Cod Fishing Charters in United Kingdom

Cod fishing from a charter boat in England

Cod are a cold water fish. The Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) gives the cod season in its district as October to March and notes that for sea anglers, cod fishing around wrecks is especially popular. The Channel is full of wrecks, and to a cod a wreck is food and shelter: crabs, pouting and small fish gather around the steel, and the cod hunt them there. Banks and rough ground closer in hold codling too, on days when the sea is too lumpy to run out to a wreck.

Be honest with yourself about what to expect. The IFCA's own reports say cod catches off Kent have been patchy in recent winters, with a good fish now the exception rather than the rule and occasional runs of small cod in autumn. Our post on the south coast cod decline looks at why. A winter trip is a day of mixed bottom fishing where cod are the prize: whiting keep the rods busy, conger come from the wrecks, and dabs, pouting and dogfish fill the gaps.

How a winter cod day works

Most cod trips are bottom fishing: a weighted rig with baited hooks on the seabed, at anchor or on the drift. Over a wreck the skipper sets the drift so your gear passes across it, and losing some tackle on the steel is part of the day. Early in the season the fish tend to be codling; the bigger cod are hoped for in the coldest months, January and February, when the days are shortest and the weather stops the boats most often. A wreck far offshore needs a full day and a settled sea, so a short trip will usually fish the closer banks.

The boats that fish for cod

• Hussler is a 26 foot charter boat in Ramsgate Marina for up to 6, with 3, 4 and 6 hour trips that board from the pontoon and can leave and return at any state of the tide, which helps on short winter days. Skipper Bob supplies tackle and bait; bring drinks, snacks and a cool box, and no alcohol on board. Ask which ground each trip length reaches in winter. Our guide to wreck fishing for cod from Ramsgate covers the season month by month.
• Fishing with Andy works out of Plymouth in the western Channel on full days, roughly 07:15 to 17:00, for up to 8, and you can book a single place or the whole boat. In November 2025 the boat took six novice anglers to the Eddystone Lighthouse and a nearby wreck on hire tackle, where they caught bass, pollock and black bream. Ask how much of a winter day goes to the wrecks.
• Kestrel Warrior runs short trips from East Sussex for up to 10, with rod hire, a small tackle shop on board, free tuition from a trained fishing coach and free gutting and cleaning. Its November 2025 trip off Eastbourne brought conger close to 10 kg alongside black bream, bass and pollack. A good first trip for a beginner who wants a taste of winter fishing without a full day at sea.

What you can keep

Undersized fish go straight back. Under the Kent and Essex IFCA byelaw a cod must be at least 35 cm and a whiting 27 cm; other IFCA districts along the Channel set their own sizes, and the skipper will measure anything borderline. Fishing from a licensed charter boat in English waters needs no rod licence from you; our guide to fishing licences on UK charter boats has the detail.

Before you book

• Keep a spare date. Winter storms stop the charter boats for days at a time, so book early in your stay and ask how the skipper handles a cancelled trip.
• Ask what has been coming up. The last fortnight's catches tell you more than any calendar, and they decide whether a cod trip or a whiting and ray day off Kent is the better plan.
• Dress for the cold. Thermal layers, a waterproof top and trousers, a hat and gloves, and a hot drink. Tackle and bait are supplied on all three boats.
• Other fish, other seasons. In summer and autumn the same boats turn to bass, smoothhound and mackerel, and every boat in the country is on the United Kingdom page.