21 Jan 2018 by Phil White
We have had every kind of weather you can imagine over this last fortnight and lost a lot of trips. However we have managed to get the last two weekends in and i’m pleased to report that there are some cod here.
There has been a definite increase in numbers and size of cod this week with all the boats reporting a few more fish this weekend with quite a few between 2-3lb. There are a few more sprats in the water now but this is actually helping to bring the cod in providing we don’t get a glut of them. We did miss some good bites and dropped a couple of fish as well. When the bites are shy you need to cut the squid down and use elastic cotton and keep the bait up the hook with nothing hanging off.
There are some cracking whiting to be caught with several fish over the 1lb mark on Sunday, generally though there are a lot less whiting and this is also giving the cod a chance to get to the baits.
There are a few nice Thornbacks showing, some of them are getting on for double figures, these female fish have eggs and should be returned alive.
The Estuaries and shore marks are always hard in the new year but with less whiting now there could be a chance of a cod from the piers and it won’t be long before more Thornbacks show up.
Prospects as always depend on lots of factors this time of year but signs are encouraging and things can change overnight so don’t give up, the winter fishing changes every year and none of us know what might turn up, keep trying.