How to Spearfish for UK Cod

Cod are a UK favourite, both on the plate and underwater. But when it comes to spearfishing, they can be surprisingly elusive. Their preference for hiding in holes, feeding at night, and coming closer to shore over the winter make them a tricky UK fish to pin down.

Where to look?

Wrecks, rock crevices, deep (cold) water seem to be the places we have shot them in the UK. When it comes to looking within the rocks, if you are finding lobsters within the structures, this can be a good sign you are looking in the right place. Countless times we’ve gutted cod with either crab or lobster in the stomach.

What gear to use

For hole hunting, a torch is essential. When torching up holes, it’s worth noting that you don’t need a really powerful torch, as we find the cod can be quite sensitive to light (causing the fish to go deeper into the hole if disturbed). 

The speargun. If you know that all the fish you are going to see are going to be holed up in caves and rocks, then you can use something like a 50cm - 60cm cave gun. Personally, we don’t like to use these as fish can show up just outside of holes, or there are times where fishing doesn’t go to plan and you need a longer gun to shoot fish from a distance. 75cm - 90cm guns are our go to for cod. An open muzzle gun is a good choice, as when shooting at close range this will allow you to manoeuvre the spear if it hasn’t left the full length of your guns shaft.

Techniques to use

Hole hunting. Lighting up holes and crevasses where fish may be hiding. This is a popular technique used in the mediterranean for grouper and brown meagre, and works great for cod.

Swimming over kelp. If not holed up, we find that cod like to hide and ambush from the kelp. Unlike pollock who tend to swim above the kelp, we find the cod like to stay in it. 

Where in the UK can you find cod?

We catch most of our UK cod in the North East of England, and Scotland. You do get cod in other parts of the country, but likely due to overfishing the numbers seem to be few and far between. That being said, people do catch cod all over the UK - so there’s still a possibility of encountering one when holehunting or scanning the kelp.