Winter Reef Fishing

The more observant amongst us will have noticed that many of the reef areas normally associated with good summer boat catches are ignored come winter. This is the case in many parts of the UK. Because the quarry becomes cod and whiting the marks chosen tend to be sand banks, clean gullies and gutters. Not a bad choice maybe, given that good numbers of cod and whiting are in the area, but what if catches are slow and the general run of fish is small. Both charter boats and dinghies could do worse than apply some winter reef reasoning.

UNDERSTANDING FISH MOVEMENT
There is a misconception that fish, including codling and whiting, are bound to be feeding over clean sandy ground. Just because you hook a few from time to time does not verify the point.

This fundamental statement is the reason why good skippers move areas just as catches are beginning to fall away. They know the routes fish travel between two feeding stations and ambush the shoals accordingly. This prior knowledge is the difference between good skippers and bad, and successful dinghy crews and those that fail.

Even in the depths of winter the reefs, both inshore and offshore, hold fish's attention because of the static food supply, and to a lesser degree because of the protection the reef offers.

IN WHAT WAY WILL A WINTER REEF DIFFER FROM THE SUMMER?
Deeper reefs during the peak summer months will have a heavy growth of weed in areas that have some protection from the worst of the tidal flow. Weed growth spread over a substantial part of the reef offers plenty of protection for the smaller species that provide a good part of the food supply. The shoals of bigger predatory fish are wide spread in balance with that spaced out food source. In other words, it's not always that important where you anchor on the reef. You're bound to catch something.

However, in winter with colder sea temperatures that weed dies back somewhat. Only the heavier kelp type weeds with a firm anchorage can hang on to the reef structure during storms. Protection levels fall as the summer weeds disappear. What this does is to increase the number of smaller food fishes around the few established weed beds that remain. A much smaller percentage of the reef is actually populated, but those populated areas are packed with food that reliably concentrate bigger predators tide after tide. Cod and ling being the main angling targets.

Less experienced crews anchoring over what was a good mark in the summer may have chosen an area where that weed growth has died away exposing bare reef. This is how winter reef marks get a bad name.

OTHER GROUND PATTERNS WILL HOLD FISH APART FROM WEED BEDS
Shallower reefs, some in only 30ft of water, will still concentrate the fish. There will be little if any weed growth though. What you must look for in this case are the rough bottomed gutters and steep inclines that are always a feature of the shallower reef marks. Fish run the gutters and lower edges of the inclines where water borne food lodges in the winter, but do not feed over the tops of the shallow reefs as they may in summer. This suits the codling which have a liking for patrolling inshore reefs. Both the Kent and Sussex coast and South Wales amongst others fall into this band.

Area of sharply rising pinnacles that are fairly close together tend to hold pouting. Cod, happy to include pout as part of their diet will naturally be found in the same area. Ling are another winter reef incomer in some areas. This applies to reefs off the southwest and on the south side of the Bristol Channel.

Many of the bigger whiting taken throughout the winter come from areas of mixed ground in amongst a reef area. Don't forget that whiting are a voracious predator and will eat fish before any other food form. The bigger the whiting gets, the higher percentage of it's diet will be fish. A big appetite like this needs a consistent supply of food which it finds nearer the reef than away from it.

Patches of clean sand flanked by rougher ground will also hold quantities of dabs. These are not the 3 and 4oz fish of the open ground, but solid 1lbers. Rays are often late leaving these sand patches too, as are huss. Those dabs make a convenient food supply that holds their attention.

Marks to avoid are obviously the flatter featureless areas with a steady tide running over them and no where for fish to find some relief from the tide and for moving food items to be deposited.

HOW THE CHANGING TIDE EFFECTS THE FISH
Cod on shallow reefs are better fished for on the flood tide. The security of flooding water makes them work their way through all the gutters and holes that hold food. Even very shallow water only a few feet deep will not put them off if the tide and weather combine to create coloured water. However, as soon as the ebb gets underway they will stay only in the deeper gutters with direct access to the sea. Often, at this time, it is only the mean low water area that will hold fish. The inshore marks are barren.

On deep water reefs slack tide periods will see whiting feeding over the cleaner ground, but as the tide increases their shoals pack tighter together and they will work in over rougher ground on the downtide edges of the reef.

When a fast tide is running the cod and ling will be moving at seabed level through those sharp peaks of rock and along the vertical rises that often feature. As the tides ease they move back towards the weed beds and rise someway off the bottom.

The actual size of the tide will always have a bearing on the catch too. Cod over shallower reefs are always inshore in numbers during the biggest tides of the monthly cycle. Smaller neaps produce a few fish, but the fishing is hit and miss at best.

Deeper reefs may be unfishable on big tides, but the reduced flow of the neaps allows some anchoring to be employed which gives access to specific marks that are productive. This is when the biggest catches and better fish come.

QUESTION
What technique should I choose to fish a shallow reef, uptide or downtide fishing?

ANSWER
Even though the ground is rough and tackle losses can be high, uptiding will give excellent results. If the water is very shallow you must have reconnoitered the ground and discovered where the gullies and banks are so that you can cast your baits into a potential feeding area. It's worth robbing an idea from the shore anglers and using a weak link to the lead. Preferably a system that allows a strong lead to trace connection that releases the weight to fish on the lighter link as it hits the water.

The best bait will always be lugworm in large amounts and fished on a standard pennel rig. However, mussel can be good, as can fresh peeler if you can get it, and king ragworm. The mussel, rag and crab can have regional applications but the lug is UK universal.

Downtide may be worth trying if the tidal current allows you to drop a bait back into a likely fish holding hole. A 20lb outfit should cope. Keep the hook length about 6ft, maybe two feet longer, and bait with either worm or a whole squid.

QUESTION
On the deeper reefs is it best to anchor or fish on the drift, how should I fish, and what species am I likely to catch?

ANSWER
Most deep water reef fishing will be done on the drift. For variety in winter try baited feathers. Not smaller mackerel feathers, but true cod feathers. These need to be tied on 4/0 to 6/0 hooks and be baited with lugworm or mussel. White feathers are good, though red too can be deadly. You can add a small pirk for needed weight and added attraction, either baited or unbaited. A pirk with no hook purely there for the attraction snags less and lets the feathers fish for longer periods

Baited feathers fished on the drift will score well with codling over the rougher ground and with whiting over cleaner patches. Late leaving pollack are possible too, and coalfish. This technique fills the fish box but does not sort out the bigger fish.

For the best fish you really need to anchor over suitable holding ground. Downtide fishing with 30lb tackle and a whole large squid, maybe two squid mounted on 8/0 hook pennel tackle, a whole pout or small whiting will interest both the biggest cod and biggest ling.

Keep the hook length down to no more than 24ins so that the trace cannot foul too much of the bottom and the bait roll under rocks or weed.

QUESTION
Will I still catch pollack on the reef during the winter?

ANSWER
Pollack remain resident on the reefs in fair numbers right through until about Christmas. After this their numbers fall rapidly with few being taken in January and February. Reefs in northern waters lose virtually all their pollack, whereas those in the far south do retain a small head of fish in the coldest months. Much depends on the depth of water. Shallow waters will not hold pollack, but water over 100ft may.

QUESTION
Is there a special rig that I should use when fishing for dabs on the clean sand patches?

ANSWER
The best rig uses a boom tied close in behind the lead. This can be either a plastic boom, or a metal one like the Mustad KF Tackle booms. The hook trace needs to carry two hooks, usually Mustad 34021 carp hooks size 2 baited with small strips of mackerel or worm baits. Two fish a drop, every drop, is not unusual.