SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE YESTERDAY
Don’t despair if your cod fishing has been inconsistent because it’s been the same for many top-class anglers…
Finding cod inconsistent? You’re not alone.
Originally built in 1966, Aberthaw power station is an imposing backdrop to this very productive shore venue. Currently dormant, it was last fired up in March 2018 when the country was hit by the ‘Beast from the East’, but when it is generating electricity, the returning cooling water is a huge attraction for several species of fish.
Changes to the sea temperature of only a degree or two can have a huge effect on the marine environment, and this was certainly the case at Aberthaw.
School bass and mullet used to swarm around the cooling water outlets, along a wide variety of species, especially smoothhounds that are regularly caught here in huge numbers from May until August, which, not surprisingly, is when most anglers target the venue.
In the glory days of Bristol Channel cod fishing throughout the 1990s and first years of the new millennium, the cod fishing at Aberthaw was very good, occasionally exceptional. Traditionally, Aberthaw would start to produce fish in December, with January until March being the most productive months. Then, large numbers of codling used to be caught, along with a fair sprinkling of double-figure fish and even an occasional 20-pounder.
In terms of producing cod in recent years, Aberthaw has been unremarkable, but increasingly, as 2019 slipped into 2020, I heard of respectable numbers of cod being caught here.
ROUGH AND READY
As productive as Aberthaw may be, there is a downside to shore fishing here. At best, it is a very rough-ground venue. Factor in a strong to exceptionally powerful lateral run of tide and it is hardly surprising that tackle losses here can be extremely heavy.
Clearly a rig incorporating some form of rotten-bottom attachment for the lead weight is essential. You should be ready to lose your sinker on almost every cast, along with some terminal rigs each session.
The optimum time to fish at Aberthaw is for about two-and-a-half to three hours either side of low water on small neap to mid-range tides. Avoid the larger tides because the push of water is too strong to hold bottom.
Most anglers start by fishing the ebb from the rock ledges to the west of the old cooling water outlets; they’re the twin concrete structures you cannot miss. As soon as the tide starts to flood, which it does with immense force, they then move to the pebble beach east of these outlets, which is known as East Aberthaw, where they encounter more favourable conditions.
Roy Tapper, from Cardiff, is one of the most successful shore match and specimen anglers in South Wales, and his rig of preference for cod and other species at Aberthaw is a fixed paternoster, rather than the pulley rig favoured by many other experienced anglers
“I find a fixed paternoster puts me in more direct contact with the fish, resulting in more solid hook-ups than a pulley rig,” explained Roy, when we met up for a late afternoon session in January. Accompanying Roy was a small group of top anglers, including former world champion Joe Arch and Penn Sea League final double winner Chris ‘Bugsy’ Read.
SLUG-FEST
Distance casting is not always necessary at Aberthaw, but like so many other consistently successful anglers Roy is an impressive caster and attributes the extra yards he can achieve as being a major contributing factor to his frequent success here and at other similar venues. Sure enough, within minutes of making his first cast, the tip of Roy’s rods indicated a bite.
“Looks like a small fish,” Roy nonchalantly noted as he continued to bait a spare rig with a juicy lump of peeler crab. Of course, he was right. A few minutes later, he swung a colourful three-bearded rockling to hand. Seconds later Steve Smyth, who was fishing alongside Roy, landed the fish’s twin.
Looking at the bend in the tip of Roy’s rod, it was immediately apparent that the next fish he hooked shortly afterwards was rather
more substantial than another small ‘slug’. Indeed, it was, a strap conger of around 4lb, but unfortunately not the plump codling we sought. That eel was the first of four he landed on his next four casts. With Steve landing a similar number of congers, it was clear this area, a few hundred yards to the west of the original cooling water outlets, was something of a conger hotspot. Any foraging cod would have to be very quick off the mark to beat either an eel or a rockling to the bait.
Joe and Bugsy had both decided to start fishing adjacent to the old water outlets, which at first produced a few more rockling and pouting. The latter were an extremely common species throughout the Bristol Channel, but for many years they all but disappeared. It’s good to see that in recent years this species appears to be doing very well in the area.
AT LAST!
It was Bugsy who landed the first codling of the session, a lovely fin-perfect specimen in the absolute peak of condition. It would have made a fine fish for the table, had Chris not decided to release it. How times have changed! It’s not that many years ago that any codling caught of suitable size would have been destined for a pan of sizzling fat. One more codling, a fish that was the twin of the first, was landed by Chris.
As cod sessions go, we didn’t experience an especially productive session, but the beauty of venues such as Aberthaw is that even if your target species are not active, there will almost always be other species that will keep you on your toes.
During the session we were joined by a couple of lads who had fished at Aberthaw only a few days before, when they had each taken cod to 6lb, as had other anglers fishing that day. This typifies the cod fishing scene. When fishing from the shore it has rarely been consistent, with fish being present in an area on one day, but not the next.
You can never be certain which tides will or won’t produce fish. All you can do is make the effort to identify the best tides and weather conditions and get out fishing. Of course, use the best quality bait too. In other words, you have to be in it to win it! ■