IT has been a strange year on the sea angling front.
On some tides anglers have done quite well, while on other occasions if you get a single bite you have been lucky.
I was down on the Humber Bank wall last week and there were six anglers and not one had a bite.
I personally think that there is more silt in the river at the moment and this could be putting the fish off.
The leads are really sinking hard into the sea bed.
Then, on another tide there will be several cod caught and they will be of a decent size.
Last Sunday there were good numbers of cod caught all the way along the wall, ranging from a couple of pounds up to around 9lbs.
It does not matter on the bait, with the cod taking either fresh or frozen baits when they are in the mood.
Even the Creek at Humberston, which should be full of flatfish at this time of year, is failing to produce.
Top flattie angler Jack Barlow never had a bite in a four-hour session.
Usually this time of year you tend to get the bigger flounders.
On the boats, there have been some good double-figured cod caught, these seem to be coming more on the flood.
Last weekend, Tony Hogg landed a nice cod of 14lb, but lost a monster of a fish that snapped his 25lb hook length. Although they were strong tides last weekend, the fish would still have to be very big to do that.
After all, Hogg has been fishing for years and has got a vast knowledge and experience on how to handle a fish and play it properly.
This weekend there should be a decent amount of boats going out and, with the tide fairly low, it will not restrict the anglers to where they can fish.
On to the Humber Sea Angling Club and I received a funny report from club chairman Nigel Crabtree.
With reference to the recent sightings of big cats, he reports that: "You will be pleased to know that no anglers were eaten while taking part in the latest match on the Humber Bank wall. Also, there were no sightings of any lynx , pumas, lions or tigers – or even any big moggies."
Tom Howard won the match with two fish – one of them being a cod of 6.7lb. This made the bulk of his total weight of 6.14lb.
Next in was John Gore, who could only find flatfish. He had five, including the biggest one of the night – a 33cm flounder. Gore had a total weight of 3.5lb. Next in was Adie Cooper with four fish for 2.9lb.
The next match is tomorrow at the Woods. Meet on the waste ground at 10.15am. Fishing from 11.30am until 3.30pm. Everyone is welcome, all qualifiers are guaranteed a prize.
I went fishing last weekend and had a brilliant day. Most boats caught cod, but some were reporting a very slow start and the majority of cod were caught on the flood.
The strong tides certainly thin out the fish, but the quality of the cod in a strong tide tests the angler and the quality of his tackle.
