Last-day monster ling takes festival honours

A MONSTER ling of 33lb 4oz, one of the biggest taken for many years, landed on the last day gave Whitby angler Chris Mangan, fishing aboard Trot-On, an emphatic win in the Whitby Charter Boat Skippers Festival.

He beat off anglers from all over Europe, with a few from further afield, to take the £5,000 prize for the heaviest fish. Naturally Mangan’s ling also came first in the ling section.

Second-placed William Barrett of Doncaster may well have thought he had it in the bag, taking a ling of 18lb 11oz aboard Mistress on the fourthlast day, and the next two days cancelled because of bad weather, but had to settle for the second place overall and second in the ling section, taking £1,000.

Brian Robinson, of Sheffield, fishing aboard Shy Torque 111 and Colin Winley, of Barnard Castle, fishing aboard Jean K, settled for joint third sharing £750 with their ling of 15lb 4oz.

Carl Farrar took the cod section with one of 14lb 6oz taken aboard Trot-On on the last day, Robert Waterford came second with one of 14lb taken aboard Sea Urchin 111.

A cracking cuckoo wrasse of 1lb 5oz taken by Robert Hardcastle, fishing aboard Two Dogs, took the specimen award, with Holly Smith taking the junior section with a ling of 8lb 2oz, Ann Dolman took the ladies section with a ling of 8lb 11oz.

One or two cod and ling to 10lb have been taken off the Tyne and Wear with the best cod I know weighing 17lb falling to Stephan Mester fishing private boat “Wasabi” off Sunderland. Shore sport along the open rock marks has been pretty poor with only a handful of fish with the best going to 3lb taken.

Piers have certainly provided the best sport, mainly with mackerel, but South shields pier has been producing reasonable catches of small codling with the odd better fish, Alan Heeley took six to 3.5lb on fresh crab.

River Wear produced some decent flounder with some going almost 2lb, Jim Dobie taking one of 2lb 1oz from Claxheugh.

If you can catch some decent conditions the open beaches have been fishing quite well especially Druridge where flounder, some decent plaice to over 1lb and the odd turbot have been taken.

Cumbria marks are still below par with only a few rays, odd hound, most anglers having to make do with the few flounder and dab that are around.

Weather has certainly spoilt the hound fishing from Balcary and the North Yorkshire coastline as well as the Kircudbright to Port Patrick Marks with only a few pollock and wrasse taken.

Further afield Liam Muizelaar had a good trip to Loch Etive taking rays and spurdog.