north east sea fishing - the worst in general

[JUBZ]

I was talking to my friend recently and we decided that the north east of england is the worst fishing destination in england and potentially even scotland/wales

As bad as it sounds i still think its true, heres some reasons why:

We lack any of the decent shark family(hounds,spurdogs,bullhuss etc) with the exception of a rare dogfish
Bass are few and far between and usually alot smaller than other regions
Lack of any other warm water species (bream,mullet etc)
Conger are as rare as hens teeth (from sunderland-borders)
Mackerel and pollock etc are always in later and alot smaller than other regions (not that i fish for mackerel as a target species )
Lack of good boat fishing sport, with the exception of afew decent double figure cod(whitby has porbeagles west coast has tope and what do we have?)


The only good fishing i can think of in this region is winter cod, and that still isnt amazing in my opinion.

It would be interesting to here the lads on this forums opinions too !

Cheers

[codbiter]

North East fishing.

North East was always pretty much known for its winter Cod fishing. Most fishermen up here would put their main gear away in March and wait untill the winter cod season starts again around September. We have some of the best winter fishing marks in the country. The north east marks are changing though with, cleaner seas, and a warmer climate allowing more different species to move further North, Bass used to be rare up here, but are now a targeted fish after winter, with plenty being caught, everything seems to be changing, even ray's being caught often, dog fish, etc were also rare up here a few years ago, over the last few years, Summer fishing is taking off big time, with Kayak fishing, and lure fishing more popular, more summer rock fishing, I wouldnt say its the worst in my opinion, but a lot of marks are difficult to get to.

[pondlife]

post

mullet, bass and shark are all available within half a mile of sunderland north breakwater if fished for

[JUBZ]

North East was always pretty much known for its winter Cod fishing. Most fishermen up here would put their main gear away in March and wait untill the winter cod season starts again around September. We have some of the best winter fishing marks in the country. The north east marks are changing though with, cleaner seas, and a warmer climate allowing more different species to move further North, Bass used to be rare up here, but are now a targeted fish after winter, with plenty being caught, everything seems to be changing, even ray's being caught often, dog fish, etc were also rare up here a few years ago, over the last few years, Summer fishing is taking off big time, with Kayak fishing, and lure fishing more popular, more summer rock fishing, I wouldnt say its the worst in my opinion, but a lot of marks are difficult to get to.

could you name a worse uk coastal region for sea fishing?

I forgot to mention summer kelp cod - another positive note for this region

[kayos]

I was talking to my friend recently and we decided that the north east of england is the worst fishing destination in england and potentially even scotland/wales

As bad as it sounds i still think its true, heres some reasons why:

We lack any of the decent shark family(hounds,spurdogs,bullhuss etc) with the exception of a rare dogfish
Bass are few and far between and usually alot smaller than other regions
Lack of any other warm water species (bream,mullet etc)
Conger are as rare as hens teeth (from sunderland-borders)
Mackerel and pollock etc are always in later and alot smaller than other regions (not that i fish for mackerel as a target species )
Lack of good boat fishing sport, with the exception of afew decent double figure cod(whitby has porbeagles west coast has tope and what do we have?)


The only good fishing i can think of in this region is winter cod, and that still isnt amazing in my opinion.

It would be interesting to here the lads on this forums opinions too !

Cheers

Well mate if that were true I wouldn't travel down there 3 times a year.

The upper Clyde where I live is basically devoid of eatable fish! Considering it used to be Cod and Haddock heaven it is a disgrace and came about by the withdrawal of the 3 mile limit in 1983. When I was a boy hoards of lads from the North East came here for the Cod, now we come to you. All you get in the upper Clyde is Mackerel and the odd small Pollock, Sathe, Doggies, a few Conger and Rays in the sea lochs. Further south you get the shark species and better Pollock and that is about it. We have no charter boats north of Troon, because there is no fish.

You don't know how lucky you are !!!

[Thunderpants]

Believe it or not the NE has a reputation as a good winter cod mark and the folks down south are jealous of us I have been told this by the southerners when I've been down there. Mind you they think its funny that so many of us wear waders all the time and call them "geordie pyjamas". Lol.

Bass fishing in the NE is actually quite good when the conditions are right. I have had four NE bass this year from two sessions targeting them. Yeah we don't get monsters up here but there are plenty around the 2lb+ size you just need to know where and when to look for them. If you are fishing in the wrong place at the wrong time then you might think the bass fishing is poor which is understandable. I have spent lots and lots of hours, days and weeks targeting bass on Chesil Beach in Dorset over the last few years (supposedly a good bass mark) and so far have only caught one.

I fish a few different places all round the UK and believe me it's not always better there. Yes there are some very good marks elsewhere that produce well when the conditions are right but the north east has some good marks too. Fishing other places in the UK can also be bad at times but that's fishing So my point is not "no the NE is not bad" because it sometimes can be. My point is just that it is no different to anywhere else.

[onefortheroad]

cod fishing was awesome when the pits were open , summer and winter . A lot has changed since then , climate change , cleaner waters etc etc . I only fish in the winter for cod so it suits me the way it is , and I love it ...

[Juliogeordio]

cod fishing was awesome when the pits were open , summer and winter . A lot has changed since then , climate change , cleaner waters etc etc . I only fish in the winter for cod so it suits me the way it is , and I love it ...

I've had five sized codling out this summer in my last three sessions whilst plaice fishing during flat seas and sunny daylight conditions. Biggest at 3.5lb. Just goes to show you don't need the winter to get em!

[Juliogeordio]

I agree with mike. Right conditions and the fishing can be brilliant if you have the knowledge of the right marks. You can waste your time in these so called 'fishing hotspots' at other areas but if you go at the wrong time then your just wasting your time.

[JUBZ]

Maybe i was just ignorant / naive and just having a rant last night because i have only seen one small bass caught this year

I still think that it is below par in the summer in comparison to other regions, but i was definitely not giving the north east enough credit for winter cod fishing because some of the reports ive seen on here showed lads pulling big ones in off the shore no bother last year

[BillQuay]

The NE has its moments, especially with winter cod.
The Clyde used to be excellent, but not so much now due to commercial fishing.
Not sure how you would classify what is good or bad, are you considering number of species, size, time of year, etc, there are so many different factors and different conditions

[Juliogeordio]

Maybe its not that the fishing is poor, maybe its that a lot of lads don't post their catch reports mate... One of my mates has taken 9 bass already this summer from north east marks. Due to the water temperature we don't get an awful lot of those summer species that other areas get... That has a flip side of the colder water keeping the codling in close in the kelp beds that other areas don't get so much of. Swings and roundabouts mate but don't give up on this beautiful area of coastline!!

[magpies]

Whenever I travel away to other areas it always reminds me of the great fishing we have up and down the NE coastline. I think we are quite lucky tbh. Apart from maybe Mar/Apr there is always something worthwhile to go for in my view.

[JUBZ]

Maybe its not that the fishing is poor, maybe its that a lot of lads don't post their catch reports mate... One of my mates has taken 9 bass already this summer from north east marks. Due to the water temperature we don't get an awful lot of those summer species that other areas get... That has a flip side of the colder water keeping the codling in close in the kelp beds that other areas don't get so much of. Swings and roundabouts mate but don't give up on this beautiful area of coastline!!

I will never give up ! i love the north east

Roll on the winter

[andy9137]

Hi All

I have read this thread with interest - I currently live on the West Coast at Blackpool and believe me that's rubbish fishing. So bad that I have virtually packed up fishing! We are moving to Newcastle in October with my job and was hoping to get my gear out again and have joined this forum which looks very informative! Now I read that when I get there - there will be no fish there either

Perhaps somebody can give me a few clues on where to fish or local clubs I could join?

Cheers lads