Latest Fishing Reports: Sea Urchin IIl
Back to Main Charter Page-
20/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
20 May 2024 by Andy Savage
After two quite decent days, the last two have been fairly poor by contrast. Sunday saw a group of mixed experience anglers aboard, and with the wind still coming from the Northerly quarter, we planned a similar day as Saturday when we did ok.
Thankfully, the fog had lifted, so it was nice not to be glued to the radar as we ran North. Starting off on a few wrecks, we had literally an odd Pouting and few undersized Codling and tiny Ling. Jamie Britton managed to trip up a Codling of 5lb 8oz, but other than that it was pretty dire. On the turn of tide, I decided to move us onto some ground marks, running back towards Whitby. We picked up an odd strap Ling and Codling, but there was nothing to shout about. The lads used the regular tactics, but disappointingly it turned out to be a poor day on the fish catching front.
Today I had Alan and his friends on who fish with me regularly. They had asked for a 12hr trip so we got away just after 0500hrs and with the poor results of the previous day etched firmly in my mind, we ran off to try a couple of wrecks further out. First stop at 12 miles kept us going for an hour or so, with one or two fish each drift. Ling were the dominant species, but they were all straps, so we moved on.
Thankfully the next wreck was lit up a treat with lots of fish and feed marking, but it took a few drifts to nail down where we could catch them. With that sorted, we had a couple of hours fishing away steadily until we lost the tide, at which point the sport dried up. We had some nice Codling around the 5lb mark and unsurprisingly, with all the feed marks, there were Coalie’s on the hunt!
Simon was clipping them regularly with the Slow Pitch Jig, but they also came to the squid and Mackerel bait traces as well. The average size was in the 2-3lb range, which isn’t the norm for round here (we usually get a smaller stamp); but was good to see nonetheless.
Once the Flood Tide came through the drift picked up and finished the day with a few fish off a final wreck and then the last hour on some rough ground. The day wasn’t a disaster by any stretch, but I’ll be honest….I’d hoped for better. -
18/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
18 May 2024 by Andy Savage
Well that was a day of two halves!! When you look at the images, you’d think the pictures were taken on different days.
I had a group of regular experienced anglers aboard today. With a somewhat “potentially iffy” looking forecast with North Westerly winds, I gave everyone the option of cancelling, but with almost everyone keen to have a go, we left just after 0600hrs with the radar on and headed out into the fog. With four hours of the Ebb tide to fish, we started on a couple of wrecks only 3.5 miles from the pier ends. The first one produced a few Codling, with my cousin Dave Coverdale taking the biggest at a 5lb, but the action died off after 40 minutes or so.
We hopped to the one next door and whilst this one wasn’t heaving with fish, we took a good sized Codling (along with a few smaller samples) each drift. Dave Bewley took the biggest off that wreck with a nice Cod of 9lb 4oz and Neil Fell-Edwards had a new Pb Codling of 6lb 2oz. For the remainder of the Ebb we fished a further three wrecks and picked fish off all of them. Nothing enormous, but every drift saw a couple dragged up. The usual suspects of muppet traces or Hokkai’s baited with squid or Mackerel did the business as #standard.
Once the Flood Tide pushed through, we had wind and tide together, which made the drift a bit quick for fishing the wrecks effectively, so we spent the afternoon on the rough ground. The five mile ground looked very green, so after only one drift we moved out a couple of miles and found a bit more water clarity. This also coincided with the fog lifting and a beautiful afternoon spent in the sun.
That kept us entertained for around 90 minutes taking a few each drift, then we finished up on the nine mile ground. Everyone fished well and the rods ticked over nicely all day, which to be honest far exceeded my expectations. It was another day spent in great company so a big thanks to all the lads….top dangling today -
16/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
16 May 2024 by Andy Savage
It’s fair to say, that today was the most productive day we’ve had this year! Mark Johnson, Bob Nicholls and Jeff Hoggard had the boat booked for themselves and are great anglers and always fantastic company.
Having looked at the forecast the day before, it appeared that the Northerly wind would begin to lift a bit, late morning which could make for difficult fishing conditions. The lads were all happy to get away early and make the most of the favourable early morning conditions. We departed shortly after 0400hrs just as first light broke, and ran 90 minutes North across a flat, glassy sea…..it was a stunning morning. However, it turned out to be short lived as we ran into a fog bank after 7 miles and spent the rest of the day on the radar!!
On arrival at the first wreck there were feedmarks everywhere; I’ve never seen that wreck “lit up” so much. I set up the first drift and with the small tide and no wind, we barely moved. Within a minute the rods were buckled over and we had a great three hour stint, clumping plenty of fish. The first half prior to slack water, we had mainly Codling, but a good stamp; with Bob taking the biggest at 8lb and Jeff chipping in with a couple of 7’s along with plenty in the 4-5lb class.
As we lost the Ebb Tide, the Ling came on the feed and we had a number of fish in the 6-8lb range, then Jeff took the biggest of the day at a very honest 9lb 15oz winning the “Greatest Angler Trophy” that they always fish for.
Muppet bait traces with Squid or Mackerel dominated, but Bob also did well on a set of Gummimacks.
We chose to run to another wreck six miles away to finish off the day. The wind had just begun to lift a notch as we arrived, but pleasingly all three rods went in again on the first drift. It fished well for about 45 minutes with a nice mix of Codling and Ling and a couple of Pollock, then gradually as the wind increased and the lines started streaming, sport slowed right down. We took only five fish in the last 45 minutes before calling it a day at 1130hrs and steaming back to Whitby.
A fantastic day out, with great fishing and great company….see you in July lads. -
15/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
15 May 2024 by Andy Savage
After a long weekend off with pesky South Easterly winds, today we had a nice settled day with a small neap tide. With a group of my regular experienced anglers aboard, I knew we’d have a good day before I even cast off from the pontoon. Everyone was on early, so we got away just after 0600hrs using the last of the Ebb and ran North to have a go on a few of the inshore wrecks, as there are signs that the water is beginning to clear out nicely.
First stop there wasn’t much tide, but we had half a dozen drifts and picked up a couple of fish each drift. Ian Kellock took the best Codling at just over 5lb. We pushed on after 45 minutes or so and tried a couple of small wrecks, for very little return. The drift line of the boat had us running straight out to sea, which I don’t think is the best as we were crossing the small wrecks, as opposed to running along them. I moved us to a bigger wreck to give us more time on the drift and that worked quite well.
We spent the next couple of hours picking away nicely. We caught plenty on squid baited muppet traces, but we also had a good return on the shads. Just as I was about to move on Charlie Hewitt connected with something a bit better and without incident, he brought up a nice Ling just short of 11lb. We fished a further three wrecks for the day which all produced fish, it was just a lovely day out.
Sean O Brien hadn’t done much Shad Fishing before, but was keen to have a go and I think he did a great job, catching regularly throughout the day. The lads christened him “Sean the Shad” which made me chuckle.
Everyone got a fair few fish today, but considering their experience and the small wrecking tide, it didn’t surprise me at all.
There was a lot of mickey taking and great banter all day. One of my most entertaining and enjoyable of the year. Thanks lads. -
11/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
11 May 2024 by Andy Savage
To go, or not to go……that is the question!
With a decent weather “forecast” yesterday, giving mainly light winds, we had a run out. It was a Spring Tide (5.6m), but without the wind, it would certainly be fishable (as it was the day before). A group of mixed experience anglers joined us for the day.
With less than 2 hours before slack water, we started the day on the 5 mile rough ground, with a view to dropping on a nearby wreck at slack. We clipped a few fish on squid baited Hokkai’s just as the tide began to ease, then shuffled across to the wreck. The wreck gave us a fair few fish to Squid baited muppet traces, but nothing of any size. The biggest Codling being around 4lb.
As the Ebb tide got away, we fished the seven mile ground and then moved out to the nine mile ground. Simon and Diane Mulgrave fished with their lines running under the boat all day and caught consistently in very tricky conditions. Most people struggle under the boat, but they both handled it like Pro’s.
Unlike the forecast predicted, on the turn of tide the South Easterly wind began to lift and build. Within the hour, we went from 1.2 knots on the drift to 2.5 knots (which was almost unfishable).
Credit to everyone aboard, they kept plugging away. The lines were streaming off even with 16oz leads, but odd fish kept coming up. Mainly Whiting and an odd Codling. Soran Barber took the sweepstake with a Codling less than 5lb. It very quickly turned into a day that if I had known the actual outcome of the weather, I would have cancelled in a heartbeat.
I completely understand that anglers want to get out fishing, but sometimes it’s not about dangerous sea conditions. In my mind, there is absolutely no point going out to sea when you won’t be able to fish effectively. Fishing is meant to be fun and enjoyable, not a war of attrition. The South Easterly winds this weekend, whilst not strong, are enough to make fishing conditions very difficult/pointless.
All I can say is, I rely on your support and business to keep Sea Urchin going, but I’m not prepared to take anglers out to fish when I know in my heart of hearts, that we’ll be flogging the proverbial “Dead Horse”
If you’ve managed to get to this point in the post without falling asleep, well done. -
06/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
6 May 2024 by Andy Savage
Two day report aboard Sea Urchin……
Sunday was a 14hr trip and we planned to run offshore to try a couple of wrecks which are rarely visited. I had a great bunch aboard who understood the high risk strategy and were prepared to potentially run out there for nothing, but hoping (as I was) that we may contact a couple of bigger than average fish due to the lack of pressure.
After a 4hr steam with loads of banter we arrived at the first wreck, which was the smaller of the two. We ran four drifts for one small Codling and I moved us on. With an hour of the Ebb tide to go until slack water, we started drifting the next wreck. Pleasingly there were some fish present and some drifts saw a couple of fish, whilst others gave four or five. A mix of Codling and Ling kept us entertained until slack, when it quietened off.
We held out until the Flood came through and started catching again, with similar frequency as before. Unfortunately the wreck seemed to have some old net or rope through it as we lost quite a lot of gear. Pawel Perczynski had a good day taking a fish most drifts on baited Hokkai’s, whilst Ian Kellock won the sweep with a small Ling of only 5lb 8oz.
We rode it out for the remainder of the day, but it was a bit disappointing/frustrating that we didn’t find a fish over 5lb 8oz all day. But; as they say…..nothing ventured nothing gained.
Today we had a group of mixed experience anglers and a bigger tide. We planned to spend the day exploring the rough ground; running out to the five mile to start off. We took half a dozen Codling, then we pushed out a couple of miles and managed to find a few fish every drift and everyone was getting regular bites on the baited Hokkai’s. We took mainly Codling, some small and a few around the 4lb mark. We also had, Ling, Pollock, Coalie’s, Pouting, Whiting, Dab’s and a Cuckoo Wrasse!
With only eight anglers aboard, I had a go with the Shads and managed to pick up fish regularly all day. The water is definitely clearing out.
Star of the show was Charlotte Clough who tried hard all day and had a couple of lovely Codling. Thanks everyone, you were great company and fished really well. -
04/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
4 May 2024 by Andy Savage
With a bit of settled weather we headed out today, with a group of experienced anglers who regularly fish with me. We decided to run off to a couple of wrecks in the 20 mile stream.
The water is certainly much clearer out there and I was hopeful we’d manage a fish or two. First stop, I set the drift up and we literally barely moved. The wind was holding us up on the drift, so we just tiptoed across the wreck. Each drift was well over five minutes.
We fished the last hour of the Ebb tide, taking 2 or 3 fish each drift consisting of mainly Codling. It wasn’t sensational fishing, but everyone got off the mark. Slack was pretty quiet, but once the Flood tide started, we had a flurry of strap Ling. We could probably have kept plugging away for the remainder of the day, but while we were out there I wanted to try a wreck which as far as I knew hadn’t been fished for a couple of months.
As we started the first drift, it was noticeable that the wind had lifted a touch and the lines were streaming a bit, which made it more challenging to fish. It took four drifts before I managed to nail down exactly where the fish were holding and we had to hit that spot every time, otherwise there were not many bites. With that sorted, we finished the day on this wreck, taking mainly Codling again, with an odd Ling, Pollock and Coalie. For the first time I can remember, we never took a single Pouting or Whiting all day long.
Muppet traces, bait with Squid and Hokkai’s on the second wreck baited with Squid were the best methods today. We had a boat sweepstake, but because of the swell, I couldn’t weigh the fish anything like accurately whilst at sea. So we took the best three fish back in. 3rd place went to Rich Anscombe with a 6lb 14oz Codling. 2nd went to Steve Martin with a 7lb Ling and Ryan Martin pipped his Dad with a 7lb 1oz Codling.
I had a really enjoyable day in great company. Thanks lads. -
01/05/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
1 May 2024 by Andy Savage
Today we had good weather conditions (for a change), good sea conditions and a small neap tide; which were ideal for spending a day on the wrecks.
We ran North a few miles to try a couple of inshore wrecks. It was the first time I’d tried the area this year, as they seem to hold very few fish in the winter, due to the coloured water. First stop on the flood tide and after three drifts with only one Haddock to show for our efforts, we moved on.
As I set the drift on the second wreck, I noticed there were quite a few feed-marks around it so hoped for a better result. Thankfully that’s exactly what we got. We had a good couple of hours fishing taking a good few fish each drift, consisting of mainly Codling and Haddock, an odd strap Ling, plus the obligatory Pouting!!
Either baited Hokkai’s or muppet bait traces both using Squid did the majority of the bites as usual. Dave Sharp was crowned “King Pouting” when he had a “3-Up” on his Hokkai’s!! He redeemed himself by taking three fish in one drift on a Shad. Good angling Dave.
Ian Kellock led the way today, clumping a Codling a drift early on, on bait, then switched to a White Sandeel Shad and had a Codling hooked fair and square. We took half a dozen on the Shads today, which shows that the water has definitely got some clarity at last. Rich Guyatt also had a great morning, taking a fish or sometimes two each drift and put together a nice box of fish using mainly baited Hokkai’s. We fished another two wrecks until the Ebb tide came through. They both produced well, but whilst we had the quantity, we didn’t get much in the way of quality. Our biggest fish of the day being around 4lb.
The fishing on the afternoon Ebb wasn’t brilliant, but at least the sun came out to compensate! A big thanks to everyone for being great company and bringing me back some sanity after such a poor winter. Look forward to seeing you again soon -
19/03/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
19 Mar 2024 by Andy Savage
Don’t be fooled by the pictures…..today was was a really tough fishing day, made into a thoroughly enjoyable day by the anglers aboard.
We had a small tide but the winds were a bit too fresh for running out to offshore wrecks. That gave us the option of fishing inside at anchor as the inshore wrecks and ground still haven’t sparked up yet. We headed South to make the most of the tide and after an hours run we put the anchor down. With the area receiving little pressure this winter, I hoped there would be a few willing resident Codling that would come and find us.
I was wrong, simple as that. We had dropped anchor in the fishy equivalent of Dogs Trust, with a constant stream of DogFish and Pouting snaffling the baits. Three moves later we conceded defeat and ran back a few miles towards Whitby; arriving about an hour before slack water. Before I’d even had chance to finish making the brews, I saw Chris Chatham bring up a Codling which was a relief. Thankfully an odd Codling started to make an appearance, but it certainly wasn’t prolific.
Once the bites dried up, we had a short move as it appeared there weren’t many fish running. I put us on a short anchor as we were about to lose the tide and start swinging about. Interestingly, as we lost the tide we had a bit of a flurry of Pollock. We don’t seem to get too many of them when Uptiding, but we had half a dozen of them today. With Charlie Hewitt taking the biggest at 6lb 12oz.
Most of the lads switched over to regular leads (as opposed to breakaway leads) while the boat was swinging and we kept picking up odd fish which certainly hasn’t been the case recently.
Once the Ebb Tide came through, things tailed off again and despite another three moves, we ended with only an odd fish here and there. I would have loved to be able to deliver a few more fish for the boys, but it just wasn’t to be.
From a personal perspective, it was great to have a group of “anglers” (not freezer fillers) aboard, most of whom I hadn’t seen this winter with the rubbish weather we’ve had. A good catch up with some great banter. Thanks very much to you all -
18/03/2024
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
18 Mar 2024 by Andy Savage
We had the weather today to have a run out and try a few wrecks. I haven’t been offshore since last year, so didn’t really know what to expect; but I wasn’t hugely optimistic having spoken with Rich Ward from Shy-Torque, who had tried recently. Almost with a sense of impending doom I pointed us North and headed out to some wrecks in the 20 mile stream.
Just to be clear; I much prefer to fish the inshore wrecks which saves so much time steaming around, but unfortunately at this time of year we’ve found them to hold very little until the water starts to clear out. The offshore wrecks are usually a little more prolific, hence the reason for heading out that far.
I had a great crew aboard today, who love wrecking and knew what to do, so at least I knew if the fish were present and feeding they’d catch them. We had half a dozen drifts on the first wreck (which had a huge seal mooching around it) for a grand total of two Pouting, a Plaice and a bitten off Codling!! Oh S**t…..Time to move on.
We arrived at the next wreck with 90 minutes or so until slack water. I breathed a sigh of relief as three fish came up on the second drift (we missed the wreck first drift with the wind blowing us out to sea). We then proceeded to have a few fish each drift for the next 3 hours. Our best drift saw six Codling come up, nothing massive, but good to get bites. As usual, a few patterns emerged as the day progressed. When the tide was at full speed, smaller baits on Hokkai’s did the business, but as it eased, muppet traces baited with Squid or Mackerel seemed best.
A couple of things worthy of mention: Sea Urchin regular Allan Knaggs was top rod today, with nine fish to keep plus throwbacks. He fished really well, especially with the lines streaming a bit after dinner. Tony Firman caught plenty of fish (mainly Coalie’s) using the Slow Pitched Jig which was good to see.
Once the Ebb Tide came through it slowed the fishing right down, so we had half an hour on a wreck on the way back in for another half a dozen fish. It wasn’t a Red Letter Day, but equally, it wasn’t a disaster. Great to spend a day in the sunshine in excellent company. Thanks lads.
