The Good Old Days

[Guest challenge]

There where 2 x cod caught of Bempton Cliffs in about 6 metres of water by a Filey netter on Friday. He had a good catch of Pollack but the two cod he caught where 28 kilo’s between them and that was with the guts out.

[glennk]

Leon,

 

Certain environmental factors mean that cod fishing may never be what it once was and no amount of black and white stills will alter the climate. The conditions that allowed the gadoid outburst were a one off phenomenon and the resulting fishing we may never see the likes again. This said, those anglers willing to put in the time and effort are being rewarded around the coast. There are plenty of big cod for the shore anglers and good numbers too. Lots of happy anglers doing what comes natural - catching fish.

[Leon Roskilly]

Imagine a sea filled with huge fish. One in which cod were twenty times more abundant than they are today, their lithe green bodies pressed close amid seaweed thickets; where predatory packs of dogfish twenty miles long crowded haddock shoals into bays and coasts.

 

Further out to sea schools of giant bluefin tuna would have preyed on plentiful herring, pilchard and sprats while skates the size of dining tables glided like the shadows of passing clouds across the seabed and leopard spotted wolf-fish with bulbous brows and toothy grins, guarded almost every cave and ledge of coastal reefs.

 

These are not the waters of some far-off place, but the seas of the United Kingdom in the early 19th century, before the onset of industrial fishing.

 

 

see:

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/envi...icle5375191.ece

Edited December 21, 2008 by Leon Roskilly

[Elton]

Jesus - have they got J.K. Rowling writing for The Times now? That's a bit of a coup!

[Steve Coppolo]

Jesus - have they got J.K. Rowling writing for The Times now? That's a bit of a coup!

 

One of the Grimm brothers, more like.

[barry luxton]

In answer to the question. "The Good Old Days, Just How Good Were They ?"

 

The other week I was wishing a client a good weekend and the subject of our regular angling trips came up. We told him that we'd been doing well on the Cod(ling) and he was somewhat surprised having heard of the Cod's demise in the media. He asked how big they were, "well, loads of 3lb'ers and good numbers of 4's and 5's". "Oh", he said, "we used to fish for Cod off of Deal, years ago". "Any big ones?" we replied. "Biggest one I had was 36lb's, lots of twenties...... but we never got the camera out for them!"

 

My answer.......a different league........unless Magistrates are born liars or the Deal boats are keeping schtum???

I started boat fishing alongside deal pier and remember going out not too far after launching off the beach, sometimes even saw some of the boats going sideways in the swell, right dodgy that was. I did see thirty pounders, even landed on the pier. I never did land a thirty though, i remember hooking what felt like one but was unable to get the bugg@r up. I agree with you that the majority are two or three year classes that are showing. It will be good if enough of them survive.

[H.A.]

Nice evening tonight ...

3 x vintages which only France can give us.

 

boogered if you'll catch me recreational fishing when the alternatives are more than satisfactory.

 

I may give up ...

 

 

 

I am able to catch fish on 3 states of the tide per fortnightly cycle.

When I was young I rarely understood a monthly cycle () ...if yer know what I mean.

 

Folks still go to the beach in the day on the wrong tides and still catch koof all (as I would do).

 

Some work hard and understand the situation (vaguely?); others fool on and still enjoy it.

 

Thassit, really from a recreational standpoint.

 

I laugh at the 'cycles theory', when applied to fish like cod. They grow in some 'temperate climes' in 200' of COOL water and look fer food when it becomes scarce.

Don't tell me cod used to last forever, when in good winters they grow to 15lbs or so in 4 years.

Then they're done or caught ... only infrequently by me!

 

 

The only reason we don't get the 30's and 40's of yesteryear is because they have been mostly allowed to be landed when they have a flourishing year .... and when no controls of these landings (from under 10s and close to shore) existed; they were wiped out before the population (local) could possibly reproduce (years 3 - 5).

 

Anyone heard of the Grand Banks?

 

They ate 'em all without a care for the future pop.

 

Now let me tell you ... cod in the English Channel (8degC Jan - 20degC Aug) almost double in size each year .. last years fingerlings = 1 - 2lbs first year of growth = 4 - 7lbs second year of growth = 9 - 12lbs in the third year of growth = 10 - 18lbs in the fourth year of growth.

 

Now, since they mature at 4 - 5lbs, how come we do not see the year classes every 2 - 3 years?

 

CYCLES ... on yer bikes yer daft sods.

 

We see a couple of years of good cod fishing (S.Coast, UK), whenever there are -

 

1. Favourable breeding years ... perhaps Barhams 7 year cycle?

2. Diversions by the bigger trawlers ... let's go to Norway!!!

(Oh, yes, the fleets ... I think we have two N & S are very mobile and very determined.

3. A couple of years (au naturel ...French of course), when constraints are applied so that 2 consecutive breeding years are left ... relatively un-extracted!

 

In reality we see cod available to beach anglers around here, every 20 years or so; perhaps becoming more frequent when other sources of protein are found (please...)

 

I've heard McDonalds and KFC are very good quality stuff.

 

I'll still catch fish, because like some commercials I'm good at it.

 

But I keep the odd fish for my requirements and they dump 10 tonnes when it suits them.

 

I have no time for the regulations which allow this to happen.

 

[Steve Coppolo]

I laugh at the 'cycles theory', when applied to fish like cod.

 

CYCLES ... on yer bikes yer daft sods.

 

We see a couple of years of good cod fishing (S.Coast, UK), whenever there are -

 

1. Favourable breeding years ... perhaps Barhams 7 year cycle?

 

In reality we see cod available to beach anglers around here, every 20 years or so; perhaps becoming more frequent when other sources of protein are found (please...)

 

 

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[H.A.]

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Good ole Stevie ....

 

always had an enquiring mind.

 

[Norm B]

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Good ole Stevie ....

 

always had an enquiring mind.

 

You do look young in that photo, was it taken on a box brownie Ada?