northumbrian open

[ryanlee]

in the previous years a bag limit was imposed on all flat fish,this was to make it fare on all anglers and to ensure they could be returned alive.
some anglers are better at catching flats than others and the same for juniors.
unfortunately this year the bag limit was left out and the size limit brought down from 30 to 28.
oh and there are of course the rumours of people pooling flats to win an open,
but without proof this cannot be proved.
most of the beaches will be fished by club members and they will ensure a fare match.they also have the right to check baskets before during and after the event.
there is £1850 up for grabs plus pools money,hope all that enter have a great day and hope you all catch fish.good luck and fish safe.

[ryanlee]

not long now

[stewy07]

Hows it fair on all anglers to have a bag limit on flat fish?! If u choose to fish for cod off the rock edges then surely thats yr descision is it not? Lets not forget that there's better anglers that do specify in this type of cod fishing just like there is with flatty bashing! This is what makes a comp interesting, do u go for one or two big fish or try and catch as many flatties as u can and build a weight up. Each to there own.

[nigels]

Tomorrow I will be take a junior and his dad fishing both are inexperienced and have light gear and small fixed spools.

I am introducing them to fishing in a fairly safe environment with the hope they can pick up a table prize (may be even win) am I in the wrong? To my mind there are two new members hopefully to our sport, or do I demand there ticket money back to appease the people who think flatfish are second class fish and the people who fish for them?


It’s a fishing competition not a Cod fishing competition

If I was to show them Statements like this how would they feel about fishing a competition
.
“Unfortunately this year the bag limit was left out and the size limit brought down from 30 to 28.
oh and there are of course the rumours of people pooling flats to win an open,
but without proof this cannot be proved”.

If flatfish are so frowned upon how come in other comps there are big prizes for the heaviest flat fish.

[ryanlee]

no one in the club now is apposed to anyone catching flatfish as you can see .
the bag limit was lifted and the size limit brought down accordingly.
the prize money nor the prize table has been affected,as you can also see.
if the conditions are flat and the codling scarce then yes most anglers will fish for the flatts.
if the conditions are perfect then we guess most will fish for other species.
its a very fine line to please everyone in the opens now.
so with the money spread out and guaranteed everyone stands a chance.
the boundaries were also increased to benefit everyone flatty anglers included as you can see that 2 of the top flounder beaches are in the boundry,embleton beach and warkworth.the size limit set for the flatty is set at the club size limit,you will also notice that if a junior or a lady has the overall winning bag then they win the overall comp.some comps dont allow this.like i said before you cannot please everyone who enters the competition,
but they must follow the rules set down by the event organisers.you can also see the weighi time is from 2.30pm till 3.15 this is to allow those who fish the northern boundary plenty of time to get back without rushing,this eliminates any accidents dont you agree.
not sure if you have tried to run /organise an open but let me tell you its not easy.please enjoy the fishing and best of luck to all that enter.
ps 275 seniors entered from the shops sales today so looks like a good turn out for the morn.

[nodrog]

open

as someone who fishes opens i was intrigued to read some of the comments regarding fishing for flats in opens. i fished thenorthumbrian open and can i say that some of the north easts best fishermen went for flats because of the conditions. part of the skill is to read the conditions and fish accordingly. the lad who won paid his money like the rest of us, went for cod and hats of to him he won. however disabled, women and junior anglers in general cant fish heavy kelp ground so head for the beaches. they should not be discriminated against, and if flatties were prohibited the number of entrants woulb be significantly lower. i thought it was a sea fishing comp, not a cod fishing comp. i note the use of the word "unfortunatly" in ryanlees post. this implies he did not want flatties weighed in at all, thus discriminating against those mentioned earlier.
it was a great prize table, probably the best this season and this is in no doubt due to the fantastic efforts of the organisers. this in turn no doubt attracted the massive entry. a third of the entrants weighed in, an unusally high number mostly due to the fact they caught flats. surely thats the whole idea, to catch fish, and i have attended opens were not enough fish have been caught and they have to put tickets into a box and have a draw to get rid of the prizes, a most unsatisfactory method. yes some anglers seem to catch more flats than others, but the same can be said for cod. oh and whose to say cod arent pooled togeather as he suggest flatties are. proof is needed before he can accuse anyone and he should be carefull what he implies. lets not spoil what was a great comp, excellently organised and run, by petty squabbles, lifes to short. get out there catch some fish and enjoy yourselves.

[tonybax]

not many weighed wrasse like me though gordon eh.

[nodrog]

wrasse

brill tony or should i say turbot cos i got another undersize one. so did the chap next to me:

[davem2005]

I went along to the open , partly because there was someone there I needed to speak to and partly because I wanted to find a little bit more about shore ( and in particularly match) fishing.

Its a totally different sport/hobby to a pleasure session and I can certainly understand how the competitive aspect could get addictive.

What I am failing to understand is why flattie bashing is frowned on by some?

Is it a "conservation thing" or a "we only want cod" issue...or perhaps a combination of both...or perhaps a "anything to win" that would appear to cause aggravation between the different participants?

A few weeks before this match I went to see an evening club match where the impression I was given was that flattie bashing was frowned on as "we are a cod orientated club"...fine as it was all agreed by the club members who represent far smaller numbers than those attending an open, and I have no doubt a few members from that club fished the open.

Its each to their own prefered way of fishing and as far as I saw the open was a very well organised match with rules that catered for the different approaches of the individuals who after all had paid their money for a chance to win big money. I have no doubt that some good cod anglers opted for a flattie bashing sesh as the conditions on the day suggested that is what would do the business. At the end of the day its a choice you make.

I was impressed by the number of anglers who brought the flatties alive to the weighin and then released them into the bay...having watched most of the weighin I would reckon that amounted to about half those weighing in flatties. It goes to show that despite the money involved a good proportion of anglers do care about the future and are thinking ahead.

Starting to get the bug for beach fishing so if anyone has a spare set of gear they would lend to a beginner for the N v S match let me know

Cheers
Dave

[fishfinder]

pm's dave