Good numbers of cod in the 5 – 8lb mark range from all areas. Double figure cod still evident from several areas and this winter looks like being a good one for quality fish. Horden beach produced specimens to 13lb last midweek. Best reported was a huge cod of 17 – 01lb taken by Lance McVey from the Wherry on a whole rockling bait. Shaun Wind had a 10lb cod from Roker Pier on lug and rag; Dave Dow had cod to 7lb from King Edwards Bay; Marty Elliott had cod to 8 – 13lb from Browns Well; and Dave Cruddace had cod to 8 – 04lb from Cambois.
Peter Smith won a Blyth A.C. match with 5 cod, 2 whiting, and 1 flounder for 14 – 14lb. Craig Falkous won an Amble S.A.C. match with 2 cod for 5 – 13lb, with Graham Bell taking the h.s.f. with a cod of 4 – 11lb. Both anglers fished Whitehouse Sands.
Quality whiting also evident in large numbers from all of the clean ground mark, with specimens nearing 2lb taking worm, squid, and mackerel baits. Well conditioned winter dabs also evident in increasing in numbers, with some around1lb. There have been plenty of mixed bags of 20 plus fish from marks such as Steetly Pier, the Durham beaches, Roker Pier and S.Shields Pier.
Shore sport over the weekend fell away due to small tides, but there were still small cod, whiting, and flatties showing from most areas. Steve Bruce only needed a single cod of 1 – 10lb from the Tyne to win the last Cleadon A.C. match, while Peter Stewart won the last Tynemouth A.C. match with a single cod of 2 – 03lb from Blyth Beach. Night catches proved slightly better than those in daylight.
Hartlepool O.M.A.C. fished Saturday night with 16 out of 20 weighing in 43 fish for 25 – 08lb. Mark Brallisford had a good bag of small cod for 7 – 12lb – best 2 – 11lb, while Dave Littlewood had a 6 fish mixed bag for 5 – 13lb – best 1 – 07lb. Mick Robinson had the h.s.f. with a cod of 2 – 14lb. Next match is Saturday December 13th from 7pm till 1am. There is a club meeting on Saturday December 20th at 6.30pm in the Pink Domino.
Rays Bream are making a re-appearance this winter with several of these large pirhana-like fish reported washed up on local beaches. Little is known about them but it seems they get stranded for some reason as they migrate South via the North Sea. They have not been seen in large numbers since the mid seventies, but if you can get a live one before the seagulls get to it they are superb to eat!
Ryhope Tuesday Evening Sweepstake saw 30 fishing. Mick Davison was a worthy winner with a cod of 9 – 10lb taken from Ryhope; Steve Rackstraw had a cod of 4 – 03lb from Hill 60; and Ron Brown had a cod of 2 – 10lb from the Targets.
Eastenders club match last Saturday saw 22 out of 28 weighing in mainly flounders and whiting from the Wear. Colin Smith had 11 fish for 11 – 11lb from the High Drop Off; Gordon Ord had 7 fish for 8 – 03lb; Bill Jackson had 7 fish for 8 – 02lb. Top Junior was Mason Burton with 5 fish for 3 – 00lb, and the best flatfish was a flounder of 1 – 11lb taken by Eddie Knightly.
East End and Hendon fished Sunday with only two catching fish. Gareth Gardner had 6 fish for 3 – 02lb, and Barrie Robson had 2 for 2 – 04lb.
Sunderland S.A.A. also fished Sunday, with 5 weighing in 7 flounders, and 6 whiting for 12 – 02lb. Paul Robinson had 3 flounders and 2 whiting for 4 – 15lb, including the h.s.f. with a nice flounder of 1 – 10lb, followed by Steve Morley on 2 flounders for 2 – 07lb.
Eastenders Sweepstake on Wednesday saw 4 out of 16 weigh in a single fish each. Dave Mould had a cod of 7 – 02lb from Roker Beach; Tommy Tate had second and fourth places with cod of 3 – 12lb and 2 – 00lb from Whitburn; Steve Rackstraw was third with a cod of 3 – 12lb from Roker Pier.
East End and Hendon Sweepstake on Thursday only had two weighing in. Jim Brydon had a whiting of 1 – 02lb from Rathouse Corner, and Geoff Moon had a whiting of 0 – 13lb from Roker Pier.
South of the Tees has produced some decent fish. A recent Saltburn A.C. match saw 11 out of 20 weigh in 15 cod, 3 whiting, 2 rockling, 1 coalfish, and 1 flounder. Bernard Westgarth fished the White Stones to land cod of 8.25lb and 7.95lb along with a pair of rockling for 17.55lb. Steve Coverdale had a cod of 5.14lb, and Andy Clark had a cod of 5.10lb. The last Saltburn match saw Gary Moody win with 2 cod for 8 – 15lb taken from Cowbar.
Redcar Navy and Gentlemans Club had two recent matches. The first saw 3 out of 17 weigh in. John Nixon fished Port Mulgrave to land a cod of 8.09lb; Dave Allinson had a cod of 1.08lb; and Gary Joyce had one of 1.07lb. In the second match, Frank Harrison won with a single cod of 5 – 02lb from Saltburn Pier.
The 60th S.Shields Open last Sunday saw 291 seniors and 20 juniors fishing, with 96 weighing in 210 fish for 256 – 01lb. Gary Pye fished the Blocks on S.Shields Pier and using fresh blacks and whiteworm took the h.s.f. with a cod of 6 – 07lb and the heaviest bag with 14 – 04lb. Top lady was Pauline Ferry with 1 – 07lb. Junior winner was A.Nickelson with 1 – 07lb. 4 juniors weighed in and all won rods and reels. Ken Robinson had the h.s.flatfish with 1 – 07lb. John Ward had the second h.s.f. with a cod of 6 – 03lb, and Terry Wood had a cod of 5 – 04lb. Chris Stringer took the second heaviest bag with 8 – 01lb, and third was Paul McIntyre with 7 – 12lb. Gary Pye and D.Swann won the team event with a total of 15 – 11lb.
Coming up: Sunday December 14th is the Saltburn Open fishing between Paddys Hole in the Tees to Whitby East Pier from 9am till 1pm. Basic entry is £6 plus additional pools and team event. Register from 7.30am at the Ruby Street Social Club Saltburn from 7.30am. First prize is £300 plus ladies and junior prizes plus a supporting prize table. Contact Bernard Westgarth 01325-720113, or Peter Race 01642-478351
