Needles cod. . . what cod. . . what fish?

[TerryW]

No Cod. Not a lot of anything really. Just a few small dogfish (all went back to pester us again on another day).

It was my first time at this mark so you can't expect too much. I listened in on channel 6 to hear everyone else was more or less fishless. I heard a few pollack, eels and whiting were coming out.

We fished a little to the south of the lighthouse amongst the charter boats. We did a flood neap but only caught the latter 3 hours really.

Also, I usually get my bait from Sammy's in Bursledon or Tightlines in Totton. Tightlines were closed Sunday and I wasn't going anywhere near Sammy's so I got some bait from Hythe.

I seem to have bought a bag of frozen chopped squid
(thin 2" pieces). Tightlines and Sammy's squid are whole 6 inch squids that come blast frozen from Maine. I pay abot 2.50 for a box. A box usually covers a tide for me. You only need one per bait on a 6/0.

Did I pick a bad day to get bait from Hythe? It was Sunday after Christmas? I don't know whether to bother going there again even though it is quite handy for my mooring.

Terry

[squidlips]

i have'nt fished the needles but around the nab i use about 10lbs of squid per session.maybe you could use 10/0 hooks pennel style and load it up with bait then you may not get dogs pestering you.
hope this helps some

[TerryW]

Hi,

I had intended to do just that. Unfortunately, the bait turned out to be rubbish. It was 2" strips of chopped squid rather than the nice 6" whole squid I usually get (from Tightlines and Sammy's). I am wondering whether the bait shop in Hythe only had scraps since it was just after Christmas or whether I need to avoid the place in future.

Nice day though . . . .

Terry

[Norfolkboy]

Well done on the doggies

[TerryW]

Originally Posted by Norfolkboy

Well done on the doggies

The Solent seems to have enormous quantities of small dogfish. They keep me entertained in Southampton Water as well as on the Brambles. They would be great sport on light tackle. I put them back because they are too much work to cook.

The difficulty is stopping catching them really. . . . .

One chap recommends a 10/0 hook with loads of squid. I'll give that a go next time.

Terry

[John Marshall]

Hi Terry,
That will not stop the doggies having a go, they will keep munching until they are hooked, or strip the hook bare. Sometimes they hang onto the bait and swim off when you get them up.

[monkey nuts]

well done
you got out and gave it ago , 10/10 for effort. keep going and you will be rewarded

the vermin doggies are just part of life round these parts and cant be avoided sadly,
the idea of the huge baits is if a cod does swim past ,that the will be some bait left on the hook to tempt it into eating it, if you use single squid you get 1 bite from a dog and the squid is gone or hooked(and the the chance is lost). the 10/0 hooks help keep the hook point from been masked by the huge baits and cut down the number of doggies getting hooked. trust me a 3lb cod will get 6 squid and a pair of 10/0 hooks in it mouth
at the needles, you have to change bait very regularly(every20min) due to the amount of vermin attacking your bait, cos if it anit a dog the is always the pout or whiting
another good bait for cod is cuttle and its very tough so dogs cant strip it so easy,

good luck for next time

[TerryW]

Hi MN,

Any idea where I can buy cuttle fish?

Thanks for all the advice. It will all be used I promise. I have to "optimise" every trip because my boat uses so much bl00dy fuel.

Terry

[monkey nuts]

als tackle in woolston has got loads of it at the moment