This is an article written about cod fishing off the UK coast.
Cod is the only fish, with perhaps the exception of sea bass, that truly awakens the primeval hunting instincts in most anglers. We can’t wait for winter to start with the frosts and dark nights that turn every fishing trip into a possible fishing utopia. Most of us would probably sell our souls to the devil for a God caught up in his ‘personal best’!
As the water temperature begins to drop in the fall, and we eagerly await the early frosts and northerly winds to churn the seafloor, most of us are like children waiting for Father Christmas to deliver our ‘prezzies’ .
Most will have built up a bait stock over the summer because THIS season of cod will be OUR season … oh yeah!
That bait will consist of different frozen crab baits such as peeler crab, hermit crab, soft crabs, and possibly spider crab.
We will have frozen the mackerel to use in early whiting and to ‘alert our worm baits along with mussel and razor, squid, frozen black ear, to name just a few, we might even have a’ tank ‘rag worm ready to go.
We know that if all goes according to plan, we should be able to fish as often as we want for the next 5-6 months and catch a reasonable amount of fish for the table, with cod being the main ranch.
With a few exceptions, cod will appear around our coast in most places. The North East, East Anglia, Kent, North Wales, Cumbria and most of Scotland will produce large quantities of cod during the winter months. Unfortunately, the largest cod of the late 1960s and 1970s has all but disappeared and is no longer caught on a regular basis. Cod caught today tends to be smaller in size, a 5 pound cod is considered pretty good in most places, whereas in the 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s a 5 pound cod was really ‘ordinary’. ‘
Much of the cod that is caught, especially in the N / East, is caught on rough terrain and in the most inaccessible places you can imagine. If you go down 300-foot cliffs, carry your gear, and use a rope to make sure you don’t fall to your death appeals, then that’s the place to head. You will need a good solid cod rod to use in these places to force the cod out of the rough terrain and seaweed. A rod with a smooth action would not be good at all.
You can fish for double-digit cod in these spots, but unless you have a guide – someone who knows these areas like the back of your hand – stay away!
Many beaches still fish well for cod and Norfolk and Suffolk are no exception.
A great place is Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast, a very steep pebble beach and very deep water in places, but the whole area will produce very good cod during the winter months. Cod in double figures is not a rarity here. However, you should be prepared to hike through deep, energy-depleting tiles for about an hour to access the deepest and best spots. Of course, the walk back when you’re tired, tired, and probably carrying a pair of double-figured cod can almost put you in an early grave. As some of the locals call it, ‘Heart Attack Alley’ and for very good reason.
On a personal note, I have a good friend who was cod fishing He did what they call ‘The Wall’ a few years ago now alone and actually suffered a heart attack. He lay down on the beach for 45 minutes alone and then made it to the hospital, but not before making sure all his gear was packed first! Well, you have to have your priorities right, as the late great Bill Shankly said about soccer “sport is not about life and death, it is much more important than that”.
South shore areas like Deal, Dover, and Folkstone fish very well during the winter months and can produce some excellent sport during the summer that will include the likes of Double-figured Smoothhounds, Bass up to almost double the numbers and more at times. , with many dogfish and other species. This month (November) he has already produced an 8 pound off cod at Deal Pier. You can expect more of the same if the conditions are right. Deal Pier is a popular spot for fishing, but it’s only open during the night on Fridays and Saturdays and you can fish until 9.45pm. M. The other days. It is very tangled, expect to lose a lot of equipment. It should be a bit better now as it has been dredged along the dock but as I was told it only managed to loosen some of the snags and didn’t get rid of all of them so I still hope to lose some gear.
Speaking of which, Aldeburgh in Suffolk is like this, very, very tangled, the last time I caught him I lost 2 full team games, which many consider not bad at all. And I know many places in Norfolk suffer the same. There must be a certain amount of lead weight if only one could reach it!
Tea cod fishing In the Bristol Channel it produces well, but unless you know the area it is not recommended that you venture too far, the tidal range is tremendous and the speed of the tide has caught many people.
South Wales does not seem to fish very well for cod in winter. I have a friend who is not too bad for cod in the winter in the Cardigan Bay area, but he fishes aboard his own boat using jigs to catch his favorite species. North Wales, Cumbria and the surrounding Scottish coast sometimes produce some cod.