THE HUNT FOR BIG COD
A tackle shop’s event in South Wales gets plenty of anglers out in search of a dream fish…
Great places to fish in South Wales.
If you want to target a big cod from the Bristol Channel this winter you should put in the hours over the Christmas period. Between December and January, there is a great window of opportunity for some decent fish in the vast estuary.
Big cod are, however, few and far between now, with a fish breaking into double figures seen as a good one. The ultimate goal for most specimen anglers would be a cod around the 20lb mark.
Because those big cod are in such short supply, you may want some help on where to put in your rod hours. Barry is one place in the Bristol Channel that has a solid reputation for producing big cod from the shore.
THE CHASE
As always, I like to seek out local knowledge before embarking on a new fishing mission. When chasing cod in South Wales, I know who to call – my friend Daniel Crump.
Working in a tackle shop, he has a wealth of local knowledge and hears lots of news about local catches.
Having grown up on Barry Island, he is well aware of its reputation for producing big cod. In fact, Daniel caught a monster 22lb 3oz cod from Barry on New Year’s Eve 2012, and that fish remains the biggest landed from the shore in Barry this century.
That was an awesome achievement, but the British record cod stands at a whopping 44lb – and guess where that was caught? Yes, Barry. It was landed by Branden Jones back in 1966.
In that same year, the first Severn Bridge opened, and now there is some great news for all travelling anglers – because from December 17 there will no longer be a toll charge to cross either of the Severn Bridges that span the estuary and link England to Wales.
POPULAR EVENT
Daniel works alongside Ray Christoforato in Holton Road Angling, a great local fishing tackle shop in Barry. These guys will tell you everything you need to know about the area. Take it from me, finding your way around the South Wales coastline isn’t always easy and you may need some guidance.
They also run a cod competition each year, which I have entered. It’s a great idea and is in its fifth year. This event is judged on the heaviest individual cod caught between November 1 and March 31 in South Wales. Fishing is limited to between the old Severn Bridge and Sker Rocks, Porthcawl.
Growing in popularity, more than 130 anglers have signed up for the 2018/19 event so far. With each individual paying a £10 entry fee, that puts this year’s prize fund up to more than £1,300. With the cash split between the top five anglers, it’s worth winning and should make for an exciting competition.
Fish are verified by being filmed alive with a clear view of the weight and fish. The video must start with digital scales on zero and give the weight in pounds and ounces. In the previous events, Lewis Hobrow has won twice, with fish of 14lb 2oz (from Lavernock Point) and 10lb 4oz. Dean Booker won the first event with a 6lb 4oz cod, and Gareth Griffiths the third with a 12lb 2oz fish.
THE FORESHORE
Setting off from Bristol, I headed straight for Barry to meet Ray and Daniel at the shop. This was the first time that I’d been there, and it was very impressive, nicely laid out and well organised, with a superb range of tackle and bait.
I wanted to pick Daniel’s brain on the local fishing and discover some marks to give me a chance in the cod competition. The plan was to accompany him on a short session somewhere relatively local to the shop.
As it was only the end of October, Dan decided that Cardiff Foreshore would give him an opportunity of catching a few cod that feed over the muddy ground in early season in South Wales, while after Christmas they feed more over rougher ground, as in rock and coral.
The movement of cod is generally dictated by food, and mudflats are usually rich with shrimps and worms before the weather gets too cold.
This was my first time at Cardiff Foreshore. On arrival, the mass of rubble dumped on the beach over the years made it look like rough ground. As it turns out, this debris only runs out for about 20-40 yards before you hit smaller pebbles and mud.
It can be tackle-hungry, especially for those who struggle to cast bigger distances. It may be worth taking some rotten-bottom attachments for your rigs. Daniel can put a bait out a long way, but even so, he had armed himself with a selection of lead weights and Pennell pulley rigs. Cod have a habit of hugging the bottom as you wind them in, and you need to pump and retrieve quite quickly to avoid tackle losses.
INTO ACTION
Using an Anyfish Anywhere Tournament Match Pro rod, Dan had loaded his Penn 525 Mag reel with Asso Ultra 16lb mainline. It’s a great line for casting, but still very strong, giving some pulling power if needed.
There is a good amount of tide at Cardiff Foreshore, so Dan recommends 7oz grip weights.
Rig-wise, he’d fished 3ft pulley rigs to a selection of wide-gape hooks. Match your hook size to your bait and don’t be afraid to use big ones if required.
Dan had a good selection of bait, including blow lug, peeler crabs and squid. Try using big fish baits when targeting the larger cod. Mackerel, Bluey and squid are all popular choices and give out a good amount of scent in the tide.
Catching a big cod requires persistence in terms of hours on the beach.
This is generally a high-water venue, mainly because it’s very shallow and muddy at low tide. Dan aimed to fish two hours either side of high water, but was expecting to catch the codling on the ebbing tide, and he wasn’t wrong. After landing a few smaller fish on the flood, with a conger eel right on top water, he enjoyed a flurry of bites on the ebb.
As is so often the case with cod, the bites were very positive in the strong tide. After numerous slack line bites, Dan had four reasonably good codling.
He recommends that you keep a close watch on your rod tip because they can bite hard and fast, quickly breaking out the wires on your sinker and creating masses of slack line when fishing in a strong tide. Once your tip has dropped back, pick up your rod and wind fast to catch up with the fish.
It had been a successful session and it had given me a good few hours to extract plenty of valuable information.