Shore sport has suffered with an outside swell running. Mackerel numbers particularly affected with boat anglers struggling to find them too. Small codling appearing in better numbers from the piers and beaches: most are small and undersize, but odd bigger fish to 4lb reported from the beaches, while Roker pier gave cod to 5lb on night tides. Whiting continue to show on late evening tides and after dark, with fish over 1lb among them. Dabs, flounders, and plaice evident from most clean ground mark, with odd bonus bass in catches. Worm tipped mackerel baits taking plenty flatties and whiting. Steetley Pier continues to produce double figure mixed bags.
The Wear for flounders and eels, but action is hit or miss with masses of hungry crabs present on some tides. John Robinson won a recent Sunderland SAC match with a nice flounder of 1.72lb. The Tyne is much more consistent with plenty of fish to worm and crab baits. Tyne up-river marks for some quality flounders. Tony Rutherford had a superb recent specimen of 3lb, while Mick Burke had one well over 2lb. The lower river has seen plaice to 3lb on ragworm, with the Fish Quay Wall a popular and easy mark to fish.
Last Tuesday’s popular Ryhope evening sweepstake saw 41 fishing at Panns Bank. Zone A: Colin Smith had a decent eel of 1 – 10lb. Eddie Talbot had a flounder of 1 – 03lb, and Dave Chapman another of 1 – 01lb. Zone B: Harry Gill had a flounder of 1 – 04lb, while Jim Dobie and Chris Hossack tied with identical 1 – 03lb flounders.
Fish were scarce in the Seaham AC Sulgrave Cup fished last weekend. Gary Ramsden won with a 3.68lb cod, followed by S.Peel with two fish for 1.68lb. Additionally, Dean Monarch, Dave Stoker and Tony Laws all had single fish for 1.26lb, 1.18lb, and 0.72lb respectively.
Longbenton SAC held a match on Tynemouth Pier with seven weighing in flatties, coalfish, and pollack. Les Harris had a mixed bag for 5 – 08lb, with Martin Robinson on 5 – 01lb, inclusive of a pollack of 1 – 04lb which was the heaviest fish. Terry Brennan had 4 – 00lb, and Dave Wood had 3 – 03lb.
Andy Rutherford fishing at Johnsons won the last Eastend and Hendon sweepstake with cod of 1 – 10lb, and 0 – 15lb.
The last St. Marys AC match was held in the Wear with 10 from 12 rods weighing in. John Hannan won with two eels and a flounder for 2 – 05lb, ahead of Darren Lister’s single flounder and single eel for 1 – 12lb. George Wilson had also had a flounder and an eel for 1 – 11lb, including the hsf (flounder) of 1 – 04lb.
Dave Chudley caught a bass of 3 – 15lb in the Saltburn SAC McMurray Cup match last week. Dave Allinson had 1 – 11lb, while Paul Lobley returned 1 – 05lb.
A recent Tynemouth AC match at Seahouses saw only three anglers weighing in. The highlight was Micheal Napier’s cracking wrasse of 4 – 01lb. Neil Garner had a wrasse of 2 – 04lb, with Doug Spivey finding a codling of 1 – 03lb.
Boats: Boat angling has been hit-or-miss depending on weather conditions, with little to report. Just before the sea came away, Peter Stobbs fishing aboard ‘Sapphire’ caught a fine pollack of 14lb a mile off the High Drum at Sunderland. A few days later Jeff Sill fishing out of Sunderland on ‘Volante’ bagged a ling of 22lb. The ‘Famous’ from Hartlepool reports good numbers of low double figure cod and ling, with numbers of haddock also showing. Mackerel however, are currently in short supply.
