Northern Bites by Steve Walker – 16th June

by Steve Walker

Recent northerly seas destroyed the chances of mackerel moving inshore in any numbers, but a few have started to show from South Shields Pier again, along with good numbers of coalfish and the odd pollack, all taking various lures.  Cod might have been expected to move inshore under such conditions but only the odd size fish have been reported, mainly from Seaham and Roker Piers with the best around the 3lb mark.  There are plenty of flatties taking worm and crab baits from the clean ground marks with dabs showing in good numbers from the Hartlepool Piers. Flounders are showing from the Teesbay and Durham beaches and plaice have been taken in settled conditions.  Some anglers continue to report the scarce turbot, and even rarer brill both taking small mackerel baits.

The river Wear is still generally poor and most match anglers are heading for the upriver Tyne marks, however, a few better sized flounders are showing from the Wear above the Queen Alexandra Bridge.  Dave Rogers had a fine specimen flounder of 2lb 3oz from the Tyne in a recent pleasure session which also produced several over the 1lb mark.
Dave with his flounder

The Angling Trust Junior Open in the Tyne last week saw lots of satisfied juniors catch fish and take home prizes.  Top junior on the day was Katie Perry from Ashington who landed two nice flounders for 2lb 4oz, Morgan Steele in second had two flounders for 2lb and Josh Swaddle was third with 2 flounders for 1lb 14oz.  Other successful anglers were Liam Moody with 1lb 8oz, Kieron McLelland with 1lb, Megan French with 12oz and Adam Iveson with an eel of 7oz.

North of the Tyne cod and wrasse are starting to show from the kelp beds.  The first match in the Whitley Bay Summer League saw 11 out of 19 weigh in at Beadnell.  Paul Sample had three fish for 8lb, Steve Williams had two for 6lb 12oz with a best of 4lb 3oz, Neil Cutler landed two for 6lb 1oz and C.Ryan had two for 4lb 1oz.

The Tynemouth Summer League match fished at Seahouses saw 5 out of 22 land fish.  Doug Spivey had one wrasse and a cod of 3lb 14oz for a total bag of 5lb 14oz, Richy Muir took second spot with two cod for 4lb and Marty Elliott third with a single cod weighing 3lb 9oz.

The Eastenders sweepstake last Wednesday was fished at the Business Park in the Wear with 8 out of 22 weighing in.  Dave Mould won zone A with a flounder of 1lb 2oz and Paul McReady had one of 15oz as runner-up.  In zone B Paul Hossack had one of 14oz followed by Chris Hossack with 9oz.

The Eastenders sweepstake on Saturday was again fished at the Business Park with 8 out of 22 weighing in a single flounder each.  Stu Bland had one of 1lb 4oz to take first place followed by Chris Hossack with 1lb 2oz and Darren Welsh had 1lb 1oz and Dale Short in fourth had 1lb.

Sunderland S.A.A. fished Sunday with 2 out of 10 each taking single flounders each.  Alan Walker had one of 1lb 5oz and John Robinson had one of 8oz.

A recent sweepstake at the Copthorne Hotel in the Tyne saw all 19 anglers weigh in flounders, whiting, cod, and eels. Andy Rutherford won with sixteen fish for 449cm, Colin Bell had thirteen for 316cm and second place with Gareth Gardner on ten fish for 226cm. Andy Little had the longest fish at 38cm

Seaham A.C. fished last weekend when a few small cod showed in the Northerly sea.  Four out of 21 weighed in 5 fish for 6.01lb.  J.Blaney had a single cod for 2.44lb from the Chemical Beach, Ian Heron had 2 for 1.90lb and Lewis Barnes had 1 bass for 1.44lb.

Hartlepool Pirates fished an away match at Maryport and found the fishing a bit poor with the expected plaice few and far between.  Bill Bradley had two plaice, best 1lb 10oz, and a dogfish for a 3lb 10oz total.  Runner-up Aaron Dixon had two dabs and one plaice for 1lb 3oz, Chris Coxon had one plaice and one dab for 1lb 2oz and Chaz Walker had three dabs for 10oz.  Their next match is on Friday 19th June fishing from 7pm till midnight.

Tynemouth A.C. fished for the W.J.Wood Trophy last Sunday with 9 out of 33 weighing in, mainly from the Tyne.  Peter Stewart had four cod for 3lb 11oz from the West Quay. Steve Harper had four eels and a flounder for 3lb 7oz from Pottery Bank.  Dave Sloan had two flounders and an eel for 2lb 13oz and Dave Hayley had a flounder for 1lb 3oz.

Sport was poor last Sunday for the Amble S.A.C. match when only two weighed in single flounders.  L.Weller had one of 1lb 2oz and junior angler M.French had one of 10oz.

South of the Tees shore sport has improved a lot with mackerel showing when conditions allow and plenty of flatties taking bait from the piers and beaches.  The last Saltburn A.C. match had a good weigh in with 18 out of 21 landing forty flounder, three plaice, two brill and a turbot, on a measure and release basis.  Paul Lobley won with six flounders for 111cm, Gary Joyce took second with four flounders and a plaice for 103cm. Dave Thompson in third had four flounders for 77cm and Bernard Westgarth had four flounders for 73cm.  Gary Redling and Guy Mason tied for the longest fish each with flounders of 27cm.

Boat anglers managed to get out after the heavy seas.  The Sarah JFK out of the Tyne had cod and ling to 13lb and found large shoals of mackerel just offshore.  Mick English on his boat Wavedancer out of Amble had 30 cod mainly around 2lb to 6lb, with the best at 8lb, and all the smaller fish were returned.

On Sunday, June 21 the Friarage small boat fishing competition is being held out of Hartlepool.  Vessels may leave the harbour from 7am. Entry is £20 per person with a full payout.  Prizes are for the heaviest single fish, which must be gutted, and there will also be a raffle.  Entry money must be paid by close of business on Saturday June 20th.  Further details from the Friarage Tackle and Bait Shop, The Headland, Hartlepool. 01429-273145

Sunday July 12th sees the Bob White Memorial Open fishing from 11am till 3pm between Seahouses South Pier to Lynemouth Pipe, excluding Amble Pier and the rivers Coquet and Aln.  This is a Penn points match.  Basic entry is £10 for adults and £1 for juniors fishing in two age groups, under 8 years, and 8 years to 16 years.  Register at the Amble Angling Centre, Newburgh Street, Amble, (01665-711200), from 8am.  Prizes are for heaviest bags and heaviest fish depending on entry.  Weigh in at The Radcliffe Club, Amble, from 3pm till 4pm.

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