory describing a shore smooth-hound fishery across five beaches and naming the bait at each.Passage read and verified
- On the Lincolnshire smoothhounds — Planet Sea Fishing, 2016 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: A dated feature on an English shore smooth-hound session naming the bait, the rig and the hook size.Passage read and verified
Uptide rig
That anglers conventionally choose this arrangement when targeting this fish. It is a claim about practice rather than about the fish, and it does not assert that the arrangement is necessary or that it will succeed.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of British sea angling practice, including boat and shore terminal arrangements, grip leads and the conditions each is chosen for.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK angling practice as reported by practitioners, including sea terminal tackle convention and its development.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where it lives
Backed by research — 2 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Inshore ground
A habitat association for Mustelus asterias taken from the environment and distribution data on its FishBase summary.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The environment, depth range and habitat description recorded for Mustelus asterias.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Surf beaches
A habitat association for Mustelus asterias taken from the environment and distribution data on its FishBase summary.
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The environment, depth range and habitat description recorded for Mustelus asterias.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Where you will find it
Backed by research — 7 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Chesil Beach
A distribution association between an animal and a kind of water, rather than a claim about any named mark.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association, depth and ground preference of fishes in British and north-west European waters.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association and depth range recorded for the species.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified
The Norfolk and Suffolk sandbank coast
A claim that a place contains the ground and conditions the species is associated with. It is a distributional statement about the world, it rests on the regional reference literature, and it deliberately asserts nothing about access, permission or catch.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution and habitat association of the marine and estuarine fishes of the British Isles, including which coasts and ground types a species occupies.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association for the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
The Severn Estuary
A distribution association between an animal and a kind of water, rather than a claim about any named mark.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association, depth and ground preference of fishes in British and north-west European waters.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Distribution, habitat association and depth range recorded for the species.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified
The Thames Estuary
A claim that a place contains the ground, water and seasonal conditions the species is associated with. It is a distributional statement about the world, it rests on the regional reference literature, and it deliberately asserts nothing about access, permission or catch.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution and habitat association of the marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes of the British Isles, including which coasts, estuaries and ground types a species occupies.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association for the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
The Wash and the Lincolnshire coast
A claim that a place contains the ground, water and seasonal conditions the species is associated with. It is a distributional statement about the world, it rests on the regional reference literature, and it deliberately asserts nothing about access, permission or catch.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution and habitat association of the marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes of the British Isles, including which coasts, estuaries and ground types a species occupies.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association for the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
The Wexford coast
A claim that a coast contains the ground and conditions the species is associated with. It is a distributional statement about the world, it rests on the regional reference literature, and it deliberately asserts nothing about access, permission or catch.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution and habitat association of the marine and estuarine fishes of the British Isles and north-west Europe, including which coasts and ground types a species occupies.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association for the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
The Yorkshire coast
A claim that a place contains the ground, water and seasonal conditions the species is associated with. It is a distributional statement about the world, it rests on the regional reference literature, and it deliberately asserts nothing about access, permission or catch.
- The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe — Macmillan, 1969 (Reference work)Relied on for: Distribution and habitat association of the marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes of the British Isles, including which coasts and ground types a species occupies.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Recorded distribution, depth range and habitat association for the species named.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Told apart from
Official guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Tope
Two records a reader must hold together, because the animals are confused with one another in the hand and the consequences of getting it wrong are not symmetrical.
- Shark Trust identification guides and angling best practice — The Shark Trust (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Identification characters separating the British sharks, skates and rays, and the handling, unhooking and release practice asked of anglers.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
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