Species

Ruffe

A small, spiny perch with an undivided dorsal fin that lives in groups near the bottom and is often caught as bycatch when fishing for coarse fish.

Gymnocephalus cernua

Photo: Gilles San Martin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, adjusted to 3:2

Spawning: March to May (general guide, varies by region)
German Red List: near threatened (Vorwarnliste)
Typical method: Float fishing near the bottom
Top bait: Redworm

Plan a day fishing for Ruffe

How to recognise it

Stocky, slightly high-backed body, olive brown to grey green with dark, irregular blotches
One undivided dorsal fin with a long spiny front part
Long, strong spine on the gill cover and flat mucus pits on the underside of the head

Easily confused with: Looks like a young European perch, but the perch has a dorsal fin split into two parts; in the ruffe it is undivided (Wikipedia). The German Red List also lists the schraetzer, the Danube ruffe and the Ammersee ruffe as separate species.

How to catch it

Methods: Float fishing near the bottom, Light ledgering (bottom fishing), Pole fishing

Baits: Redworm, Maggot, Bloodworm, Small piece of worm

All year round, including winter; because it relies on its lateral line, it also bites at dusk and in murky water.

Habitat and food

Nutrient-rich still or slow-flowing waters with sandy bottoms, most common in the estuaries of large rivers and in the brackish water of the Baltic Sea. Where it lives alongside the European perch, it stays in deeper water (Wikipedia).

Zooplankton, midge larvae, worms, amphipods, fish eggs and fry; thanks to its well-developed lateral line it can also hunt in the dark (Wikipedia).

Size and age

Usually 12 to 15 cm, maximum 25 cm and 400 g; females live to ten years, males to seven (Wikipedia). FishBase: max. 29 cm, heaviest published weight 400 g, maximum age 10 years.

Protection and rules

Conservation status: German Red List (freshwater fish 2023): near threatened (Vorwarnliste), not threatened in 2009; experts now assume a decline. IUCN: not threatened (Least Concern, 2022).

Ruffe: closed season and minimum size by German state

Berlinno minimum size, no closed season

From the official state fisheries regulations, retrieved 2026-10-11. All rules by state

Check the rules

Closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each German state and can be stricter for single waters. All rules by state, with the legal source

In the kitchen

Small and spiny, so rarely targeted as a food fish; FishBase lists it mainly as a bait fish.

Sources (3)

Last checked 2026-10-13. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].

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