Codling catch in Sea Angling News

[Rob]

I picked up the latest SAN from Bournemouth Fishing Lodge and during a read I was disturbed by photos in there of happy anglers aboard "Sophie Lea" with 3 or 4 tiny codling each, described as "A typical cod fishing days end".

 

None of the fish can be bigger that 2.5lb most look under 2lb. When we see and catch the big beautiful double figure + cod that these "codling" could be it is a real shame.

 

Maybe if they didn't retain these juvenile toddlers their "typical days cod fishing" would produce more than fish finger sized fish.

 

Would a MLS for cod or all fish be good?

 

Do cod spawn at 1 or 2 lbs and these are mature fish?

 

I just feel anglers could do so much more to improve the image of angling an help lead with sustainable methods and techniques.

 

 

Rob

[Rob]

 

Pictures for the Sophie Lea website:

 

 

 

[Graham Nash]

I totally agree Rob .... a pretty anti fishing photograph if ever there was one!

 

[mike02380]

Does anyone catch codling like that round here?

We normally get the lunkers!

[Paul J]

Beware,

you'll get the anti regulation mob after you for saying things like that

 

PJ

[shytalk]

tell them nothing

 

[Stuie]

Rob - I believe SAN should shoulder some responsibility as well here for publishing these pictures. The media should consider preserving stocks as well as anglers. In my opinion this is a sad indictment on our sport.

 

[codpiece]

What i find upsetting is the youngster in the second picture who now thinks this is the way to behave!! i hope they are going to publish a picture of Charlies Undulate along with the sporting way it was released,( well done Charlie) Derek,

Edited March 4, 2012 by codpiece

[great white]

That would not have happened under the previous owner/editor

 

Norman would not print a picture of Sam [aged 11]with three good rays, even though two were put back alive.

Because he believed it was not the right image to portray

 

Charlie

[Matt]

Do we know where this picture was taken? If in the chanell i'll join you in condeming them BUT if they are on the east coast thats the average size of their cod run. Might be a bit mutch to suggest the felixstowe boats catch take nothing.

 

Please remember dont judge others by our own standards i fished the east coast for 3 years one winter never saw a fish above 5cm. They get large numbers of smaller fish(but i did get a 3 foot lobster 100m off felixstow docs!)

[Graham Nash]

  Matt said:

Do we know where this picture was taken? If in the chanell i'll join you in condeming them BUT if they are on the east coast thats the average size of their cod run. Might be a bit mutch to suggest the felixstowe boats catch take nothing.

 

Please remember dont judge others by our own standards i fished the east coast for 3 years one winter never saw a fish above 5cm. They get large numbers of smaller fish(but i did get a 3 foot lobster 100m off felixstow docs!)

It is an Essex charter Matt.

 

Colchester area. Some of their write ups mention that 15lB Cod are the biggest they get. (some may say that's hardly surprising if they take them all before they get chance to grow )

[Rob]

 

I can't agree with you Matt. Just because small juvenile fish are all that is available, doesn't mean you should take them.

 

That is the sort of mentality that has destroyed the silver eel stocks as they thought netting millions of elvers would be sustainable!

 

So, they should practice catch and release or target something else. If there is nothing else, then go coarse fishing!

 

 

 

[Matt]

I don't think I really conveyed what I meant with my previous post.

 

I definitely DO NOT (yes I am shouting) condone taking under size fish just because you haven't caught anything better.

 

According to DEFRA the minimum landing size for Cod is 35 cm and from various web searches they are sexually mature at 40-50cm (sources vary and I dont absolutely believe any of them) From memory (I am on my work PC so cant get open the link to the photo) non of the fish look under the DEFRA minimum so the anglers havent done anything wrong technically.

 

I add the technically because I do find group shots of anglers with lots of fish like this quite distastefull.

 

This post is just to clarify my view I don't want to restart the same debates we have on other threads re minimum sizes, retaining fish etc

 

As an aside the Lobster was probably only 2 foot long.

 

 

[Matt]

Picture now working on my PC, they do look a bit borderline...

[Rob]

 

Matt,

 

I wasnt aware of a minimum landing size for cod. What Annoyed me was the fact that all the fish are VERY juvenile. such a shame when these fish are killed at a weight which is probably 10% of the kind of size that do make a good days codding!

 

 

[codpiece]

I dont care how Big they are!! they are too Bl@@dy small!! And take it from me this club is fully entitled to judge others by our standards, The amount of fish returned by its members in the name of conservation is outstanding. Derek.

 

 

PS, You wouldn,t keep them on ''ELLEN''

Edited March 5, 2012 by codpiece

[Graham Nash]

Agreed Derek .... they would not have been kept on Little Sal either (even if they were all that was caught).

[Matt]

I put a 12lb cod back last year.

 

 

When I look on my IPod the image is scrunched up so they appear a lot fatter and what I was taking as one fish (had the brightness turned right down as well to conserve battery -I am not going blind honestly!) is two or three smaller ones.

 

 

[niggle]

I wonder if they used larger baits or live baits whether they would have days like us,sometimes not a fish other days one or two of a better size?

I did send in a piccy of my cod but didn't see it in that paper

Nige

[dicky]

having fished that area and also a regular angler in the bristol channel i would say that none of those fish are undersize. that is around the average size of the cod run most years, 2-3lb fish. some years the average is higher some lower. they don't get that many large cod and even fishing whole squid baits or small live whiting you can still catch plenty of codling.

when on our boat we tend to put most back and take a few that are gut hooked and bleeding.

it would be nice if all the cod caught were 6lb plus but thats not how it is unfortunately.

i do aggree though that the minimum landing size is to small and should be bigger so that all fish have reproduced at least once before being taken.

[great white]

It is a hard one as the area we fish in still gives us a good chance of catching decent fish.

Our whiting are as big as those codling and we only take a few of what we catch.

 

However that was not the case where I grew up in Weston Super Mare, but even back then [OK way back then LOL] we would not have retained all of those.

 

If all boats from that area are retaining hauls of small fish like that they can hardly moan that their sport is so poor.

I am sure that if we all killed everything that we landed, ours would be too.

 

It is not all down to rules and minimum fish sizes, it is down to personal choice and being willing to practice what you preach.

We eat fish but still practice catch and release for a huge proportion of our catch.

 

I would rather see pictures of single big fish than one like that any day.

 

Charlie

Edited March 5, 2012 by great white

[shytalk]

is not the point more about publishing the pictures as no law was broken the fish are the norm in that area etc but to use that sort of picture to promote angling trips is somewhat counter productive , round here the fisheries officer would count the fish multiply it by the number of anglers and then multiply by days at sea to work out the rsa catch of cod so pictures with several anglers holding multiple fish in each hand are unhelpful

 

[Paul D]

Brings back memories from years ago, fishing in the Thames Estuary on my next door neighbours boat. That is the sort of size of all the codling that we used to catch ( and it was like catching mackeral then ... ).

 

 

[shytalk]

during the war !!!!

 

[Paul D]

Yes, Falklands one.