Latest Fishing Reports: Sea Urchin IIl
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11/02/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
11 Feb 2023 by Andy Savage
Today we went out and got absolutely “anchored”……
A lovely bunch of lads and lady on board. Using the tide we ran down to Robin Hoods Bay for the last remnants of the flood. After half an hour and only a couple of small fish to show for our efforts, the tide began to fall away.
As planned, we took the opportunity to run across the bay and onto the next section of really rough ground. We hadn’t fished here for a few weeks, so we didn’t know what to expect. It took another half an hour before the Ebb tide was strong enough to beat the freshening WNW wind and get the boat steady. At this point the bites started to come properly and the average stamp of Codling was much better in this area than the last few trips, when we’ve run north. Jeff Turner took a nice Codling just over 6lb and Dave Fowls started filling his box rapidly with fish to 5lb. Everyone got off the mark with a fish or two in the box.
Once it went a bit quiet, we took the chance to have a short move and that’s when it went a bit “pear-shaped”. The chain on the anchor had become trapped and despite a lot of cursing and trying all the angles, I simply couldn’t free it. While I worked on a Plan B, I let the boat out on a long anchor line to cover a different area. This went well and the rods were once again nodding. Fish were falling regularly to the ever faithful Squid and Black Lug.
We stuck at it for the remainder of the Ebb picking a few fish away as the flushes of Codling moved through. Once the wind and tide dropped, we had to bite the bullet and break out the anchor. Shaun who skippers “Alliance” was nearby and kindly tied it off his very sturdy boat and in the end the shackle thankfully broke off. We lost the anchor and chain, so had to deploy the reserve.
With a great display of angling, Dave Fowls was top rod today taking a 16 fish bag, plus throwbacks. It was a tough day at the office for me, and not one I hope repeat any time soon. A massive thanks Shaun on Alliance for helping to break the anchor rode and to a very patient group of anglers while we did it. Onwards and upwards -
08/02/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
8 Feb 2023 by Andy Savage
As "The Clash" once sang......."Should I stay or should I go now".......that was the dilemma we were faced with last night looking at the weather forecast.
I gave the lads (all very experienced anglers) the option and they were all keen to get out; even if the forecasted, building winds meant we had to cut the day a bit short. We followed a similar pattern as yesterday, running North whilst watching a stunning sunrise in flat clam conditions.
First stop, we waited for the Ebb tide to get going. Pleasingly, a few Codling were knocking around and the four lads on board all got themselves off the mark in fairly short order. Chris "Office Waller" Wells picked up a nice Codling of 5lb, but the average size were more in the 2-3lb range. A couple of Lobsters also decided to jump on the Squid hookbaits!
The wind started to freshen after a couple of hours, but bites kept coming from the Codling and the boat held steady in the tide. Dave Sharp had a couple of surprises in store. Firstly, he managed to catch himself a Sea Urchin.......fishing on Sea Urchin! Secondly he caught a Codling which when he gutted it, had a chicken bone in its stomach. It was from the same area we fished yesterday when Tony Barret had dropped two chicken bones in the water after he'd eaten his dinner. Cod are voracious feeders when they're hungry!!
The rest of the day pased by quickly with a couple of better Codling falling to Dave Sharp and Jim Bailey amongst the smaller stamp for the rest of us. The wind fell away on the turn of tide (in complete contrast to the weather forecast) so the afternoon was spent in glorious weather.
Not for lack of trying....but there doesn't seem to be many better sized fish around at the moment. The last three days we've topped out at 5lb, but hopefully some bigger fish will push through soon enough. We'll certainly keep on trying. Thanks again lads for an enjoyable day out. -
07/02/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
7 Feb 2023 by Andy Savage
Tony Barrett had a threesome and Ken Wood was the “Star” of the show……...
It was a mates trip today and one of the ones where I can relax and fish all day. I really look forward to them, as they’re always a great laugh in great company. We ran North a few miles towards Kettleness to start with today. The forecast was for very light winds and shock horror, they got it wrong……again. It wasn’t bad, but certainly more than we expected.
Everyone got stuck straight in with a few Codling under our belts, but nothing massive made an appearance. For some reason, we kept catching quite a few Starfish and Ken Wood was “top rod”with three of them!!
We considered a move but the bite pattern was similar as the day before, with a quiet spell, then another flush of fish. Martin Novo proved it was worth staying when he pulled up a nice plump five pounder and Ken had one a shade smaller.
We ran a bit further up towards Port Mulgrave just before we started to lose the tide. The action here was instant, with loads of bites for the last hour of the Ebb. Slack water was the usual pants affair, then the wind lifted on the turn of tide.
We took the option to run back towards Whitby and finished the day there. Not long after dropping down, Tony Barrett had a double take and pulled up a Hat-trick; two Codling on one trace and one better fish on the other.
It was a brilliant day as usual and there was loads of banter. Tony Barrett slipped a Starfish onto Ken’s shoulder without him knowing…..hence the Star of the Show! Usual baits of Squid and Lug did the bites, although we had a few fish on Pink Hokkai’s just as the tide eased into slack.
Thanks lads, looking forward to the next trip. -
04/02/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
4 Feb 2023 by Andy Savage
Great to have another day out today. Having missed the last week for poor weather we had a crew of mainly less experienced Uptiders on board.
As I’ve said before; I love helping people to catch fish, so that’s what we did quite a bit of today. Starting off with a short run North with the Ebb Tide, we had the anchor down and were fishing within 30 minutes of leaving the harbour. Half the lads were on my hire tackle, so we went through baiting up, feeling the lead down, paying off line etc.. Within 10 minutes we were away and the bites and Codling came fairly regularly for the remainder of the Ebb Tide.
First time boat angler James Mayes took the biggest Codling at a fraction over 5lb. As we started to lose the tide, (as has been the way recently), the bites slowed right down. We took the opportunity to run a few miles further North to catch the first of the Flood Tide. Just as the first flush of the new tide started, we were back in the game.
Pleasingly, there were plenty of bites today and they were fairly consistent across the boat. Almost every Codling was immaculate with a beautiful white belly in perfect nick. Usual suspects of Squid and Black Lugworm did the bites, although to be fair, as long as there was some squid on the hook, the fish would come and find it.
Banter was excellent today and James Mayes getting his rod butt tapped (to simulate a bite) by his mate was hilarious to watch as he struck into nothing while being videoed!! Raimondas Zokas…..you’re a bad man!!
Thanks for a brilliant day out lads….. It flew by -
27/01/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
27 Jan 2023 by Andy Savage
We had a bit of “Dogging” action down South today!!
After a bit of a Northerly blow yesterday, there was still a bit of residual swell hanging around this morning for our Uptiding trip. But with light winds, it wasn’t too bad for the great bunch of lads on board today.
We headed South, back to the same area we visited on Tuesday, hoping that there were still a few fish moving through. First drop of the anchor saw a few quick bites as normal, with Jonathan Stirrup taking the first Codling and Paul Bunce hammering the Doggies and Pouting! We don’t usually get many Doggies down South, but today, for some reason we had landed on the fishy equivalent of “Dogs Trust”!! Everyone got a few.
The actual fishing wasn’t as easy as usual with the swell, and detecting bites on the Squid & Black Lug hookbaits took concentration. As we ran into slack, the boat began to swing on the anchor #standard and it was a struggle for an hour or so. We had a short move to reposition and just as the Ebb Tide got going Gaz Richardson (who’d been having a Kip!) decided the time was right to drop….
After ten minutes or so, he had a cracking bite and what appeared to be a decent fish was begrudgingly brought up to the top. We weren’t to be disappointed either when we weighed in the lovely clean 9lb Codling.
Everyone caught Codling today, but nothing topped Gaz’s first day Uptiding Codling. When your names on it, it’s on it! Well done Gaz.
The time of year is right for a few of the bigger fish to make an appearance again. Don’t make the mistake thinking you only catch small fish Uptiding….Well done boys and thanks for your company today. -
24/01/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
24 Jan 2023 by Andy Savage
What a difference 24hrs makes…….. After a tough couple of days fishing; today we managed to get amongst a few fish again.
With an experienced group of anglers on board, I was confident that if the fish were feeding and I got us on them, the lads would definitely catch them. We headed south on the Uptiding grounds, but unlike yesterday’s very blustery start; today wasn’t too bad at all. Conditions weren’t perfect, but they were good enough. I hadn’t even had chance to make everyone a brew before the first Codling started coming up. Ian Purdom and Jimmy Yeung both took fish almost immediately.
That set the tone for the rest of the Ebb Tide. We picked away nicely with mainly Codling, but an odd Pouting and Doggie also made an appearance. Early on in the trip, Martin Novo took the biggest Codling of the day at 6lb 4oz. We only moved twice during the Ebb, which made a pleasant change! The bites kept on coming at regular intervals. We had one strange occurrence when Ian Purdom got a slamming bite and his 40lb trace line was bitten through (possibly a decent Ling).
Tony Barrett had his first fish taken by a seal, and proceeded to tussle with it for a few minutes before incredibly he got the fish back and it was still good enough to fillet! Usual baits of Squid and Black Lug dominated today, so no need to change what’s not broken. As the tide eased, we started to swing around on the anchor, but for a change the bites kept coming, so we stuck it out. We just held the rods and paid off line to keep the baits still.
The Flood Tide came through and we had a reposition after it went a bit quiet. Tony Barrett took advantage of a flurry of bites and took the “Top Rod” title for the day, with a lovely bag of Codling up to 5lb.
I really enjoyed myself, the day flew by. It was good fishing in brilliant company.
Thanks everyone for a top day out. -
23/01/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
23 Jan 2023 by Andy Savage
Sunday and Monday report aboard Sea Urchin........I've used a picture from the amazing sunrise we had on Sunday, as unfortunatley we haven't caught any decent size fish the last two days which I thought were photo-worthy.
Sunday saw us initially run North a couple of miles in beautiful flat clam conditions and the first stop wasn't too bad at all. Nathan Pendlebury dropped down and almost immediatley was into a nice plump 4lb Codling. There were a reasonable number of fish caught for the next 2hrs. Unbelievably, we caught nothing at all but Codling, but the average size wasn't brilliant. Mostly fish just around the 30-40cm mark. Once the action tailed off, we headed further north, trying a number of nice rough ground spots up as far as Staithes. A couple of initial fish would get us going, then it would go quiet (as it often does), but there didn't seem to be a second or third flush of fish which often happens when Uptiding.
Everyone plugged away all day, using the usual baits of Squid, Black Lug and Cart, but it was far from the day which I had hoped to give the lads. Dave Fowls was top rod on the day, with some consistent fishing, taking fish from every stop, but unfortunately catching nothing huge. Everyone kept their spirits up with some great banter, which really helped pass the time on a tricky day.
Today we ran South to start with. The plan was to spend some time around Robin Hoods Bay up towards Hawsker. Unfortunately the wind put paid to that plan, with 20mph+ winds blowing us all over the place, we had to move to try and find shelter, to allow us to fish properly. We tried three different spots for very little return, as we worked back up towards Whitby. After 3 hours at sea and with only half a dozen small fish to show for our efforts, we headed North again. I stopped at the same place as the previous day and thankfully there were still a few fish knocking around.
It was nice to see a few rod tips nodding for a change. But yet again, nothing of any size was caught. As we started to lose the tide. we headed further North up towards Staithes again to catch the first lift of the Flood Tide. Unfortunately, unlike the previous two days, the turn of tide was rubbish for us today. We never even had a bite between us! Head scratching time; so we started to moved back towards Whitby. Another three moves; two of which never even gave us a bite, meant that reluctantly we had to admit defeat. We ended the day with a handful of small fish between us all, which is obviously not what I like to do for my anglers.
I strongly believe that there is a need for balance with report writing. Everyone loves putting up reports saying how well we've done, but there will always be good and rubbish days (in terms of catching fish). The last two days, I've tried my absolute best to get us amongst a few fish, but it just hasn't happened. I'm no fishery expert, but one thing I do know, is that at the moment, the fishing is very difficult. I tried bloody hard today and did as good as I could.
Thanks to everyone who has come out for a days fishing, I really appreciate your custom.
Tomorrow is another day.....let's hope there's a big improvement -
21/01/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
21 Jan 2023 by Andy Savage
After a two and a half week break for rubbish weather, we finally managed to get a run out today.
The weather has certainly stirred things up and the sea temperature has dropped significantly. Mark Johnson had the boat booked today for him and three friends. With it being a 5.3m tide, it was spot on for a days Uptiding.
We ran south a few miles to start off, pushing the last couple of hours of the Ebb Tide. First drop of the anchor saw a few small Codling come up, but after an initial few fish, it quietened off. We gave it half an hour then repositioned. We had a similar result there as well, with a few fish straight away, then it slowed down. The wind then decided to lift a bit and we were swinging on the anchor which was very frustrating, as it makes the fishing much more difficult.
We had a quiet hour as slack water approached, the boat swinging all over. Just as the Flood Tide came through, the bites started again. Multiple bites and fair few fish came up. Nothing massive, but a 5lb 8oz Codling was great to see.
Baits for the day were Squid, Black Lug, Scallops and Crab Cart. Squid and Blacks or just Blacks did the lionshare of the bites. Mark Johnson was top rod and his “pimped up” (with a bait additive) Black Lug did the most bites.
It wasn’t as prolific a day as I had hoped for, but the lads are brilliant company and before we knew it, it was time to head in. I had a really enjoyable day spent in great company. Thanks boys.
With some settled weather, I’ve got some spaces available on Monday and Tuesday if anyone fancies a day out. -
02/01/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
2 Jan 2023 by Andy Savage
Happy New Year……first run out of 2023 today. The original plan had been run off and have a look on a few wrecks, but the weather which faced us this morning prevented that.
We went with Plan B initially and had a fruitless look on a few inshore wrecks. Having still not put a fish aboard after almost three hours, it was time for Plan C.
Most of the boys weren’t geared up properly for Uptiding, but I knew it was realistically the only option left to get a few bites. Using a mixture of my gear and their own, I got everyone sorted and then the anchor down. Thankfully it only took a short while (I hadn’t even got the tea made) before a few Codling started to come up.
After an internal sigh of relief we spent the remainder of the day picking away. When it went quiet we had a move, just like any other Uptiding trip.
We had mainly Codling, with an odd Doggie or two. Right on last knockings, as the tide had slackened off, Dave Sharp snuck up the biggest Codling of the day at around 6lb.
Squid and Squid and Black Lug did the majority of the bites. It definitely wasn’t the day I had hoped for, but with a great group of lads on board, it made it into a nice day out. Thanks lads, much appreciated having you all on board. -
22/12/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
22 Dec 2022 by Andy Savage
We managed to get a last run out today before the Christmas Festivities begin in earnest. A mixed group of anglers with differing experience meant that I would hopefully be able to help out the less experienced get a few fish; which I really enjoy.
It was a great tide for a days Uptiding and that’s exactly what we did. Using the last couple of hours of the Ebb Tide we ran north and tried a mark in Runswick Bay. We picked away steadily for the first hour, but as soon as we started to lose the tide, the fishing slowed down. There wasn’t much we could do, except plug away and wait for the flood tide to start. There was plenty of chat and banter amongst the lads, which really made the day go quickly.
We decided to move a bit further north at slack water and by the time we’d traveled the short distance, the Flood Tide was away. Things picked up straight away, with plenty of Codling to keep everyone entertained. Squid and Black Lug, or Squid, Black and Crab Cart did all the bites today.
We didn’t get anything massive, but Andrius Bespalovas took a lovely clean 5lb 8oz Codling and Dave Fowls was top rod taking 16 fish home, plus a few throwbacks. Everyone got fish to take home today, which made it mission accomplished for me. The water has coloured up nicely the last week or so, and shows good signs of things to come as the water continues to cool off.
I’m fishing all year round, so if you fancy a day out in January, just drop me a line. Thanks to everyone for their custom and support this year. I don’t take it for granted and hope that I can see everyone again next year.
Happy Christmas & a prosperous New Year to everyone.
