Shore sport was very quiet during most of last week, with strong westerly winds keeping the sea settled and few anglers venturing out. But, a bit of surf running onto the beaches has brought a few flounders, whiting, and odd small bass to feed. Cod however, have been few and far between.
A bit of sea movement over the weekend brought a big improvement with large numbers of quality spawning whiting moving inshore, and some specimens over 2lb mark. Previously, the river Wear had good numbers of winter flounders present, with a chance of the odd sizeable cod, coalfish, and whiting. Pleasure and match anglers alike tended to fish the river rather than the generally unproductive beaches and piers. One or two cod have shown North of the Tyne, particularly around Amble, where Dave Hodgson had 4 cod to 6lb from Foxton and Gary Foster had a cod of 5 – 01lb from Hadston.
The Eastenders Sweepstake on Wednesday saw 3 out of 20 weigh in. teve Swinhoe did well to find a cod of 4 – 10lb from the Tyne Walkway; Steve Rackstraw had a cod of 2 – 12lb from Johnsons; Chris Hossack had a cod of 2 – 06lb from Roker.
The Eastenders club match on Saturday only saw one angler out of 26 weigh in. Barrie Wright fishing at Whitburn decided to keep a rockling of 0 – 06lb, which normally would have been returned, and discovered he had the only one and the prize money!
Seaham A.C. had slightly better results on Sunday fishing for the Coronation Cup, with 8 out of 69 weighing in 10 whiting, 10 dabs, and 1 cod. Paul Westmoreland fished the Blast to land 3 fish for 10.84lb, which included the lone cod of 9.31lb. Gary Ramsden had 6 fish for 4.13lb, and Andy Byrom had 3 fish for 1.54lb.
Tynemouth A.C. fished in gale force winds last Sunday January 11th and most anglers fished in the shelter of the various rock marks along the promenade. Dave Hayley had 1 cod for 3 – 10lb from Hartley Island; Marty Elliott had 1 cod for 1 – 13lb also from Hartley Island; Ron Bisby had 1 cod for 1 – 05lb from the Boiler Skeer. The club also fished this Sunday January 18th, again in gale force winds, but did much better this time with 22 out of 41 weighing in mainly whiting. Gavin Owen had 7 whiting and 1 coalfish for 6 – 10lb; Steve Harper had 8 whiting for 6 – 02lb; Alan Norman had 4 whiting for 3 – 14lb. Marty Elliott had the h.s.f. with a whiting of 1 – 09lb.
Amble S.A.C. also fished on Sunday: Ian Harrogate had 2 cod for 6 – 06lb – best 4 – 15lb; C.Dawson had 1 cod, 1 whiting, and 1 dab for 6 – 02lb; D.Taylor had 2 cod for 5 – 12lb.
Cleadon A.C. fished last week and only one angler out of 24 weighed in. Jamie Brennan was the man with 1 whiting and 1 flounder for 2 – 00lb from S.Shields Pier.
Tynemouth Retired Members fished midweek on Tynemouth pier and 9 out of 25 weighed in mainly whiting and dabs. Dave Hayley had 2 whiting and 1 dab for 2 – 02lb; Tony Taylor had 2 whiting for 1 – 12lb; Graham Napier had 2 whiting for 1 – 04lb. The h.s.f. was a flounder of 1 – 01lb taken by Neil Garner.
Hartlepool O.M.A.C. fished on Saturday with 6 out of 10 landing a mixture of size whiting, dabs, and cod. Ian Palmer Jnr. had a mixed bag for 7 – 05lb, including the h.s.f. with a cod of 3 – 02lb. Dave Littlewod had a mixed bag for 5 – 10lb, and Ian Palmer Snr. had 5 – 08lb.
The Ryhope Tuesday Evening Sweepstake picked the worst of recent conditions with only 4 weighing in single flounders. Charles Irish had one of 330 grammes; Paul Riley had one of 230 grammes; Lee Brown had one of 215 grammes.
The Ryhope club match on Sunday saw better results with a bit of movement bringing numbers of quality whiting inshore, with specimens up to 1 – 12lb landed from Roker Pier. 38 out of 107 weighed in mainly whiting, with the odd cod and flounder amongst them. Lliam Simpson had 6 fish for 2830 grammes, including the h.s.flatfish of 505 grammes. Gary Warwick had 5 fish for 2705 grammes, and Kevin Bewick had 5 fish for 2135 grammes. Mark Ganley had the h.s.f. with a cod of 1030 grammes, and top junior was Gary Warwick Jnr. with 1570 grammes.
Hartlepool Pirates fished Friday night and found some sized whiting and dabs. Bill Bradley had 6 whiting and 6 dabs for 6 – 12lb; Chaz Walker had 6 whiting and 1 dab for 5 – 07lb; Dave Crowther had 5 whiting and 1 dab for 4 – 06lb. Chris Coxon had the h.s.f. with a cod of 1 – 08lb.
Hartlepool Pirates 2008 results are as follows: Winter League winner was Bill Bradley, followed by Chris Coxan and Darren Dixon. Summer League winner was Bill Bradley followed by Dave Robinson, and John Wilson. The h.s.f of the year was taken by Chris Coxan with a cod of 4 – 12lb.
Coming up: The Easington Council Open is on Sunday 25th January, fishing from 11am till 4pm between Ryhope Dene and Crimdon Dene. All-in entry is £12 and tickets are available from selected tackle shops, or on the day from Seaham Leisure Centre from 9am till 12 noon. Top prizes for the h.s.f. are £2000, £1000, £500, £250, and £125. There are ladies, juniors, and disabled prizes of £60 each plus a full supporting prize table worth £2000.
Sunday February 1st is the 14th Dave Jobson Memorial Open organised by Blyth S.A.C. fishing from 10.30am till 2.30pm between the Tyne Bergen Quay and Pattersons Garage Beadnell. Basic entry is £10 plus optional pools etc. Juniors under 16 are free if accompanied by a paying adult, and juniors under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Register at the Ridley Park Hotel Blyth from 8.30am till 9.30am. First prize for the heaviest bag is 50% payout and 100% payout for the h.s.f.
