Shore sport in the current calm conditions is very poor with size fish of any species hard to find. Only the odd bigger whiting, flounder, dab, or early plaice showing in daylight hours, while night sessions have seen more whiting, and the odd better cod from low water rock edges. A look at recent club results clearly reflects the lack of fish along the North East coast. The current options are either chance of picking up a lone cod from the rock edges, or fish light from the clean ground and hope for a couple of size flounders or whiting.
Cleadon A.C. fished early last week with 2 out of 23 finding fish. Jamie Brennan did well to find a cod of 3 – 04lb at Marsden, while Norman Spour had a cod of 1 – 09lb from Whitburn.
Tynemouth A.C. had a Winter League match on Sunday with 4 out of 18 weighing in. Marty Elliott picked up a welcome lone cod of 4 – 09lb from the Bathing Pool Skeer; Barry Tweddle had a cod and a coalfish for 3 – 14lb from Sandy Goit; Steve Harper had a cod of 1 – 13lb from Whitley Bay Pipe, where Ken Brewes also fished to take a pouting of 0 – 08lb.
The last Whitley Bay Winter match saw 2 weigh in. Dave Bentley had a cod of 1 – 15lb from Codgers Corner, and Chris Stringer had 2 flounders for 1 – 10lb from Tynemouth Beach.
Up at Amble their last match saw plenty of flounders showing from the surf beaches with 10 weighing in 27 flounders. A.Lee had 5 for 3 – 15lb; T.Cook had 5 for 3 – 08lb; and Jim French had 2 for 2 – 03lb.
The Eastenders Sweepstake on Wednesday saw just 1 out of 19 weigh in, with Paul Hossack taking a flounder of 0 – 14lb from Roker Pier.
The East End and Hendon Sweepstake on Thursday saw 3 out of 14 each landing a single flounder. Gareth Gardner had the best with 0 – 14lb; Jim Brydon had 0 – 11lb; and David Frost had 0 – 10lb.
Another Eastenders Sweepstake on Friday saw 3 out of 14 weigh in 3 cod and 1 flounder. Ricky Walton fished at Hartlepool to land 2 cod of 5 – 05lb and 3 – 07lb; Gary Pye had a cod of 2 – 04lb from the Blast Beach; and Steve Swinhoe had a flounder of 0 – 15lb from the Wear.
Yet another Eastenders Open on Sunday saw 2 out of 12 take 1 flounder each. Tommy Tate had one of 0 – 12lb from the Wear, and Jim Brydon had one of 0 – 10lb.
Seaham Juniors fished for the Committee Cup on Saturday. Jack Stoker’s flounder of 0 – 14lb was the only size fish caught.
The Easington Open stewards match on Sunday saw 5 out of 38 weigh in 5 flounders and 1 plaice. Paul Westmoreland took a plaice of 1.19lb from the Blast Beach; Gary Ramsden had a flounder of 0.72lb; Jim Dobie had one of 0.69lb; and Shirley Newton had one of 0.47lb.
The Ryhope Tuesday Evening Sweepstake saw 5 out of 18 weigh in small cod. Keith Carter fished the Rifle Range, taking first and third places with cod of 980 grammes, and 855 grammes. Mick Davison was second with a cod of 910 grammes from the Manholes.
The Ryhope club match on Sunday saw 100 fishing with 10 finding fish. Joe Lemon had 2 cod for 1830 grammes from Trow Beach – best 975 grammes; Scott Brown fished Roker to land 4 whiting for 1575 grammes; Colin Todd also fished Roker for 2 whiting for 1090 grammes. Gary Warwick Jnr. had the h.s.flatfish of 605 grammes, and was top junior with 925 grammes.
Hartlepool Pirates fished on Saturday and had one of the better results with coalfish and plaice coming from the Tyne, and whiting and dabs from the local piers. 7 anglers weighed in 22 fish: John Wilson had 3 coalfish and 1 plaice for 3 – 07lb; Bill Bradley had 6 dabs and 2 whiting for 3 – 01lb; Chaz Walker had 3 whiting and 1 dab for 2 – 09lb; and Eddie Reilly had the h.s.f. with a coalfish of 1 – 12lb.
There have been some better sized fish showing from South of the Tees for a change, where Rangy Dastidar landed a cod of 8 – 00lb from Birdflight Gulley. Dave Allinson won a recent St. Mary’s rover match with 2 cod for 7 – 08lb – best 5 – 08lb. Runner up John Fairbridge caught 20 desperate rockling for 3 – 09lb, and Darren Lister had 15 super rockling for 2 – 13lb.
In the last St. Mary’s match it was rocking all the way, with 13 out of 21 weighing in. Rockling expert John Fairbridge had 24 of them for 4 – 10lb; Dave Turner had 4 dabs, 3 whiting – best 1 – 01lb and 1 rockling for 4 – 06lb; and Dave Chudley had 6 whiting for 3 – 07lb.
The Saltburn A.C. match saw a few cod showing with Mark Smith landing 2 for 5 – 00lb – best 3 – 01lb from Sandsend Beach, where Gary Joyce also had a single cod of 2 – 15lb. Bernard Westgarth fished the rock edges and had a single cod of 2 – 13lb. 8 out of 17 weighed in.
The Redcar Navy and Gentlemans Club match saw everything back to normal with only 3 out of 15 landing fish. Dave Allinson had a single whiting of 1 – 00lb from South Gare; Allen Phoenix was runner-up with a whiting of 0 – 12lb from Saltburn Pier; while John Waring caught a flounder of 0 – 09lb from Coatham beach for third place.
Coming up: Eastenders have an open match on Sunday March 8th fishing from 2pm till 6pm. Register at the Eastender pub, High Street East, Sunderland from 12 noon till 1.15pm. Basic entry is £10 with a minimum £400 in prize money plus a percentage of entry fee. Boundaries are from Seaham North Pier to the Walkway in the Tyne to the upper limit of Alexander Bridge in the Wear.
