Brothers impress with some amazing catches

Apr 18 2008 The Journal

WHEN there is little about you can always rely on junior anglers to come up with something, and the Newton brothers did just that in Seaham’s junior match fished from the pier.

Eight-year-old Kieran won the match with two fish for 8.81lb, including the biggest cod taken by anybody for a while, a cracker at 7.83lb.

His seven-year-old brother Keith weighed in a new club record Thornback Ray of 3.16lb to take second place. Not many anglers can say they have caught a thornback of any size from the North East shoreline so it is a great achievement – and a big “well done” to both youngsters.

A few smaller cod turned up on the pier in Seaham’s Badger Open, Joe Gibson taking one of 2.96lb, Rita Clark taking a lesser spotted dogfish of 2.16lb.

For any kind of consistent sport the rivers are the place to be, with good catches of mainly coalfish coming from the Wear. Steve Rackstraw won Eastenders’ match at the Glass Centre with nine for 2.08 metres in their catch-and-release match, Lee Brown taking nine for 1.94m. Willy Rowntree took the longest at 38cms.

Some of the coalfish are well over 1lb, George Wilkinson taking one of 1-6-0 to win East End & Hendon’s match, also at the Glass Centre.

East End & Hendon fished at match at South Shields Walkway, Barry Robson winning with 28 fish for 7.93m, Tommy Tate taking 19 for 5.6m, again mainly coalfish.

Some nice flounders are starting to show in the upper Tyne with 14-year-old Jack Moore taking two big flounders at Dunston on mackerel strip. With a good sea running, Blyth pier has been another venue giving mixed bags of good sized whiting, flounders, and codling to 1-8-0.

There are signs boat fishing is picking up when the boats can get out, anglers aboard JFK taking cod and ling to 7lb, plus, haddock and a few early herring. The private boat Samson, out of Sunderland, reported taking cod to 3lb off Ryhope, when they could get through the shoals of coalfish. Tynemouth angler Marty Elliott made a short trip to Norway taking good numbers of haddock, cod, and numerous wolfish, the best 13-12-0, all from the shore.