North East Sea Fishing

Berwick-upon-Tweed – Flatfish, codling and bass can be caught from the shore, especially Spittal and Gosswick Beaches. Bass and pollock can be caught in summer from some of the rock marks around the Needle’s Eye area with spinners, plugs and lures worth a try. Marks around the pier and harbour area also sometimes produce mullet during very calm conditions in summer. There are decent cod taken in winter to big hooks and big baits in and around the harbour, and there are usually plenty of whiting around to keep anglers entertained while they wait for the big fish to bite. View this area on Google Maps here.

Seahouses – Piers at seahouses offer good general fishing with many anglers using any of the mainsteam sea fishing baits and size 1/0 hooks to see what they catch. Flounder, codling (all year round, but bigger in winter), rockling, coalfish and in summer plaice, pollock and mackerel all on the cards. The smallest pier here fishing best at low tide. Rock marks around North Sunderland Point offer great winter cod (and summer pollock and wrasse) but are very snaggy indeed and can be dangerous – be careful of the incoming tide and watch out for large waves and swells which can swamp fishing areas. View this area on Google Maps here.

Embleton Bay/Dunstanburgh Castle – Dunstanburgh Castle has a number of marks around it which provide good sport. Access can be an issue with some anglers having to park their cars at Craster and then walk the long distance to these marks, while there may be the opportunity to park near the golf course and gain access this way, although this will still involve a long walk. Some angler also gain access by walking through the castle ground but this can also be an issue as technically visitors to the castle have to pay a fee as it is an attraction which charges people to visit. Once access has been negotiated the rocky shelves provide solid fishing platforms offering access to deep water. Summer sees plenty of mackerel, small coalfish, lance sandeels and sometimes herring going for spinners, feathers and daylights, and some good pollock, wrasse and bigger coalfish going for spinners and float fished mackerel strip, ragworm or sandeel. Light spinning and bass rods are by far the best way to approach this mark, and it fishes best in calm summer weather. Be aware that large swells can swamp fishing locations in bad weather. Presenting baits on the seabed is generally less productive but some codling can be around and pollock and coalfish can also take them. View this area on Google Maps here.

Craster – Harbour area offers mackerel and coalfish to lures and spinners in the summer, with some pollock showing up as well. Outer pier offers some cod all year round (with better fish in the winter) to all kinds of worm, crab, razorfish, mussel and squid baits but ground is very rough indeed, best to use rotten bottom rigs to cut down on tackle losses. Plenty of other rock marks around the Craster coast that can produce a number of species with mackerel and codling caught, as well as pollock and coalfish. There are also lesser spotted dogfish caught here and confirmed reports of conger eels in excess of 30lb being captured here – a rare species indeed in the North East of England. Obviously rock marks like this are going to be very tackle hungry so take plenty of weights and go equipped with suitably heavy rods, reels and line and rotten bottom rigs. View this area on Google Maps here.

Cullernose Point – Cullernose Point is a rocky crag jutting out into the North Sea which provides access to deep water. Anglers can fish along the entire mark but it is very dangerous in rough seas as swells and waves can engulf the entire area, so the mark must be avoided if the sea is running. In calm summer weather pollock, coalfish and wrasse can be caught by spinning and float fishing from this area, while mackerel will go for feathers and daylights – all species which lend themselves to light rods and tackle. Winter sees some good cod taken from here, along with coalfish and some flounders. Ground is mixed to heavy with some tackle losses to be expected and rotten bottom/weak links a good idea and rods and reels need to be strong enough to handle the snags. View this area on Google Maps here.

Amble – Plenty of cod in winter and smaller codling in summer around rock marks that are similarly rough to those at Craster. There is also the chance of bass in summer as well as flounder and dab, plus turbot are occasionally caught here in summer. South pier produces mackerel in summer to daylights and spinners and offers good cod and whiting fishing in winter. Cliff House area in between the piers produces the chance of a decent sized summer bass to peeler crab, ragworm or mackerel baits. The big, sandy beaches of Druridge Bay and surrounding areas off the chance of catching flatfish (including possible turbot) and the occasional bass. View this area on Google Maps here.

Cresswell – Has some very good marks, especially Cresswell Carrs which fishes best at low tide in darkness for cod, especially in winter. This area some clean ground which holds razorfish, and using these as bait after a storm can be very effective. The rockier and rougher ground towards the north also holds big cod, as well as pollock and the chance of a bass in summer. Coalfish are a common catch around all of this area and take a variety of baits fished on the bottom as well as being caught on spinners and lures. Nearby Snab Point is also a good – although tackle hungry – rock mark which can be good for cod fishing, especially after the seabed has been stirred up by bad weather. View this area on Google Maps here.