They are here at last

[Deleted]

So, exactly 1 month after I entered the Cardiff Cod Comp I get my first Cod of the season. A beautifully compact hand held 1 pounder (skippers privilege to add a few ounces)

How cute is that?

We had 4 in total on this trip, 2 of which had sprats in their mouths like cigerettes hanging out!

Heres a few pictures of some Xmas Congers caught last week. Stating with Colin

And his bigger sister Caroline


Anyway, hopefully I can get some more nice pics of BIGGER Cod on here as the season develops.

Anyone else out there got any fishy pics?

Mark

[Viv]

Lovely pics Mark. So, the cod with the sprats like cigarettes? Were they smoking themselves - ready to eat so to speak? I like a bit of smoked cod!

Sheila

[Deleted]

Hi Sheila

It turns out the ones with the Sprats in there mouths were glad to be caught as the other fish down there were moaning that they should be smoking them outside anyway. In fact their first words to me weren't 'Bob, Bob!' like normal, but 'have you got a light mate?'. I didn't, so they requested to be put back. Who was I to argue.

I know smoking is bad but these guys did look cool, I must say.

Mark

[ishtar]

Mandor,

Are you wreck fishing when you get the congers? Louise and I are divers and we mostly see them on wrecks, or rocky banks with holes. I'm surprised to see them aroun teh sand banks and mud off Cardiff.

[Deleted]

Hi ishtar

I am at anchor when I fish so couldn't risk going too near the wrecks, albeit I will get more curious as I get more & more experience. I have noticed a few around Penarth & Sully on the chart plotter that I have thought one day I will try & get close to but not yet.

These Congers I am catching are simply called reef eels, they probably swim following ridges & gullys in the sandy, corally, muddy areas around here. They have brilliant senses of smell along with fantastic speed (up there with dogfish) so will charge straight toward a bait giving nothing else a chance. The initial bite on the rod can be huge as they pick the bait up & jerk their head whilst trying to swim off as they become spooked.

I believe the wreck eels are far more timid as they have to be sure everything is ok before coming out of the shadows. Its a slower, easier pace of life waiting for food to come within range than that of the open water eels that have to pro-actively forrage I suppose.

My cousin caught what would be classed as a reef, or roaming, eel in 2005 somewhere between Cardiff Mid & Flatholme I think it was, it was 6ft long weighing 44lb. It shocked everyone on the boat. So they can grow quite big in the open waters.

Most fishermen round here will moan about catching them but I reckon they are great fun to catch and will go for the oldest bait you have hanging around your freezer.

To wreck fish you have to position the boat to drift over the top of the wreck dropping baits down as you pass. It's not done anywhere round these parts I don't think as the tides are too fast & I think you need deeper water wrecks.

Mark

[ishtar]

That's great, cheers. Here are a few shots I took off St Davids a few years back. They are generally very shy fish, but this one was curious. I tried to get him to come right out with a dead crab. He was interested, but too scared.

[sandpiper]

All these photos are of a totally different species to the two I've caught these look to be shy and placid - the ones I caught were angry toothy sea monsters!!!
I tried to kill one to turn him into fish cakes. I tried to make it swift bashing him over the head, but it wasn't until his head was all but destroyed that he stopped fighting. Half hour later he came back to life and was very angry! They take some killing!

[Deleted]

Sandpiper

I won't be coming to any fancy dress parties at the club dressed as a Conger Eel then.

All it takes is your sharpest & strongest knife, a steady boat, and 100% concentration. When the Conger is at its calmest laying on the deck, push the knife down through its head about 2 - 3 inches back from the eyes. Years ago I remember reading that you can kill one by cutting the last foot of tail off. How on earth you manage it I don't know.

All anglers know that if you want to take a conger home you MUST do the bag up before putting it in you car, because it will get out no matter how dead you think it is & slime everything (its the nerve pulses & reflexes)

As for the flesh, they say steam it slightly longer than you would with normal fish flesh to break it down a bit. It's the whitest of white colour. I used to have an Indian friend who was passionate about curries. He used them for that.

So stop bashing their heads in it's not big and its not clever hehe

Mark

[Viv]

I just love all this fishing chat and the pictures. Don't know if any of the members of the fishing section read this bit of the site but keep posting your pics Mark, in time there might be some more input.
Cheers S

[ishtar]

Huw,

Underwater, like most things, they are very shy and nervous of humans. I've seen hundreds, but only one was aggressive, and that was when we were battering a piece of brass on a wreck - and the eel was inside the thing we were hitting with hammers, so even that was defense.

I've even, long ago, stroked a 7ft Moray eel. It came out as I did so and rubbed against me, much as a cat would. I have a very grainy non digital shot of it somewhere that Louise took. I do look very scared in the picture, though.

[sandpiper]

I killed him (or more correctly made him safe - because he still twitched) by removing his head!

On a more positive note of conger experience, I can report that the method recommended to me by a friend from work of nailing him to the shed door whilst skinning him worked a treat. And the fish cakes were superb, definitely better than any I've bought.

And fried conger cutlets aren't bad either, I left them in a marinate of soy sauce, corn flower, red chillies, shallots and macadamia oil for a day in the fridge - highly recommended for most fish!!

[Deleted]

Good fish pics. ill post mine soon, but I gotta get the plug for my camera first.