Shore fishing picked up during last week, with a few more quality whiting and flatties showing. A ruffle on the sea over the weekend then produced some double figure cod, and some anglers enjoyed good mixed bags mainly from the low water marks.
However cod fishing in the main remains very hit or miss. Best cod reported was 15 – 01lb taken by Dean Turnbull from the Blast Beach (see image in gallery at bottom of page). Dean did well to land it after hooking it from the cliff top and then walking down to the beach to land it. Chris Hossack had little and large cod of 13 – 09lb and 3lb during a session on Roker Pier.
The New Hartley Open on Sunday saw 38 out of 154 weigh in 73 fish, mainly flounders and cod, for 76lb. Winner Bob Gascoigne fished Blyth Beach to take 9 flounders for 8 – 03lb; Andrew Hooper had 2 cod for 5 – 09lb from Bog Hall; Steve Walker had 2 cod for 4 – 15lb from Whitley Bay Pipe; Mal McKintyre had 5 flounders for 4 – 13lb; and Sam Smith had 4 fish for 3 – 14lb. Top junior was Matthew Holdroyd with 2 flounders for 1 – 03lb. Bob Gascoigne and T. O,Neil won the team event with 8 – 03lb, while Andrew Hooper had the top two h.s.f. with cod of 2 – 14lb and 2 – 11lb. Steve Walker had the third h.s.f. of 2 – 08lb.
Cleadon A.C. fished early last week and fish were in short supply again with only 2 out of 24 weighing in 4 flounders from South Shields Big Beach. Alan Scott had 2 for 2 – 00lb – best 1 – 04lb, and Paul Smith had 2 for 1 – 14lb.
The Ryhope Tuesday Sweepstake saw 16 turn out in gale force winds with only 2 weighing in. Charles Irish had a coalfish of 615 grammes from Hendon, and Bob Surtees had a flounder from Roker for 255 grammes.
The Eastenders Sweepstake on Wednesday saw 3 out of 16 land 2 cod and 1 flounder. Paul Richardson had a cod of 1 – 12lb from Marsden; Steve Williamson had a flounder of 1 – 05lb from South Shields Big Beach; and Paul McCready had a cod of 1 – 00lb from Whitburn.
The East End and Hendon Sweepstake on Thursday saw 4 out of 14 weigh in 2 flounders, 1 cod, and 1 whiting. Tommy Tate had the lone cod for 1 – 10lb from Whitburn, with Geoff Moon was second and third with flounders of 1 – 03lb, and 1 – 01lb, and Gareth Gardner in fourth had a whiting of 0 – 14lb.
The Eastenders Open on Friday saw a few more fish showing with 7 whiting, 3 cod, and 1 flounder taken. Gary Pye won with a cod of 2 – 04lb from Seaham; Darren Welsh had cod of 1 – 13lb and 1 – 08lb from Whitburn; and Micky Sopp had a flounder of 1 – 00lb from the Wear.
The Eastenders Saturday Open saw just 2 out of 25 land size fish. Steve Rackstraw only needed a flounder of 0 – 14lb from Roker to win, ahead of Chris Hossack with a flounder of 0 – 07lb.
Seaham Juniors also fished Saturday afternoon and again only 2 fish were weighed in. Connor Burn had a coalfish of 0.6lb, and Kieran Newton had a flounder of 0.8lb.
Sunderland S.A.A. fished Sunday with 4 weighing in 4 whiting, 1 plaice, and 1 dab. Alan Walker had 2 whiting for 1 – 10lb; John Dyson had 1 whiting and a plaice for 1 – 04lb; and Paul Robinson had a whiting of 0 – 12lb.
Another Eastenders Open on Sunday afternoon saw 4 weighing in 5 flounders. Willie Rowntree had the best with 1 – 06lb; Neil Cutler had one of 1 – 01lb; and Steve Rackstraw had 0 – 13lb.
East End and Hendon fished the Wear on Sunday with 3 landing 8 flounders. Gareth Gardner had 4 for 3 – 11lb; George Brown had 3 for 2 – 08lb; and Barry Ford had one for 0 – 14lb.
Seaham had 84 members turn out on Sunday with 17 weighing in 28 fish for 20.91lb. Ian Bleek had 2 for 3.54lb, Ian Lawson had a single cod for 2.91lb, Andy Byrom had 3 for 2.15lb, and Glen Cook had 2 for 2.01lb.
Hartlepool O.M.A.C. fished Saturday with only 2 weighing in whiting and dabs. Dave Littlewood had 5 fish for 3 – 13lb, and Ian Palmer had 3 for 1 – 06lb. Next match is Saturday March 21st from 6pm till midnight.
Boats: Jeff Ayre fishing in his own boat Swordfish out of Sunderland reports a midweek trip taking several cod over 3lb and a lot of smaller ones returned.
And to finish on a high North East angler Paul Rodgers (left) went north for the winter and took this huge 50lb cod on a trip to Norway.
Pictures provided by Alan Charlton
