A few better cod finally made a brief appearance after last week’s big tides with several fish up to the 10lb mark reported in bags of over 20lb. South Shields pier and the rock edges down to Roker pier have produced the better sport. Richard Lansbury fished the rock edges to land six cod for a total of 24lb, the best one weighing 4lb 11oz. The rock edges at Ryhope fished well with Mick Hooper, Paul Riley and Lee Burton all reporting cod up to 7lb. Paul Harrison had one of 8¾lb from Whitburn, and Roker pier produced numerous cod to around the 5lb mark.
The top weights in a recent Ryhope match all came from Roker pier where Billy Bell had 15 fish for a weight of 11lb 13oz, and Chris Hossack had six for 8lb 10oz. Another Ryhope match saw large numbers of quality whiting move into the lower Wear at the Glass Centre and Rathouse Corner where Paul Richardson won with 17 totalling 5.61kg, Ritchie Carr had two cod for 5.16kg, and Anthony Williams had 11 whiting for 5.14kg. Terry Mann had the best flatfish at 0.55kg, Wayne Harriman had the heaviest fish, a nice cod of 2.67kg taken from South Shields pier, and top junior Daniel Tate had 10 whiting for 3.93kg. Fresh Westerly winds flattened sport right off for the Ryhope Tuesday night sweepstake, Paul Hossack only needed a cod of 1lb 6oz to win ahead of Paul Richardson with a cod of 1lb 1oz.
North of the Tyne Steve Brown fished Lynemouth to take cod up to 8lb 9oz with most fish looking for big squid baits. The clean ground beaches are productive on a nighttime session. Steve Davis won a Bedlington Station match at Blyth with 10 cod weighing in at 22lb 9oz, and John Bell had five for 12¾lb from Cambois. The sand bars at Druridge Bay are also producing cod and Bob Ferguson fished here to win a Newbiggin match with eight weighing 16lb 9oz. Gary Willis had two for 9lb 10oz from Hartley, and Malcolm Watts won a South Beach match with four totalling 14lb 15oz, including the best of 6lb 2oz, from Rocky Island.
South of Seaham and into Hartlepool, anglers are finding the ever present whiting out in force with specimens up to 3lb being landed, again Middleton pier is the hotspot for whiting but there needs to be a bit of movement on the sea for the best results. The beaches are best on a night time tide with plenty of whiting showing all along the Durham shoreline, those who can cast the distance are picking up the better cod, mainly from the Blast beach and Hawthorne Point areas, though some low water marks such as the Staincliffe, the South end of Seaton beach, and the North Gare are also starting to produce cod where just a short cast can be very productive.
The Whitley Bay open saw 132 fishing, unfortunately the good results of the previous day did not repeat itself with many anglers struggling to find any bigger fish. Winner Shaun Brannan had five cod for 9lb 14oz from Dulce Carrs ahead of Gary Erskine had two for a total of 9lb 13oz. Third placed Kenny Bowen had four weighing 9lb 5oz, Norman Spour had two for 9¼lb, including the heaviest fish of 7lb 5oz from Cullernose Point, top junior Robbie Farrell had two totalling 2¼lb, and the team event was won by Peter Stewart and Paul Foster with 13lb 11oz.
The Moonfleet Open saw a good turnout with Scottish invaders taking a number of the prizes including top spot:
1st Billy Buckley 2 Points
2nd Bob Gasgoine 3 Points
3rd Steve Potts 4 Points
The Sapphire out of Sunderland is having a good winter uptiding just offshore with a recent trip producing cod to 5lb, ling to 6½lb, huge pouting to 3½lb and a small conger eel of 5lb.
The Redcar N&G 16th Open shore match is on Sunday December 22nd with fishing from 10am until 2.30pm between Paddy’s Hole in the Tees to Whitby East pier. Top three prizes are £500, £200, and £100; there are junior and ladies prizes plus a full supporting prize table. Basic entry is £10 plus a £2 superpool. Register from 9am at the Redcar Angling Centre, High Street. Weigh in from 3pm at the Priory Club, Lord Street. Contact Tony Barker 01642 503049
Looking slightly further ahead, the popular Amble open is on Sunday January 5th 2014 with fishing from 9am until 2pm between Seahouses South pier and Lynemouth pipe. As usual, the prize structure is excellent with £500, £300 and £150 for the top three heaviest bags, £300, £200 and £100 for the top three heaviest fish, and a rod, £100 and £50 for the best flatfish. There are three cash prizes for the top three ladies and juniors, plus a full supporting prize table with raffle prizes. Basic entry is £12 all classes that includes the heaviest flatfish sweep. Register on the day at the Radcliffe Club or the Amble Angling Centre from 7am. Note that cart and edible crab bait is not allowed, flatfish must be presented in a bucket of water alive and ready to be returned. Stewards will be patrolling in force this year and will be checking as many bags and car boots as possible. Contact Jim French 01665 711007 for details. To order bait contact the Amble Angling Centre on 01665 711200
