Top tactics to try for tasty haddock.
Handy tips for targeting this tasty member of the cod family
Most sea angling methods are not usually intended to sort one species from another. Haddock fishing is no exception, and demands specific tactics in order to catch them with any regularity. Haddock are a member of the cod family and, as such, have three dorsal fins. The first appears as a tall triangle, the second is a broader triangle and the third is small and sloping. This fish has a silvery sheen, with a purple-grey iridescent back and a creamywhite belly. Perhaps the best giveaways for identification purposes are the black lateral line and the pronounced ‘thumbprint’, which can be found above each pectoral fin.
Haddock have smaller mouths than other members of the cod family, and they have a small barbule on their chin.
BEST TIMES
Haddock can be caught throughout the year, but during winter they tend to come close inshore, and that’s when a lot of anglers prefer to target them, especially along the South West and Welsh coasts.
Haddock are prolific spawners, with mature females producing between 100,000 and a million transparent eggs. These are released in the spring (mainly March or April) in water of around 50 fathoms. The eggs rise in the water to float in the upper currents, where they hatch in a fortnight, given sufficiently high surface temperatures.
Within a few weeks the larvae sink through the depths to take up a demersal, bottom-living, existence. With good feeding the species can grow to over six inches within the first year of life.
WHERE TO FISH
This species is more selective in its choice of habitat than the other cod species. It prefers to feed over a soft seabed made up of shells, sand and small pebbles, where there are likely to be beds of live shellfish.
Scallops are one of the haddock’s favourite foods, but they will also feed over mussel beds and in places where cockles burrow beneath the sand.
Haddock shoals are constantly on the move, searching the seabed for any food they can find. Therefore, if you’re boat fishing away from rocks and reefs, don’t hesitate to move in order to keep up with the shoal.
TACKLE AND RIGS
Haddock are bottom-feeders, but that does not mean that they are not prepared to rise in the water a couple of feet in order to feed.
Rig-wise, a simple paternoster with either a single or double hookbait is the way forward, or you could do what I do and fish a basic running leger rig with a small lead weight so that you can bounce it around on the bottom and cover more ground.
Trace length should be adjusted suit the strength of the tide. I prefer a longer trace for slacker tides, say 3ft, and a shorter 2ft trace when the tide is belting through.
I prefer to use size 1/0 or 2/0 fine-wire hooks and 20lb fluorocarbon hooklengths for haddock, but you will be fine as long as you fish relatively light and small.
As far as rods and reels go, this too will be dictated by where you are fishing. I fish as light as possible whenever I can, so a 10-40g lure rod matched with a 4000-sized fixed-spool reel is my favoured set-up. If I encounter more tide and need to go heavier with lead weights larger than 4oz, then a 6/12lb-class boat rod and small multiplier reel would be my choice.
BEST BAIT
Shellfish such as mussels and razorfish are top haddock baits, with worms and squid a close second. Lug and mussel cocktails are very popular in the North East, and this combo should work anywhere in the country.
They are known to feed on small fish, such as sandeels, but fish baits are not their first choice. In some areas of the country scallop frills are a brilliant bait, especially when fishing over or near to known scallop beds.
BE PATIENT
Haddock are very much like black bream in the way that they feed. They’ll rattle your rod tip as they try to pull bits off your bait, before finally giving in and engulfing it.
The key to successful haddock fishing is patience. Wait for those rattling bites, but don’t be tempted to strike too early – wait for the haddock to take the bait properly before you lift into it. I say ‘lift’, because haddock have quite soft mouths. Don’t strike too hard or you could pull the hook before you even get started.
The same goes for playing the fish to the boat – take your time and be careful not to pull the hook. There’s no place for bullying a fish when seeking out haddock. They fight all the way to the surface, and because they are gentle biters they are often only lightly hooked. Any slack line given on the way to the surface will result in the loss of the fish, especially during the critical last few feet to the net, so make sure you have your wits about you when playing one.
RECORD
The British boat record fish came from waters off Falmouth on the Cornish coast – a rather splendid specimen weighing 13lb 11oz, was taken in 1978. The previous record of 12lb 10oz was also caught there.