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How to catch Saddled seabream

Oblada melanurus (Linnaeus, 1758)

About Saddled seabream fishing

The saddled seabream is an active marine fish belonging to the family Sparidae, recognised by its oblong compressed body, silvery grey colouration marked with fourteen or fifteen vertical bars, and a distinct white-edged black saddle patch across the caudal peduncle. Growing up to thirty-six centimetres in total length with a common size around twenty centimetres, this gregarious species forms tight schools over shallow rocky reefs, seagrass meadows, and seaweed beds down to thirty metres. It is an omnivorous browser feeding primarily on small benthic invertebrates and plankton. Widely distributed across the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, it is valued by commercial fisheries and pursued by coastal sports anglers using light tackle.

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Average size

    20 cm TL

  • Market value

    Very high

  • Habitat

    Saltwater

  • Season

    Spring, Summer, Autumn

  • Also known as

    Saddle bream, Saddled bream

Saddled seabream

Peduncle Saddle

Distinct black saddle band on the caudal peduncle identifies the saddled seabream.

Horizontal Stripes

Narrow dark longitudinal lines run along the flanks of the silvery body.

Saddled seabream fishing facts

Characteristics

  • Typical size

    20 cm TL (max 36.6 cm TL )

  • Typical weight

    0.2 kg (max 0.5 kg )

  • Preferred temperature

    17.8–27.7 °C

  • Depth

    1–30 m

  • Longevity

    12.4 years

  • Body shape

    Fusiform / Normal

  • Commercial?

  • Vulnerability score

    34.4

Best hours

  • Dawn

    First light

    Active

  • Morning

    After sunrise

    Peak

  • Midday

    High sun

    Low

  • Afternoon

    Late day

    Active

  • Dusk

    Last light

    Peak

  • Night

    After dark

    Low

When to fish for Saddled seabream

01
January
02
February
03
March
04
April
05
May
06
June
07
July
08
August
09
September
10 Now
October
11
November
12
December

How to catch Saddled seabream

Tips for catching Saddled seabream

Anglers targeting this coastal sparid find best results using light spinning rods equipped with sensitive floats or fine ledger rigs fished right over rocky bottoms and near Posidonia seagrass margins. Because these fish browse cautiously in clear shallow waters, fine fluorocarbon leaders and small hooks are essential to secure regular takes. Effective presentations include small pieces of sea worms, strips of shrimp, or simple flake bread paste drifted naturally in the current. Early morning and late afternoon hours offer the most productive sport when schools move closer to shore in search of food.

Other names for Saddled seabream

Local and alternate names anglers use for Saddled seabream.

  • Saddled seabream
  • Saddled bream
  • Saddle bream

Best equipment to catch Saddled seabream

Compare fishing methods for Saddled seabream — sized kit for each technique.

Note: Typical fish is 0.2 kg Our algorithm will suggest the best equipment for you based on this weight.

Best lures and baits for Saddled seabream

Ranked lures and natural baits from every method, best first.

How Saddled seabream migrates — Oceanodromous

Migrates within the sea between spawning, nursery and feeding grounds, and never enters fresh water. Follow its seasonal shifts along the coast and offshore.

How Saddled seabream migrates — Oceanodromous 1. Eggs: Laid on the spawning grounds. 2. Larvae: Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds. 3. Juveniles: Grow up in sheltered nursery waters. 4. Adults: Range widely over the feeding grounds. 5. Spawners: Return to the spawning grounds each season.
Spawning grounds Nursery grounds Feeding grounds

1 Eggs

Spawning grounds

Laid on the spawning grounds.

2 Larvae

→ Nursery grounds

Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds.

3 Juveniles

Nursery grounds

Grow up in sheltered nursery waters.

4 Adults

Feeding grounds

Range widely over the feeding grounds.

5 Spawners

→ Spawning grounds

Return to the spawning grounds each season.

It stays in the sea and never runs up into fresh water.

Hover or tap a number to read each stage.

Diet and behavior of Saddled seabream

  • Diet

    Carnivore

  • Feeds by

    Hunts animals

  • Hunts

    Morning · Dusk

  • Feeds over

    Hard bottom · Seagrass

  • Main prey

    Baitfish

Prey and predators of Saddled seabream

Prey is what Saddled seabream eats. Predators are the animals that eat it.

That is how it feeds, and how it is hunted.

Prey

What it eats

Predators

What hunts it

Fish

  • Fistularia commersoni juv./adults
  • Oblada melanura eggs

Where Saddled seabream lives

Lives near the bottom but swims in the water just above it. Cover the lower column, not only the mud.

Habitats
Saltwater
Depth zone
Sublittoral
Continental shelf · 1–30 m
Water column
Benthopelagic
Just above the bed

Where this species lives

Where to fish for Saddled seabream

Mapped fishing spots where Saddled seabream is recorded — open a pin for access and methods.

Cala de Santa Ponça

Illes BalearsIlles BalearsSpain

Porto di Santa Margherita

VeneziaVenetoItaly

Puerto Petro

Illes BalearsIlles BalearsSpain

Estanque Pudent

Illes BalearsIlles BalearsSpain

Cala Major

Illes BalearsIlles BalearsSpain

Gjiri i Sarandës

SarandëShqipëriaAlbania

Koločepski kanal

DubrovnikDubrovačko-neretvanska županijaCroatia

Uvala Knež

ZadarZadarska županijaCroatia

Liménas Palaiás Epidávrou

ArgolisPeloponnese RegionGreece

Límni Khalkiopoúlou

CorfuIoanian IslandsGreece