Recreational sea angling strategy - good or bad news for the reasons sea anglers ?

Well the first draft of the recreational sea anglers strategy has been published and controversy over the document has ensued. Many anglers see this document as beneficial for the sea anglers of our country. However many including myself think that quite the opposite is true. I believe that the rsa strategy could potentially be damaging to sea angling.

Within the sea anglers strategy measures of control over angling are discussed and these include the possible introduction of a sea angling licence and restrictions on anglers catches through bag limits. With little or no evidence available of bag limits having a conservationist effect on fish stocks and the potential impact such measures could have on the uk's charter fleets and angling this measure I feel should be campaigned against and removed from the sea anglers strategy.

To read more of my thoughts on this issue please visit the rsa strategy page of the whitby sea anglers website.

Another Double

After many years of Cod fishing on the Yorkshire coast I caught my first double figure cod back in Nov 2003. The fish weighed 14 pounds 8 ounces and was part of a 5 fish haul for 30 pounds exactly. I remember the night well (how could I forget it) and remember loosing another fish of similar size right at my feet on the same night. There was a huge south easterly swell running into Runswick bay and the water was the colour of chocolate. I missed several bites and half of the 4 hour match had gone before I got the first fish of about 5 pounds in weight, then on the next cast a felt a slight tap and I wound down hoping it was another bite. After a few seconds the rod lunged forward and when I hit it I knew it was the fish I'd been waiting for for all those years. I remmber how good it felt to see the scales at the weigh in go around to 14 pounds and I remmber hardly sleeping a wink with excitement that night.

Well 3 years later I hooked another. Not quite as big at 10 pounds 4 ounces but it still felt great. This time from Robin hoods bay but the sea direction was the same again although not quite as big. A south easterly with chocolate coloured water seems to be luck for me. Hopefully I'll get around to scanning the picture in soon. A fantastic fish that thought hard all the way to my feet, and again just like last time I lost another decent 1 on the next cast. Perhaps it is true what people say about double figure fish swimming together.

Whitby Fishing Club Results For December 2006

December 2006

Sunday 17th December 2006 - Christmas Match

Sunday saw the members of the Whitby fishing club head out for their annual Christmas match between 2 and 7 pm. Anglers fished a light north westerly swell on a small ebbing tide with heavily coloured water in places. Eighteen anglers returned to the scales with a mixture of cod, whitings, flounders and rockling. William Atkinson was this years Christmas champion with 2 fine cod for 14 pounds 12 ounces. Within this match second place always goes to the angler with the heaviest single fish which this year was Colin Stainthorpe with a fine cod of 5 pounds 14 ounces. After the match all the anglers went to the fleece public house where all entrants of the match received a prize and a free Christmas meal. The club would like to thank Dave Perret for organising all the prizes, and The fleece landlord Mike for his hospitality and excellent cooking.

Results: 1st W Atkinson 14-12(2), 2nd (heaviest fish) C Stainthorpe 5-14 (total of 6-5 for 2 fish), G Kilpatrick 7-9(13), D Thompson 7-8(4), P Hoy 5-5(1), R Allison 4-15(2), P Mead 4-2(3), M Pitman 3-3(2), B Harland 2-12(3), D Waters jnr1-15(1), D Perett 1-15(2), P Kilpatrick 1-11(1), B Vasey 1-8(1), A Craig 1-7(2), D Mcarthy 1-3(2), D Craig jnr 0-15(2), J Kendrew jnr 0-14(1), J Ebbison 0-8(1).

Wednesday 13th December 2006

Gale forced south westerly winds again made the going difficult for the members of the Whitby Fishing club in their 3 hour mid week match fished on a small flood to high tide. Andy Craig had his first win since rejoining the club after several years away. Andy's bag of 8 whiting and 2 flounders weighing 5 pounds 10 ounces gave him joint first with Glenn Kilpatrick who had 9 whiting for the same weight. In third place on the night was Phil Mead with 7 whitings for 4 pounds 7 ounces.

Results: 1st A Craig 5-8(10) and G Kilpatrick 5-8(9), 3rd P Mead 4-7(7), P Kilpatrick 2-14(2), B Harland 1-9(2), M Breckon 1-8(2), T Wright 1-6(2), D Craig jnr 1-4(1), C Stainthorpe 1-3(2), D Perett 1-2(2), M Vasey 0-11(1), P Dryden 0-8(1).

Sunday 10th December 2006

Cloughton Open 2006

Heaviest Fish Match

Open Boundaries

Fishing 10am-4pm

Low water : 1.20 pm 2.2 ebb.

Sunday saw the members of the Whitby sea angling club fish the annual Cloughton Open match which was also the club match for this weekend. A slight north westerly swell and coloured water at most marks gave good conditions in this small low tide match. The winner was Cloughton's Alec Bayes with a cod of 5 pounds 12 ounces. Alec who is the Cloughton club's longest serving club member won £300. Second place went to Whitby club member Dennis Thompson with a cod of 5 pounds 3 ounces. Scarborough Matt Hillaby took 3rd with a cod of 4 pounds 12 ounces. The prize for the heaviest bag of codlings went to Scarborough angler Ray Maddison who caught 4 cod for 9 pounds 14 ounces.

Results : 1st Alec Bayes - Scarborough - 5lb 12oz , 2nd Dennis Thompson - Whitby - 5lb 3oz ,3rd Matty Hillaby - Scarborough - 4lb 12oz

Heaviest Bag of Codlings

Ray Maddison - Scarborough - 4 cod - 9lb 14oz

Congratulations to Alec, the club's Chairman & probably longest serving member.

Thanks to Duane & Julie at the Red Lion for their sponsorship & hospitality, all who gave prizes, the Tackle Shops who sold tickets for us, & finally & not least to all who entered.

Results of the Whitby Match

1st D Thompson 5-3(1), 2nd P Hoy 2-12(1), 3rd D Perett 2-7(1), W Atkinson 1-13(1), C Stainthorpe 1-4(1).

Wednesday 6th December 2006

With the prevailing weather still coming from the south west the conditions for sea fishing on the east coast remain less than perfect. Despite this whenever there has been a bit of swell there has been some good fishing as Dave Perett proved in Wednsday's ebb tide match. Dave managed to locate a venue where a slight long distance northerly sea swell was stirring the bottom which helped him catch 3 fish for 11 pounds 2 ounces, the biggest of which was a fine cod of 8 pounds 15 ounces. Glenn Kilpatrick came second with 16 whiting for 10 pounds 4 ounces. Bernado Vasey found a couple of decent sized codling for 5 pounds 13 ounces which gave him third place on the night.

Results : 1st Dave Perett 11-2(3), 2nd Glenn Kilpatrick 10-4(16), 3rd Bernado Vasey 5-13(2), M Breckon 3-8(4), D Thompson 2-0(2), D Waters jnr 1-10(1), R Allison 1-6(1), A Cass 1-4(2), P Hoy 1-4(1), M Vasey 0-13(1), C Stainthorpe 0-13(1), M Robinson 0-7(1), D Mcarthy 0-6(1), D Smith jnr 0-5(1), P Kilpatrick 0-5(1), P Mead 0-4(1).

Sunday 3rd December 2006

A storm forced south westerly wind made conditions difficult for the Whitby sea anglers as they turned out to fish their 4 hour Sunday night match over low water. A slight south easterly swell and heavily coloured water gave better prospects on the cod front and this was shown in the results with catches being up on the past few weeks. Glenn Kilpatrick had a good night weighing in 5 fish for 19 pounds 4 ounces the biggest of which was a fine cod of 10 pounds 4 ounces. Glenn's bag and fish now lead the way in the club competitions for the heaviest fish and bag for both the month of December and for the season. Paul Kilpatrick came in second on the night with 3 fish for 10 pounds 10 ounces, Paul also had a decent fish of 6 pounds 1 ounces. Brian Harland completed the places on the night with 5 fish for 8 pounds 8 ounces.

Results: 1st Glenn Kilpatrick 19-04(5), 2nd Paul Kilpatrick 10-10(3), 3rd Brian Harland 8-8(5), M Vasey 4-0(2), D Perett 3-12(4), A Kelly 3-2(1), D Mcarthy 2-3(2), P Mead 2-3(1), J Ebbison 1-14(2), D Thompson 1-8(2), T Wright 1-5(2), D Smith 0-9(1), D Sullivan 0-7(1).

Whitby Sea Fishing Club - Results for November 2006

Wednesday 29th November 2006

The autumn storms and northerly swells from the start of the month now seem like an age ago. South or south westerly winds bringing calm seas seem to be dominating the weather at the moment and this means the chances of catching codling are few and far between. In Wednesday nights match the majority of anglers headed to the beaches in search of whiting and flounders, only Paul Kilpatrick managed to find a codling from the rocks. Glenn Kilpatrick won this match with 20 whitings for 12 pounds 12 ounces. Brian Harland caught 5 whiting and a flounder to take third place with 3 pounds 15 ounces. In third place was Mike Breckon with 5 whitings for 3 pounds 13 ounces.

Results : 1st G Kilpatrick 12-12(20), 2nd B Harland 3-15(6), 3rd M Breckon 3-13(5), W Atkinson 3-0(4), D Perett 2-4(2), P Kilpatrick 1-14(1), D Sullivan 1-5(2), P Dryden 1-4(3), J Kendrew 0-9(1), A Craig 0-9(1), B Vasey 0-7(1).

Sunday 26th November 2006 - Whitby Open

Sunday saw the Whitby Sea Anglers Association hold their annual open match between 10am and 4pm. With flat calm seas and bright sunlight, conditions were poor for codling fishing. Eighty Anglers fished and only 12 returned to the scales with fish.

In the senior section which was a cod only match the day belonged to Mick Chadwick of Scarborough who managed to land 5 codling's for a total weight of 8 pounds 7 ounces earning him a cheque for £400. In second place was Whitby angler Norman Brittain whose single fish of 4 pounds 9 ounces earnt him £200 plus an extra 50 pounds for the heaviest fish superpool. Philip France of Scarborough found 3 codlings weighing a total of 4 pounds 1.5ounces and took the cheque of £125 for third place.

The junior's competition was an any fish match with codling taking preference. Dave Smith won this section and had an excellent day landing the biggest fish in both matches. Dan's codling of 7 pounds 11 ounces earnt him a cheque for £50 and also takes the lead in the junior's biggest fish for the season competition. In second place was 6 year old Chris Mcarthy whose 1 pounds 4 ounce flounder won him a cheque for £30. Dan Craig took 3rd place with 1 whiting weighing 1 pounds 0 ounces earning him a cheque for £20

Overall Places

Seniors

M Chadwick 8-7(5) £400
N Brittain 4-9(1) £200
P France 4-1.5(3) £125
W Atkinson 3-13.5(1)
I Thompson 3-4.5(2)
P Mead 2-8.5(2)
H Moon 1-9.5(1)
M Wilding 1-8.5(1)
S Barker 1-7(1)

Juniors

1st Dave Smith 7-11(1) £50
2nd C Mcarthy 1-4(1) £30
3rd D Craig 1-0(1) £20

This match was also a Whitby Club match and the positions for WSAA are as follows :

Results: 1st D Smith jnr 7-11(1), 2nd W Atkinson 3-14(1), 3rd P Mead 2-9(2), D Mcarthy 1-0(1)

Dan Smith with his 7 pounds 11 ounces cod.

Wednesday 22nd November 2006

A slight to moderate sea swell gave good conditions in this 3 hour ebb tide match. Dave Perett continued his excellent recent form finding 7 fish for 17 pounds 9 ounces. Dave's biggest fish of the 7 weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and is now the heaviest fish for November and the season. Phil Mead came in second on the night with 3 fish for 8 pounds 2 ounces and Paul Kilpatrick took third with a solitary fish of 6 pounds 5 ounces.

Results : 1st D Perret 17-9(7), 2nd P Mead 8-2(3), 3rd P Kilpatrick 6-5(1), J Gilpin 3-12(2), D Thompson 3-8(3), W Atkinson 3-0(2), R Allison 2-11(2), C Stainthorpe 2-7(2), B Vasey 2-5(2), P Hoy 1-13(1), M Pitman 1-11(1), B Harland 1-11(1), D Hansen jnr1-7(1), J Ebbison 1-7(1), D Smith jnr 0-8(1), M Vasey 0-6(1).

Sunday 19th November 2006

Gale forced southerly winds and driving rain made the going tough for the Whitby sea anglers in their 4 hour Sunday night match fished over low water. A slight North easterly sea swell gave good conditions for codling fishing and only the extreme weather kept catches down. Malcolm Pitman caught his first cod in the club this year and came in first with 2 fish for 6 pounds 5 ounces. Mike Breckon continues to find the better sized whiting and returned to the scales with 4 whiting and a billet for 5 pounds 5 ounces. Colin Stainthorpe found 2 decent codling and weighed in a total of 5 pounds to finish the night in third place.

Results : 1st M Pitman 6-5(2), 2nd M Breckon 5-5(5), 3rd C Stonethorpe 5-0(2), D Mcarthy 2-8(4), D Craig 2-5(1), A Craig 2-2(1), G Middlemass 1-9(1), P Mead 1-9(2), D Thompson 1-6(1), A Kelly 1-4(1), D Pereet 1-1(2), J Ebbison 1-0(1), P Kilpatrick 1-0(1), M Vasey 0-15(1), T Wright 0-15(1), D Sullivan 0-11(1), G Shepherd 0-9(1), G Kilpatrick 0-8(1), B Harland 0-4(1),

Wed 15th November 2006

On a flat calm night with one of the smallest tides of the year hopes of catching codling were extremely low and most anglers again headed to the piers and beaches in search of Whiting. The poor conditions did not deter Dennis Thompson who persevered on the rocks and not only found 1 codling but caught a total of four and 1 rockling to take first place on the night with a weight of 6 pounds 2 ounces. Second place on the night went to Dan Mcarthy who weighed in 5 whiting for 2 pounds 5 ounces. Brian Harland with 4 whiting for 2 pounds 8 ounces took third place.

Results : 1st D Thompson 6-2(5), 2nd D Mcarthy 2-15(5), 3rd B Harland 2-8(4), M Breckon 2-5(3), R Allsion 1-14(2), P Short 1-10(2), P Mead 1-0(2), M Vasey 0-15(2), G Kilpatrick 0-8(1), A Cass 0-6(1), P Dryden 0-6(1).

Monday 13th November

Monday Night saw many of the club anglers out pleasure fishing in search of that one big fish to take the lead in the clubs competition for the heaviest fish outside of a club match. Glenn Kilpatrick managed 6 fish but nothing quite big enough to take over the lead from Mike Vasey. However Colin Stainthorpe managed a fish of 8 pounds 5 ounces which now leads the way in this competition.

Sunday 12th November 2006

A dieing north westerly sea swell gave good conditions for this 4 hour high water match. Catches were excellent with the cod appearing to be in abundance at most marks. Dave Perret's bag of 10 cod weighing 18 pounds not only won the match but takes the lead in the heaviest bag of fish competition, both for the season and the month of November. Second place on the night went to Glenn Kilpatrick with 8 fish for 17 pounds 5 ounces. In third was Rob Allison with 5 fish for 12 pounds 15 ounces.

Results: 1st D Perret 18-0(10cod), 2nd G Kilpatrick 17-5(8cod), 3rd R Allison 12-15(5cod), P Mead 10-1(6), D Hansen Jnr 8-7(4), P Kilpatrick 7-10(5), M Vasey 7-7(3), C Stainthorpe 6-11(3), B Harland 4-11(5), W Atkinson 4-0(3), D Craig jnr 3-7(2), A Craig 2-12(1), D Mcarthy 1-14(1), J Gilpin 1-11(1), A Kelly 1-9(1).

Thursday 9th November 2006

Whilst pleasure fishing tonight Mike Vasey landed the heaviest fish outside of a club match to date. Mike's cod weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was officially weighed by Bernado Vasey. Mike is four times winner of the club competition to catch the biggest fish outside of a club match, and if he makes it 5 the trophy could be renamed the Mike Vasey Big Cod Trophy. Past winners of this event include : John Butler with fish to 16 pounds, Colin Stainthorpe, Dennis Thompson and Glenn Kilpatrick. To enter the event club anglers simply need to catch a fish and have it weighed on the club scales and witnessed by a club member, or have the fish weighed in one of the tackle shops.

Wednesday 8th November 2006

Calm seas on a still night with an ebbing tide gave poor conditions for codling fishing, However those who persevered on the rocks were pleasantly surprised and 4 of the club members : Colin Stainthorpe, William Atkinson, Rob Allison and Dennis Thompson all managed to catch a small codling each despite the poor conditions. A lot of anglers headed to the beaches and piers in search of Whiting. Glenn Kilpatrick took first place overall with his catch of 14 whitings for 8 pounds 12 ounces, second place went to Charlie Breckon with 8 whitings and 2 dabs for 7 pounds 0 ounces. Brian Harland was third with 7 whitings for 4 pounds 6 ounces.

Results: 1st G Kilpatrick 8-12(14 whiting), 2nd C Breckon 7-0(10 fish - 8 whiting 2 dabs), 3rd B Harland 4-6(7 whiting), P Mead 3-5(5 whiting), P Short 2-5 (3 fish - 2 whiting 1 dab), J Kendrew jnr 2-0(3 whiting), W Atkinson 1-14 (1 cod), R Allison 1-9 (1 cod), C Evans 1-7(2 whiting), D Thompson 1-7(1 cod), C Stainthorpe 1-4(1 cod), D Perrett 1-3(2 whiting), D Craig jnr 1-2(2 whitings), B Vasey 0-10 (1 whiting).

Sunday 5th November 2006

Philip Mead landed his third cod of the season to win this ebb tide to low water match. Philip hooked his 4-4 ounces cod on his first cast of the night and went on to win his second match of the season. Fishing at the same venue, Paul Kilpatrick caught 2 codling and a rockling for second place. Andrew Cass came in third with 2 whiting and an eel for 2 pounds 12 ounces.

Results: 1st P Mead 4-4(1), 2nd P Kilpatrick 2-15(3), A Cass 2-12(3), J Gilpin 2-8(3), C Stainthorpe 2-8(3), B Harland 1-7(4), M Vasey 1-2(1), G Kilpatrick 0-15(1), D Thompson 0-13(1), P Dryden 0-8(1), D Craig jnr 0-6(1).

Wednesday 1st Novemeber 2006

A stormy autumn night greeted the Whitby sea anglers as they headed out to fish this low water to flood tide match. The sea was extremely rough meaning a lot of the usual fishing marks were un fishable and this was reflected in the results with only 8 of the clubs members returning to the scales with fish. Glenn Kilpatrick took first place with 5 fish for 11 pounds 7 ounces, the biggest being a cod of 5 pounds 8 ounces which gets the ball rolling in the heaviest fish competition for November. Mike Vasey found 2 fish for 6 pounds 3 ounces and finally managed to beat his fishing buddy Brian Harland who came in 3rd with 2 fish for 6 pounds 2 ounces.

Results : 1st G Kilpatrick 11-7(5), 2nd M Vasey 6-3(2), 3rd B Harland 6-2(2), T Wright 3-4(1), W Atkinson 2-12(2), C Stainthorpe 1-5(1), D Thompson 1-4(1), B Vasey 1-2(1).