Ryan Collinson and Peter Horbury net Whitby Sea Angling Association League wins

On Wednesday it was a mirror flat sea state, and a chilly SSWesterly for the three-hour evening match, all flood on a neap tide, a scratching match for sure, writes Peter Horbury.

Catch forecast was extremely low, and hence why only seven were fishing.

At the scales Bernard Vasey and Jason Ebison were waiting, ‘no one’ had weighed-in.

That was until I arrived, a rockling which topped the scales at 4oz, to my surprise winning Heaviest Fish and Heaviest Bag of Fish of the night with the strongest possibility of also winning the ‘Wooden Spoon’ for the Lightest Fish to win Heaviest Fish on presentation evening.

Officially the worst weigh-in (to date) of the season with 12 matches left.

It was all change, a welcome long distance ground swell, 4-7ft, for Sunday evening’s four-hour match with ten fishing.

Low water 21.48hrs, 1.01 metres enabled members to reach the tangle beds and gullies. Cloud cover 100%, with no rain forecast, a warm night 9°C. However the wind was a killer [in more than one way] WSWesterly 24, gusting 43mph hampered both casting, and bite detection.

The early surging soon eased, colour varied from thick to very little. The ebb was fast, aided by the following wind, swell strength fell back to 2ft as low water approached.

Fish bites were few and far between, frozen blacks fished better than frozen peeler. The stamp of fish being caught is disappointing for this time of year with a lot of 32cm codlings [undersized] being caught and returned.

At the scales, [set up in the Fleece yard] Man of the Match was Ryan Collinson, Robin Hood’s Bay, with the only ‘double figure’ bag of seven codlings, a billet - 13lb 6oz. This was his seventh win.

Heaviest Fish of the night fell to Brian Harland, Whitby, his second win - 4lb 10oz.

Eleven matches left, and the ‘top four rods’ are all in the range of 177 - 170lb, Collinson has made the biggest gain in the evening match. It is going to be a close championship, just ounces separate some of them.

Colin Stainthorpe, Whitby, is the latest to join the 100lb Club.

Sunday’s Results:- 41 lb 05 oz (Av 1 lb 12 oz) 22 codlings, 1 billet, and a rockling. 1st - Ryan Collinson - 7 codlings, 1 billet 13lb 6oz, 2nd Colin Stainthorpe - 4 codlings 7lb 5oz, 3rd Brian Harland - 2 codlings 5lb 9oz, 4th Peter Horbury - 3 codlings 5lb 4oz, 5th Dave Perrett - 1 codling, 1 r’ling 2lb 12oz, 6th Dave Hambley - 2 codlings 2lb 6oz, 7th Jason Ebison - 1 codling 1lb 15 oz, 8th Rich Deadman - 1 codling 1lb 8oz, 9th Davey Turnbull - 1 codling, 1lb 4oz.

Leaderboard Top Ten: 1st Brian Harland - 107 fish 177lb 3oz, 2nd Davey Turnbull - 59 fish 171lb 9oz, 3rd Dave Hambley - 80 fish 171lb 5oz, 4th Ryan Collinson - 107 fish 170lb 14oz, 5th Dave Perrett - 83 fish 138lb 8oz, 6th Colin Stainthorpe - 69 fish 105lb 7oz, 7th Dave Ward - 61 fish 95lb 10oz, 8th Paul Short - 50 fish 72lb 9oz, 9th Dylan Goldsmith - 31 fish 58lb 10oz, 10th Denis Thompson - 35 fish 56lb 11oz.