Latest Fishing Reports: Sea Urchin IIl
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07/09/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
7 Sep 2023 by Andy Savage
After a week’s family holiday to recharge the batteries and miss the huge Spring tides, we were back at it again yesterday. With nobody having being at sea, it was a blank start, not knowing what areas were working etc.
With a 5.2m tide, it was going to be a mixed day of wrecks and rough ground. Slack water was around midday, so we spent the morning working the rough ground at 5, 7 & 9 miles. The 5 mile ground did us a few Ling, the best going 9lb. We chased around all day for an odd tiny Ling, Whiting, and Pouting. It wasn’t until slack water that a small wreck did a couple more decent fish. Mark Gilbert taking a nice plump 13lb Ling as the biggest of the day.
I believe the problem was that there is too much feed in the water. The Herring and associated spawn is in the water at the moment and we were completely surrounded by Minke Whales, Seals, Dolphins, diving Gannets etc. all day. By contrast, the meagre offerings we presented just couldn’t compete with the all you can eat buffet!
Today I felt we needed a change of plan for Alan and his friends who had the boat booked. We grabbed the Mackerel we needed from the Bell Buoy and then had a quick drift on the 3 mile ground. Nothing had changed and we had the wildlife around us again, so I set off to find an area that had a lot less activity. A smaller tide allowed us to get on some wrecks in the 6 mile stream and we only fished three for the day. The first one wasn’t great, but as soon as we started to lose the flood tide, things kicked in nicely for the rest of the day.
It’s the time of year for “them” and we took anything from 3-7 Ling a drift, with an odd rouge Codling. There were a few decent fish amongst them as well. So Yee Kwok had her first double at just over 10lb but first time sea angler Kelvin stole the show when he hooked what was obviously a decent fish. He played it well and eventually we shuffled a decent Ling which just missed the twenty at 19lb 8oz. How’s your Luck!!
The fresh Mackerel on muppet bait traces really did the job today. Thanks to everyone for a great couple of days back at work. Fantastic to have you on board. -
28/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
28 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
Catch report aboard sea Urchin over the last few days……apologies for the lack of reports, but I’ve not been feeling brilliant and haven’t been in my usual routine.
Saturday saw a full boat booking for the Milnrow Sea Angling Club, by Paul Whiting, with a lovely group of boys. With a small tide we spent the day on wrecks. The lads fished baited Hokkai’s and Muppet Traces in the main.
We ran North initially, but the wrecks on the Ebb were rubbish. The fish just didn’t seem to be feeding. Heading back to a couple of wrecks in the five mile steam saw things come to life and us put together a few fish for the remainder of the day.
Sunday saw us fish a mix of wrecks and rough ground inside. The conditions on the wrecks were not the easiest with NW winds holding the drift up, but the more experienced anglers caught plenty. We moved to ground hard inside when the tide turned, and caught mainly Codling on a mix of bait and shads.
Monday was spent with a group of regulars and we fished most of the day on the rough ground, close in. We picked up some nice fish during the day, with So Yee Fong taking the best Cod at 9lb 4oz. Bait and Shads produced plenty of bites.
Thanks to all the anglers for their support and apologies for the crap report. I’m away now on a well overdue family holiday for a week. A good time to recharge the batteries while Whitby gets its biggest Spring Tides of the year. -
25/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
25 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
What a bunch of Campanologist’s I had on board today……….it was a Ding-a-Ling-Ling type of session!!
With a group of very experienced anglers on board, I was looking forward to the day. A great wrecking tide and light winds (allegedly) would surely see us get amongst a few fish. We headed out early to make the best use of the tide. We got the fresh Mackerel we needed from the Bell Buoy and as slack water approached, we dropped onto a nearby wreck.
First run through, there was only one fish landed, but Dave Sharp didn’t complain with it being a 10lb Ling! The remainder of the slack water period saw us get some decent Ling up to 7lb and Bryan Stanton also had a nice clean 6lb Codling. After a great start we had agreed to run south to fish some wrecks in an area which doesn’t see regular pressure. I was optimistic we would find a good stamp of fish and maybe an odd biggun’.
As we ran down to the first wreck, the wind speed continued to lift. Instead of the forecast SW 6-8mph wind we were up in the 12-14mph zone. As a consequence, the next two hours were purgatory on the four wrecks we fished. We took one strap Ling and that was it….oh dear! The wrecks were marking fish, but instead of us drifting along with the small tide, the fresh SW wind was pushing us straight across the tide. That gave us an unnatural drift and clearly the fish didn’t like it. The only way I could see to improve prospects was to run in a bit closer to land, where there would be more tide.
We nudged back in a couple of miles and the wreck we stopped on, gave two fish first drift. This coincided with the wind finally backing off a bit. This seemed to be the catalyst to get the fish taking the baits. For the next two hours I struggled to keep up. The net was continually being shouted for and I ran around like a “Tit in a Trance” with mainly Ling up to 8lb coming up in numbers every drift. Ian Kellock sneaked a 10lb 4oz Ling which was the biggest we landed, but it was great sport. Mackerel on muppet bait traces dominated, the Shads didn’t get much of a look in today.
Thanks to everyone for a brilliant day out. Top, top angling lads -
24/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
24 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
We’ve seen the back of the Spring tides for now and today we were back in wrecking mode with a nice 4.8m tide and light winds. A lovely mixed group aboard, some more experienced than others, but everyone got on well, which always makes for a good day out.
The Mackerel bash didn’t go too well, with just random single Mackerel coming up. I didn’t want to waste too much time, so we got cracking. Everyone brought Squid with them, so those who were short on Mackerel, still had bait. The first few wrecks weren’t brilliant. Just odd fish here and there. There were a lot of tangles to sort out every drift, as the boat twisted in the very light wind and tide, which cost us fishing time.
After a couple of hours, everyone had got off the mark with a few fish and then the tide just started to ease on the run into slack water. Jamie Britton switched over from bait to a red Shad and got one or two nice Codling a drift. He was top rod today by some margin, giving a very solid display of angling. Reading the tide and wind situations well.
Allan Knaggs is part of the furniture on Sea Urchin, having crewed many times over the years and today had a days fishing. He took half a dozen Ling to 8lb and the same of Codling. He rang the changes between muppet bait traces and shads and caught consistently.
We fished another three wrecks for the day and there was a picking off each of them. Whilst we didn’t manage to catch anything huge, the biggest Cod of the day fell to Simon at 8lb 4oz, who fished mainly with the Slow-Pitch Jigs all day.
All in all it was a very enjoyable day, thanks to all the lads for a great day out. -
21/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
21 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
Well that wasn’t the easiest of days….. it was certainly a tale of two tides.
We headed out this morning with three hours of the flood tide remaining. With it being a 5.3m tide we were going to be drifting fairly quickly, so the day would be split between wrecks around slack water and rough ground when the tide was pushing through. We had a frustrating hour trying to track down some Mackerel, but eventually got some decent ones.
Starting off on the three mile ground to assess the drift speed, we picked up nothing at all on the first run. I reset us on a different line and just as the boat drifted over a nice gully, Stan Matthews’ new 30/50 Ugly Stik took on a decent curve. After a good scrap, we slipped the net under a nice Ling which weighed a shade over 14lb. His muppet trace baited with Squid christened his new toy admirably.
With the tide easing we dropped onto a few wrecks for an hour. The first one only produced half a dozen Codling between 2-4lb so we pressed on. The second wreck was a bit better with 2-3 fish each run. Pick of the fish; Dave Holmes taking a seven pound Ling and Stan picked up a 5lb Codling. At that point, if I’d had a functioning crystal ball, we could literally have just gone back into the harbour!!
Once the Ebb tide came through, we fished the rough ground at 3, 5, 7 and 9 miles for a handful of mainly throwback Codling and Ling. We covered some lovely marks, we had a decent drift speed and water clarity, but for whatever reason, the fish just weren’t feeding. We kept on the move and credit to all the lads, they were fantastic company and kept on trying all day. Nobody let their heads drop.
I was disappointed not to be able to give everyone the day out I wanted to, but we can’t catch if they’re not feeding. Thanks for an enjoyable day out lads -
16/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
16 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
It was a bit more like Summer today…. light winds, sunny and warm.
The tides are building and we had a 5.2m tide to deal with. Not massive, but a day of mixed fishing between wrecks and rough ground on the cards. After a bit longer than normal, we managed to get some Mackerel for bait from the Bell Buoy. No strings, just one’s and two’s.
Slack water was imminent so I didn’t want to miss it by running off to distant wrecks. Our first one was just over a mile out and we picked up some small Codling and Ling. We moved on another half a mile after twenty minutes, as the bites tailed off. First drop on the next wreck saw seven rods out of ten go into fish!
We had a great time for the next forty five minutes taking plenty of fish. The pick of the fish was a cracking 10lb 8oz Cod to Soran Barber. Once the drift speed increased we shuffled out for a few drifts on the three mile ground; but we only had a handful of fish. Once the drift got to 1.9 knots we pushed out to the seven mile area.
Just like on Monday, it turned out to be a happy hunting ground for a few hours. The baited Hokkai’s were producing mainly small fish, so slowly but surely most of the lads switched over to muppet bait traces. As always, Squid and Mackerel did the business. Most drifts saw 6-8 fish come up, with Mat Rodgers taking a 9lb Ling as the biggest fish off the ground.
We ran back inside for the second slack water, to fish some more wrecks. The first two weren’t brilliant, but the last one threw up some nice Codling to 6lb.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad day. Everyone had plenty to take home and we had a decent stamp of fish. -
14/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
14 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
After a ten day layoff for big Spring tides and poor weather, we were back at it on Sunday.
We planned to spend the day on both wrecks and rough ground. A fresh wind to start the day made the wrecks unviable, so we ran to an area of rough ground at five miles. The majority went down with baited Hokkai’s and we started to pick away nicely at some small Codling. Some keepers, but plenty of throwbacks.
The wind eased significantly after an hour or so, and the conditions stayed fairly settled for the rest of the day. We fished rough ground and also wreck hopped around slack, but we couldn’t put up anything other than small Codling and Ling. The biggest fish being a Codling of around the 5lb mark to Andy Collinge.
Today was a complete contrast and after seeing how much rain was forecast, I put my waterproof pants on!! For once, the forecast was right and Alan with his group of friends had the boat for the day and got a bit wet!! But to be fair, that didn’t mater a bit. We initially had a couple of drifts on a wreck, but the wind over the tide made the drift too quick at 1.4 knots, so rough ground it was.
Firstly the three mile ground produced nicely for half a dozen drifts. We took plenty of Codling and Ling each run up to 7lb. The drift speed built each run and when the drift got to 1.9 knots the bites stopped, so we ran to the seven mile ground. With a better drift speed and a perfect drift line, we clumped them for a couple of hours. Some anglers taking 3 fish in a drift! Nothing huge was landed, but there were some quality clean fish caught.
Biggest Codling to Alan at 8lb 12oz and biggest Ling to Joe at 9lb 4oz. All the usual suspects produced today, Squid, Mackerel, Hokkai’s, Muppet traces and Shads.
All in all a brilliant day out in brilliant company. -
11/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
11 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
Even though we knew the forecast wasn’t going to give us perfect conditions, the anglers I had on today were very experienced and come as much for the banter and day out as the fishing. A great day is always on the cards.
After a quick “Mackerel Bash” on some ground at three miles, we started the day on the five mile ground on some marks which usually chuck out a Ling or two. For the first few drifts we took four or five fish every run through. Nothing enormous, but some nice clean Codling and Ling. “Uncle Alan” taking the biggest one at just over 8lb.
As the last of the Ebb Tide began to fade, the action slowed somewhat, so we dropped on a tiny wreck which entertained us for a few drifts. Most of the fish were actually sitting off the wreck, so we picked a few up and lost no gear….bonus!
That turned out to be the best of the action for the day. Slack water was nothing spectacular, we took a dozen or so Codling off another wreck, then as the Flood Tide came through, we moved to rough ground.
Disappointingly, just like yesterday, the fish just didn’t seem to feed with much vigour on the Flood Tide. We were hampered by a pair of seals on the seven mile ground which kept nicking fish off the hooks, and the nine mile ground was pretty pants.
Bait fishing dominated today, with Mackerel taking the majority. Shads (Pink in particular) worked ok during the Ebb, but the Flood Tide yielded very little on them.
The chat and banter was brilliant throughout the day, which is what makes these days so special for me.
Thanks to all the lads for a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining day. See you next time. -
10/08/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
10 Aug 2023 by Andy Savage
First day back out today after a 10 day lay off for Big Spring Tides and poor weather.
We headed out this morning with a mixed group of lads, with the intention of fishing a few wrecks, as it was a 4.7m tide. After a bouncy exit through the pier ends on the Northerly swell, we set about catching some Mackerel for bait. First stop at 3 miles gave us loads for the day, which was good.
With a hour to go of the Ebb we dropped onto a couple of the inshore wrecks. Most of the lads went in with muppet bait traces with Squid or Mackerel. We had a few fish, usually 1 or 2 a drift with David Kwapisz taking a nice early Codling of 5lb. We kept on the move for the remainder of the day, looking for a wreck that would give us a decent return. Unfortunately, we just kept picking up a handful of fish off the ones we tried.
Once the Flood tide had run through, the drift speed increased dramatically and we ran onto some rough ground to end the day. It wasn’t sensational, but Jamie Britton and Don Wang both picked up a 7lb Cod and Ling apiece, within seconds of each other.
Mackerel was the dominant bait today, but I found the lack of consistency frustrating. Everyone kept on trying all day and caught a few, but it certainly wasn’t sensational. Thanks to everyone who came for the day out, you were all excellent company. -
31/07/2023
Fishing Report by Andy Savage
31 Jul 2023 by Andy Savage
With some big tides and poor weather coming, today turned out to be our last trip for what looks like a week or so.
Sea Urchin regular, Alan and his crew had the boat for the day, which is always a good laugh. We had a stop at the Bell Buoy to gather some Mackerel for bait, then headed out on the Ebb tide to try a few wrecks. The first inshore wreck we tried produced just a solitary Codling (and a gazillion Mackerel). With a similar result on the second and third wreck, I began to think we were going to struggle.
We ran a bit closer in, to one of the wrecks which is nicely spread out and not steep sided. Thankfully, the first drift on that wreck saw seven rods go in during the drift. All nice plump Codling, that fell to a mixture of baited Hokkai’s and Muppet bait traces. The fishing was consistent for the next couple of hours, right up to slack water at dinnertime. The fish weren’t enormous, mainly Codling to just over 5lb and a few Ling, the best going 9lb 12oz.
As the flood tide came through, the Westerly wind lifted a bit, so we ran in close and spent the remainder of afternoon drifting rough ground back towards Whitby. Thankfully by this time, everyone had a few fish in the bag, so it was mostly Mackerel bashing to finish off with.
Everyone was fantastic company and I was was pretty pleased with the result, considering the conditions. Well done everyone, some good angling on display today. See you in a couple of weeks.
