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Oli and I set out from the marina at 08.00. A lovely morning with light winds. We tried to pick up some launce from the end of Warkworth pier, but didn't get any, so headed north to Seaton Point. Water was very clear inshore, down to 10 feet. Some small codling around, but we decided to use the last of the ebb tide to go further up, trying Craster reef. To us it looked crowded - 2 ribs and a charterboat. We've had this place to ourselves so far this year. But good to see they've survived the lockdown. Quite a few codling to 3lb, a pout and loads of coleys to 1lb, as well as half-a-dozen big mackerel.
We then moved further up, exploring for new marks along the various skeers. All were productive, but really hard to fish anything without it being chased by coleys. There were masses of them, and just me alone I think I must have had 60-70 throughout the day. Tough little fighters, they give a really good scrap on light gear and are just great fun. By now, we were off Embleton. Very pretty spot. There are a couple of marks where it drops from 20 feet to 50 feet. It was alive with coleys and a couple of very nice pollack, but too many seals around to be really comfortable.
So we kept moving up. Newton, and Footballers Hole gave up some decent codling to 3lb, more pollack and the inevitable coleys. It was then up to Newton Rock. By now it was 12.30, and the wind was shifting, coming in from a SE direction, and picking up speed. It was here that Oli had the best fish of the day, and 8lb 3 oz cod, as well as a small ling. It is strange ground up there. It doesn't look like there is a great deal of structure, yet it holds a great deal of fish. There were 2 other boats here, a speedboat that must have been launched from the beach at Beadnell, and a group of 4 lads on a Reiver out of Amble. They were a plucky bunch as the seas had built up for the return trip, but I was very impressed with the boat's capabilities as it seemed to give a dry ride in spite of the conditions.
By 14.30, we gave up the idea of going up to Beadnall and headed back south, stopping at Craster reef again, seeing that it had fished better in the flood last time out, but this time it was worse. The fish seemed to have gone off the feed entirely, and even the coleys were conspicuous by their absence. We then headed out to a couple of wrecks, conscious that we had promised to bring back some fish, but until now, everything we'd caught had gone back. There were fish showing on the screen, in front, behind and on top of the wrecks, but we managed only a solitary coley. By now, the seas were bigger, and on the nose, so we kept heading back, only to stop for some mackerel, keeping about a dozen for us and some neighbours. Big mackerel too, so great for BBQ today.
Overall, it was a great day, but most of the fish came in the morning. I probably had something like 30 codling, half-a-dozen pollack, a pout, 25 mackerel and 60-70 coleys. Oli outfished me again, having bigger pollack, bigger cod etc. But it's a beautiful part of the coast to fish, and with such lovely scenery you can really switch off from the madness that is the rest of the world.
Today, Oli showed me a Google Earth satellite shot of the UK, and there is a big algae bloom to the north of us, off Scotland and the way I understand it is that the algae effectively depletes all the oxygen from the upper layer of the sea, say down to 60-80 feet, which drives many species of fish deeper, but could prove deadly for species such as sandeel which don't have that ability. Let's hope the bigger tides this week disperse the bloom, or it could have a huge impact on all our fishing.
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