Jan 27 2013
Fishing cod in fish trap
This short film shows a traditional way of catching cod in coastal waters in Norway. This type of fish trap is only allowed in the cold months (October – April). I am not a professional fisherman and am only allowed to use ten of these traps. This winter I have only used 3-4 traps simply because that is enough. The fish traps have two chambers which the cod is led into. Between the chambers there is a net (8 meters long) which leads the cod (and other species) into the cambers.
Below you can see some pictures of cod caugth in such fish traps this winter. It is a cold hobby, and the traps can stay in the sea for 4-7 days before you empty them. By using 4 fish traps there is at least one nice cod to bring home.
nice photos
Nice. Two questions: you caught one “nice” cod, but did you keep them all? Are the smaller fish typically darker in coloration, as in your photograph? Thanks.
I keep all of those you see in the pictures. Usually I get at least one cod that is too small. The small ones are released alive. The cod from The North Sea are brighter than cod from the coastal area. The local cod often live in locations with brown og brownish seaweed. Therefore they are darker and more brownish compared to the cod that lives off coast.
Looks pretty cold where you are. Do you release the small fish for conservation purposes or because they have little meat. You must love fishing from the detailed fish blogs you write about. Have visited your site a few times and really enjoy it. Do you have any interest in aquarium fish
http://www.fishforinfo.net
Nick
Hi Nick!
This year I have only caught one small cod that was dead in the trap. You can see it in a bucket at the end of the film at the top of this post.
Cod smaller than 40 cm must be released in Norway, but my limit is more like 45-50 cm. As long as I get enough big fish I don’t bother filleting small fish (45 – 50 cm). The small cod are in very good condition when I release them, and hopefully I will catch them next year
Is that because cod numbers are decreasing that you dont catch so many these days. Thanks for the reply to my last question. Hope im not that annoying guy with lots of fish related questions. Hope you are well.
Now, in February and March the water is very cold. Therefore the cod move out to deeper waters. The cod (and other fish) will be back on shallow waters within the next two months.