Inside Information, Amble
To the wider angling public, the small fishing port of Amble in Northumberland is arguably one of the north east coast, and probably the countries best kept angling secrets. Fortunately for me, a secret I cottoned on to quite a few years ago. That said, it had been quite a few years since I was last there, a fact brought home to me by the facilities on offer when I returned to the port recently for an early summer day out with Dave Builth who originally hails from Middlesex 28 years ago, aboard his Offshore 105 'Upholder'.
This actually was also my first time chartering from the port, all previous visits having been made trailing and fishing from my own boat, and in both those respects, Amble is an ideal destination. For not only is there good offshore wreck and rough ground fishing, arguably more important still both for visiting charter parties not wanting to have trips cancelled due to poor weather, as well as for the smaller boats in need of good sheltered inshore options to fall back on, is the fact that there is some very good Cod fishing to be had within a stones throw of the Coquet River mouth.
A mile or so to the south of the river exit lies Coquet Island which is surrounded by shelving reefy ground well sheltered from the prevailing westerly air flow. In fact, in the build up to this trip, while much of western Britain was being subjected to some especially windy and unseasonal conditions, Dave and his parties were still getting out and regularly coming back with catches of 80, 90, even 100 or more Cod to several pounds when many of the rest of us were unfortunately shore bound. Excellent inshore fishing. But lets' not also forget the wider picture and the bigger offshore fish potential too.
Getting There
Getting to Amble is straight forward enough. From whatever direction you happen to be travelling, it lies just to the east of the main A1(M) to the north of Newcastle. Coming from the north, it's probably best to pick up the A1068 which runs directly into the town. From the south, exit the A1 on to the B6345 signposted to the tiny village of Felton. Again, this road runs directly in to the town. Once there, the sign posts are clear enough. If it's a charter trip you are doing, then head for the harbour which is just inside the river on the south bank. Look for the harbour masters office which is just a little more seaward than the most of the river moored boats. There is a pay and display car park there costing £2.10 per day. Directly in front of that is a set of steps which the boats pull up to to take on their parties. Dinghy anglers however will need to head out of town slightly away from the open sea to the where Coquet yacht club and Amble boat club both have their head quarters adjacent to the marina. This is accessed via a sign posted track off the main road heading out of town. You then come to a tiny traffic island with both club buildings just off to the left. The launching slip, which is concrete blocks down to around half tide, is directly in front of you, with free car parking just off the access track on the way in.
The two main attraction fish species here are Cod and Ling. There are all sorts of other species in smaller numbers too, both on the hard ground and the softer stuff closer in to the bays. But it's the hard ground, the reefs and the wrecks which far and away get the most attention here. And the big plus is that the hard ground, which is everywhere, starts pretty much the minute you leave the harbour mouth. A mile or so to the right (south) is Coquet Island beyond which there is a lot of good, fish holding reefy ground as evidenced by the numbers of lobster pot flags dotted about the place. In our Warrior 175, this would be little more than a 5 minute blast to the main down shelving part of the reef. A little longer obviously aboard one of the charter boats. And while it is sheltered, this mark is a great place to kick things off regardless of the weather, and possibly to stick with all trip if, as often happens, the fishing on the day warrants it.
In the run up to the day I spent with Dave aboard 'Upholder' we'd previously called the visit off several times. Not so much because of it being unfishable, because anything from west-south-west through to west, which is our worst direction over on the Lancashire coast, comes directly off the land. Then it's down to strength and the fact that while you can get out and may well find the best of the fishing in close anyway, you are none the less restricted. So with the wind a little stronger than we might have liked, the vast majority of the 30 or more wrecks within 10 miles of the shore would then have been off limits to better show case the venue, which was why we kept putting the trip on hold, hoping to have everything available to us if required. Ironically however, on the day before the trip, Dave's party had taken 91 Cod to over 7 pounds just off the island. So obviously, that had to be our first port of call.
Now Amble very often fishes better on the smaller to middle range tides than the real biggie's with a season running between April and October. Unfortunately, on this small tide, the weather was so settled first thing in the morning that when we positioned over the reef for our first drift, we had neither the run nor the breeze to give the boat any movement at all. Looking back on the day now, as predicted by Dave at the time, the fishing did pick up later as the tide started to run. But for the first hour it was as many good sized Mackerel as you could ever want, plus a few small Codling. But not enough to warrant investing very much time into really. So it was decided to spend the day offshore flitting between several close proximity wrecks with the option of moving back in later if word came over the grapevine that those who had stayed put were doing better than us.
In the end, that move back inshore was not brought into play. Offshore we were picking up a little bit more breeze, by which time the tide had also started its slow push, and we were into fish pretty much straight away. However, as is so often the case, what those fish were depended very much on tactics. Mackerel were so numerous everywhere we dropped in that unless counter measures were deliberately taken, they were not going to allow the baits free passage down to the bottom where the Cod and Ling would be feeding. A case then of deliberately making your hooks Mackerel proof, which was really down to bait size.
They still tend to fish a variety of smaller lures on droppers strung out above a pirk here, which is traditional for the middle sectre of North Sea, but which has also seen some deviation away from at the bigger charter ports further down along the Yorkshire, brought about by the last slump in fish numbers which now appears to have well and truly rectified itself. I know that at Whitby for example, they started experimenting with anchoring inshore and uptiding, and offshore using shads, both of which have brought results. But from what Dave tells me, that has not been the case at Amble where it's remained business as usual. So the favoured lures such as big hokkais, muppets, daylights and the like, with either a fully rigged pirk for a weight, or a piece of lead filled chrome tube to help draw fish in to the smaller lures are still 'the method'. All of these lures will potentially catch plenty of Cod. But equally, all can also be small enough for the Mackerel to grab on the way down, hence the use of big lumps of bait to put them outside the size range of any smaller un-wanted fish.
Actually, bait here can be very good in its own right. And one of the top baits is a large cooked prawn, either on a single hook lure, or just a hook, which the lads have been buying in from ASDA and the like. Lugworm can also be a very good bait, as can squid. But for the most part, quarter and half fillets of Mackerel will also do the business, which surprisingly isn't only good for turning up the Ling. Plenty of Cod too were also going for the Mackerel baited lures. If you specifically want to try for Ling, a good percentage of which go in to double figures, and fairly regularly can top 20 pounds over the wrecks at depths usually between 30 and 45 metres, then a flowing trace or single dropper with a 6/0 to 8/0 hook tied to fairly hefty mono of around 80 lbs bs carrying a Mackerel flapper or a full fillet is arguably the best approach.
If it's a particularly tackle hungry wreck, then the dropper approach will probably last longer than the trailing flowing trace on the drift. With that in mind, why not attach your lead using a weak link in case it's that which gets stuck. Elastic bands, paper clips and thinner mono all potentially can work well. Obviously the risk is reduced inshore over the shallower reefs which typically go down to between 15 and 20 metres. Ballan Wrasse, and what the locals call Granny Fish (Sea Scorpions) are also quite commonly caught closer to shore, along with some small Pollack. As a point of guidance, the lead requirement is typically between 10 ounce and a pound, with plenty of spares to offset any losses. If you get really tight inshore over any available soft ground tucked into the sandier looking bays, you can also catch Plaice and Dabs on lugworm. But without doubt the most unusual catch of late, made just a couple of weeks before my visit, though not on rod and line unfortunately, was a couple of Bonito in one of the drift nets placed to catch Salmon entering the Coquet River.
The first wreck we fished was given just a few short drifts. At that time the tide was still hardly moving leaving the boat almost stationary over the target. And while we picked up fish, again the action wasn't fast enough for Dave who decided to move to a second wreck just a few hundred yards away. Again, this gave up fish, but still we had very little in the way of ground coverage. Time then for another move. Fortunately, by the time we reached wreck number three, the tide had actually got going, and bingo, we hit the jackpot pretty much right away. Nothing spectacular in terms of size. I would say that the best Cod was possibly around 8 pounds with the Ling maybe nudging double figures. But this time fish were coming up all around the boat, sometimes two at a time.
So hectic was it at one stage that there were two landing nets on the go, at times each coming up with two fish in it. Meanwhile, news from the inshore reef marks was equally good. The fish there had also switched on with the run. So it's difficult to know really whether it might have been better overall to have stayed in close or as we did, make the run off. As Dave said, it's hard with a party of paying customers on board to sit around waiting for things to happen, even if you are confident that it ultimately will. You need to be seen to be doing something about it. At least within a reasonable distance from base, boat fisherman at Amble have the potential to pick and choose, with the sheltered option of only the closest in reefs for those days when choice is for the most part taken out of your hands.
Mark No 1 – Coquet Island: N 551998 – W 013170
This is the reef I mentioned earlier just to the south of the island, putting it at around two miles out from base. As I said earlier, you can't really miss it. Just look for the pot marker flags. To be a bit more precise, if you look back shoreward to the mainland there is a church with a spire. Line that up with the left hand end of the island where the grass gives way to the bare rocks before they gradually disappear under the water. Easier still, turn on you GPS and put in the coordinates. Cod are probably the dominant species here, though there will also be a good chance of Ballan Wrasse. Just keep an eye out for the pot markers, some of which have trailing lengths of rope which if they don't foul up with you end tackle, could get wrapped around the engines prop.
Mark No 2 – Boulmer Buoy: N 552370 – W 013270
Another typically hard ground mark likely to produce good numbers of Cod in around 18 metres of water around 2½ miles to the north of the harbour entrance. The buoy is no longer there.
Mark No 3 – The wreck of the 'Aspire': N 552171 - W012760
This is a small wreck of a trawler which went down during the mid 1990's, so not the best of targets when experiencing plenty of push from either the wind or the tide, or worse still both. But a wreck mark non the less which Dave has kindly gave the coordinates for BFM readers to try. Cod and Ling should be the dominant inhabitants.
Note:
Although Amble is on the east coast, for GPS purposes, it is still west of the zero point where west meets east at the Greenwich Meridian.Fact Box
Shop – Amble Angling Centre, 4 Newburgh Street, Amble, NE65 0AQ. Tel. 01665 711200. Good range of appropriate tackle, some fresh bait, and always plenty of frozen. ?There is also McDermotts on Station Road at nearby Ashington. Tel. 01670 812 214.
Launch Site – Coquet Yacht Club/Amble Boat Club. Concrete available from around half tide up into the Coquet River close to the marina. It might be possible to get in and out at other times with a good 4WD vehicle. Free car parking adjacent. Payment of £10.50 per launch made at the harbour masters office (Tel. 01665 710306) close to harbour entrance. When I asked about documentation such as RYA PB2 certificate & insurance, I was told these were not required, but if you have any then take them anyway just in case. There is a 4 mph speed limit inside the river.
Tides - Amble tide tables. Amble tide tables.
Saftey – For 24 hour Coastguard coverage, Amble falls under the jurisdiction of Humber Coastguard at Bridlington, Tel. 01262 607321, though there is a local part time service based in the town itself. Tel. 01665 710575.
RNLI – The RNLI have both inshore and offshore boats based at Amble. Tel. 01665 712460.
Weather – Either HM Coastguard, Tel. 01262 607321, or MetOffice
Charter Boats -
The only full time charter boat at Amble is the boat I fished from, 'Upholder', skippered by Dave Builth, Tel. 01665 712561 or 07971 108737. There are however three that do it part time, particularly at weekends, these being 'Natalie Kristen II' skippered by Kevin Henderson, Tel. 01665 711200 or 07774938203, 'Warlord' skippered by Geoff Davidson, Tel. 01665 712184 or 07918153107, and 'Elizabeth Jade' skippered by Graham Elliot, Tel. 079314030.
RATINGS OUT OF 5
Location and travel - **** (4)
Facilities - **** (4)
Tackle Shop – **** (4)
Location Safety - **** (4)
Fish Quality – ****( 4)