Mersey Fishing

[stevo]

Hello all,

Would be grateful for info on cod fishing in the Mersey.

Am after accessible marks, best tides, bait, etc.

Also, are there any decent cod showing here yet?

Habve only fished by Jaguar House (think thats what its known as), had whiting only.

Many thanks

Stevo

[billy bell]

went jag house friday about 3hrs before high,had a few small whiting and 3 small codling (less than 1lb) my mate Mike had similar but 2 codling to about the 3lb mark. Other anglers were catching some blanked some caught, mainly small stuff but a few 2/3lb codling seen mainly to lug. Bait used by us lug fresh & frozen tipped with makeral...hope this helps..trying straits- Bangor side next if no rain.

stevo said:

Hello all,

Would be grateful for info on cod fishing in the Mersey.

Am after accessible marks, best tides, bait, etc.

Also, are there any decent cod showing here yet?

Habve only fished by Jaguar House (think thats what its known as), had whiting only.

Many thanks

Stevo

[eric]

hi steve try brom, we fish these tides up and down you can 12 to 14 hrs as the tide hardly leaves the wall standard bait and rigs go well fish left or right of the path very few snags may see you there to-morrow look for the red bivvy

[michaelybarras]

;Dhi Eric will see you at 2pm sat at Brom myb.

[wirral fishing]

Dont know how true it is but i heard of a 14lb cod come from the air-in-take just left of woodside ferry.Can anyone confirm this? Might be there tonight!!!!!

[TonyD]

Was there Wednesday 7th not much happening, more toilet roll & sanitary towels than cod!

[anglerjohn]

if you want cod from the mersey fish otterspool prom 2 hrs before low to 2 hrs before high using black lug and squid pennel rigs 4/0 hooks and 6 or 8 ounce leads you may not get many bites but most bites will be codling of various sizes

[TonyD]

Does anyone actually eat fish from this filthy river? From now on I'll stick to clean waters back home!

[martinw]

been told that the rivers been cleaned up over the years, but must admit not sure if i would eat my catch from there.

[Bill Moran]

Yes

Some of the fish from the Mersey can be eaten, fish like whiting and cod which come inshore have spent most of their life in open water (which means some of the cod in the local fish shop are sourced out there).

However I tend to avoid most flatfish species and they are returned alive, due to the suspected high levels of heavy metals in the river mud/silt. I would however eat the occassional sole as these tend to come in from further out and so do not seem to become contaminated as easily.

I would prefer if someone has more upto date info from places like John Moores University as I may still be spreading hearsay.

Regards

Bill Moran

[Chris WSF]

Bill said:

Yes

Some of the fish from the Mersey can be eaten, fish like whiting and cod which come inshore have spent most of their life in open water (which means some of the cod in the local fish shop are sourced out there).

However I tend to avoid most flatfish species and they are returned alive, due to the suspected high levels of heavy metals in the river mud/silt. I would however eat the occassional sole as these tend to come in from further out and so do not seem to become contaminated as easily.

I would prefer if someone has more upto date info from places like John Moores University as I may still be spreading hearsay.

Regards

Bill Moran

Bill,

Recent tests on fish have shown much lower levels of heavy metals and you would have to eat about a ton per day to see any effect on you, however I still would not eat any flatfish from Otterspool, Brombourgh, Eastham Areas but that is not to say that the fish are not safe to eat, just my own opinion. Flast fish from the Seacombe, Perch Rock areas are normally of very good qaulity and i would not hesitate to eat them, infact most xmas lunch's in our house we have local Dabs (fillets) rolled, then grilled and served as a starter.

[The Image ™]

Chris, you forgot to mention a dash of lemon and a bit of seasoning..mmmmmm!

[mud crawler]

the river mersey is now one of the cleanest rivers/esturays in the uk. it has been cleaned up oads now over the last few years.

there has been sightings of porpoises, an increased number of rays being caught and even the odd dogfish. these fish would not be there if they did not think the water was clean.

i do not fish for the table, but if i caught a decent fish from the mersey id take it home

[TonyD]

Thanks to all for the replies. To whom it my concern.........keep cleaning it up! Nice to hear that previous "chemical baths" are now beginning to get cleaner around the UK.
Cheers lads.

[martinw]

wish i had kept that massive whiting i caught from new brighton on fri nite now and scoffed the lot! the rolled dab fillets sound mighty fine chris, will be sure to give them a try.

[ian boat fisherman]

is sewage still pumped into mersey

[martinw]

Dunno, i thought all sewage had to be treated and purified before entering the sea. saying that ive hooked into one or two of those lesser spotted tampax fish!! not nice trying to untangle them off your rig!

[Kevo]

Yes,many people eat fish from the Mersey,and very nice they are too.If you see the trawlers dropping their nets on the way out of the river,you will know that lots of people from all over the country will unwittingly be eating fish from the Mersey.I know of a couple of boats who bring their catch ashore at the South Canada Dock,(where i worked for 13 years) consisting of plaice and sole taken from the river....these are put on lorries and taken darn sarth....i wonder how many cockneys tucked into a nice fillet of sole for tea,not knowing it came from the Mersey.
I ran the original winter league series in the late 80`s,and Liverpool Uni used to come down and sample the fish caught.Everything was spot on,except for slightly higher than average levels of mercury found in flounders and eels,but even then they said you`d have to eat them by the tonne to cause any damage to your health.
The river is much cleaner now than it was back then,and is getting better every year.You only have to look at the numbers of different species we have,and the quantity of those species is increasing year by year.

[Pricy]

North West Water have spent millions of pounds cleaning the Mersey. They have a new large
sewage treatment works on the dock road in Liverpool and pump oxygen into the upper Mersey. It is reported that salmon have returned to the Mersey showing just how clean it is now. the Environment Agency have also stopped firms pumping waste into the river along its
length.

[Flukiephil]

My cousin was involved in the testing of fish for contaminents when she was at the Uni. They collected lots of fish at the end of club matches from various venues to build up a picture of enviromental improvements. After one collectionat the end of a match somebody asked the lecturer who was part of the fish collecting team ,what happened to the fish after testing and the reply was they made a fish stew! Don't eat the siver eels!

[The Image ™]

Biological contamination is usually removed by a fish's digestion system but not chemical contamination such as mercury levels or radiation. I was also told by someone that shellfish, because they do not have a proper digestion system do keep both biological and chemical contaminates in them and that this is why these are the ones to avoid eating if water is polluted.

[Daz]

Theres some good coarse fishin on the Mersey, just after tidle stretch at Warrington. I have personally seen the Salmon leap at the Weir at Woolston. Will defanately be giving the estuary a bash. Daz from Warrington (Novice)