Winter sea fishing, stop or not????

So your choices are-
1 Carry on as you are and see what you can find.
2 Travel to the East coast or cork for cod.
3 Take up knitting for the winter.

Haha! heading to Dingle this weekend so lets see what that throws up.
I croche, knitting is bad for my arthritis!

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

What would one look for in a winter cod mark Neil...Myself and pete found a mark where they are caught very near by in boats on a regular basis. Not too many days in Winter it is fishable though I would imagine.

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

What would one look for in a winter cod mark Neil...Myself and pete found a mark where they are caught very near by in boats on a regular basis. Not too many days in Winter it is fishable though I would imagine.

Nice deep water I would imagine. Nice and deep around that big crack Joe.

winter fishing for cod over rough ground can be great it takes different tackle,rigs and tactics to catch and normally a very short cast off the rocks ,think of all the spots you avoid because they are tackle graveyards ,now stick a big cod bait right in the middle and if you do get a bite haul it up like your life depends on it cod love dirty ground as do alot of other fish ,hooks that will bend out under decent pressure and rotten bottoms ect will help a lot. pully rigs and lead lifts help too ,try some local rough ground marks before you go travelling hundreds of miles in search of better fishing ,you may be pleasantly suprised
rain, hail , snow and cold winds didnt stop you during the summer so just look on the bright side that you get more hours of darkness to fish in

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

What would one look for in a winter cod mark Neil...Myself and pete found a mark where they are caught very near by in boats on a regular basis. Not too many days in Winter it is fishable though I would imagine.

joe nI asked myself that on many occasions and the only answer I can give you is somewhere the cod come in to feed.... I know it is vague but if you look at the Shannon Estuary it is exactly the same as the Bristol channel yet the cod do not seem to come in. Years ago a friend was catching them off the beach at Lehinch but hasnt done for years.
There must be marks near the cliffs that they come in but I don't think anyone has put the hard hours with big squid, crab and lug baits to find them. Many of the places that may hold them would just be too dangerous to walk to in the dark in my opinion.
The lads pick a few up on the Galway side but what they catch never encouraged me to put the time in. I always presumed there just were not numbers of cod present at the moment around north clare

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

What would one look for in a winter cod mark Neil...Myself and pete found a mark where they are caught very near by in boats on a regular basis. Not too many days in Winter it is fishable though I would imagine.

joe nI asked myself that on many occasions and the only answer I can give you is somewhere the cod come in to feed.... I know it is vague but if you look at the Shannon Estuary it is exactly the same as the Bristol channel yet the cod do not seem to come in. Years ago a friend was catching them off the beach at Lehinch but hasnt done for years.
There must be marks near the cliffs that they come in but I don't think anyone has put the hard hours with big squid, crab and lug baits to find them. Many of the places that may hold them would just be too dangerous to walk to in the dark in my opinion.
The lads pick a few up on the Galway side but what they catch never encouraged me to put the time in. I always presumed there just were not numbers of cod present at the moment around north clare

yea, they must come in but its like u said time, time, time put in Def some deeper water near the cliffs should throw them up. Is it about water temp with them???? Surely the water temp in Clare is the same as east cork on these chilly nights....

It is pretty grim out there for the winter. A few cod are showing now here in the Bristol channel. Just keep the faith until next may. The odd surprise may turn up over the winter months, Im sure a few sea trout are found now and again off the beach.

What would one look for in a winter cod mark Neil...Myself and pete found a mark where they are caught very near by in boats on a regular basis. Not too many days in Winter it is fishable though I would imagine.

joe nI asked myself that on many occasions and the only answer I can give you is somewhere the cod come in to feed.... I know it is vague but if you look at the Shannon Estuary it is exactly the same as the Bristol channel yet the cod do not seem to come in. Years ago a friend was catching them off the beach at Lehinch but hasnt done for years.
There must be marks near the cliffs that they come in but I don't think anyone has put the hard hours with big squid, crab and lug baits to find them. Many of the places that may hold them would just be too dangerous to walk to in the dark in my opinion.
The lads pick a few up on the Galway side but what they catch never encouraged me to put the time in. I always presumed there just were not numbers of cod present at the moment around north clare

yea, they must come in but its like u said time, time, time put in Def some deeper water near the cliffs should throw them up. Is it about water temp with them???? Surely the water temp in Clare is the same as east cork on these chilly nights....

They are a cold water fish, coming to the UK shores mainly in Winter. Galway bay seems to have its own little eco system going on there, no smooth hound in summer, no cod in winter?? although as many said they are present in the deeper water and often caught off boats.
I think a few of you need to put a bit of time in.
I'm sure someone was looking for them on the galway /mayo side last year and if I remember rightly it was 'Lucky'. Do a search or send him a pm to see what he knows.

3 Take up knitting for the winter.

Good idea Neal !!

[/quote]joe nI asked myself that on many occasions and the only answer I can give you is somewhere the cod come in to feed.... I know it is vague but if you look at the Shannon Estuary it is exactly the same as the Bristol channel yet the cod do not seem to come in. Years ago a friend was catching them off the beach at Lehinch but hasnt done for years.
There must be marks near the cliffs that they come in but I don't think anyone has put the hard hours with big squid, crab and lug baits to find them. Many of the places that may hold them would just be too dangerous to walk to in the dark in my opinion.
The lads pick a few up on the Galway side but what they catch never encouraged me to put the time in. I always presumed there just were not numbers of cod present at the moment around north clare[/quote]

They used to be caught in Foynes in the Shannon estuary on the Limerick side but I havent heard about it recently.
I will be trying for them this winter.

try some local rough ground marks before you go travelling hundreds of miles in search of better fishing ,you may be pleasantly suprised
rain, hail , snow and cold winds didnt stop you during the summer so just look on the bright side that you get more hours of darkness to fish in [/quote]

A year of rain rain and more rain great winter is here now... will see you at a few local marks so rodger

keep fishen and u will get what ur after winter fishen in winter is great rap up well, head torch ,bai,and your sorted

what you need man is some proper waterproof gear and a decent jumper good bait and thats u own the rocks