The Southsea Marina Cod Competition was held this Saturday 22nd October. 35 members fished from 17 boats. It was tough going, ENE wind and against tide in the afternoon. Only five cod caught unfortunately, but there were some around at least. Tim Andrews won with a cod of 12lb 6oz, congratulations Tim.

I have been gathering snippets of information from around the Solent and cod are being caught in the usual places – Bramble, Stokes Bay, Gilkicker and around Culver. Fingers and Nab area seem not to be so productive, although that winning cod came from the Fingers. Be prepared for roaming conger at this time of year, some quite large ones are feeding on open ground and in daylight so don’t be surprised if you hook into one. It may be a coincidence but there seems to be a few more bull huss reported than usual. By the way squid are a shocking price due to the poor catches leading to high market prices. Pout and whiting are viable alternative baits, in fact some good fish have been caught on them and I suspect more would be if more people used them.