Winter Cod Fishing - Favourite early season venues

Aye up lead chuckers!

After the recent rough up my thoughts have now turned to the winter cod season and I have started preparing the gear and thinking about venues and stuff.

The rule I have always followed for the North Yorkshire coast has been rock marks and rough stuff until the end of December and then beaches in the new year.

For early season marks I have always stuck to the same old familiar places such as Runswick Bay, Seaham Hall beach, Sandsend cliff tops and Saltwick bay; but would like to expand this year with some new marks. And have a few new ones and a few which I fished less often in mind such as Port Mulgrave, Cowbar Jetty, Saltburn Pier.

Every year I read interesting reports of good early season catches and there does seem to be somewhat of a loose pattern for early season hot spots such as Bempton, but I thought it would be good before the the season really kicks off, to get some other peoples personal opinions of how they think the early season may pan out with a view to how the conditions over the summer may influence what might happen, where and when; what baits they will using etc...

Last season I was very interested to follow reports from people like Lobbers who obviously has developed a sixth sense with his years of experience in knowing just when and where (and how) to fish to maximise his success rate. Unfortunately, I like many others who live a distance away from the coast, can't just look out of the bedroom window and decide to nip out for a couple of hours session when conditions are good, and I realise that to just blindly follow in other peoples footsteps is not always the way to go for quick success as I believe there is no such a thing as quick success in sea fishing. Personal experience and the shared knowledge of many others is the order of the day.

Hopefully as a community we might all gain a little bit of knowledge from each others shared speculative thoughts for a good start to the season.

Good hunting!

BP

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

Join the club.
Last year was a very big learning experience for me, and I cannot tell you how many absolutely basic things I got completely wrong. Actually, quite embarrassing - like largely fishing days, rather than dark.
This year it is going to be very different, I hope, and I will be watching this thread with a hawk's eye. Hopefully some top guys will give a few pointers?
Like you, I am going to try to give some Whitby spots a try - Port Mulgrave, etc.
To set things off, a few of my marks that I am going to hit. I hope that I will get some feedback that will tell me I am in the right ball park, or completely wrong. Both would help me enormously.
Burniston (cart)
- on low, off reef end (200 yards left of steps), 30 yards into kelp, 1m waves, N through to E, with NE best.
- on high, into hole 50 yards back from that position, same conditions
- on high, 1.5m and above, onto shingle, off beach just before headland 350 yards right of steps
Cloughton
- in banging storms or calm. High or low. Timing.
Kettleness
- on low, into kelp gulleys, 0.5 m
Port Mulgrave
- on high, big baits, 0.5-1m NE's, 40 yards
Filey Brigg (flat calm only, peeler)
- off Ling Rock 100 yards
- on good low, off Brigg end into Crab hole, 40 yards, or to left of terrace.
Cornelian
- on high, into gulley running 50 yards off running length of beach, 1-1.5m N through NE
Cayton beach (lug)
- banging surf >1.5m, preferably low, right hand side of beach, 50-100 yards, grip leads.
Flamborough
- lighthouse, big baits, S-SW
Bempton
- never fished, but really wish to and would love to know spots and ideal conditions
Cowbar
- N-NW, big baits, 30-50 yards

Might also hit Reighton on serious storms with lug, beginning Bempton, for cod.

PLEASE correct or fine tune if you see I am wrong on some, or suggest some cracking others?
Any knowledge at all is good!

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

Hi lipslicker

Looks like you have a plan there.

Only fished 2 of your marks - Port Mulgrace (once) & Reighton (plenty of times).

My experience of Reighton is to leave it well alone when its rough as you will really struggle to hold bottom on the beach. Probably better left till it's dying off. I've had some cracking sessions on there with the whiting when I've located the gullies and sand bars which seem to change there all the time. Lug as you say but tipped off with squid. Rag worth a try as well as always a chance of bass at Reighton.

BP

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

The place I have always done best early season (Sept to mid Oct) is Sandsend, that includes all the marks, cliffs tops and bottoms uptowards Goldsborough. Plenty of Red cod around Pennock Nab on big ebb tides if you learn how to fish it right. Its a mark Ive never failed at early season so long as you get on the outer scar past the rocks, for which you need a decent ebb. Bags of 15 cod were a regular for me around Sandsend when I could be arsed to source the bait and get the fish homed in.

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

Will research and check, and try. Thank you.

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

Glenn

Would you say that crab and cart baits are essential for early season from marks like Sandsend cliff top.

How effective would you say worm baits are or alternatives such as mussel, squid or mackerel for early winter season?

Are there usually set rules or can other things influence what baits we should be using early season - such as previous summer conditions and what bait fish are still around/

BP

 

Hi Big Pauly,
Might be a plan, but cannot say the best one.

Did you ever have any Cod on Reighton? I have never heard, but I like to think it might be a good spot in ideal conditions.
And, did you use grips? I often don't there, in the hope I will be washed into those big gulleys and stick there. In the summer months, this works even on very small ball leads, and gulleys are so pronounced even big wave bows do not shift your line too much.

 

Re: Favourite early season venues

Just one thing, if I may -
There is a great little cove off the Goat Track that I was pointed to for some summer fishing, and when there I thought it MIGHT fish OK for cod in a very heavy SE'erly through to S. No idea if I am right, but you might?
Thanks.
(And, get yourself to Scilly on one of your trips. You will dig proper. )

 

Fresh Green Crab. If I dont have it I dont fish. Cart very occasionally helps (I believe Cart dont come into its own untill Nov), Ive seen mussel, worm and even those prawns have their day. But over a period of 10 days, on nine of those ten days Id be very confident of beating any company I had if I had the right bait.

Its been funny in the past. One night I had Dan and Damo either side of me on Rabbits. I got fish tuned in on my bait, think I had about 10 in a row. Poor lads never got a bite. and that tells the story, One bait if you want the success there otherwise you will catch but probably not 10% of what you would have caught.

When I say this you always get a lot of people saying , well a cod will eat whatever you put infront of it. But those are the people who are crap anglers, never catch anything, and then start telling everyone you have some sort of magic secret that no-one else knows.

 

Almost right, South Easterly is the right swell direction. But Ive seen Dennis Thompson have some big fish in Late season there fishing right in the back at bottom of track upto high tide. On these occasions its usually been a North Wset sea, and a big one at that, the type of sea where you would start thinking of the west pier.

But no, a southerly doesnt do anything there. I think the out scars from Saltwick upto Whitby stop it from coming in there. You need east in it really.

 

Also top venues for early season, Bemmo has to be number one, when it opens. Flamborough is a fair bet too. Marine drive also is consistent. If I wanted consistency I would head scarborough and South.

 

Thanks, Bob.
Appreciated.

 

Never had cod at Reighton - but having said that I don't think I have ever really fished it in ideal cod conditions or specifically targeted cod there either. I like it there when the sea is fairly settled on a medium tide in November for a good whiting session on a clear night.

BP

 

I always use grips at Reighton. It's a very long sweeping beach and has one hell of a sideways tow, especially on a big tide.
I always aim to cast into the gullies rather than hope to be washed into them. At least with a grip lead, once you are in gully you have a hope of staying there.

BP

 

Top info Glenn

Ok then - Obviously me not living near the coast, how would you recommend I get hold of fresh green crabs?
Would the obvious answer be to arrive a lot earlier and go out collect them or can they be bought locally or will frozen work but to a lesser degree.
Sorry - lots of questions - but important if it's going to improve the chances of fish.

BP

 

Youll be lucky as everyone in the world wants those crab right now. Noone likes going fishing to blank. Best bet would be Saltwick Scars. I would say the river but know youll come into conflict with people so advise you dont bother with that. I used to get all my crab in the river and almost every year resulted in hassle, but it had to be done, if you wanted the fish you had to have the crabs, so you had to defend the work you put into getting them.

Thankfully all that aint important to me now. I buy frozen and use cart and I wait till late october when they stop taking fresh crab.

 

i guess we talking soft crabs and not the hardbacks - It's funny how I've nearly always found lots of hardback crabs inside a cods stomach in October and November but we fish with soft backs.
The soft ones have the scent but it goes to show how the cod home in the hard ones as well.

BP

 

If only it were so simple everyone would be a top cod angler.

 

The cliff top marks , Cowbar and theres several there, Staithes Nab , Runswick Bay , Kettleness Nab , the rocks in front of where you climb down , the beach to the left , Sandsend Cliffs are all places that can produce fish early season , JUST as long as you match up the fish window
with your visit and by hell that is important , fishing a big or slack tide with the same conditions can give totally different results at the same mark , if you are fishing say the rocks just to the right of where you climb down at Kettleness if you start fishing an hour or so after LW on a good tide with a bit of sea on , more often than not you would be flogging a dead horse , now if it was a really slack tide same conditions and stage of the tide it could be fireworks , generally slack tide = Flood , Good sized tides last hour of Flood and well back on the EBB at that mark
I think at most marks you need to sus out the fish windows as I have explained rather than just turn up and hope for the best

 

Hi Big Cliff
Quickie - 'Staithes Nab' - for future reference, is that what some call Penny Nab, i.e. opposite side of Staithes harbour to Cowbar?
Or .....?