Mackerel started to move inshore again after last week’s heavy seas but gale force westerly winds may have put many off from venturing out, nevertheless the more sheltered marks produced plenty of double figure bags with all of the regions piers seeing the mackerel now well established. Those anglers bait fishing after dark continue to report quality whiting taking worm baits with the odd dogfish also showing from the Durham beaches.
There are plenty of fish in the Wear to keep match anglers happy with some specimen flounders showing from most areas. The last Eastenders match at the Timber Beach saw Dave McCready win with a flounder of 1lb 11oz and their open match at the same venue saw Chris Hossack win with one of 1¾lb. A previous Eastenders match at Panns Bank saw Steve Rackstraw win with four flounders for 4lb 6oz and Lee Brown had the best at 1lb 6oz.
Ryhope A.C. fished a match at the Copthorne Hotel on the Tyne where all twenty-two anglers had fish to show for their efforts. In zone A Bob Surtees had eight for 207cm for the zone win ahead of John Lovett who landed six for 131cm. In third Bob Bland had five for 122cm and Alan Burton finished fourth with three for 76cm. The longest fish in this zone was a flounder of 40cm taken by Alan March. In zone B Bill Bell had eight for 175cm to head the field. Paul Richardson finished second with six for 129cm while Bill Kennedy had three for 77cm to pip Mason Burton for fourth place. Longest fish in this zone was a flounder of 37cm taken by Bill Bell.
The last Tynemouth Summer League match fished in severe gales only saw two out of seventeen land fish. Dave Hayley took first place with a nice flounder of 1lb 15oz, plus a smaller dab for a 2lb 8oz total. Runner-up Neil Garner also had a flounder and a dab for 1¼lb. The Tynemouth retired members fished on Tuesday with six out of twenty two weighing in. Tony Taylor won with three flounders for 2lb 12oz, the best weighing 1lb 7oz. Neil Garner was second with two dabs and a flounder for 1lb 11oz and Dave Collins had an eel and a dab to take third with 1lb 6oz.
A recent Seaton Sluice A.C. rover match fished between Alnmouth and Beadnell saw a few decent fish landed. Martin Pygall had six weighing an ounce over 10lb to top the list. In second place was Mal McIntyre who had two for 5lb 11oz, best 4lb 6oz and Steve Todd in third had two for 4lb 1oz.
A Whitley Bay Sea League match fished at Craster saw one of the better results showing how well the Northumberland rock edge marks can fish at times. Winner Keith Bathgate had six fish for 17¼lb, the best weighing in at 4lb 12oz. In second Geoff King landed five for 15lb 1oz ahead of third placed Steve Williams who weighed three for 11lb 2oz, including a fish of 5lb 10oz and Neil Cutler had five for 11lb to take fourth.
Boat anglers have been getting plenty of fish in what has been a very good summer season so far. Richard Roll and Graham Napier in the Stingray out of the Tyne took over one hundred cod between 3lb and 8lb on a recent trip with most taking pirks and twin tail lures sometimes three at a time. Kayak angling is starting to become very popular along the North East coast. Billy Jacobs and Keith Armstrong fishing just off Boghall Rocks with fresh crab kept twenty out of fifty plus cod between 3lb and 5lb, both also reported lots of specimen coalfish showing.
At the last Hartlepool boat owner’s heaviest fish match thirty-three anglers fished on eight boats. George Marshall won with a ling of 14.5lb on the Maximus just beating Les Arundale who weighed in a cod of 14lb on the White Dwarf. John Pattison was third, also on the White Dwarf. The match raised £33 for the R.N.L.I. The next open is on July 25th fishing from 7am till 4pm, weigh in until 5.30pm. Basic entry is £10, and all fish must be gutted. Contact Steve Ryder on 07814009701 or at s.ryder@hotmail.co.uk
Note that there has been a change of date for the North East Sea Angling and Boat show at the Nissan Sports and Social Club Washington. The new dates are Saturday and Sunday November 13th and 14th.
