Sea Urchin III

16/03/2026

It's been ages since I managed to do a video, but finally got chance at the back end of February.

An afternoon spent fishing for Codling at Whitby in North Yorkshire. After a slow start the Cod decided to leave it late before making an appearance.Talk abo...

14/03/2026

“The Clash” famously sang “Should I stay or should I go now” …… and that’s exactly how I felt yesterday.

The inshore wrecks aren’t worth bothering with at the moment and the offshore wreck fishing has been pretty poor for those of us who have tried. With that in mind, I gave my anglers the choice of whether to come or not.

To be honest, I didn’t really fancy it, but with only a couple deciding to withdraw I had plenty who just wanted a day out, come what may; so it was game on!

I fancied running offshore to an area of rough ground in the 20 mile stream, but as we left the pier ends, it was immediately clear to me that there was far too much sea on for us to do that. We needed a Plan B….

After due consideration we headed south for a couple of hours to a wreck with the wind and swell behind us. All the weather models gave the wind to drop in the afternoon, so it would be ok for the return journey (if they were correct!).

First run down the wreck and Tony Firman took a Coalie on a Shad which surprised me as there must have been some clarity. There were a few Pouting and Andy Townend had a Codling.

I was quietly relieved as it was clear that there were a few fish down there. We picked up fish (of one type or another) every drift for the next 4 hours which kept everyone motivated and fishing well.

Let’s be 100% clear, it wasn’t electric sport, but compared to recent results, it was steady away. We didn’t catch anything huge, but Andy Townend took the biggest Codling of 4-5lb and Marek Kawka took the biggest Ling around 8-9lb (couldn’t weight accurately due to the sloppy sea).

Rig-wise, everything did a few bites. Muppet traces, Hokkai’s, Daylights all baited with either Squid or Mackerel kept the fish coming. Pleasingly, everyone managed a few fish….apart from poor old Tony Firman who spent most of the day in “Sickbay”. Sorry mate.

The wind stayed on longer than I’d hoped, but thankfully it did drop away as we set off for home, making the journey back much more comfortable. All in all, it was a much better day than I expected which was nice. Thanks to everyone for being fantastic company. See you all again soon

07/03/2026

After a day off for some moderate Northerlies, we were back at it again today.

Although the tides are now falling away, there was still plenty for us to fish at anchor. I had another group of anglers on today who I have been constantly cancelling for months on end, so it was great to see them and catch up again.

To make the best use of the tide, we ran south for an hour to an area I haven’t fished this “winter”. Historically it has usually produced a reasonable average size, so that’s what we were hoping for today.

Everyone had plenty of decent bait which is essential and they all knew what they were doing. We arrived just after the Ebb Tide started running and in fairly short order the first signs of feeding fish were evident.

I’d barely got the engine turned off before Jason Shields cranked up a nice plump 4lb Codling. We had a steady 90 minutes before bites dried up, prompting a move. The second spot was rubbish and with only a Codling to show, we dropped back to the zone we started in. That did the job, and we ticked over nicely until we started to swing on the anchor as we lost the tide.

We ran back up towards Whitby to catch the first of the Flood Tide and after it started running we picked up more fish again. Aaron Bannister and Brad Hulme travelled together and Aaron had the most Codling in the morning while Brad kept getting attacked by mainly Pouting and an odd small Codling. Not to be outdone, Brad claimed biggest fish bragging rights when a 6lb Po***ck almost dragged his rod overboard!

The action certainly wasn’t frantic, but we ticked over nicely for most of the day (with the exception of slack water). The average stamp of the Codling wasn’t too bad with quite a lot in the 2.5-4lb bracket.

It’s worth mentioning that everyone fished well today. This makes such a difference to the outcome. Right gear, well presented, right bait and if they’re feeding you’ll catch them. It makes it much easier for me to make decisions on moving or not when you have good anglers aboard.

Thanks lads for a really enjoyable day out. See you all again soon.

04/03/2026

A long awaited settled (ish) period has finally allowed a couple of days back at sea. Today I had a lovely group of lads aboard. Some for the first time and some that are part of the furniture!!

We have great Spring Tides this week, so Uptiding was the order of the day. The Ebb Tide had just got away nicely as we departed; heading North for 20 minutes or so up to Sandsend.

With the anchor set, it took only a few minutes before there were signs of life. Dave Sharp and Ian Purdom got off the mark very quickly, with some nice clean Codling.

Having fished the same mark the day before; catching plenty of mainly small throwback Codling. Today I was pleasantly surprised with the average size as most were well in size with quite a few 3-4lb fish.

The spot produced fairly consistently for a couple of hours allowing everyone to get off the mark, then quietened off which prompted a move.

Next spot saw some quick action again. Before I’d even made the brews Ian Purdom whipped out a nice 6lb 8oz Cod and a few others joined it. Unfortunately the action was short lived as a seal took three fish on the trot and killed the area stone dead…..

We had another short move which kept us ticking over nicely and “seal free” then we started to lose the tide on the run in to slack water. Some changed over to scratching rigs and bounced the baits around. Ian Kellock had his biggest of the day at 5lb on a set of small Hokkai’s baited with squid.

Bait is crucial and everyone brought plenty today. A mix of Squid, Lug, Cart and a few Sardines gave lots of options. We repositioned as the Flood tide pushed through, and initially we picked up a few more fish which was great……

Then the SE wind lifted and spoiled the last couple of hours. It was a shame as the day before, the last hour of the Flood was fairly productive. Every day is different, but today was thoroughly enjoyable with plenty of laughs and a few better fish. Thanks lads.

27/02/2026

It’s been around three months since the opportunity to do some wreck fishing presented itself. With a welcome settled forecast and a great group of lads aboard, today was the day.

It would be fair to say that anticipation levels were high. Visiting wrecks which haven’t seen anglers for a while is rare and always gets everyone chomping at the bit.

With light Northerly winds predicted, we headed North to fish some offshore wrecks in the 20 mile stream and have the wind behind us to bring us home. On the run out, we encountered some huge feed marks around the five mile.

As there were lots marking hard on the bottom, we stopped for a ten minute drift to see what they were. After a few minutes one of the boys brought up a Herring and then a couple of Whiting appeared…..time to move on!

We pushed on to our first wreck, everyone was ready to go, muppet traces baited with either Squid, Mackerel, Herring, Sardine. I would love to wax lyrically about a fantastic account of how we slayed them; but regrettably that wasn’t the case. The whole day was a real struggle……

We fished five wrecks in total. The first one gave only a couple of Pouting, the second one was the most productive yielding about 15 Codling to keep. Third one gave two strap Ling, then literally died. Nothing off the fourth and then a solo Codling off the fifth with some Pouting. Not what everyone had hoped for and I was really disappointed.

After the negativity, it’s definitely worth mentioning that I finally got to see some anglers who I’d cancelled consistently for bad weather all winter. We had some great laughs and it was good to catch up.

When the fishing is hard, it’s just great to spend time in great company. Top rod for the day was Derek Coulson, with biggest and most Codling on his “Top Secret” Lidl Sardines!! After I extracted it from the wreck, Young Alex Krawczenko unfortunately lost a very decent fish on the way up which he (and I) were gutted about.

Ian Kellock, Dave Sharp and my old mate Allan Knaggs kept everyone entertained with their nonstop banter and jokes. Sorry I couldn’t deliver the trip we wanted lads, but it was a day spent in great company. Many Thanks, Andy

21/01/2026

Apologies for the lack of catch reports, but with the atrocious weather through December & January, I haven't been able to get out fishing since just before Christmas.

It's five years now since I took the reins of Sea Urchin from the sadly missed legend, Pete Rose. With us being a commercial vessel; every five years an "out of water" inspection must be conducted by a surveyor, to make sure that everything is still safe and complying with legislation.

With the inspection being due, I also took the opportunity to give the boat an overhaul with cleaning, polishing, anti-foul and freshening up the decals being the main effort.

When we lifted out, I was pleased to see there had been next to no growth underneath the boat. The jet wash from the lads at Coates Marine removed a very light coating of algae and that was about it. I had formulated a work plan, but with it being January, I really needed the weather to be cooperative if I was to have any chance of getting finished on time.

First job was to remove all the old decals, which involved a heat gun, , scrapers, some acetone and a lot of swearing; but eventually we got there!

Now presented with a blank canvass, the next job was to give the boat a good wash and then apply the Starbrite Hull Cleaner to remove all the yellow staining caused by the sunlight. Having used the product before, the transformation is incredible (as the picture probably shows).

With a nice clean boat, it was now time to regenerate the GRP (fibreglass) on the front, back and sides in readiness for the new decals. This was done by using a rubbing compound (Farecla Profile 200 Select) and then adding a topcoat of a fine UV Wax Polish (Farecla Profile Polymer UV Wax).

Previously, I have always polished by hand, but this time I opted for a polishing machine (DeWalt Cordless 180mm with a twisted wool pad) and what a revelation it turned out to be. After considerable effort, the GRP literally looked like new, I couldn't stop looking at it!!

We had a break in works for half a day while Paul Ridley performed the 5 year inspection. It was good to see how thorough Paul was. It was the first time he had been on the boat so he looked everywhere, which was very reassuring. Pleasingly, everything went well and we are good to go again.

Next up, Robert Lamerton from Vinyl Signs & Graphics came and worked his magic for a day and I honestly couldn't have been more pleased with his work. I think the new decals give a nice fresh look and he could not have been more helpful.

The last remaining job was to refresh the "Anti-Foul". For those that don't know, Anti-foul is the product applied to the underside of the boat, which helps prevent marine life like mussels, limpets and w**d growing on the hull; which in turn slows the boat down massively.

With the weather forecast giving a load of rain inbound around midday, we spent a last frantic morning, taping up, sanding and reapplying the Anti-foul (I use International Cruiser 250). It couldn't have worked out better, as the rain started as we finished the last few strokes under the hull. Finally something went my way!

In previous years, I have always done the work on my own; but this time some friends had very kindly volunteered to come through and give me a hand. I have to say a massive thank you to Ian Kellock, Simon West and Dave Sharp. They worked like trojans and saved me a massive amount of time. Thanks lads, you were all absolute legends.

All we need now is a bit of settled weather and the chance to get a few days back out at sea.

Tight Lines

Andy

16/12/2025

After an annoying short notice, full boat cancellation, I messaged the lads who were booked on for Wednesday (as the weather looked terrible), to see if anyone fancied coming out a day earlier. With four willing volunteers, I decided that I was well overdue a days fishing, so that was the crew for the day.

With a 4.7m tide due to start Flooding around 0900hrs we had a 0800hrs start and a steady run down towards Robin Hoods Bay, to catch the first of the new tide.

The tide wasn’t fully away on our first stop, and we just had a few small fish, but mainly tentative rattles; so we had a short move and to be fair, that did the business for the next 3hrs.

No sooner than the baits went over, there were rod tips rattling regularly. A mix of Codling, Doggies, Pouting and a welcome trio of 4lb Po***ck kept everyone entertained.

Derek Coulson had the biggest Codling at just over 5lb and Tony Barrett had two lovely 4lb Po***ck in fairly short order. I had a great time trying to keep two rods in (and failed), so fished one rod as best as I could!

The bites were coming so fast that we didn’t have time to use Crab Cart. We ended up just using straight Squid or Squid and a worm before it got mopped up. Ian Kellock picked away steadily all day and brought up a good few fish, with a strong finish on the Codling. The biggest change I noticed today was that every single Codling we caught was bright white and fresh run, unlike two weeks ago. Really positive signs.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and one of my most enjoyable for a long time. The lads were fantastic company and we all caught a few.

09/12/2025

With Cod Uptiding season now well underway at Whitby, the biggest factor to having a productive day out is using good bait, looking after it and having plenty of it.......

With the boat fishing at anchor under the cliffs, the water is heavily coloured. The fish can literally see nothing and rely on their olfactory glands to track down the scent of their prey.

I've had numerous anglers arrive this winter and not be able to get any bait from the tackle shop in Whitby. They then manage to get a bag of squid and chuck it in a bucket of harbour water to defrost and wash all the scent out. That is a recipe for disaster; so I have taken matters into my own hands now.

The three main winter baits used in Whitby are Dirty Squid, Black Lugworm and Crab Cart. They are by far, the most productive for the Codling, although alternatives like Mussels, Bluey's etc are still worth a go.

I have invested in some chest freezers to keep a decent amount of bait in, so at least I can sort out the anglers who come fishing on Sea Urchin. Anyone who needs bait for their trip is welcome to message me the day before and I will bring it down frozen on the day of the trip. I hold no bait on the boat, so don't expect to turn up get any on the day.

The baits and prices are available as follows:

Dirty Squid - £5.00 per 400g Pack

Black Lugworm - £5.00 per Wrap (10 Worms)

Unsalted Crab Cart - 4 Wings - £5.00 (Will produce 8 baits)

Squid and Lug Wraps - £5.00 (6 Big Baits)

Important Point......... If you are using Crab Cart, you will need to bring a flask to keep the bait frozen all day. Defrosted unsalted crab cart is rubbish and just washes away and will give you no benefit to using it.

If you have any questions, just drop me a message on 07855 439380

Tight Lines

Andy

08/12/2025

With the very unsettled weather of late, it was great to get another Uptiding trip in on Sunday.

The forecast was giving a reasonable enough day up until the turn of tide after dinner, at which point the SE wind was due to lift and pushing against the flooding tide could potentially get a bit sloppy.

Hakan and six of his friends had already travelled from the North West and were in Whitby, so we decided that it was definitely worth a run out.

Once they climbed aboard, it was clear to see that they were experienced anglers. The tackle and rigs were “on point” and they had more Crab Cart, Black Lug and Squid than you could shake a stick at!

With decent enough results on Saturday, we ran south again towards Robin Hoods Bay to catch the Ebb Tide. With the anchor down, it took literally no time at all before the rods were showing signs of interest. I’d barely got the engine turned off before Oliver Venus hustled up a nice plump 4lb Codling.

We had a steady hour with everyone getting off the mark, before we started to lose a bit of tide and the boat started swinging. As the tide gradually eased, we pushed further South towards the end of Robin Hood’s Bay to keep the fish coming.

On the run-in to slack, the wind started to build from the SE (as predicted). We had already agreed to run back up to Saltwick through slack water and that’s what we did. I had hoped that the Spring tide would once again beat the wind and hold the boat steady, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

We persevered for an hour, but the continual swinging on the anchor saw only two small fish coming aboard, but quite a bit of lost tackle. If the boat had held still, I’m confident we’d have kept ticking over. In the end we called it an hour early and got back in for just after 1500hrs.

It wasn’t a Red Letter Day, but everyone got a few and were great company. Hopefully see you again soon lads.

07/12/2025

What a brilliant two days fishing. Thanks to event organiser John Wright and all the anglers for a fantastic event. Lovely to meet up with some old acquaintances and meet some new friends.

03/12/2025

It’s feels like an eternity since I last posted a catch report. To be fair, the reality matches the feeling; with less than ten days at sea since the beginning of October. Rubbish weather has sadly put paid to many trips. Today we took the chance to have a go, even though conditions didn’t look fantastic.

Every year I put on three days of Competitions in December to give something back to my regular anglers who usually book on. We had the “Biggest Bag” Cod Competition today and a more motley crew you’d do well to find!!

Rules were simple. Fishing one rod only, catch a Codling, measure it and that will equate to a number of points allocated to the length in centimetres. Anglers with the most points at the end of the day win: 1st - £100, 2nd - £50 & 3rd £40.

We ran south a few miles before getting the anchor down. With a couple of hours to go until slack water, the lads got busy with their Uptiding traces. There were a wide selection of baits brought, but Squid, Crab Cart and Black Lug were the most prevalent.

After only a few minutes, the first Codling was brought aboard by Del Moran. At 51cm (around 4lb) it was a nice start. There were regular bites around the boat for half an hour, then it quietened as we lost some tide. The next ninety minutes we moved twice to try and stay on the fish.

As the first flushes of Flood tide came through, we had a decent half hour, with fish consistently coming aboard. By this point everyone had Cod on their scoresheets and I updated the lads with the current standings throughout the day.

With thirty minutes left, there were only 80 points separating the top three, which equated to a 37cm Codling, so any of them could win.

In the end, Gordon Blyth held on for the win with eight Codling measuring 3.52m, despite catching nothing for the first couple of hours. Del Moran was 2nd and Ian Kellock took 3rd. We caught 45 Codling overall, but nothing massive, with a handful of 4lb fish being the best; but the banter and laughs were brilliant. A thoroughly enjoyable day for me after a long lay off. Thanks lads, you were fantastic company

08/11/2025

After a three week lay off for poor weather, I was really looking forward to getting back to sea.

I had a mixed group aboard today; some of whom have fished with me many times and a few who were new customers. We headed North at first light on a still, warm morning to catch the start of the Ebb Tide.

With it being a big Spring tide, fishing at anchor on the rough ground was the plan for the day. Only a short hop of a couple of miles and we were fishing.

The lads went in with 6oz grip leads and flowing traces baited with mainly dirty squid and black lugworm. This is the standard go-to at Whitby for Uptiding. It didn’t take long before a few rods started showing signs of life.

Barry Allcock got off to a good start taking a fish almost every cast for the first hour. Unfortunately they were all small Codling or Pouting so were put back to fight another day. Dan Evans did find one slightly better Codling, but it was clear to me that the fish were not dialled in and feeding with any gusto.

We had a couple of moves during the morning, trying areas of different depth and tide strengths etc, but we didn’t unlock the code and just picked up odd fish here and there.

The Flood tide was through just after dinner and it was noticeable that as the tide built, there were definitely a few more bites to be had from the Codling. Simon West took the biggest of the day at 6lb 12oz and Dan Evans had a six pounder as well.

It was far from a red letter day, but everyone was superb company and I am just grateful for the support and the chance to get back to sea.

I would advise anyone coming Uptiding to try and secure some good bait (Dirty Squid, Black Lugworm and Crab Cart), it really does make a huge difference. Unfortunately you won’t be able to get any from the shop in Whitby on the day, as they don’t open until later in the day.

If you’re fishing with me, feel free to contact me for any bait needs and I’ll do my best to help. Tight Lines, Andy