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Year of the cod


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This winter I'm setting myself a target of catching a cod from my local patch. I've tried somewhat halfheartedly, and without success, over the last few seasons but this year will be the year of the cod!

I've been keeping my ear to to the ground and an area known as the Spoils seems to feature regularly in the few catches that are made in the east Wight area every year. It's an old dumping ground and I've heard it can be very snaggy, so I'll need to trip my anchor. At between 30-40m it's also relatively deep compared with the Solent and inshore Wight marks, so big weights and big baits will be the order of the day. Wish me luck!

54hOZbu.jpg

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37 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

This winter I'm setting myself a target of catching a cod from my local patch. I've tried somewhat halfheartedly, and without success, over the last few seasons but this year will be the year of the cod!

I've been keeping my ear to to the ground and an area known as the Spoils seems to feature regularly in the few catches that are made in the east Wight area every year. It's an old dumping ground and I've heard it can be very snaggy, so I'll need to trip my anchor. At between 30-40m it's also relatively deep compared with the Solent and inshore Wight marks, so big weights and big baits will be the order of the day. Wish me luck!

54hOZbu.jpg

Get onto a deep water wreck and bounce a lure along the bottom beside the wreck.

we get a few small codling on the inshore rough ground marks, but that is very ‘hit n miss’

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2 hours ago, GPSguru said:

He is really thinking about bait thieving pikey sharks that are a waste of ocean space 🙄😇

I suspect you're right - he's confusing Leopard Sharks with Lesser Spotted Dogfish aka Small Spotted Catsharks aka Bait Thieving Pikey Sharks aka my favourite blank-savers. 😉

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Back on topic for a moment, has anyone had any success bouncing a lure across open ground for cod, or only on wrecks? Thinking it could be a good technique to cover lots of ground to find the fish, rather than using a bait as long as yer arm to draw them (and every other species) in.

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1 minute ago, Andy135 said:

Back on topic for a moment, has anyone had any success bouncing a lure across open ground for cod, or only on wrecks? Thinking it could be a good technique to cover lots of ground to find the fish, rather than using a bait as long as yer arm to draw them (and every other species) in.

 

Robin Howard out of Brighton uses this technique to deadly effect both on rough ground and wreck marks. There are probably some youtube vids where he explains the rigs in detail.

Don't try is with slow jigs, as the finish of the jig takes a thorough dislike to being bounced off the bottom !

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29 minutes ago, GPSguru said:

 

Robin Howard out of Brighton uses this technique to deadly effect both on rough ground and wreck marks. There are probably some youtube vids where he explains the rigs in detail.

Don't try is with slow jigs, as the finish of the jig takes a thorough dislike to being bounced off the bottom !

Ah, I think I remember reading about his technique in Saltwater Boat Angler a couple of years ago. From memory he uses normal lead-headed lures IIRC.

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1 hour ago, Andy135 said:

Back on topic for a moment, has anyone had any success bouncing a lure across open ground for cod, or only on wrecks? Thinking it could be a good technique to cover lots of ground to find the fish, rather than using a bait as long as yer arm to draw them (and every other species) in.

A thing that will be a problem is water clarity/lack of visibility in the winter, big baits will set a decent scent trail for fish to find but a lure out in the open may well be lost 

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2 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

Also, I’ve found that the cod I’ve caught in the solent area have been had in early September. After September they disappear never to be seen again. This is mainly due to pair trawlers hoovering up. 

We get very few/none, there’s not that much commercial movement here but they are definitely getting caught elsewhere. 

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4 hours ago, Andy135 said:

This winter I'm setting myself a target of catching a cod from my local patch. I've tried somewhat halfheartedly, and without success, over the last few seasons but this year will be the year of the cod!

I've been keeping my ear to to the ground and an area known as the Spoils seems to feature regularly in the few catches that are made in the east Wight area every year. It's an old dumping ground and I've heard it can be very snaggy, so I'll need to trip my anchor. At between 30-40m it's also relatively deep compared with the Solent and inshore Wight marks, so big weights and big baits will be the order of the day. Wish me luck!

54hOZbu.jpg

A spot I've fished a lot,  don't go there in tides above a 4.3m measured at Southampton you'll need a car to hold bottom.  Also be careful with the weather because it does rough up there with not a lot of wind.  I'll not be heading there in anything above 10mph SW,  but you can fish a F4 NE bit lumpy but fish able. 

Ray is a master at catching Cod and its his No 1 spot,  he's had a lot out of there upto 30lb

PM if you want some numbers

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Meant to add end of October onwards is when we'll start to fish it.  Stay in the Solent for them in Sept/Oct all the usual spots, Brambles, Lepe, Ryde middle, Gilkicker etc they tend to come into the Solent before heading out to the Nab areas end of October onwards. 

Last few years the Solent has out fished Needles and Nab almost like they came straight into the Solent and didn't head back out

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8 minutes ago, Scotch_Egg2012 said:

Meant to add end of October onwards is when we'll start to fish it.  Stay in the Solent for them in Sept/Oct all the usual spots, Brambles, Lepe, Ryde middle, Gilkicker etc they tend to come into the Solent before heading out to the Nab areas end of October onwards. 

Last few years the Solent has out fished Needles and Nab almost like they came straight into the Solent and didn't head back out

Going back to Andy’s question do you ever take them on lures or are you using baits on the bottom? 

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12 minutes ago, Saintly Fish said:

That’s strange, because I’ve not caught a cod in the solent for the last two seasons. 

Last few years has been dire for them everywhere but the Solent threw more up than outside.

Last year the Cod pool on Dointhedo charter boat was won by a 4lb Cod from Browndown he puts a fair amount of time in outside the Solent

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21 minutes ago, JonC said:

Going back to Andy’s question do you ever take them on lures or are you using baits on the bottom? 

Normally on bottom baits,

I wouldn't write off drifting with shads in the deeper spots. Pete who usually comes out on my boat did quite well a few years ago on the brittle star bank drifting with shads. 

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