COD Fishing: learn the best way
Boost your chances of COD Fishing in the quest for this most iconic of the nation’s sea fish
You will always get a reaction from other anglers when you use the word “cod.” It is perhaps our favourite species, one that has helped build and finance countries, transported Vikings to America before Columbus, and provided food for countless millions throughout the globe.
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Best Season for COD Fishing
It is from mid-October onwards that the numbers of shore cod abruptly increase in most parts of the nation. The autumnal gales and storms, as well as the large spring tides, which whip up the water and scour food from the seabed feature, are all factors that encourage them to come inshore.
This period includes the middle-sized tides up to and including the huge spring tides, which are the finest fishing days. The peak of the fishing season is usually three days before the most difficult ride of the cycling season. The flood tide provides the best consistent fishing conditions on surf and steep-to-beach beaches.
Specific areas for COD Fishing
If you can cast to the low-water mark on a surf beach that has rougher terrain out towards the low-water mark, you can catch a lot of fish on the ebb tide. Cod prefer to come up over this area when the tide begins to ebb significantly, so start your fishing two hours down on the ebb and fish until low water is reached. The easiest way to catch cod in the waves over clean sand is to check for any sections of rock or boulder ground on the beach and fish directly to these places.
Behavior: COD Fishing
Because it is densely populated with crabs, tiny fish, and broken-up shellfish, snaggy ground is a favourite haunt of cod. In addition, food washed up by the tide gets tangled up in the rough ground and remains there. Tidal currents would otherwise scrape the deeper gutters or clay banks, which would result in erosion.
In situations where ground characteristics are not readily apparent, such as steep-to beaches, search for spots where the shingle bank may protrude out farther into the sea. Due to the deflection of tidal currents caused by such obstacles, cod will choose the down tide side of the river where the current flows. If you have nothing else to go on, pay attention to the surf pattern and seek for regions where the waves break short and closer together.
These indicate deeper water that is closer in and will provide food and fish. On neap tides, particularly either side of high water when there is deeper water available, some of the shallower rock gullies will fish best, especially if you’re fishing rugged terrain like as the scars in the North East or the rocks along the east coast of Scotland’s east coast.
Other gullies will only be accessible on the larger tides at low water, and they tend to fish best as the tides rise, with the period from low water to maybe four hours up being very productive in this regard. Individual marks will undoubtedly vary, and it will take time to become proficient in this area, but utilise this fundamental suggestions as a starting point. The depth of water in rocky gullies is just 3ft or so, but cod like deeper water, therefore seek for the deeper gullies, particularly those that are packed with kelp and broken rocks, to find them.
If the water is carrying colour, it is possible to fish the rock scars and ledges in the daytime. Having said that, the finest catches are almost always made at night, particularly around the coasts of the world. If you have an option, choose tides that begin to flood as the sun goes down. These are always the greatest, even when the water is coloured.
Tackle for COD Fishing
Beach casters with a casting range of 12-13ft and the ability to throw 6oz and bait are required to cast to range and pull large fish over severe surf and rugged terrain. A reel such as the Penn 525 series should be used, with 20/25lb line and a 60lb shock leader fed into the spool.
In really rocky terrain, a larger reel and 30lb line may be a better choice. If you’re doing a lot of beach work, you may want to consider using a longer Euro-style rod between 14 and 15 feet, along with a 7500 or 8000-sized fixed spool of 30-40lbs braid with a 60-pound shock leader.
Rig for COD Fishing
A pulley is the most versatile gear for catching beach fish. It’s simple to put together. Take 46 inches of 60lb clear monofilament and tie a Gemini Lead/Bait Clip Link to one end of the monofilament. Put one 5mm bead, one Pulley Rig Bead, and one more 5mm bead on the stringing needle.
By tying a figure-of-eight knot, you may get the desired hook length of 18 inches. A size 4/0 Mustad Viking 79510 hook is threaded through the eye, and then a size 4/0 Viking 79515 hook is tied on. For the top hook, wrap the hook trace around the hook shank and then feed the hook point through the top of the bait, as shown in the image below.
When fishing rocky terrain, use a weak connection between the lead weight and the hook. For simplicity, invert the Gemini Lead/Bait Clip linkage by connecting the line to the bottom of the clip, tying on a weak link of line to either end of the clip, and then putting the eye of lead on the hook clip that has been cranked up. When the lead weight reaches the water, it will fall off the clip and into the sea.
TOP BAIT for COD Fishing
Fresh black lug topped with two or three blow lugs is the most effective bait for catching surf fish. In addition to black lug topped with ragworm, crab, or a slice of squid, other combinations that are effective include: It is lethal to consume a black lug with mussels, razorfish, or even a fresh queen cockle while the wind is blowing hard.
Make your baits at least six inches long and flowing with juice to make it easier for the cod to discover them while they are out fishing. A fresh peeler crab, as well as a frozen peeler crab, is lethal on rocky terrain. A huge juicy bait for close-to-medium-range casting may be made by tying three or four mussels together with bait elastic. This is just what the fish are searching for. Once again, black lug is a good choice.
Best Tactics for COD Fishing
When cod fishing in severe seas and high surf, use a large 6oz lead weight with thick grip wires to hold the bottom in place and keep the bait securely moored. This will allow the cod to follow the smell of the bait to its source more easily and effectively.
When cod fishing in rocky terrain, strive to keep your pole steady at all times. Bites will often consist of one or two little taps on the rod tip followed by a single firm pull down, or simply the latter, and it’s easy to miss fish while the rod is in the rod-rest, so keep your rod in the rod-rest.
If you’re doing cod fishing close to or in between snags, try to keep the fish moving. For example, if a fish drags the weight into a snag, let it to have just 2 to 3 feet of extra slack line before raising it away from jams and allowing the pulley system to do its work of lifting the weight up above the fish and out of the worst of the snags.