Cod Fishing Charters

Atlantic cod live on both sides of the North Atlantic, from the Bay of Biscay north to Norway, Iceland and the Barents Sea, and west to Greenland, Newfoundland and New England. They are a cold-water bottom fish: mottled olive to brown, with a pale lateral line, a barbel under the chin and a wide mouth for crabs, sandeels, herring and almost anything smaller than themselves. A hooked cod is a heavy, head-shaking weight more than a runner. The white flaky fillet is the classic fish of British fish and chips, and dried and salted it is the bacalao of Spain and the bacalhau of Portugal.

England sits at the warm southern edge of that range, and Channel cod are fewer and smaller than the fish of Norway or Iceland. All three of our cod boats are there, and our page on cod fishing in the UK covers the season, the sizes you may keep and how a winter cod day works. Each boat lists cod among several fish and none sells a cod-only trip, so the real choice is how long you want to be at sea.

Fishing with Andy is the long day: about ten hours out of Plymouth from around 07:15, for up to 8 on shared seats or the whole boat, with time for offshore wrecks and rough ground. Hussler sits in the middle, a private boat for up to 6 leaving Ramsgate at 08:00 on 3, 4 or 6 hour trips, with tackle and bait supplied. Kestrel Warrior in East Sussex is the short one, 2 hours from 08:30 for up to 10, with a coach on board for beginners and free gutting of whatever you take home. The Plymouth and Sussex boats have both reported pollock, the cod's bronze reef cousin, in recent catches.