Shore view: Plenty of water colour and a slight sea running during the latter part of last week brought a few cod from various areas. North of the Tyne in particular was well served, but nothing much over 3lb reported from the Teesbay area and Durham beaches, with most anglers struggling. However, some tides have produced quality spawning whiting, with Steetly pier and Roker pier the more productive marks. Dabs also present in reasonable numbers, with some bigger flounders and odd small bass from the clean ground beaches. Anglers fishing low water marks found better cod sport, but fish generally scarce. Rockling seem to be the main species from the rock marks.
Boats: Commercial boats still report good numbers of cod just a mile off the Durham beaches. These are feeding hard on the bottom, and why they have not moved inshore in any great numbers remains a mystery. A good heavy northerly sea may be needed to move them within range of the shore angler.
Roker pier consistent for numbers of whiting, and there is always the chance of a better sized cod like the 7 – 11lb fish Trevor Green caught last Monday. Ritchie Carr had a 5 – 15lb cod during a midweek session, and an unknown angler took a 9 – 08lb fish from inside the bay. Baits tipped off with mackerel have been taking the whiting, with bigger worm baits better for cod. Dean Turnbull fishing Seaham North Pier had a surprise Pollack of 3 – 14lb.
Scott Miller had an fortunate experience on Roker pier when he lost his new Kompressor rod and 525 reel to a passing ship. Scott’s kit was later recovered by an unknown angler. To return the tackle to Scott call 07836-509253.
North of the Tyne: Amble and Beadnell areas continue to produce a few better cod. One of the biggest cod of the winter so far was landed by Allen Matthews during a pleasure session at Beadnell in a flat calm sea. It weighed a monstrous 18 – 06lb, proving these bigger fish can turn up at any time.
The last Amble S.A.C. match saw Darren Taylor win with a cod of 7 – 11lb plus an additional flounder for a 8 – 01lb total. Colin Dawson had 1 cod, 1 whiting, and 1 flounder for 6 – 05lb, while Ian Harrogate had 2 cod for 5 – 12lb.
Dave Hodgson fished Foxton and had 4 cod to 6lb. Gary Arkle had 2 cod for 10 – 08lb – best 7 – 08lb from an Amble mark. Rob Thirlwell fished Beadnell and had a good session taking 3 cod for 18 – 06lb – best 7 – 09lb,while his fishing partner Steve Robinson had 3 for 10 – 08lb. Mark McGarry fished Lynemouth to take cod to 6 – 01lb. Sean Hildrew fished Cambois and had cod to 3lb and bass to 1 – 08lb.
Blyth pier has produced a few fish. Dave Cruddace had a cod of 6 – 04lb, and Ian Ingleson had 3 cod to 5 – 14lb. Seaton Sluice promenade gave Ian Wallace 3 cod for 9 – 12lb – best 5 – 07lb in a Longbenton A.C. match. Darren Hood had a cod of 9 – 12lb from Collywell Bay.
The last Eastenders Sweepstake saw 6 out of 21 weigh in. Steve Rackstraw had a cod of 2 – 12lb from Marsden, and Chris Hossack had the next two h.s.f. with cod of 1 – 15lb and 1 – 02lb from Roker.
The East End and Hendon Sweepstake only saw 2 out of 14 land fish. Tommy Tate had a cod of 2 – 02lb from Whitburn, and George Brown had a cod of 1 – 14lb from Roker.
The Seaham Badger Open on Friday saw Paul Golightly win with a cod of 1.52lb from the Blast Beach. P.Hall had a cod of 1.42lb from the North Pier, while N.Ridley had a cod of 1.35lb. Pairs winners were N.Ridley and M.Irwin with 2.21lb.
The Seaham club match on Sunday saw 84 members fishing for the Dawe Bros Cup. 39 anglers weighed in 160 fish, mostly whiting. George Wilkinson took the heaviest bag with 11 whiting for 9.28lb; Andy Byrom had 10 whiting and 1 dab for 8.78lb; Tony Laws had 10 whiting for 8.69lb; Lewis Barnes had 11 for 8.67lb. All fished the North Pier. Gary Molloy had the h.s.f. with a cod of 2.83lb from the Chemical Beach.
The Eastenders Sunday Open saw 9 out of 40 weigh in 11 whiting, 6 flounders, and 5 cod. Phil Wright won with a cod of 2 – 13lb from Marsden; Neil Cutler had one of 2 – 07lb from the Walkway; Chris Hossack had one of 2 – 03lb; Bob Gascoigne had one of 2 – 02lb.
East End and Hendon also fished Sunday with 6 out of 18 weighing in. Tommy Tate had a mixed bag for 5 – 14lb from S.Shields Pier; George Brown had 7 whiting for 5 – 05lb from Roker; Jim Brydon had 2 whiting for 1 – 13lb from Roker.
Sunderland S.A.A. also fished Sunday, with 5 out of 8 landing 14 whiting for 8 – 15lb. Paul Robinson had 5 fish for 3 – 12lb, with Alan Mordey taking 3 for 2 – 06lb – best 0 – 15lb.
The Ryhope Tuesday Sweepstake saw plenty of whiting from the river Wear marks. Darren Welsh won with a whiting of 520 grammes; Steve Moore had a flounder of 500 grammes, and there was tie for third place with Lee Brown and John Scott both having whiting of 470 grammes.
Cleadon A.C. fished early last week and saw 6 out of 24 weigh in. Phil Turnbull had 1 cod and 1 whiting for 2 – 10lb from S.Shields Pier; Steve Elliott had a single cod of 1 – 13lb from the Black Path; Paul Harrison had 3 whiting for 1 – 13lb from the Tyne.
The last Tynemouth Winter League match on Saturday saw 12 fishing, with only Tony Wheeland weighing in with a cod of 2 – 01lb.
South of the Tees: Anglers are having to work hard to find any fish. A recent Redcar Navy and Gents match saw 15 fishing, but only Alan Oliver weighed in with a 0 – 11lb flounder from S.Gare. Their most recent match saw John Nixon win with a whiting of 0 – 11lb, followed by Alan Oliver with a whiting of 0 – 09lb.
Last Sunday’s Easington Council H.S.F. Open saw a fantastic turn out of 578 anglers fishing in a good South Easterly sea – not always the most productive conditions – but 57 anglers weighed in 74 fish for 151.98lb. The first prize of £2000 for the h.s.f. went to Mick Davison with a cod of 8.40lb; £1000 went to Walter Yardley with a cod of 6.07lb; A.Wilkinson had a cod of 5.90lb; Chris Dawson had a cod of 5.68lb; Peter Middleton had a cod of 4.94lb. Top junior J.Coussons was well up the leaderboard with a cod of 3.34lb. George Heron won the disabled section with 0.53lb, and ladies winner was Shirley Newton.
Coming up: 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.
Picture by Alan Charlton
