BRING ON THE COD
When winter onshore gales batter the County Durham coastline, hordes of shore anglers wait patiently for conditions to settle before heading to their favourite marks…
Eight pages of North East fishing.
The BBC news anchor Fiona Bruce concludes her evening bulletin by handing over to weather guy Tomasz Schafernaker for the latest update. “It’s definitely got a feel of winter out there,” she says. He nods in agreement and replies: “That’s right, and it’s showing no signs of letting up any time soon, either.”
As I stare at the TV screen, Tomasz begins moving his hands around the map of the British Isles, but I’m not listening to a word he’s saying. Instead, I’m focused on the tightly packed isobars, signalling a strengthening northerly wind descending down the eastern side of the UK. The barometric pressure is dropping to around 980mb too, and I fall back into my sofa with a huge sigh of discontent.
You see, when I lived in Sunderland, this was the precise weather forecast I and every other winter shore angler in the North East yearned for. I simply sat there, imagining all my mates getting their gear together, packing tackle boxes and rod holdalls, while filling their bait buckets and making hot flasks of tea. They would definitely be preparing for a night on the beach chasing cod. It certainly sucks living in Cambridgeshire at times like this!
COUNTY DURHAM
The North East coastline offers arguably some of the best shore cod fishing in the UK. The many marks vary widely from beaches, rocks and promenades to other structures such as piers.
The tides also play a huge role, and in this part of the world there’s always a venue where you can cast a line, whether it’s high or low water.
One area in particular that’s always been one of my favourites to visit is the beaches of County Durham. With Blackhall in the south of the region and heading north through Horden, Easington and Seaham, the cod fishing normally kicks off proper during September.
Ordinarily, a running northerly swell offers perfect conditions, inviting plenty of cod to feed closer to the shore. But many reckon that a south-easterly roll will invariably bring in the bigger specimens.
Darkness will certainly reveal where those in the know are targeting the cod, as the twinkling of headlights dotted along the shore, as well as the odd pressure lantern burning, gives away their location.
However, if the sea has been running for a few days and it’s coloured, the daylight fishing can be as equally spectacular.
These anglers also love their competition fishing. From autumn, there are plenty of open events to choose from including the popular and well attended Seaham Open. In the lead-up to Christmas, the Get Carter Open draws anglers in at Easington, and again at Seaham, the longestablished Boxing Day Open takes place.
The heaviest fish usually takes the first prize, and everyone knows they’re always in with a shout of winning because a big fish can come from any one of County Durham’s shore marks. ■