Why I think the fish have gone

[sk4]

yes i am a netter have you got a problem? im a comercial fisherman and also a very good and keen shore angler! ..... oh gosh i hope you dont work in an office or a bin man or a joiner welder plumber etc etc or even on the dole ! iff any of these hide your daft head and comments in shame nutter

Canny bite you got there Mr chukka

[danny boy]

well i think all the cod are on holiday.

[Shilbottler]

Sea water Temperature

I'm not convinced that water temperature plays a great part in things in the North-Sea. Pure water is densest at 4 degree and sea water is denser still and will depend upon its salinity. This means the densest water is always at the bottom of the sea and I guess the temperature at the bottom of North-Sea would be fairly constant. Colder water starts becoming ice which is less dense than water and therefore floats on the top. Water warmer than 4 degrees will also be less denser. We all know the water on the surface can change considerably between summer and winter but it would be interesting to know by how much it changes at the bottom, at say 60-100 feet, any divers fancy a dive this weekend ?

Another factor is the time it takes to change the temperature, a quick cold snap isn't going to affect the temperature at the bottom. I think I read somewhere that the sea is coldest in Feb/March time, when its had all winter to cool and presumably warmest in Sept/Octoberish when its had all summer to warm up. To actually change the temperature of the entire North Sea would take many months and would also depend on the air temperatures.

Heat always moves from hot to cold so after this month of sub-zero figures we'll probably start having some 5-10 degrees weather which will start to warm up the sea again.

Cod are found in such a varied range of depths I guess they don't mind too much what the temperature is. It's probably their prey that mind the temperatures more.

The North Sea always seems damned cold to me whatever the tme of year.

[Topfly]

That is exactly my point Shilbottler, if there is no food inshore because it's all dug in with the severe cold , then the fish have no alternative but to move to deeper water. roll on the weekend.

[danny boy]

That is exactly my point Shilbottler, if there is no food inshore because it's all dug in with the severe cold , then the fish have no alternative but to move to deeper water. roll on the weekend.

spot on.well thats what i think as well.

[Hartlepool codder]

Canny bite you got there Mr chukka

ai cracking bite from a grass fish on the casting feild

deans any good in the opens mate?

[anthony stobbart]

sliver surfer

fish like cod,whitting,coalies stick to where the food source is and will remain untill the shoal moves on etc,it doesnt help if theres huge sandeel shoals and the weather we have had and hopfully fishing picks up for all of us fishermen fingers crossed...

[sk4]

ai cracking bite from a grass fish on the casting feild

deans any good in the opens mate?

Keep going keep going the hooks deeper getting a slack liner

[northumberland swordfish]

lack of fish

Ive been chatting to a few peopple who think the weather has something to do with the fish but that the movment in the sea is probably the cause, i was chatting to a guy from pure fishing the other day and he thinks its because the seas been to calm.

[Hartlepool codder]

Keep going keep going the hooks deeper getting a slack liner

do they use hooks on the casting feild ? the only thing that is getting deeper is the 4ounce lead into the grass, that CHUKKA has just chucked 50 yards with his 12lb line and tapered leader hahaha

[The Jester]

Look on the bright side lads, at least the fish are nearby and getting fatter...

[white water]

people need to keep there fingers crossed and have faith i think the cod will return

[paulthespark]

i don't think the water temp or the salinity of the water has much to do with the scarcity of cod along our coast line during this December i have fished the ne coast now for many years and i have not seen a regular pattern when the fish are close inshore or in deeper water out at sea, sometimes they are there sometimes not,whatever the month or the weather is during the winter season,the more plausible reason could well be the large shoals of sand eels just off shore,why they are there i don't know, what i do know is that the sand eels are a very easy source of food for the cod and other species of fish so that's where the predators will stay right on top of a reliable food source,and don;t forget, a few people have said that if the eels go into deeper water offshore then the cod will come back inshore, the cod are quite capable of following the abundant food source into even deeper water.

[sinky1984]

2+2+1=10
dont worry be happy the coddys will be back

[Deans]

well i keep saying, we will never know.
only partial evidence is what is in the cods stomaches what are caught off the boats.
even that doesnt give us a proper answer.

I have fished every week for many years now and it is different every year. (like paulthespark says)

last feburary was freezing and the water was probably colder than it is now as it had longer to chill. - yet the fishing was good.

the only strong patterns I have noticed is that the fishing dips at some point early winter. and that the best chance for a lunker is jan feb march with feburary being the best time- why , I do not know and I don't want to know.


it would take a scientific research team to work this one out lads, if you think you can work it out yourself - your mad