Latin name: Alburnus alburnus
The Bleak is a small silver fish that is mostly found in rivers.
A shoal fish, large numbers of them can be found near the surface where they will often attack baits intended for other species before it has had time to fall through the water.
Baits
Small maggot baits such as Pinkies or Squatts are a good bait for Bleak.
Tactics
Bleak are rarely the intended species of the general coarse angler, although they are sometimes targeted by match anglers as they are easy to catch and due to their large numbers can be caught in quantity to make up a match wining weight.
To catch them, use light float gear set to fish near the surface and be ready to strike as soon as you see the float or line move. Hooks should be very small, no larger than size 20 and preferably smaller.