Little piece of history & biology
Living on an island that has a rich history of fishing entices you to try cod jigging at least once. Many Newfoundlanders start talking about it early before the summer fishing season opens. Fishing is what initially brought the Europeans over to Newfoundland. for seasonal fishing. Then in the 19th century Great Britain had a fishery based out of the island with over 100, 000 residents. Apparently, they were the world’s largest salt codfish exporter which eventually led to a diminishing cod population and a moratorium that many locals animatedly talk about. But enough about cod jigging’s history.
Cod’s population seems to be on the rise since during both 2016 and 2017 summers, the fishing season opened every weekend. Â By the way “to jig” or “jigging” is the action of fishing without a rod by lowering a hook into the water and rhythmically jerking it up. So technically we were not really cod jigging but fishing instead. However many old fisherman will employ the term cod jigging regardless.
The two most  common cods are the Atlantic Cod and the Pacific cod and they live in salt water and swim closer to the ground. The Atlantic cod which we were fishing for can live up to 25 years, weight upwards to 96 kg and measure a good 200 cm long. Imagine cod jigging a beast like that onto a small sea kayak?! We might have gone for a swim or a crazy ride.
Cod jigging adventure
Newfoundland boasts a rich coastline of cliffs, rocky or sandy beaches, and other breathtaking geological features. Meanwhile there are thousands of kilometers of ocean surrounding it we opted to go cod jigging while kayaking in Sop’s Arm. Being a small settlement on the South-West side of the Northern peninsula it leads to White Bay and is also located right near the famous salmon fishing Main river.
We set off early from Corner Brook on the West Coast, tied the kayaks on the roof and drove over an hour and a half to our launching spot. Imagine a gorgeous bay nestled between islands. We did have a warm South Westerly wind so we decided to head off and follow Georges island with Will and Katie . The perfect weekend adventure !
We rounded a point and dropped our little anchor, tied on to each others boats and dropped hook. Shortly after starting cod jigging we had a surprise visit of a minke whale or lesser rorqual only a few hundred feet from us. Fishing rod in hand I tried to reach for my camera tucked in my waterproof bag but was too slow. The minke which is a type of baleen whale, had already dove under probably looking for some food too. These whales are fairly small in size but can still reach a respectable 10 meters in length and weight as much as 10 tons.
Soon after hunger called us to shore. There we found a sheltered little beach where I even went into the ocean for a swim. Some friends who had spent the night on the next island met us there until we parted ways after lunch. But by then the wind had picked up so we paddled away to the leeward side of Georges island. Subsequently I caught two sculpin fish that I unhooked and let go. In the distance a bright white iceberg majestically was floating.
Already late in the day and having to work the following one Cory and I bid our goodbyes to Katie and Will before paddling back to our car. We fought against some wind but luckily the island offered some protection. Delighted with our sea kayak cod jigging adventure but fish less we drove away.
To see our adventure on video don’t forget to check our YouTube channel and subscribe to join the tribe and stay up to date on all the adventures!
Alex
Live Wildly Intrepid and Aspire!
