EVENT OF MONTH
Spotlight on the Humber Cod Open.
Nuisance cod is a term rarely used by sea anglers, but it was certainly on the minds of competitors in the Humber Cruising Association’s big match recently. This year’s charity cod open took place on Sunday, February 18, when weather conditions were ideal with a calm sea, although the tide was fairly high, so many of the boats had to seek slower currents.
Competing were more than 170 anglers from all over the country, afloat in around 70 craft. Meeting point was near the Wonderland area of Cleethorpes at 8.30am, when they were allowed to head off to their selected marks ready for a start time of 9am.
The Humber Cruising Association has been running the big cod open in the River Humber for the last 15 years. Its organisation and planning is always brilliant. Over the years, the event has had different sponsors, and this year it was renewable energy firm OSTED that provided the £1,000 first prize. The HCA has also raised thousands of pounds for charities from its events.
DECENT COD
Within minutes of the start, local tackle shop owner George Brozych was tussling with a large cod. He was using his homemade crab cart, which has taken several large cod this year.
George, who was aboard Quiet Water fishing close to the north bank of the Humber, soon had a decent cod on the surface and it looked like a double. Shortly after, he lost a bigger fish when he tangled lines with another angler.
With the tide picking up and anglers struggling to hold bottom, boats were moving in search of bigger fish, along with calmer and slower water.
Top local shore match angler ‘Skinny’ Mark Taylor, who featured on the cover of Sea Angler 554, was getting into some decent fish around the 2C Buoy. He had a couple around 8lb and fish of 6lb and 7lb, but competitors were only allowed to weigh in two fish.
Mark later hit into something bigger and was struggling to gain line on when disaster struck as his swivel snapped. That could have been the fish that earned him £1,000!
Plenty of smaller codling around the 2-3lb mark have shown in the Humber this year, but they proved a nuisance when anglers were trying to locate bigger fish to stand a chance in this match.
It did not matter what bait the anglers put on the hook because in some areas they could not escape the smaller fish.
A strong current often played tricks on anglers, too, when they thought they had hooked a fish bigger than it turned out to be – this was especially true for those using lighter tackle.
With the main docks governed by lock gates, the boats had to return for 4.30pm. While waiting to enter the dock, Viv Gedney, from Spalding, who fished from Patsy Lou, skippered by Ian Gedney out of Alexandra Dock, displayed a fish that would prove to be the winner. At the weigh-in, it scaled an impressive 14lb 8oz and earned him the £1,000 prize.
Simon Brummitt, from Lincoln, fishing on Gemini, was second with a cod of 13lb 4oz, while George Brozych was third with his 9lb 10oz fish (not quite the double it seemed).
Prizes went down to around 40th, and you needed a fish of at least 5lb to be rewarded.
The biggest smile of the day was that of junior angler Charlie Hurst, whose cod earned him a new reel.
Profits from the match and from cod sold at the fish market the following day raised £865 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
“You needed a fish of at least 5lb to get into the prizes”