Winter Warmers

Paul Dennis braves the cold in search of summer species…

If you could say one thing about the weather in 2016 it was that it was very changeable. Unseasonably warm conditions, unseasonably cold conditions – nothing that really seemed to fit the seasonal norms. So in some ways it was no surprise that the annual winter cod run failed to live up to expectations.

Sea temperatures were still way up, and we were well towards the end of the year before a big enough cold snap started to drag them down. The dependable whiting and dabs provided some sport for shore anglers, but the cod? Ah, the cod, where were they?

Even the boats were struggling. At this time of year you aren’t expecting big numbers, but a total absence was worrying.

Weirdly it was summer species that came to the rescue for some of the boats, with bass still hanging around and providing some much needed sport.

Just before Christmas I had got in contact with Robin Howard to see how his patch (Brighton) was fishing. He invited me down for a dabble between Christmas and the New Year – very loose plans, weather dependent, but we would find something to do. So, December 30th and we were good to go. It was a foggy day, but it promised to clear later, and visibility was good enough for some close inshore boat fishing.

With the temperature just above freezing it wasn’t going to be a comfortable day, but well wrapped up we could give it a good go. Robin had been finding some late season bass, with the odd good fish among them, and there was always the chance of a rogue cod falling to the lures.