Shore sport continues to be unpredictable, but some big bags of quality whiting on the right tides, and specimens over 2lb reported. Steetly and Roker piers top venues for whiting, with worm tipped with mackerel or squid best baits. Cod showing in limited numbers, but those big spawning specimens that move into the Teesbay area between January and March have arrived. Tess Feeney took a monster of 17 – 03lb from one of the Hartlepool piers during a Hartlepool O.M.A.C. match on Saturday evening. Other anglers have reported loosing bigger fish, while odd cod to 8lb have also been taken.
Roker pier continues to fish quite well on some tides. Gary Wilson had a surprise pollack of 5 – 13lb last midweek. The Wear is hit-or-miss, with previous whiting now absent. However there are still some quality winter flounders showing from the mid-river marks.
The lower Tyne continues to produce a few better cod. Darren Smith had fish of 6lb and 2lb; Alan Shreeda managed one of 8lb; Steve Hardy had 5 to 5lb; and Ian Winless had 3 fish to 5lb.
Amble again producing some good fish for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Alan Cottrell had a great session at Hadston landing a personal best cod of 17lb, plus another of 10 – 05lb and a smaller 3lb fish. But like anywhere, sport can also suddenly change to being very poor. A recent Amble A.C. match fished last Sunday in heavy seas saw only Jim French weigh in with a single flounder of 0 – 09lb.
Tynemouth A.C. Retired Members fished on Tynemouth pier last Friday with 9 out of 19 landing fish. Tony Taylor had 5 whiting, 2 cod best 2 – 06lb, and 1 coalfish for
8 – 01lb. Alan Barnes had 2 whiting, 2 flounders, and 1 coalfish for 3 – 14lb, and Dave Hayley had 4 whiting for 3 – 01lb.
The Tynemouth Sunday League match was fished in a nice sea but the expected numbers of cod failed to show, with 10 out of 39 weighing in 11 fish. Wilf Reed landed a single cod of 6 – 06lb to win ahead of Neil Garner with 1 cod for 2 – 02lb, and Paul Foster with a single cod of 1 – 12lb.
The Ryhope Tuesday Evening Sweepstake saw 35 fishing. Joe Archer won with a cod of 1875 grammes taken from Whitburn; John Morrow had the second and fourth h.s.f. with cod of 1090 grammes and 635 grammes taken from Hall Beach; and Grahame Peart was third with a cod of 765 grammes from Rathouse Corner.
Hartlepool Pirates fished Friday night and found the going tough. Kevin Bruce had 2 whiting – best 1 – 04lb, for 2 – 08lb; Bill Bradley had 3 whiting for 1 – 10lb; Dave Robinson had 2 whiting for 1 – 08lb; and Chaz Walker had 1 whiting and 1 flounder for 1 – 05lb.
Hartlepool O.M.A.C. also found the fishing difficult with 5 out of 18 weighing in. Tess Feeney won with 2 fish for 18 – 04lb, best 17 – 03lb, and Dave Littlewood had a single cod for 2 – 10lb. Next match is Saturday February 21st fishing from 8pm till 6am.
Cleadon A.C fished early last week, with 3 out of 25 all taking single fish from South Shields pier. Alan Brigham had a cod of 1 – 12lb; Jamie Brennan had a cod of 1 – 10lb; and Gav Hall had a whiting of 1 – 00lb.
The Eastenders Sweepstake on Wednesday saw only 3 out of 20 weigh in, with all weighers fishing the river Wear. Brian Turnbull had a flounder of 1 – 00lb; Paul Hossack had a whiting of 0 – 08lb; and Steve Rackstraw had a rockling of 0 – 06lb.
The East End and Hendon match on Thursday saw 4 out of 12 weigh in. Geoff Moon had a nice cod of 6 – 15lb from Roker; Barry Wright had a cod of 2 – 06lb from Marsden; and Tommy Tate had a cod of 2 – 04lb.
The Eastenders Open on Saturday also saw anglers struggle, with 8 out of 33 finding 7 cod, 6 whiting, and 1 rockling to weigh in. Chris Hossack was top rod with 3 cod – best 4 – 09lb, and 1 rockling for a total of 8 – 02lb taken from the High Ledge. Stu Bland had 1 cod and 2 whiting from the Commissioners Steps for 3 – 08lb. Alan Burton had a cod of 2 – 10lb, and Paul Howard had a single cod of 2 – 04lb.
Seaham A.C. fished on Sunday in very heavy Southerly seas, and as such only 3 out of 58 found fish. Darren Swan had a single cod of 2.86lb from the Blast Beach; John Barrass had a bass of 2.40lb from Hendon; and Dave Bond had a cod of 2.24lb from the White Wall.
Eastenders were out again on Sunday for a h.s.f. open; this time only 3 out of 21 weighed in single flounders. Mick Sopp had the best with 1 – 07lb; Jim Dunlop had 1 – 04lb; and Eddie Knightly had 1 – 03lb.
Sunderland S.A.A. also fished Sunday and had 3 weigh in 2 flounders and 1 whiting. Alan Walker had a flounder of 1 – 00lb; Bill Gamblin had a flounder of 0 – 13lb; and John Robinson had a whiting of 0 – 12lb.
South of the Tees: The last two St.Marys A.C. matches saw whiting and rockling the main species weighed in. In the first match, 15 out of 20 found fish, with winner Stan Preston taking 13 whiting and 1 rockling for 7 – 11lb. Dave Turner had 6 whiting, 2 dabs, and 5 rockling for 5 – 05lb, while John Atherton had 10 whiting and 2 dabs for 5 – 04lb. Dale Miller had the h.s.f. with a cod of 1 – 09lb.
The second match saw 10 out of 18 with fish. John Fairbridge had 32 rockling for 5 – 07lb; Darren Lister had 28 rockling for 4 – 15lb; and Dave Turner had 6 whiting – best 0 – 15lb, and 2 rockling for 3 – 07lb.
A Redcar Navy and Gentlemen match saw 3 out of 17 weigh in. Dave Allinson fished South Gare to land 3 whiting for 2 – 01lb; Gary Joyce had 3 whiting for 1 – 13lb; and Stan Dowse had 2 whiting for 1 – 05lb.
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