Intermittent periods of movement on the sea brought a few cod inshore in recent days, but catches very hit or miss. As usual those anglers in the right place at the right time have done best with the low water marks producing bags of up to 5 cod with a odd bass also. Hartlepool promenade always fishes very well in October with crab baits picking up any bigger fish. John Coyle and another angler both report cod over 10lb landed from here early last week. Whiting are also out in force, though daylight catches have mainly been undersize; night sessions more productive with worm baits tipped with mackerel or squid best for whiting, dabs, and flounders. Steetly pier has seen some bigger mixed bags of whiting and dabs. The colliery beaches are much the same with cod over low water and whiting on the flood tide. Roker pier has seen small cod and lots of whiting and flounders from the round end. S.Shields pier has also produced similar bags. The lower Tyne has lots of small cod and whiting showing and the lower Wear also has whiting and coalfish present.
Boats: Boat returns have fallen away in roughening seas, but the best catches are still around forty fish with cod and ling to 12lb. In addition, there’s been some good area pollack showing off Craster, where Tony Rutherford fishing aboard “Bon Amy” took two of 9 – 02lb, and 8 – 02lb.
Shore: North of the Tyne, Alan sprat won the Seaton Sluice sweepstake with 6 cod for 11 – 08lb from Amble. Jimmy Dunne took the heaviest fish of 4 – 08lb in his 8 – 14lb 5-fish bag.
Last Tuesdays Ryhope sweepstake saw 41 fishing with cod taking the top four places. Arthur Mordicai had one of 1470 grammes from Hendon Wall; Mick Davison had one of 885 grammes from Featherbed Rocks; Gary Warwick had one of 735 grammes from Whitburn; Richie Carr had one of 665 grammes from Roker.
Hartlepool O.M.A.C. enjoyed a productive match on Saturday night with 18 out of 24 weighing in 96 fish for 60 – 05lb… mainly whiting but with a few smaller cod amongst them. Ian Palmer had the heaviest bag with 16 whiting for 10 – 01lb; Paul Lee had a mixed bag for 8 – 09lb; and Ian Palmer Jnr. had 12 whiting for 7 – 00lb. Jordan Salvan had the h.s.f with a cod of 2 – 12lb; Chris Pounder, 2 – 00lb; and Brian Chapman,1 – 06lb.
Tynemouth retired members fished Friday. Tony Taylor won with 4 coalfish, 1 dab, and 1 flounder for 5 – 03lb; Jeff Brown had 1 cod and the h.s.f for 1 – 15lb; and Bob Blackhall had 2 dabs, and 1 coalfish for 1 – 14lb.
The Tynemouth match on Sunday also saw plenty of whiting with 11 out of 35 weighing in. Steve Harper had 19 whiting, 2 cod, and 1 dab for 14 – 03lb, including the h.s.f. with a cod of 2 – 13lb. Wilf Cook had 7 whiting, 1 cod, and 1 dab for 5 – 13lb, while Richy Muir had 6 whiting, 3 dabs, and 1 coalfish for 5 – 10lb.
The Ryhope club match on Sunday saw 20 out of 100 weigh in. Flounders from the round end at Roker fille the top places. Ken Hailey had 6 flounders for 1770 grammes, including the h.s.flatfish of 570 grammes. Joe Lemon had 5 flounders for 1650 grammes, and Gary Warwick Jnr. had 5 flounders for 1320 grammes. Keith Bell had the heaviest roundfish with a cod of 1085 grammes from the Targets.
Cleadon A.C. had mixed results during their last match with cod, whiting, and coalfish coming from both the river Tyne, local piers, and rock edges, with 14 out of 32 weighing in. Ryan Thompson landed 3 cod for 4 – 01lb, including the h.s.f. of 2 – 04lb from the Tyne. Leejay Bryant had a single cod of 2 – 02lb from Marsden; John McLachlan had 1 cod and 1 coalfish for 2 – 01lb from the Tyne; Paul Skea had 1 coalfish and 1 flounder for 1 – 15lb; Mark Shotton had 1 whiting and 1 eel for 1 – 14lb.
The last Eastenders Sweepstake saw 7 out of 17 weighing in. Jim Dobie won with a nice bass of 5 – 01lb from Hendon, Chris Hossack had a cod of 4 – 14lb from Roker Pier, and Lee Hunter had a cod of 3 – 06lb.
The East End and Hendon Sweepstake the next day saw just 3 out of 7 weigh in. Tommy Tate had a cod of 1 – 05lb from Whitburn; Gareth Gardiner had one of 1 – 03lb; and Gavin Murray had one of 1 – 02lb.
The Eastenders H.S.F. Open on Saturday fished at the Glass Centre in the Wear saw flounders take all prizes. Neil Cutler had one of 1 – 02lb; Joe Wilton had one of 1 – 01lb, and there was a three way tie for third place with Neil Cutler, Mason Burton, and Mick Sopp all having 1 – 00lb. Neil Cutler also had the heaviest bag with 5 flounders for 4 – 00lb.
Seaham juniors also fished on Saturday for the Bowie Cup with just two weighing in. Katie Peel won with 2 plaice for 1.36lb, and T.J. King had a mackerel of 1.1lb.
The Redcar Navy and Gentlemans last match saw 5 out of 15 weighing in mainly whiting. Alan Phoenix had 3 whiting for 1 – 13lb from Saltburn Pier; Vanessa Barker had 2 whiting for 1 – 07lb including the h.s.f. of 0 – 12lb, also from Saltburn Pier; and there was a tie for third place with Tony Barker and Andy Bunn each having a whiting and pouting each for 1 – 02lb.
Coming up: The 5th Northumbrian Open is on Sunday October 19th fishing from 10.30am till 2.30pm between Tynemouth Pier and Pattersons Garage, Beadnell. All rivers and piers are out of bounds, except Blyth Pier which can be fished both sides. Basic entry is £12 seniors and £5 juniors plus various pools and team events. Register from 8.30am till 9.30am at the Bank House Club Newbiggin. The top prizes are £1000 and £350 for the heaviest bags, £500 for the h.s.f., and special prizes for 10th and 20th places, plus the usual full supporting prize table. Contact Steven Surtees 07868660710 or Brian Hurrell 0753569951.
Picture submitted by Alan Charlton
