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Print versionShore Fishing in Yorkshire
Anyone making a tour along the coastline of Yorkshire could not fail to be impressed. The traditional boundaries of Yorkshire – the Humber to the Tees provides a whole range of types of marks for the keen shore fisherman that would take a life time or two to become familiar with and understand in any depth – not that we ever stop learning. They include some of the most spectacular and picturesque scenery in the British Isles and some other not so pretty but of great interest to the angler. The techniques required to capitalise on the fishing are as varied as the coast itself.
One drawback with Yorkshire is that the variety of species which cannot match the coastlines bathed in the North Atlantic Drift but things have changed for the better with the advent of warming sea temperatures. Bass have much benefited from this change and what was once an extremely rare specie is now very much part of the Yorkshire angling scene. In fact a number of species has seen an increase in fortunes over the last few years.
Thornback rays were present along the Holderness but numbers were unpredictable, recent years have seen a more regular influx of this welcome species. What’s more they are caught over a greater portion of the angling year. Like many other areas around the British coast there has been an increase in both common and starry smoothound. Small turbot are another species which have arrived.
The more traditional species such as cod although not back to the numbers found in the seventies seem to be benefiting from recent restrictions in commercial fishing activity with fish of many different year classes being caught. Coalfish, pollack and wrasse are still taken regularly especially by those anglers now specifically targeting them. Another traditional fish of the sandy ground, whiting, has seen a spectacular increase in numbers over recent years and have become an important species for the match angler when the cod are not so obliging.
At the southern boundary of the Yorkshire coast is the river Humber. The river carries a huge amount of silt and the strong currents create a constantly cycle of change with the sandbanks being eroding in one place and deposited in others. Not surprisingly the river looks muddy and lifeless but looks are deceptive. Beneath surface many species of fish but for the angler there are the usual flounders and eels. In a good winter cod enter the estuary in numbers and penetrate past the Humber Bridge. I know this for a fact as I have caught them fishing just up-river of the bridge. Unfortunately access is limited on the North bank. Some access exists on the waterfront around Hull and good access at Paull a popular spot to the west of Hull. Then there is some difficult access around Sunk Island before reaching Spurn Head at the mouth of the estuary.
Spurn is nothing more than a sand spit, and a very narrow one at that. At the tip is deep water with a fierce current at mid tide and fishing is usually confined to two hours either side of low water. The peninsula itself can fish for cod on the smallest of tides as there is a very strong tidal current in the area. Flounders and eel can be caught from the estuary side and bass mostly schoolies from both sides. The one problem with Spurn is that it can be weedy particularly on southerly winds. Spurn exists as a result of the severe erosion of the Holderness coast. Material washed from the cliffs is carried south by the longshore drift and deposited at the mouth of the Humber to form the peninsula. The spit itself turns southeast, away from the dominant northerlies which cause the erosion.
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It is because of the erosion along the Holderness that the fishing is so productive. The sea is almost invariably stained brown by the clay which forms the Holderness plain. Go down a couple of feet and virtually no light penetrates fish, especially cod, love it and making a good catch of cod on a bright sunny winters day is not a rare event. The more consistent Cod fishing is to the south of Hornsea with the beaches south of Withernsea being more productive on the smaller tides. Flatfish are more common from Hornsea North and bass can be taken from all beaches. Distance casting can be an advantage at times but not always. There are times when even the cod are in the first 30 yards. The real secret to successful fishing on the Holderness is to read the beach. Sandbars running parallel to the shore are a common feature and these bar access to the cod coming inshore to feed on the numerous shrimps, crabs and small fish. Find a gap in the sand bar where a rip current cuts through and you have found a hotspot. Don’t think you will be able to exploit the mark all season. The next big storm will probably wipe it out and you’ll have to go and search out another hotspot.
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This is where the rocks which start at Flamborough head differ; rocks marks are more or less permanent features. Only occasionally does a severe storm rip out a kelp bed or remove a patch of sand making the spot temporally unproductive. Once you understand a rock mark that knowledge will probably stand you in good stead for the rest of your angling life. Flamborough, like marks further north, is a mixture of kelp and scaurs but here the rocks are of chalk and not limestone. Also cliff fishing is much in practice with anglers even fishing the 300ft plus Bempton cliffs and for good reason; the cliff marks can be very productive.
Bempton overlooks the sweep of Filey Bay a spot for flatfish and school bass. The serious cod fishing starts again at Filey Brigg but the Brigg is more than a cod mark, pollack, coalfish, mackerel and wrasse are also caught in season. Beyond the Brigg and the cliffs of Gristhorpe lies the pretty little Cayton bay and beyond that we start to encounter a coast of scaurs and kelp. There is an odd patch of sand around Scarborough but most anglers are casting there heavy gear with a “rotten bottom” in amongst the kelp and boulders hoping to extract a nice cod. Generally the rocks are not quite as prolific for cod as the Holderness but they do produce bigger fish and double figure fish are much more likely. Another feature of the rocks is the importance of fishing either at night or after a good sea has coloured the water. The only alternative is to cast into a mass of tangles at low water.
North of Scarborough past the marks of Jackson’s Bay, Burniston, Cloughton and Hayburn Wyke, the cliffs rise to up to a staggering 600 feet at Ravenscar. Even here keen cod anglers descend the cliffs for a few hours fishing. Robin Hoods Bay can be seen in its entirety from Ravenscar. You can pick out Stoupe Beck Sands, Boggle Hole and the houses of the village of Robins Hoods Bay nicknamed “Bramblewick” by what was one of its most famous sons – author and lifelong angler Leo Walmsley. Most fishing in the bay is around low water off the scaurs but fish are also taken occasionally at high water near the village.
There are a couple more difficult access points before easier access is found at Saltwick Bay and from Saltwick Whitby is just round the corner. There are flounders in the estuary at Whitby but most anglers fish from the piers to take Cod in winter and mackerel in late summer. The only real beach in the area, stretches north from Whitby to Sandsend. As well as producing coding at night, bass sometimes show up on this mark with some flatfish towards the southern end.
Apart from some cliff marks the next easy access is at the pretty Runswick Bay. There is a patch of sand at Runswick so species other than cod show up. The derelict pier at Port Mulgrave produces codling at night as does the pier at Staithes. Just beyond Staithes is Boulby which has featured in a number of articles in the angling press. The cliffs beyond Boulby although not shear, rise even higher than those at Ravenscar and are the highest on the east coast of Britain reaching 666ft. Dropping down we come to Skinningrove, where codling and coalfish turn up at night. The rocky cliffs of the Yorkshire coast finally finish at Saltburn. Beyond are the sands of Marske and Redcar which is fronted by a rock formation which produces codling and coalfish but requires locally knowledge because of the danger of being cut off. Beyond the steel works at Redcar is the Tees and the start of the Durham coast.
Whatever your tastes in fishing, whether distance casting from a beach for cod, the challenge of the rocks, a bit of flatty bashing and more recently even plugging and fly fishing for bass, you can usually find what you are looking for along the varied coastline of Yorkshire.
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