Ide

Quick facts

How to identify it

A deep, laterally flattened body with a small head, a modestly sized terminal mouth and fairly small scales (55–61 along the lateral line). The back is dark grey to bluish, the flanks silvery with a golden or brassy sheen in older fish, and the pelvic, anal and tail fins are reddish. Anglers most often confuse it with the chub, which has a broad head, big mouth, large scales and a convex anal fin; the ide's anal fin is slightly concave and its head noticeably smaller. Roach are smaller, have a red iris and larger scales. The golden orfe of garden ponds is simply a colour form of the same species.

Where it lives

Ide are fish of large, slow to medium-paced lowland rivers, their backwaters, connected oxbows, canals and big lakes and reservoirs, and they tolerate brackish water in river mouths and coastal lagoons. They live in shoals over clean gravel and sand, usually in the middle and lower layers, but rise to feed on hatching insects along shaded margins, under overhanging trees and behind groynes. Big specimens favour steady, deep glides below weirs and bridges and the edges of the main current. They stay active in cold water and are common in the same swims as roach, bream and chub, often a little further off the bottom.

Season and behaviour

Ide spawn early, in April and May, running into tributaries and onto flooded gravel or vegetation as soon as the water passes about 8 °C; pre-spawn shoals of big fish in March and April are a classic spring target. After spawning they feed hard through May and June, and in summer they cruise just under the surface, sipping insects on warm, still evenings. Autumn brings a second peak as shoals tighten and fatten up on the bottom, and unlike many cyprinids the ide keeps feeding in winter, particularly on mild days with slightly rising water. Feeding is mainly by day, with dawn and dusk the most reliable windows.

Fishing methods

Light float fishing is the most enjoyable way to catch ide: a stick float or waggler trotted down a steady glide with a constant stream of loose feed, presenting the bait at mid-depth or just tripping the bottom. The feeder works well for the bigger, bottom-oriented fish in deeper rivers — a small cage feeder with groundbait laced with maggots or casters, a 60–80 cm hooklength and hook sizes 12–16. In summer, dry flies, small nymphs and tiny surface lures take fish that are mopping up insects, and a light spinning rod with small spinners, spoons or 3–5 cm crankbaits accounts for large, predatory ide, especially in autumn. Use a soft-actioned rod and balanced line; ide fight hard and have soft mouths.

Baits and lures

Maggots, casters and small red worms are the standard ide baits and work year-round; bread flake and crust are excellent in summer when fish are near the surface, and sweetcorn selects the larger fish. Groundbait should be light and cloudy, sweet rather than fishy, with plenty of loose particles to hold a shoal. For the predatory side of the species, small silver spinners, spoons and slim minnow-shaped crankbaits are the choice, and fly anglers score with small dries, emergers and beadhead nymphs.

Tips from the bank

1. 01Feed little and often — a steady trickle of maggots or casters keeps a shoal of ide competing in front of you.
2. 02In spring, look for pre-spawn shoals at the mouths of tributaries and below weirs where the current steadies.
3. 03On warm summer evenings watch for rings on the surface under overhanging trees and present bread, a dry fly or a floating bait right in the rise.
4. 04Use a hook one size smaller and a slightly longer hooklength than you would for chub; ide are cautious and quick to reject a bait.
5. 05A small silver spinner retrieved just under the surface will pick out the biggest ide in autumn.
6. 06Keep fishing on mild winter days — ide feed in cold water and often save a blank session.

Where to catch Ide

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Ide.

• Tisa
• Hallingdalselve
• Čik
• Narva jõgi - Narva
• Kanal Zlatica
• Dunav
• Ludaško jezero
• Topčiderska reka
• Glibovac
• Lekma
• Lekma
• Tisa
• Bezыmяnnый
• Meleg-víz
• Čanalaš
• Timiș
• Stara Jasenica
• Mala bara
• Palić-Ludaš
• Horgásztó
• Stari Begej
• Sava
• Dong-éri-főcsatorna
• Körös-éri-főcsatorna
• Ribnjak Bečej
• Dunav
• Novoselski potok
• Ešikovački potok
• Sárvári-horgásztó
• Krivaja

Related species

• Chub
  Squalius cephalus

  The big-mouthed, all-year opportunist of rivers and streams — it eats almost anything.

• Asp
  Leuciscus aspius

  Europe's only predatory cyprinid — the silver missile of fast, open river water.

• Roach
  Rutilus rutilus

  The silver shoal fish that keeps float anglers busy all year round.

• Rudd
  Scardinius erythrophthalmus

  The golden, red-finned surface feeder of weedy lakes and summer evenings.

Frequently asked questions