Humberside / Linconshire / Yorkshire – 30/04/10

by David Proudfoot

The arrival of the warmer weather has meant that some of the summer species have started to arrive on the east coast. The Skegness area at the moment is the place to be if you have a boat as there are good numbers of rays being caught at the moment. The bass have also started to show as are the smoothies. The smooth hounds are also starting to put in an appearance off the beaches on the Yorkshire coast.

The winter species such as cod and whiting are still on go so you never know what you are going to get when you lower your bait on to the sea bed. Using squid and crab baits give you more options on what you might catch. It shouldn’t be long until the first of the tope put in an appearance.

Small boat anglers in the Humber Cruising Association who fancy a trip off the Skegness coast can contact the Boston Pirates as they have offered launching and retrieval using their tractor for a very attractive fee of ten pounds. Anyone wishing to join the Association (HCA) should check out their website.

The Association are hoping to hold the last match of the winter league this coming Sunday but it is a poor forecast and it looks like it will be in doubt. The league is the closest ever and this is down to the new points system which is really good and opens it up to more anglers to challenge for the top spot.

On the shore side Humber SAC were in action last weekend on Courtaulds Straight and it was in tip top form. Jack Barlow had twenty fish for 8lb 10oz to take first place ahead of Steve McGregor who finished second with eighteen fish for 5lb 9oz. Third place went to in Adie Cooper who weighed in fifteen fish for 4lb 10¾oz. The Club’s next match is on Saturday 1st May from 18:30 to 20:30 hrs and it will be again fished at Courtaulds Straight.

Last Sunday the Hornsea RNLI match was fished on the Holderness coast where top man Ray Madson from Scarborough weighed in a thornback ray of 4lb. Second placed went to Withernsea angler Nick Marshall with a 3lb 13oz bass.

With the summer species coming in crab is one of the key baits and George Smith has a good supply in at present, so if you fancy a trip this weekend go and get a few crab to boost your chances of a decent bag.

The following Press Release is from the local recreational sea angling co-ordination group and relates to the Net Gain project.

Tide is running out on struggle to find sea life sanctuaries

Government plans to designate large areas in the North and Irish seas and the English Channel as marine conservation zones (MCZs) where many activities may be restricted or barred, are running out of time. Sea anglers on four regional project teams covering the areas say there is only six weeks in which to study and then recommend which areas should initially be zoned.

They have set up a 40-strong group to harmonise their concerns by exchanging and co-ordinating details of the proposals as they emerge. The group – full name the Recreational Sea Angling Conservation Zone Co-ordination Group – includes anglers on local committees covering counties bordering the proposed zones set up by the regional projects. Some of the proposed conservation zones may be close to the shore.

The first bulletin from the group states: “The timeline is of great concern. We have until June 11 to make regional recommendations so that the overall plans of each project can to be submitted to a scientific advisory panel by June 30.”

The first of the four groups, named Finding Sanctuary and covering the western English Channel was started in 2007. However, the three other groups for the North Sea, the eastern English Channel and the Irish Sea have existed for less than a year. One of them only managed to hold its first meeting on April 22.

The bulletin says there has been too little time for anglers to study the areas in the sea proposed to become MCZs. The anglers need time to consult with clubs and others in the four areas where there are hundreds of thousands of individual sea anglers so that their views can been heard.

“There is, therefore, a high degree of risk that mistakes may be made,” the bulletin states. “This initiative is too important to be rushed and there are genuine fears that stakeholders are being driven to a predestined objective.”

The government’s plan is that once the zones have been designated they will not be reviewed for six years.

The bulletin calls for more transparent engagement by the four project teams with their stakeholders. Discussion papers were being presented at the start of meetings giving no time to study them and prepare constructive analyses.

“The lack of adequate information is fuelling the suspicions held by many sea anglers that their sport is going to be subject of massive restrictions. This lack of information needs to be reversed.”

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