Angling Charter Captain
Bradwell on Sea, Essex
Mobile 07860 920 964
Tel 01621 776445 Mobile 07860 920 964
bellropes@btinternet.com
January, February & March 09
The fantastic cod fishing that we were experiencing before Christmas continued and if anything got even better. We lost count of the days we had over a hundred fish on the boat with a lot of good sized ones as well. The fish were both inshore and offshore with the average size of the fish offshore being slightly larger.
From mid February onwards there was also plenty of thornbacks mixed in with them with a lot of fish into double figures. For the first time in over 20 years we have got three strong year classes of cod which looks really good for the future. The fishing next season should be fantastic with the fish still in big numbers but with another years growth on them.
March, April May 09
The big numbers of cod stayed around all through March and April and the thornback numbers increased in fact this Spring has seen some of the best fishing we have ever experienced in this part of the world. Plenty of days produced over a hundred cod and up to forty skate. We haven't seen fishing like that for a long, long time.
The cod stayed around in decent number even through most of May. The thornback fishing continued to be excellent and on cue smoothounds bass and tope arrived on the offshore marks as the water warmed up. The good numbers of mackerel put in their annual appearance mid may and as long as they stay all their big predators will stay with them.
June, July & August 09
The fishing over all three months was good and consistent. There were plenty of thornbacks especially in June and August with a good number over 10 lbs.
The smoothound fishing was very good for numbers but there was not so many big fish as usual. There were plenty between 8 and 12 pounds and a few bigger fish but not many over 20.
The tope fishing was inconsistent mainly because of the mackerel - when there were plenty of mackerel there was plenty of tope and when the mackerel disappeared so did the tope. There was quite a lot 9of fish between 20 and 40 pounds and a few over 50.
The bass fishing was again very good at times but not consistent. There was one spell towards the end of June / early July where there were a lot of big bass about. Fish between 9 and 14 pounds were being caught. On the Daphne Carole we had 7 over 10 pounds in 2 days.
September, October & November 09
In September there were plenty of thornbacks with quite a few in double figures and a good late run of smoothounds.
Towards the end of the month the first of the winter cod started to appear and by the end of the month it was actually quite good - so much so that most of the boats switched from chasing the last of the summer fish to cod fishing. The fish were mainly between 3 and 9 pounds with a sprinkling in double figures.
During October and November the excellent cod fishing we experienced last year carried on into this year. Good numbers of quality fish with several over 10 pounds on most of the usual marks, in fact in November the weather was quite bad for most of the month but the good fishing continued because there was enough fish in the river and on the inshore marks.
As well as the cod there were plenty of thornbacks and quite a few decent whiting.
December, January & February 2010
The bad weather in November continued through December and it turned very cold - much sooner than usual. Following November the weather in December was horrible with lots of freezing cold east or north east winds with snow and ice. We lost probably 50%of our days due to bad weather.
When we did get off the fishing was okay through December with reasonable numbers of decent cod and a few thornbacks. In January and February the bad weather continued making very few days fishable.
The water dropped to its lowest temperature for probably over 20 years and this affected the fishing. The bigger fish moved off to spawn and the smaller fish which normally stay inshore moved off because of the cold water. There were a few fish on some days - mainly small codling and a few whiting. Overall the fishing was not very good, in fact, it was probably the worst it's been for 10 years.
March, April & May 2010
With the coldest winter for a long time now finally relenting the fishing has got back to something like normal. The cod fishing offshore this spring has been fantastic in both numbers and size. Plenty of days have seen more than 40 fish boated with a high percentage between 10 and 16 lbs . We have not seen cod fishing like this for years.
Mixed in with them are a few thornbacks and at times some nice spurdog which are becoming commoner in our waters during this time of year.
Good numbers of cod continued all through April because of the cold water temperatures and as it warmed up through May the cod numbers did decrease but the thornback numbers increased. Also during May we had our best showing of bass for many years. Thirty or 40 a day was common with fish 2 to 6 lbs. All in all the fishing this spring was fantastic.
Forecast for June, July & August 2010
All the summer species will be around for these 3 months - bass, skate, smoothounds, mackerel and dogs. Smoothound and tope fishing is best on the neap tides and bass and skate fishing best on the spring tides.
Don't forget to get your bookings in for this coming cod season which should be one of the best for many years, with most of the fish over 10 lbs.
Bradwell on Sea, Essex
