How to catch Sea lamprey
Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758
About Sea lamprey fishing
The sea lamprey is an ancient jawless fish belonging to the family Petromyzontidae, characterised by its elongated, eel-like body and distinct lack of paired fins. Growing up to 120 cm in maximum length, this species features a wide, sucker-like mouth filled with sharp concentric teeth and a rasping tongue used for its parasitic feeding strategy. Adults possess an olive-brown dorsal coloration marked with dark marblings fading to lighter shades on the belly. As an anadromous migratory species, it inhabits coastal marine and brackish waters before ascending freshwater rivers and streams to spawn over gravelly substrates, after which the adults typically die. Larvae spend several years burrowed in fine sediments as filter feeders before metamorphosing and heading out to sea.
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Difficulty
Medium
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Average size
60 cm TL
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Market value
High
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Habitat
Freshwater, Brackish, Saltwater
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Season
Spring, Summer
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Also known as
Eel sucker, Great sea lamprey, Green lamprey, Green sea lamprey, Lamper, Lake Lamprey
Sucker mouth
Round sucker-like mouth used for attaching to prey.
Truncate caudal
More or less truncate caudal shape distinguishes it.
Gill openings
Row of seven distinct gill openings behind the eye.
Sea lamprey fishing facts
Characteristics
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Typical size
60 cm TL (max 120 cm TL ) -
Typical weight
0.5 kg (max 2.5 kg ) -
Preferred temperature
1.8–13.1 °C -
Depth
2–927 m -
Longevity
11 years -
Body shape
Eel Like -
Commercial?
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Vulnerability score
72.2
Best hours
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Active
Dawn
First light
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Low
Morning
After sunrise
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Low
Midday
High sun
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Low
Afternoon
Late day
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Active
Dusk
Last light
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Peak
Night
After dark
When to fish for Sea lamprey
How to catch Sea lamprey
Tips for catching Sea lamprey
Targeting sea lampreys by hook and line is exceedingly rare because adults rely on a specialized sucker-like mouth to feed parasitically on large fish and marine mammals rather than striking traditional baits. Anglers who occasionally encounter them typically do so while bottom fishing or drift fishing with natural baits in lower tidal river sections during their spring spawning runs. Because they are anadromous and spend most of their adult lives attached to host species in deep marine waters before ascending freshwater tributaries, they do not respond to conventional lures or feeding attractants. If targeting them for scientific or specialized culinary collection where permitted, heavy bottom rigs equipped with natural dead baits presented near slow-moving silt or sand substrate offer the only remote possibility of snagging or hooking an ascending specimen.
Other names for Sea lamprey
Local and alternate names anglers use for Sea lamprey.
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Lamprey
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Lake Lamprey
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Lamper
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Green sea lamprey
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Green lamprey
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Lamprey eel
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Marine lamprey
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Sea lamprey
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Nannie nine eyes
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Great sea lamprey
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Stone sucker
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Shad lamprey
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Nine eyes
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Spotted lamprey
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Sucker
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Eel sucker
How Sea lamprey migrates — Anadromous
Grows at sea and swims into rivers to spawn. Target the run as fish leave the ocean and push upstream.
1 Eggs
Fresh water
Laid in fresh water, usually well up the river.
2 Juveniles
→ Sea
Grow in the river, then head downstream to the sea.
3 Adults
Sea
Feed and grow at sea.
4 Spawners
→ Fresh water
Run back up the river to spawn.
Some populations never go to sea and complete the cycle in rivers and lakes.
Hover or tap a number to read each stage.
Diet and behavior of Sea lamprey
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Diet
Top predator -
Feeds by
Hunts animals -
Hunts
Night -
Main prey
Baitfish
Prey and predators of Sea lamprey
Prey is what Sea lamprey eats. Predators are the animals that eat it.
That is how it feeds, and how it is hunted.
Prey
What it eats
Baitfish
Predators
What hunts it
Fish
Where Sea lamprey lives
Lives on or just above the bottom. Work jigs, bait, and lures along the seabed.
2–927 m
River mouth
Where this species lives
Sea lamprey photos for identification
Compare these photos with the catalog plate to identify the species.