Yesterday Jens and Pernille from Copenhagen had their first ever fishing trip and caught their first ever fish in the last cast. It was completely dark when the cod slammed hit the jig and Pernille got a fighting experience she will never forget.
Jens and Pernille from Copenhagen like to go kayaking in Scandinavia and they have been thinking about learning to fish so they can bring a rod and catch their own dinner when they are on trips.
To get a taste of the best hobby on the planet, they recently contacted me about a guided streetfishing trip in Copenhagen Harbour. We went last night from 17-21 and I think it is fair to say they got hooked (pun intended).
The fine art of hooking a cod
We started of with a short introduction to casting and some basic theory about covering as much water as possible to increase our chances. They quickly nailed the casting part, so we moved on to the next lesson – hooking the fish.
In my experience this is what beginners struggle the most with when it comes to harbour fishing. It is difficult to tell when the cod is only playing with the jig, and when they are hitting it hard and it is time to raise the rod and hook the fish. This takes a lot of experience and a high level of connectivity with your gear.
In the first two hours before sunset we had no contacts but as the twilight came, the cod started hunting. I caught two decent cod in the 40´s in the darkness. The first took my brown jig as it sank down just after the cast. The other slammed it when it was just under me, and I was ready to pull it up.
The last cast
Pernille also had a contact that she didn´t hook. It obviously raised her enthusiasm, and she kept fishing and fishing. Jens and I had stopped the fishing and were packing our stuff, while we talked about the important last cast.
I think Pernille´s last cast turned into another last cast, as Jens and I were packing, and suddenly Pernille yelled that she had a fish on. As there are more than two meters from the pier down to the surface then I hurried to assist her with a net and some good advice.
The fish fought really well and from the bended rod I could tell that it was bigger than the smaller ones from earlier. After two hectic minutes I could get it in the net and lift it up. A really fat 56 cm crab eater that had absolutely swalled the jig.
Way to go Pernille! I am sure you will never underestimate last casts on your coming fishing trips, and I hope you and Jens enjoy eating the beautiful fish. Also thank you Jens for the nice photos.
See you in the harbour another evening!
Fishing Copenhagen 