Latest Fishing Reports: Sea Urchin IIl
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25/09/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
25 Sep 2022 by Andy Savage
Today was definitely another day that didn’t match the forecast. We were expecting lightish winds first thing and then gradually building as the day progressed. When we came out of the pier ends, it was moving already and just built as the day progressed…..but we were going to make the best of it!
We had a group of mixed experiences on board. Unfortunately a few spent the day putting in a “chum” trail, but the other lads really got stuck in. With slack water approaching as we left the harbour, we went straight to a wreck to try and get a better fish at slack water. The lines started streaming a bit, and we lost too much gear in the three drifts we tried, so that was scratched, and we went to try and find some fresh Mackerel to lure a Ling or two.
Pushing out to a wreck just short of the five mile ground, we found plenty of Mackerel to keep us going for the rest of the day. With a long stretch of rough ground just in front of us, we started at the north end and worked our way back south. Most of the lads went in with Hokkai’s or bait traces with squid or Mackerel. Today, Hokkai’s definitely ruled.
Sea Urchin regular Keith McCance got stuck straight in. He took one or two fish every drift and then connected with something a bit different. He was fishing under the boat, so it wasn’t until the last minute we saw a nice sized Ling shuffle up. It looked a decent size, and we had a go at weighing it, but with the swell we settled on 14lb…ish! As it turned out, the Ling weighed 14lb 12oz which was a great result.
It went a bit quiet, so we moved back into the rough ground at three miles. Two or three small Codling and Ling a drift encouragingly showed signs of life. I’d just gone to get a sandwich from my dinner box, when I saw Karl Crossland struggling. As he was fishing under the boat, I thought he was stuck on the bottom; but I was wrong! He slowly but surely winched up up a nice Ling, which turned out to be 13lb 2oz.
We plugged away for the remainder of what was a tough day. I really enjoyed the day, with some great banter from the boys. If you can catch fish in today’s conditions, you’ll smash em’ in good conditions. -
09/09/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
9 Sep 2022 by Andy Savage
It's been a while since I've given an update on the fishing on Sea Urchin. There's a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I've been away on holiday for a week with my family; but mainly the weather and fishing have been well below par. Whilst I love writing about the brilliant days, it's equally important to give a bit of balance. Not every trip is a red letter day. Quite frankly, some are an absolute grind when the fish aren't playing ball.
Since the last catch report dated 25th August, we've only been to sea four times. On each occasion we've been out on the bigger tides above 5m. That's not to say we wouldn't catch fish, but the fishing conditions are more tricky on a bigger tides at this time of year.
(26th August) John Turnbull and a couple of friends took the boat for the day, which resulted in a few fish around slack water off the wrecks, but we couldn't find many fish on the rough ground. The best falling to Pete, with a Ling of 11lb 8oz. Bait fishing with fresh Mackerel caught the majority of the fish.
(27th & 28th August) The weekend saw rising tides well above 5m and the fishing remained difficult. In a similar pattern, the wrecks did a few fish during slack water, but there wasn't much taken off the rough ground.
Our last trip was yesterday (7th Sept) and once again it was a real battle to find some fish. The conditions in themselves weren't too bad, but with a drift speed around 2 knots in the morning, the lines were streaming. We found a few small Codling and one Ling around 5lb for Charlie Hewitt. The rough ground produced very little yet again.
During this time, the common theme has been that there is alot of natural feed in the water. It shows on the echo sounder and there are seals, whales, dolphins, porpoise, gannets etc all over the place. We were surrounded by over 50 seals yesterday afternoon on the 7 mile ground. I firmly believe that the fish have an all you can eat buffet at their disposal at the moment and don't really need the anglers baits.
This weekend, we're just coming into another set of near 6m Spring Tides, so I'm not going to punish myself or the inexperienced anglers who usually end up on these tides, by going out to sea. Hopefully towards the end of next week things will settle down and the neap tides will do us plenty of fish.
For anyone interested, I've now adjusted the November and December Booking Calendar on CBUK to show the days where we are planning to wreck fish and uptide. If you fancy a run out, just drop me a line.
Tight Lines
Andy -
25/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
25 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
Today was the first day we’ve had a run off in quite a while. With the tides, just starting to lift, I thought it was the ideal opportunity to take a group of experienced anglers out to see if there were many fish around on some of the wrecks located further out.
Gordon Blyth and six of his mates had the boat for the day. They all fish a lot and have their own boats, but every now and then, they like to let someone else do the driving! We opted for an earlier start, to allow us to get a few Mackerel and to travel to our first wreck and arrive at slack water. It seemed that the early start was worth the effort as the first wreck threw up quite a few Ling, including two over 13lb to Pete and Mark. It kept us happily entertained for an hour and a half, before we moved on.
First drift on the second wreck saw half a dozen Codling and Haddock come up, with the best being a plump 8lb Codling, once again to Pete. We enjoyed another hour or so of consistent fishing here as well. The boys were fishing a variety of methods, Bait traces, Shads and Perks/Rippers all produced fish.
The third an final wreck of the day turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax. We only managed a handful of fish to 6lb, but the boys just kept at it. When you’ve got the calibre of angler I had today on board, my job was pretty easy and very enjoyable.
It was nice to see a few better sized Ling make an appearance, let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come, with the WCSA Autumn Festival just round the corner. A big thanks to the boys for a great day out. I really enjoyed the company. -
23/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
23 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
Today was a case of eat, sleep, repeat…..with another full day on the inshore wrecks with an excellent bunch of anglers.
We headed out at 6:30am and stopped for a Mackerel Bash at the bell buoy, but that didn’t quite go to plan. We got a few, but wanted more for bait for the day; so had to run off a couple of miles to try and track down a few more. It looked like the SE blow up yesterday afternoon pushed them around a bit.
We finally got stuck into some wreck fishing, with the first one being just off the 3 mile ground. It lays at a funny angle, which usually means you drift across it, rather than along it. This isn’t a problem in itself, but just means the drifts are quite short. As it turned out, this didn’t matter one bit. We took five nice Codling on the first drift, with the biggest falling to John Talbot (Senior) at 8lb! We picked away nicely for the next hour, taking a few Codling each drift, to get everyone off the mark.
For the remainder of the morning we kept on the move and took fish off all the wrecks; some more than others. There was quite a bit of Shadding going on today, and they (Rhubarb & Custard in particular) accounted for plenty of Codling and a few small Pollock, the biggest Codling at 7lb 4oz to Pete Wortley.
As we ran into slack water, a few small Ling made an appearance amongst the Codling. We only managed a few, with a 6lb fish being the best. Once the flood tide came through, the fishing really tailed off quickly, just like the previous day. We had a slow couple of hours in the afternoon, before heading back in to Whitby.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad day to be fair. The lads all fished well and got a decent result; well done everyone. -
22/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
22 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
Well that didn’t turn out quite how I expected!
A lovely bunch of boys on board today, who I know very well. They’re all decent anglers and know how to go about it. Another small tide and light winds forecast, meant another day on the inshore wrecks.
We gathered some fresh Mackerel for bait and started a day’s wreck hopping. Throughout the morning, some wrecks were better than others, but we were putting together a nice picking of fish. Carl Madin went on the black and red Jellyworms and had a nice brace of Pollock to 6lb in fairly short order. The bait traces and muppets dominated as usual, with Mackerel being the most consistent bait today. With Ling to just over 8lb and Codling over 6lb, it was a nice steady morning, with everyone taking a few for the pan.
Unfortunately, just after dinner, the SE wind started to lift and white caps appeared on the waves very quickly. This really spoiled the drift and made the fishing conditions very difficult. Effectively it killed the fishing stone dead, and we caught very little for a couple of hours. I took the decision to cut the fishing short today, so we ran back up to Whitby and caught a few fresh mackerel to take home. It was a bit of a disappointing end to a day which started off so well.
Thanks to everyone for a lovely day out as usual and a special thank you to Alan for the amazing Chinese food; which he brings for me on every trip he’s on. An absolute legend of a man. -
21/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
21 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
It was finally nice to be back at sea, with a small tide and a great bunch of lads today.
Wrecking was to be the order of the day, with the inshore wrecks being the target. So we started off with a “Mackerel Bash” at the Bell Buoy to gather some fresh bait.
The forecast was giving some moderate westerly wind in the morning, but early on it hadn’t materialised, so we dropped on a couple of wrecks on the run in to slack water. It was steady away, with two or three, mainly Codling a drift. Just as we lost the tide, the Ling started to come, but they were only small “straps” up to around 4lb. We plugged away, but on the turn of tide, the wind did lift and once the tide got going, they were almost together; so the drift speed got up to 1.3 knots. It was too much to fish the wrecks properly, so we ran back under the cliffs to get some shelter.
The fishing wasn’t amazing close in, but Neil Fell-Edwards did catch his first fish on a Shad and his first Pollack at 5lb 12oz! As soon as the wind eased, we moved back into the wrecks. It was pretty much the same as before, with two or three fish a drift. Tony Firman fished really well today and took top rod with a dozen Codling to 6lb 8oz, and Paul Bradley took the biggest Codling at 7lb 8oz.
It certainly wasn’t a red letter day, but I really enjoyed it, with a great atmosphere on board. We caught well when the conditions allowed.
Well done everyone and thanks for a really enjoyable day out. -
12/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
12 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
The fantastic weather continues and today we had a great group of lads on board.
They all understood that we had a big tide to contend with, and all came equipped for the job, which really helped with the fishing. We pinched a few quick Mackerel at the Bell Buoy to get us going, as the first slack water was approaching. We took only a few small Codling off the first wreck, so I moved us on quickly to a much bigger wreck as the tide eased.
This turned out well, with three or four fish a drift through slack. As the tide began to gain pace on the Ebb, we had a look tight inside on some rough ground, but that was unproductive. That left us with the option of moving out to try some more rough ground, until the second slack water. With a drift speed averaging 1.8 - 2.2 knots the fishing was hard. We tried the 3, 5 and 7 mile ground but just picked up odd small fish here and there.
We moved back inside to a couple of wrecks as the Ebb tide began to ease. The first one was a bit “chewy” and we also got plagued by Pouting, so went to another wreck for actual “slack”water. We fared much better here, with 3-4 fish a drift again. Today we caught mainly Codling up to 8lb with a few small Ling to 6lb. Standard tactics of bait traces with Squid and Mackerel did all the better fish.
Top Tip….If you are planning on a future trip in a big tide. Leave the Hokkai’s and multi-hook rigs at home and the light leads. They create so many tangles and lose everyone valuable fishing time.
Thanks again to everyone for coming along today. I really enjoyed it, you were all great company. -
10/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
10 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
Well, what a difference 24hrs makes…..After yesterday’s beautiful weather conditions, and a 14hr trip scheduled for today, I hoped we’d be getting something like a repeat performance.
With a 4am departure from Whitby, and a group of experienced anglers on board, we ran southeast to have a go at some of the less visited wrecks. We caught plenty of Mackerel for bait on the first one, then had a few drops down on the bait traces. It appeared the fish were awake as 3 or 4 Codling a drift got us off to a good start. After an hours steady fishing we moved on to try our luck on some of the other wrecks. Next wreck was rubbish, with only a Pouting to show after three drifts. On our way to the third wreck the wind began to lift which wasn’t ideal.
With the wind and tide together, the drift speed of the boat suddenly went above 1 Knot which made it more difficult to control the fishing gear. However, after a couple of drifts, it was apparent that there were plenty of fish down there, as despite the conditions, the boys still caught each drift. We had a mix of Codling to 6lb 8oz and Ling to just over 9lb. Some of the lads found it easier to fish with 24oz of lead, to help keep the bait in the strike zone for longer. It was definitely a day for the more experienced anglers.
With the wind still lifting, and lots of white water around, I called a halt to proceedings at slack water. Everyone had suffered enough, so we called it a 10hr trip instead of the hoped for 14hr. With the wind behind us, we got back up to Whitby in time to get a few fresh Mackerel before the 3:00pm bridge. Bait traces with squid and mackerel dominated as usual, but the Shads accounted for as few as well in the clear water.
After the successes of yesterday, we were brought back to Earth with a bump. But credit to the experience of the boys on board, we caught far more than the conditions indicated. A big well done to everyone, and thanks for coming on the trip. -
09/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
9 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
It’s been a long time coming, but today was one of those days…..
We had some brilliant weather, some brilliant anglers and some brilliant fishing. With a good wrecking tide and light winds, there was only one obvious choice for us. We gathered some fresh Mackerel for bait (to supplement the usual frozen Squid) and hit the inshore wrecks! The drift speed was ideal, so we picked wrecks which matched the drift line, to maximise the amount of time on the structure.
In all, we fished five wrecks for the day. The first was a bit chewy and only did a couple of small fish. It was completely different on the second, with a good few Codling each drift. I was disappointed with the size, but then the tide just dropped off a bit and things kicked in nicely.
Plenty of fish in the 3-5lb bracket started coming up and David Oxborough helped himself to a Codling just into double figures. Slack water was the usual disappointment, so we had a couple of moves while it was slack.
Just as the flood tide got away on a new wreck, we were back in business.
Some more quality fish with Martin Novo taking an 8lb Codling, Ian Kellock almost filling a box with Codling using an orange JellyWorm and then Paul Andrews winched up a 12lb 8oz Codling to finish off a brilliant day.
I was so pleased for everyone. There was some great angling today. Well done to everyone. -
08/08/2022
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
8 Aug 2022 by Andy Savage
With summer in full swing and some half decent weather, it’s been a busy few days. Saturday was a group of mixed anglers; many of whom I’ve never met before. I’m always a bit nervous with lots of new customers as, if the fishing is hard, they may think I’m completely bloody useless!!
We started off on the ground at 5 miles, but the wind lifted, so we headed back inside to get a bit of lea. A test drift on a wreck at 3 miles gave us a reasonable drift speed and a few fish. For the remainder of the day we kept on the move, taking a few fish here and there. Unfortunately, nothing exceptional, but Codling and Ling to 6lb gave us some sporadic sport.
Sunday saw the early morning wind spoil the drift and the lines were streaming, so we had to run back inside under the cliffs. Mike Lee and Neil Fell-Edwards got stuck straight in and we had a few Codling up every drift.
After a hour or so, the action tailed off so we were on the move again. We tried the 3 mile and 5 mile ground plus a couple more wrecks. For whatever reason, we just didn’t put many fish together. We finished with a Mackerel Bash after what I felt was a disappointing day.
With lighter winds forecast for today and a smaller tide, I hoped for better results. With the wrecks on the north side not giving much, we headed south towards Scarborough. First drift, on the first wreck saw half a dozen nice Codling come up, which was encouraging. We had half an hour’s decent sport before it quietened off. With only us in the area, we picked a few more wrecks to try, with most drifts giving 1-3 fish. It was certainly an improvement on the last two days.
Then, once again the wind spoiled the drift, so we ran back inside for an hour. Dave Bewley fished really well today and caught some lovely Codling wherever we went. Once the wind backed off, we were back on the wrecks, and ended the day taking a fair few Codling. It was a great improvement on the weekend’s results. Whilst not sensational, it was steady away for most anglers. Thanks to everyone for your company and enthusiasm over a few tricky days.
