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Sea fish

Big-scale sand smelt

Atherina boyeri

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Other names: Çamuka

Open fishing grounds on the map Bait and tackle
Big-scale sand smelt
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · source
Habitat
Shallow shore · lagoon
Method
Float fishing · LRF
Family
Atherinidae

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Where is Big-scale sand smelt caught?

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Black Sea fishing spots

169
Black Sea
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A listed spot is not a guarantee of a catch.

Black Sea

Season and suitable conditions

Recorded all year round in this region; no distinct fishing season shows.

Season information is no guarantee of a catch.

Best spots in November

By month

Average monthly score of the spots in Turkey (0–100).

  1. 56 Jan
  2. 55 Feb
  3. 67 Mar
  4. 69 Apr
  5. 72 May
  6. 70 Jun
  7. 65 Jul
  8. 64 Aug
  9. 67 Sep
  10. 70 Oct
  11. 59 Nov
  12. 58 Dec

The best spot in each Turkish province, by this month’s score.

  1. Akbük Koyu Sahili Didim, Aydın 67/100 Good
  2. Asit İskelesi Bandırma, Balıkesir 67/100 Good
  3. Tuzla Çayı Ayvacık, Çanakkale 67/100 Good
  4. Sazlıdere Plajı Keşan, Edirne 67/100 Good
  5. Aya Nikola Halk Plajı Adalar, İstanbul 67/100 Good

A 0–100 score from season, water temperature, habitat and local records; a general trend, not a guarantee.

Best times of day

When in the day it bites best, month by month.

  • Active by day
  • Limited at night

In November

  1. Dawn Best 75

    0.5 h before sunrise → 2 h after

  2. Midday 75

    1.5 h before midday → 1.5 h after

  3. Dusk 75

    1.5 h before sunset → 0.5 h after

  4. Night 30

    1 h after sunset → 2 h before sunrise

Moon phase

Effect of the moon on night fishing; the scores compare the phases.

  1. New moon 65
  2. First quarter 55
  3. Full moon 55
  4. Last quarter 55

Best phase: New and full moon

Windows across 12 months

Best times of day J F M A M J J A S O N D
Dawn 65 65 75 75 75 85 85 85 75 75 75 65
Midday 85 85 75 75 75 50 50 50 75 75 75 85
Dusk 65 65 75 75 75 80 80 80 75 75 75 65
Night 25 25 30 30 30 40 40 40 30 30 30 25

Windows follow sunrise and sunset; clock times change with place and date. Scores are relative within the month: 100 is the best window of the day.

6 sources · confidence medium

Habitat

Where it lives and in what kind of water: ranges compiled by the research.

Depth

0–30 m

mostly 0–3 m

Water temperature

3–30 °C

ideal 14.2–20.9 °C

Salinity

Also enters brackish water

0–77 ‰

Shore types

  • Delta / alluvial shore
  • Cove / inner bay
  • Breakwater / jetty
  • Pier / quay
  • Around marinas
  • River / stream mouth
  • Lagoon / weir mouth
  • Inside harbours
  • Tidal flat / marsh
  • Reclaimed shore

Bottom

Lives in open water

  • Seaweed

Ranges from FishBase, AquaMaps and the literature; a general tendency, not a hard limit.

Confidence: shore type high, temperature medium

Bait and tackle suggestions

Recorded baits and fishing techniques.

Bait by month

Baits documented for shore fishing, month by month and by water clarity.

In November

Lures

Processed bait (all year)

  • Bread
  • Chicken

By water clarity

Small shoaling fish / planktivore — Small-mouthed, picks its food by sight. Small, shiny lures such as sabiki rigs take the lead in clear water.

Clear Visibility: over 8 m
Lure First lure: LRF micro soft plastic · Very suitable Usually in this water: Sabiki rig, small feathers, micro jig; twitch slowly. Colour: Silver
Slightly coloured Visibility: 4–8 m
Lure First lure: Sabiki rig · Very suitable Usually in this water: Sabiki rig, micro jig, small spoon. Colour: Silver
Moderately coloured Visibility: 2–4 m
Lure First lure: Sabiki rig · Very suitable Usually in this water: Baited sabiki, scented micro soft plastic. Colour: Silver
Murky Visibility: 1–2 m
Lure First lure: LRF micro soft plastic · Weak Usually in this water: UV/glow sabiki, lighted float. Colour: Glow (UV), Blue-green back, White
Very murky Visibility: under 1 m
Lure First lure: LRF micro soft plastic · Not recommended Colour: Colour does not matter No strong option in this water; catches may be poor.
12-month bait calendar
January
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
February
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
March
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
April
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
May
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
June
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
July
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
August
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
September
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
October
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
November
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic
December
Lures: Sabiki rig, LRF micro soft plastic

This is the usual pattern; the water and weather on the day can change it. Colour is fine-tuning: bait type, size and action come first. Confidence: natural low, lures low. Colour and presentation guide

Natural baits

Fishing technique

In this region · Black Sea

Natural bait:
bread, small worm; regional support: European anchovy / European sprat
Lure:
micro sabiki
Technique:
Bolognese

Fishing rules

The regulation holds no separate minimum size or closed season entry for this species. The provisions for Türkiye as a whole apply.

Before you go, check local area and method restrictions.

How is Big-scale sand smelt caught?

The big-scale sand smelt moves in shoals along shallow shores and in lagoons; in our records it looks productive all year round in the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. Fishing for it is fine-tackle work: a sensitive float rig or a Bolognese rod, thin line and a small-size hook are the typical choice. A micro sabiki on LRF tackle works too, because the fish reacts to bright, small targets. Among natural baits, breadcrumb and small worm come first. The supporting bait changes from sea to sea: in the Black Sea anchovy and sprat, in the Sea of Marmara anchovy, horse mackerel and shrimp, in the Aegean sardine, mamun (a small crab) and sülünez (a shellfish bait), in the Mediterranean sardine, squid and shrimp are on record. Scattering a little bread crumb, but scattering it steadily, is the classic way to hold the shoal on the spot. Because the fish swims close to the surface, the float is most often set between half a metre and a metre deep. Two limits should not be skipped. When you use a sabiki, do not go over the number of hooks the amateur communiqué allows per line; there is an upper size limit for bait fish as well, and anything above it counts as a catchable fish. Some lagoons and fish weirs are closed to fishing by the communiqué or are under lease — before you pick a spot, look at the closed-area and closed-season list for your region.

How is Big-scale sand smelt cooked?

How is the big-scale sand smelt cleaned? The fish is small, so the job is short — but it is not skipped: the scales are rubbed off with salt, the belly is emptied with a finger, then it is washed in plenty of water and drained. The head and the bones are usually left in; the fish is cooked whole and eaten bones and all. The most common method is to coat it in cornmeal or wheat flour and fry it briefly in hot oil. In one academic trial the whole fish was fried in sunflower oil at 190 °C for three minutes; the same study reports that frying raised the fat in the flesh about sevenfold, with a slight drop in EPA and DHA and a rise in oxidation. Anyone who wants to cook it with less oil can go to the oven instead. Avoid preparations that get no heat treatment. Marinating and raw salting are, by definition, uncooked products; they call for food-safety handling of their own and are not a preparation to try at home.

Big-scale sand smelt: benefits and nutritional value

Two points stand out when the benefits of the big-scale sand smelt come up: its low fat content, and the fact that the fish is eaten whole, bones and all. A seasonal study on samples from the Çekerek Dam in Türkiye measured protein at 15.64 – 17.00% and fat at 1.95 – 2.86% in the muscle tissue. So it is a low-fat, protein-heavy fish — but not a “fat-free” one. The same study also gives the shares within total fatty acids: EPA 5.59 – 7.22%, DHA 12.33 – 19.77%, total polyunsaturated fatty acids 28.29 – 36.11%. The highest EPA and DHA were measured in the spring samples. These percentages show the distribution inside the fish's own fat; the total fat of the fish stays around the 2% figure above. FishBase reports 134 mg of calcium per 100 grams for Atherina boyeri (range 71 – 293 mg), and because the fish is eaten with its bones, most of that value reaches the plate. The figures here are nutrient content only; they carry no claim of preventing or treating disease. Because the measurements come from a freshwater population, the ratios can come out differently in a sea-caught fish. And frying, the most common preparation, raises the fat in the flesh markedly.

Species profile

Big-scale sand smelt
Scientific name
Atherina boyeri
Family
Atherinidae
Order
Atheriniformes
Water type
Saltwater
Seas
Sea of Marmara, Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean
Other names
Gümüş balığı, Çamuka

Frequently asked questions

Which seas is Big-scale sand smelt found in?

In our records Big-scale sand smelt appears in these seas: Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean, North Aegean & Thrace — Greece, Central & South Aegean — Greece, Ionian Sea — Greece, Crete & Libyan Sea — Greece, Tyrrhenian Sea — Italy, Adriatic — Italy, Ionian Sea — Italy, Strait of Sicily — Italy, Sardinian Sea — Italy, Atlantic Ocean — Spain, Mediterranean — Spain, Cantabrian Sea — Spain, Balearic Sea — Spain, Alboran Sea — Spain, Gulf of Cádiz — Spain, Strait of Gibraltar — Spain.

In which months is Big-scale sand smelt at its peak?

Peak periods by sea: Sea of Marmara all year; Black Sea all year; Aegean Sea all year; Mediterranean all year; North Aegean & Thrace — Greece October–April; Central & South Aegean — Greece October–April; Ionian Sea — Greece October–April; Crete & Libyan Sea — Greece September–June; Tyrrhenian Sea — Italy April, May, June, September, October; Sardinian Sea — Italy April, May, June, September, October; Adriatic — Italy April, May, June, September, October; Ionian Sea — Italy April, May, June, September, October; Strait of Sicily — Italy April, May, June, September, October; Mediterranean — Spain April, May, June, September, October; Alboran Sea — Spain April, May, June, September, October; Balearic Sea — Spain April, May, June, September, October; Gulf of Cádiz — Spain April, May, June, September, October; Atlantic Ocean — Spain March, April, May, August, September; Cantabrian Sea — Spain March, April, May, August, September; Strait of Gibraltar — Spain April, May, June, September, October.

Which bait is Big-scale sand smelt caught with?

Baits and lures on record: bread, small worm, European anchovy, Atlantic horse mackerel, shrimp, micro sabiki, European sprat, European sardine, mamun, sülünez, European squid.

How is Big-scale sand smelt caught?

Gümüş balığı sığ kıyı ve lagünlerde sürü hâlinde dolaşır; kayıtlarımızda Marmara, Karadeniz, Ege ve Akdeniz’de yıl boyu verimli görünüyor. Av ince takım işidir: hassas şamandıra takımı ya da Bolognese kamışı, ince misina ve küçük numara iğne tipik seçimdir.

How is Big-scale sand smelt cooked?

Gümüş balığı nasıl temizlenir? Balık küçük olduğu için işlem kısa sürer ama atlanmaz: pullar tuzla ovularak alınır, karın kısmı parmakla ayıklanır, sonra bol suda yıkanıp süzülür. Kafa ve kılçık genellikle çıkarılmaz; balık bütün pişirilir ve kılçığıyla birlikte yenir.

What are the benefits of Big-scale sand smelt?

Gümüş balığı faydaları konuşulurken öne çıkan iki nokta var: yağının düşük olması ve balığın kılçığıyla birlikte bütün tüketilmesi. Türkiye’de Çekerek Barajı örnekleri üzerinde yapılan mevsimsel bir çalışmada kas dokusunda protein %15,64 – 17,00, yağ ise %1,95 – 2,86 ölçülmüş.

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