The ever popular bernies ledge, covered in winter snows

The fishing here is largely for winter cod, although bass, pollack and red cod are certainly on the agenda through the summer months.

The Ranges, A Largely Underfished Mark.

As you head up the steps from the car park and along the old railway lines which now act as a footpath, the first marks you come to are known by the locals as the ranges. These set of marks start at the railings which can be found at the back of the sewer hole below. They stretch through the trees up towards the mark known as “High Cliff”. The ranges offers fishing onto clean slate and only a slight to moderate swell is required here to encourage coalies, codling and bass to feed. One of the best conditions for this mark is a slight to moderate south easterly when you will find the fish happy to take peeler crabs, and peeler cocktail baits.

The Ranges, clean ground fishing. Please be careful here.

High Cliff

High cliff is known largely as a high tide mark, although those in the know will often tackle this very popular mark at other stages of tide. The fishing here is onto slightly rougher ground than the ranges, with boulder at the base of the cliff giving way to a nice mix of smaller rocks and areas covered in wrack weed. This type of ground gives perfect cover to the hunting cod and explains why this mark can produce good bags in both the day and nightime.

High cliff can fish well right through the winter and the period around Christmas time often brings stories of big cod too heavy to lift out of the water. This mark will handle a moderate sea swell with ease. Best baits once again are peeler or peeler cocktails.

High Cliff - Rough Ground Fishing For Cod

The Rabbit Holes

The rabbit holes is a much talked about mark and appears to be everyones favourite. Although this mark does produce good bags of fish I have found it to be no better or worse than any other mark on the cliffs and it does require a degree of knowledge to get the best out of it.

The mark itself is a very long ledge which runs almost into the next mark known as “Top Of The World”. The ground underneath varies and the prevailing conditions really dictate which area of the ledge is best to fish from. At the Sandsend end of the mark fishing involves casting into a slight depression in the scar where fish will often run through at various states of tide, the ground here is slightly heavier with rocks and wrack weed in the gulley. As you head further towards top of the world, the mark rises up onto a cleaner slate scar, but don’t be put off by this as cod, bass and coalies will happily feed on this area under the right conditions.

The Top Of The World

This mark is the highest at Sandsend and thus gets its name – “The Top Of The World”. The ground here is heavy with large boulders, ledges and thick kelp in abundance. The mark fishes best on flat calm seas over a big high tide and into the ebb. Any cross wind will cause you problems rendering the mark almost unfishable.

Fish can be found at all distances and favourite baits are of course peeler or peeler cocktails.

Top Of The World, Sandsends Highest Mark

Bernies Ledge

Named after local angler Bernard Stebbing, another popular mark is Bernies ledge which runs for roughly 200 yards from the far side of top of the world. The ledge gives good fishing over high water. Again many anglers in the know will also tackle this mark at other stages of tide. The fishing is onto heavy ground with a nice mix of large rocks and wrack weed. Just out of casting range is a rather nice kelp bed which allows the fish to hold up and then move inside when the time is right to feed.

Down Below

At the base of the cliffs are several marks, some are for high tide fishing and some are only accessible for low water fishing. These marks include “The Sewer Hole”, “The Shotstones”, “Ninty Cock Rock”, “Pennock Nab” and “Boiler Scar”.

The Sewer Hole

A relatively underfished mark is the sewer hole. Under the right conditions this venue can be prolific with good bags of cod, coalies and bass on offer. The sewer hole can be accessed direct from the car park around low water, or via the shotstones which involves a climb down the cliffs (Not for the feint hearted).

Sewer Hole Sandsend, An Often Overlooked Mark

The sewer hole offers mixed ground fishing with rock, slate, kelp and sand all close by. Hit this mark at the right time and you can be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Shotstones

The shotstones can be found at the base of the cliff between the ranges and high cliff. The ground varies dependent on where you cast with clean slate or a mix of rocks and wrack weed available at close range. Once again the shotstones is often overlooked, but on the right conditions this mark can be dynamite.

The Shotstones, A Dynamite Mark On The Right Day

The Goat Track

At the far end of the cliffs near Sandsend tunnel is a track to the base of the cliffs known locally as the goat track. The get down is a little difficult although it has been made somewhat easier of late by Lord Normanby (The land owner) who has fitted steps down through the path.

The goat track, easier now with the introduction of steps, but still requires a decent level of fitness

The marks at the bottom of the goat track include : Ninty Cock area which is a gulley running right into the base of the goat track. Fishing here is good right through the flood tide with high water often producing the big fish especially with a decent northerly running. This runner will fish well in all but the heaviest of conditions.

To the left of Ninty cock and only accessible on a large ebb tide is the mark known as “Pennock Nab“. The fishing here is into one of the heaviest kelp beds I have ever seen and precision casting is required to hit a very small clean patch of ground in the middle of the kelp. Any wayward casts or strong winds most often result in lost gear. The mark can be very productive in calm conditions but be prepared for tackle losses.

Pennock Nab, fishing into very rough ground

The scars at the base of the cliff and to the left of pennock nab can produce good fishing at times with the fish eager to leave the kelp around pennock nab and run up onto the cleaner ground in search of crabs and other bait. This area and uptowards the boiler scar requires a decent colour and slight swell to produce the best results.

Boiler scar, cleaner ground but fish will run here at times.

Health and safety

The Coastguards Health And Safety Publication Is Available Here :

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/safety_guidelines_for_sea_anglers.pdf

Angling from the shore in the UK is very hazardous to say the least. Every year lives are lost whilst pursuing our fascination with sea angling. Anglers of all levels of ability need to be very very careful indeed – having fallen badly myself last year I’m as aware as anyone of the dangers of rock fishing. At this point I would like to offer a few words of advice to anglers.

• Never attempt to fish a new area without the help and advice of someone experienced in fishing that area.
• Always check the tide and ensure you will be safe to access and exit your chosen area. Watch out for cut off points. If unsure don’t go. Its not worth it.
• Be aware of the weather forecast. Conditions can change fast.
• Don’t access closed areas, eg piers whilst the storm gates are shut.
• Carry some form of communication.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you intend to return. Ask them to raise the alarm should you not return.
• Do not fish heavy seas. Its very dangerous and your wasting your time anyway, fish don’t like really rough seas. Leave it a day or 2 until the sea is dieing.

And Finally

Just to wet your appetite, here’s some I caught earlier.

11 Codlings From Sandsend In 2009

Read Forum Topics About Fishing At Sandsend

Sandsend Cliffs Gallery

So you enjoyed our guide to Sandsend Cliffs. It took 2 hours to write, 2 hours to photograph and a lifetime to research. Please consider a donation to the site running costs by hitting the donate button below.

With the exception of a big Bass perhaps, nothing on the inshore waters fights quite like a pollack hooked in shallow water. The fight often starts slowly with the fish not quite sure whats going on. Then they see the kayak and wake up. Setting off like and exocet missile the fish crash dives for the bottom almost pulling you off the kayak. Then you gain some line, but the fights not over yet, again you see the fish and it sees you before another powerful dive for the deep. At times the whole of the rod including the reel can be in the water, and this happens several times before the stunning pollack lays at the side of the kayak.

Damo Townsend fights another Whitby pollack

Many Methods To Catch A Pollack From A Kayak.

There are many methods that can be utilised to catch yourself a pollack from the kayak. My own personal favourite is trolling a plug, but this can also prove expensive should the fish find its way down into the kelp. Wanting to give a fair representation of the methods used for pollack fishing from the kayak, I put the question to our forum members. The following is an overview of the replies I received.

Kayak Fishing For Pollack With Jellyworms.

Forum members Jellyworm (Dave Jackets) and Silver Fox, are no stranger to big pollacks and both boast personal best fish close to the double figure mark. The lads say they love to fish jellyworms behind a half to one ounce lead.

Pollack on a black jellyworm

Dave Adamson also advocates the use of Jellyworms and he says “Keep it very simple, 5oz lead & 6ft trace with nice fat jellyworm. Either on the drift drop to the bottom & slowly reel in or paddle slow to troll it midwater. This seems to nail em. If I want to be stationary I cast and retrieve the worm on a leadhead. My Favourite would probably be live sandeel but I have more trouble catching those that Pollock”

Plug Fishing For Pollack

Forum member Mike Marshall has had pollack to almost 10 pounds on the kayak and has lost much bigger fish in the fight. In replying to the question of kayak fishing methods, Mike replied – “At the moment my best method as you know Glenn is troll up and down for hours on end :yes: :tired: which seems to attract the smaller fish and occasionally the bigger one, and then to stop for a break or a chat with whoever is heading towards you trolling in the other direction.

Pollack on a Yo zuri crystal minnow red head

Having stopped paddling and almost coming to stand still the plug will rise to the surface and more or less immediately (“and this has happened on numerous occasions to myself Glen Dan and Damo”) a bigger fish will hit the lure with such voracity and speed that before you know it its back down heading for the kelp wens it came from, and the battle is on if your lucky you’ll keep it out of the kelp maybe bringing it up only to dive down two/three or more times before landing a fine specimen.

After having this happen numerous times I will chose a place to stop cast the plug out, wait several seconds and then retrieve very slowly just so the plug is working just under the surface, Ive had good results with this method (“its probably nowt new, but it is to me and it works well”) fish have taken the lure more or less as soon as the lure hits the water or soon after which is very visual or on the slow retrieve back, on many occasions you can actually see the golden flanks of the fish as it rises to take the lure, sometimes very gently or quite the opposite with the speed of a true predator.

All the bigger fish Ive had and lost have been with this method, plugs I’ve had good results on are Yo-Zori red head, Sidewinder Red head and Storm jointed thunderstick.

I’m sure like a Bass will take a popper of the surface so will a Pollock, which is one method amongst others I will try next time were out searching for in my opinion one of the best fighting fish we have on the coast especially on light tackle………..well Ive not had a big Bass yet so I might change me mind on that one………..we will see”

Mike Marshall with his PB pollack - 9.5 pounds

Float Fishing For Pollack

Float fishing a mackerel strip, live sandeel or frozen sandeel can also be deadly for pollack. Simply fish the bait below a cigar float and wait for the pollack to strike. The float will at first, just ease gently out of site. Resits the urge to strike instantly or you may loose the fish. Once the float is under, count to 3 then strike and hold on tight.

Free lining Sandeels For Pollack

Another exciting and underused method to target pollack from the kayak is to freeline a live sandeel on the drift. Simply attach a swivel and a short hook snood to your main line. Hook the sandeel then lower it into the water and let it swim freely beneath the kayak as you drift. Hold on tight to the rod as the strike of a pollack on a live sandeel will be like nothing you’ve experienced before.

Kayak Fishing Gallery

Further Reading.

Forum Topics About Pollack Fishing.

http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16865.0

27th August 2010

UK Government judged to be failing British people on access to environmental justice.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) today announces, in a joint action with environmental lawyers ClientEarth, that it has won a ‘David & Goliath’ legal battle against the UK Government at the United Nations (UN). In a landmark ruling, the UN has judged the UK Government to have failed in its commitments to the Aarhus Convention – an international agreement – thereby denying ordinary British citizens fair access to the courts in cases about the environment.

MCS and ClientEarth confronted the UK Government at the United Nations in Geneva in September 2009 after MCS failed to hold Government regulators and the Port of Tyne Authority accountable for dumping 66,000 tonnes of highly toxic dredge material into the sea near Sunderland. Because the Government had failed to properly implement the UN’s Aarhus Convention, MCS could not challenge this dumping operation in court without risking financial ruin. The case brought before the UN alleged this situation to be a breach of the Aarhus Convention in the UK.

Thomas Bell, MCS’ Campaigns Strategist, said: ‘The current legal system in England and Wales makes it almost impossible for individuals or small organisations like ours to take environment cases to court without inviting financial ruin if we lose. In effect, justice on environmental matters is only available if you’re rich. We decided to challenge this legal situation by taking the twin ‘Goliaths’ of our Government and the European Union to the United Nations and standing up for the rights that ordinary people have under the UN’s Aarhus Convention. Today, ‘David’, that is to say ordinary British citizens, won.”

The decision by UN’s Aarhus Committee should herald a fundamental change to the legal system in England and Wales. Individuals and green organisations will now be able to mount environmental court cases without fear of the financial cost, and the Government will have to introduce a clear, transparent and consistent framework to implement the Aarhus Convention, allowing rich and poor alike proper access to justice in the environment.

25 August 2010

Cheshire woman to swim Jurassic Coast to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society Scuba diver Ruth in training for open water challenge

Ruth Penaluna, from Nantwich, is in training to swim ten miles along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, from Weymouth Harbour to Lulworth Cove, to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

Avid scuba diver, Ruth, aged 36, says she took on the challenge to have something to focus on at the gym. “I wanted a fresh challenge, and as I have always fancied swimming the channel, I started looking around for open water swims. The Jurassic Swim is right up my street. I love the ocean, and exploring nature, so what better place to undertake a personal challenge than this, and what better organisation to represent than the Marine Conservation Society?”

MCS is the UK charity looking after our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS highlights the dangers posed by marine litter, tackles bathing water pollution, and promotes sustainable seafood to UK consumers. MCS is currently running an online public vote for marine protected areas around the UK.

Ruth’s challenge will add ten miles (and hundreds of pounds) to the Marine Conservation Society’s Coastal Challenge. The Coastal Challenge aims to match the distance of the UK coastline (11,477 miles) and it encourages everyone to get out and enjoy the sea whilst raising vital funds for MCS’ work.

Ruth has increased her training sessions in the past few months. She has been donning her wetsuit in a variety of locations including Anglesey where the water temperature was a chilly eight degrees Celsius. Ruth is training every weekend, morning and evening to make sure is ready for the challenge.

“I’ve swum at a lake at Boundary Park near Holmes Chapel, where there was a real mixed group of swimmers. My wetsuit feels great, so Weymouth here I come!“

Ruth will be swimming on the 4th September 2010. Ruth has already raised £315 of her £500 target and you can boost that by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/jurassicswim and supporting her. If you’d like to raise funds for MCS yourself, please request your free fundraising pack from fundraising@mcsuk.org. You can find out more about the work MCS does at www.mcsuk.org

Date issued: 27 August 2010
Reference: 11/10

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the body responsible for managing the delivery and enforcement of Common Fisheries Policy, this week met with the fishing industry in East Anglia and Kent to discuss the recent closure and subsequent reopening of the North Sea sole fishery. Policy officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also attended.

The meetings enabled fishermen and other stakeholders, including sea fisheries committees to talk directly to the MMO and Defra about the impact of the closure, and to contribute ideas about how the quota for this fishery might be managed differently in the future.

The MMO and Defra would like to thank all those attending for their constructive contributions to the discussion.

Liz Humphreys, Chief Marine Officer for the MMO said “A rich and wide range of issues, concerns and views were forthcoming at all four meetings. The MMO will publish a summary of all the points raised within the next couple of weeks. One issue which emerged consistently was that it is preferable for us to keep a fishery open, albeit at a very low monthly catch level, than to close it altogether. We will be considering whether we can adopt this approach for next year.”

Chris Parry, Chair of the MMO said “Quotas are set annually by the European Council and the MMO has the difficult balancing task of ensuring that stocks are managed throughout the year to maximise the fishing opportunities for the UK industry, whilst ensuring that stocks are not overfished and the UK government and taxpayer avoids the possibility of steep penalities.”

The MMO are keen to encourage those with views on quota management to contact the MMO Quota Management Team on 0191 376 2595 or by emailing fmc@marinemanagement.org.uk

Date issued: 27 August 2010
Reference: 12/10

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which regulates of the use of English seas, is leading on an investigation to determine the cause of seal deaths occurring on the North Norfolk coast.

East Coast Grey Seal

At present there is no evidence of any criminal activity and the cause of the seal deaths is to be established. With support from the Norfolk Police, the MMO will continue work to determine the cause of the deaths in an effort to eliminate risks to the local seal population.

The MMO will work with a number of key organisations and experts such as the Sea Mammal Research Unit, Natural England, the Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee and others during the course of the investigation.

The MMO continue to receive the support of the Norfolk Police as well as support from Statoil and Scira, who are currently engaged in an offshore windfarm construction at Sheringham Shoal.

If anyone has any information regarding these incidents, or their possible cause, please contact the MMO’s Marine Nature Conservation and Enforcement Team in Newcastle on 0191 376 2512

Six Scottish skippers took part in a £15million scam to dodge fishing quota restrictions imposed by the European Union.

David Hutchison, 64, Robert Polson, 47, Thomas Eunson, 55, Allen Anderson, 54, John Irvine, 66, and 61-year-old Allister Irvine admitted landing thousands of tonnes of so-called “black fish” when they appeared at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.

They hid the true quantity of their catches from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) and landed far more than their agreed quota of mackerel and herring.

http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16853.0

http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16818.0

We, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ IUU team, work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Polar Regions and Overseas Territories units on these and other IUU issues. The FCO’s Polar Regions Unit led the workshop in collaboration with:

• Australia
• South Africa
• the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s Partnership for African Fisheries
• the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

The workshop, which was held in Cape Town between 3 and 6 August, was funded by CCAMLR using money donated by the UK in 2001. The money was obtained from the sale of fish confiscated from an illegal vessel operating in the waters of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Representatives from 12 African coastal states (Benin, Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo) attended the workshop, which was heavily oversubscribed. The aim was to create a network of stakeholders who could work together to identify the challenges involved for African states when tackling IUU fishing, and put solutions to these problems into practice. Delegates were also provided with information on relevant port and flag-state measures, and were offered a practical fishing vessel inspection in port.

It is hoped that interventions such as this one can help to deliver lasting impact in the fight against IUU fishing.

The fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing is of considerable global importance. IUU fishing is damaging to fish stocks, the marine environment, food security and wider economic growth and development. The Southern Ocean is often targeted by this practice and IUU fishing operations have traditionally exploited weak controls in African coastal states when landing their catches.