Cod fishing in the Bristol Channel (Gadus morhua)

During the Winter months the Bristol Channel is renowned for its Cod Fishing and particularly the Barry, Sully, Penarth and Newport areas are noted hotspots for cod in Welsh waters. The Cod season in the Bristol Channel usually starts in October and runs right through to May, with the best time being November to January, then again for a short period in March and April which is generally known as the spring run of fish that feed up before they move off into the Irish sea for the summer.

The key to successful boat fishing is to keep the bait right on the bottom. A cod of over 10lb is considered a good catch from British waters. Cod under 36cm should be released.

The cod with its large head, mottled reddish brown sides and whitish under side, is easy for the angler to recognise. Cod have three dorsal fins and two ventral fins, with a conspicuous single barbel under the lower jaw. The colour varies from brown to grey depending on habitat, but the upper body is invariably mottled. This fish has a mouth like a vacuum cleaner and searches the sea bed for it food.

The Welsh shore record Cod weighed over 44lb caught by Brandon Jones off Barry Island in 1976, and is still a well known local angler, the boat record Cod weighed just under 45lbs caught by G Pell off Amlwch in 1981.
The UK boat record is caught off , in .58 06 00 N Cook off Whitby, N. Yorkshire 1992
October through to February