THE MOST VALUABLE COD
One fish and a whole load of cash.
To say conditions were challenging is an understatement, but the 144 anglers on board 17 charter boats out of Hayling Island managed to fish both days of the Northney Marina Cod Competition… and achieve some very surprising results. Although I wasn’t scheduled to compete, I managed to chuck a rod out on the second day in sheer desperation – but more on that later.
This hugely popular event is the brainchild of charter skipper Bex Florence, who runs Kelley’s Hero III out of Northney Marina. This time she managed to convince boats to travel up from ports as far away as Weymouth, Poole and even Rye to compete. It was great seeing all the old faces I’d fished with over the years, and I couldn’t help thinking that there should be more of these events where charter skippers travel to different ports for a couple of days.
Each morning there was a buffet breakfast (a full English, no less!) from 6.30am at the Langbrook Farm pub, and each evening there was a full-on carvery from 6pm – all included in the entry fee, which was £140 for the two days. There was even a bunch of comedians (debatable) laid on for the first night.
I can’t fault the organisation of this event, it was one of the best that I have attended during my 25 years as an angling journalist.
The rules were quite simple. Each angler was allowed to weigh in their heaviest two cod each day to complete a two-day, four-fish bag limit.
Overall winner would be the angler with the heaviest bag over the two days, while there was a prize for the first cod caught each day, and the first, second and third-heaviest cod each day.
There are optional pools for the heaviest whiting, conger and bass, which really opened up the competition. Do you set your sights on cod all day, or try for one of the other species?
As for the rules, anything goes. It’s a one rod, three-hook competition, and boundaries are set each day by the organiser as to where the boats can and can’t fish for safety reasons.
DAY ONE
I travelled down to Northney with my trusty photographer, Jim Midgley, and my pal Roger Cooling, who was fishing the event.
The wind was blowing a stiff south-easterly, and it was quite clear that this first day would be limited to the Solent, with no boats being allowed to venture around to the back of the Isle of Wight.
I had heard of a few cod being caught in the Solent a week or so previous, so expectations were high. As the boats left the marina, the radio was alive with skippers giving updates on the sea conditions. It transpired that it was going to be a bumpy ride down to the Solent, but once there, it was more than fishable and relatively comfortable in the lee of the Wight.
After all the boats were safely anchored, the call was given to begin fishing, and all ears were on the radio for the signal that the first cod had been caught. Well, we waited, and waited, then eventually, about two hours into the competition, the news came that someone had caught a ‘unicorn’.
Of course, that news spurred everyone else into fishing harder, and as a whole smorgasbord of baits went over the side there was a buzz of excitement in the air. However, that brief motivational radio call soon turned into a deathly silence, as the hours ticked by and nothing else was reported.
At 3.45pm the call was given to head back to the marina. There hadn’t even been a bass or whiting caught, just one codling and a handful of strap conger eels. Hopefully, day two would prove better, with the forecast becoming ever more favourable for a venture offshore.
DAY TWO
As the anglers and skipper scoffed their breakfasts after a rather enjoyable night in the pub, there was talk of the boats being allowed to fish off the famous Nab Tower area. Again, you could sense the excitement in the air down at the marina as anglers hurriedly bought fresh bait from the back of Andy’s Baits’ van and headed to their respective charter boats.
Once underway and out of the marina, the lead boats hit the radio to say that the offshore fishing was possible, and conditions had vastly improved from the previous day. Hopes were high for a decent cod, and thoughts turned to days gone by when 20lb and 30lb cod were the norm at this time of the year.
As the day progressed, the radio was yet again silent. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the call for the first cod caught on day two, but as time ticked on, hopes were being dashed and morale was at an all-time low.
That’s when, in sheer desperation, I decided to chuck out a bait that swiftly resulted in a smoothhound. What was a hound doing there? Then Dave Harper latched into a bass, followed by another, and another. We then had a flurry of conger eels, with Roger Cooling boating a personal best 60-inch beauty weighing around the 20lb mark. Then we had another couple of hounds and some nice whiting, but still no cod.
As the call came for lines out at 4pm it was clear that nobody, not one of the 144 anglers, had managed to catch a cod, a truly epic failure.
CRAZY SITUATION
On the way back in, I called Bex to discuss the severity of situation. Where had all the cod gone? More importantly, how was she going to dish out the prizes?
It was decided that the one and only cod caught should indeed take all the prizes, which meant that local angler Kim Bowden would be walking away with £1,900 in cash, plus a week’s holiday in Paul Whittall’s house in Thailand – what a result! I actually worked out that Kim’s cod was the result of 2,016 rod hours (144 anglers x seven hours x two days), and it was worth somewhere in the region of £40 per ounce (£1,900 + £700 for the holiday + £180 for the rod divided by 69oz).
There were loads of bass caught on day two, probably because anglers began to realise that the cod were not going to show and that there were other prizes to aim for. There were plenty more congers, hounds and rays caught too, and, on this basis, I think next year’s event may well be classed as a ‘Winter Species Comp’, with separate prizes for cod caught (if any).
Keep a lookout on the Northney Marina Comps Facebook page for more details on this and all the other competitions they host throughout the year.