Fished Upholder yesterday skipperd by Dave Builth out of Amble -
http://www.ambleboatcharter.com/fishing.htm
Left the harbour at 7.30am, feeling optomistic as the weather was better than had been predicted by the forecasters! There were 9 of us onboard so plenty of space on the 35ft Offshore 105.
There was a canny swell as we headed north to some rough ground, but Dave thought the water was a bit coloured. After 4 locations and only a few coalies his suspisions were confirmed and we headed further out to find some clearer water.
As we motored out to the 5 mile mark, the swell seemed to ease, and it wasn't long till we arrived to the spot, the water crystal clear. As Dave got the boat into position we readied our lines. Given the all clear down went baited feathers. Straight away we were into mackerel, sometimes 5 at a time and big one they were too. After 1/2 an hour of mackerel and tangles
the tide eased and Dave called for lines in, before moving to a wreck mark he had in mind. I changed to large hokkais baited with mackerel chunks to avoid hooking any more mackerel.
At the wreck down went the lines, and as my line hit the bottom, I felt resistance straight away and began to wind in. Something better was definately there, and it wasn't long before my first boat cod of about 6lb came spiraling up from the depths. I was chuffed to pieces. Not a monster but one to remember.
As we hit slack water, the fishing went off a bit, but as the tide turned things picked up. By the end of the day the boat had a load of mackerel, about 20 cod ( i had 2 at about 6lb and 2 at 3lb), 1 ling, 1 scotchie, and a few coalies.
A great day and would definately recommend Dave. He kept moving till he found the fish and was always there sorting tangles and manning the net.
Can I also thank everyone that has answered my questions on Nesa over the past few weeks and to KeithB who sorted me out with some lead weights, pirks and boat traces.
cheers
Stu