Still Famous at Hartlepool.
The backbone of my sea angling is dinghy fishing. It always has been and always will be. That said, like all small boating enthusiasts I'll wager, I get frustrated when long awaited opportunities are lost to the weather, and so another season ticks by partially un-fulfilled. So much so that in recent times I've started adding a few 'bankers' to my plans in the form of charter trips either to venues, or for species, I wouldn't expect to see in the normal course of events, and in that regard I recently found myself trawling through the web pages of Charter Boats UK looking for inspiration.
It was there that I came across Hartlepool based Dave Lumley who skippers a Blyth Cat named 'Famous'. Now there's a blast from the past. Back in the 1970's when a group of us used to travel all over the place in search of good boat fishing, we regularly fished Hartlepool aboard a converted 48 foot trawler skippered by Tom Williams named 'Famous'. So the memories immediately came flooding back. That was in the days before Whitby and the other ports either side of Hartlepool started making a big name for themselves with huge Cod hauls from the wrecks. I remember catching my first ever Catfish or Wolf Fish aboard 'Famous', so once I'd taken the rose tinted glasses off, I couldn't help but wonder how both the 'Famous' and the Hartlepool of today would compare to those of 40 odd years ago. Only one way to find out.
Back in the 1970's we only ever drift fished hard ground and with bait. I knew both from what I'd read, plus days out from neighbouring ports, that tactically things had most certainly changed out of all recognition. Even in those early days, bait was giving way to jiggers and muppets. And so it remained until probably around the late 80's or early 90's when the big Cod and bumper catches started to slip off the radar. Coinciding with some of this was the loss of the collieries after the miners strike which also took away a huge chunk of potential regular bookings, as miners were one of the mainstays of the area at that time. So something of a double whammy in some respects, forcing both boat skippers and those anglers remaining to have a serious re-think in terms of tactics, marks, and their target fish.
This probably lies at the heart of the current boom in fishing shads. I understand that uptiding inshore over the winter months for smaller Cod, and shadding for Pollack inshore were also tried. Bait fishing was to some extent also resurrected. Then of course, as hokkai's and the like came on to the scene, these too, both baited and jigged, started playing their hand, and like the shads have continued playing their part since fish numbers have climbed back up over the past several years. Not to the level they were at in their hey day. But more than enough, particularly in terms of Cod over the summer months to keep everyone happy all the way from the east coast of Scotland down to the Humber, with Hartlepool conveniently located somewhere around mid point.
I asked Dave Lumley about the name 'Famous' explaining that that was the sole reason for booking this particular trip. Apparently, Tom Williams replaced the original 'Famous' with a glass boat which he didn't like and eventually sold on to Dave's family who kept the name each time they changed to a better boat. And not only has the boat been given a transformation, but also the town, and more especially the dock area. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I well remember the place as being run down to put it mildly, whereas now the boats are moored up in a plush purpose built marina fringed by bars and eateries around the edge of the huge car parking area right alongside the boats.
All of that said, the big question would always be how the fishing would compare both to my old bait fishing memories, and more importantly, to how it was when this whole sectre of the North Sea enjoyed it's main boom years. Not knowing the answer to that, and determined to cover all options, five of us made the journey across taking with us a huge selection of pirks, muppets, shads, hokkai's and bait, determined that whatever those needs were, we would all be suitably armed, much of which I have to say did not see light of day, and next time around would most certainly be left at home.
As well as being skipper of the boat, Dave Lumley is also a very keen angler who fished the same number of hours as the rest of us did on the day. Most charter boat skippers tend mainly to fish when angler numbers are low. But not on this incarnation of the 'Famous'. The Blyth Cat is a monster of a boat with an enormous beam and all round access. So much room in fact that we probably all could have drift fished from the one side and over the stern, leaving plenty of room for Dave over the other side to plod away with his Storm shad which took some very nice Cod and Ling.
Unsure what to take with regard to hand tackle, I put out two outfits in. The heavier of the pair was a 50 pound class ABU Suveran Pro Boat rod paired with a Shimano TLD25 loaded with braid, which became my Mackerel rod and back up on the day, as I preferred to stick with a 30 pound class Shimano Exage travel rod which I hadn't used since Norway where it coped with everything from big Cod to heavy lures. In Norway it had been paired to the TLD25, but here I teamed it up with a Fladden Ugly Boat reel loaded with 300 metres of 50 lbs braid, which I have to say is not normally my first choice when it comes to line. For my money, too many anglers are using braid in situations where mono not only can but will do a better job. However, fishing in 55 metres of water on the drift over hard ground, the enhanced feel of the bottom that braid can deliver can be invaluable in avoiding hand-ups. So braid it was.
Dave had told us to bring leads in the 12 to 16 ounce bracket, and we each packed plenty to offset potential losses, which looking around the boat simply didn't occur. He also recommended the shads in a range of colours, the favourites of which can change on a daily basis, and to bring along some Storm Fat Boy hokkai's, again in a range of colours. Bait was something else we should consider, but he advised against bringing it along as the Mackerel had been so prolific, and he wasn't wrong on that score. Not only were they numerous, but also big, so a request for 10 minutes at them on the way back in for eating was also placed. Other than that, smaller hokkai's and a few sets of feathers are also recommended, though much of what you might ultimately need can also be bought on the boat.
As I say, we brought way to much gear, most of which could and should have been left at home. Speaking personally now, next time I go I'll be taking nothing more than a few 12 and 16 ounce leads, a selection of Fat Boys, and some smaller standard hokkai's. If it's Cod you want, simply jig them without bait, and for the Ling, add a nice slice of Mackerel. Better still, do what I did and bait them regardless, jigging until your arms get tired, then fishing them hard on the bottom while you take a break. And if it's a crack at the smaller Cod, loads of Whiting, some of which were up to 3 ½ pounds, plus the chance of a Haddock, then small baits on the smaller hokkai's are the best approach.
If you really want to concentrate on the Ling, then a simple trace baited with a side of Mackerel is probably best, though we still had plenty of them on the baited Fat Boys. Personally speaking again, if I were bait fishing specifically for the Ling, I'd use a dropper of a couple of feet attached above the lead rather than a flowing trace. Hooks trailing the bottom have a greater tendency to get hung up or have their points blunted. Mono of between 60 and 80 pounds bs is about right with a 6/0 hook. It depends very much on the time of year. Early to mid summer, Cod tend to be the dominant species. Late summer from September onwards is the best time for the bigger Ling. We fished it in August which lies between the two, so our tactics were probably best suited to the fish mix at that time.
So how did the old Hartlepool and fishing aboard 'Famous' compare across the years. Well for starters, had we fished the same rigs with bait as we did in the 1970's, we would probably have caught pretty much the same sizes and mix of fish, as evidenced by the small baited hokkai's. But there were definitely more Haddock around back then, and we weren't seeing the same numbers of Ling, which with Dave were most definitely the dominant species. Gone too are the Spurdogs we used to catch, but the odd Catfish, Anglerfish, and even small Halibut are still on the cards. The Cod certainly seem to be more regularly of better size, and the Ling fishing now is actually very good indeed. So all things considered, the 'Famous' of today and the fishing it can provide is far and away an improvement on what went before, or seemed to go before, as the difference in tactics between then and now could well account for some of that.
What is also a consideration for us coming as we do from Lancashire on the west coast, is that with the winds around the UK coming predominantly from a west to south west direction, while we may well be blown off, boats over on the east coast are still regularly getting out. It was quite literally howling over side when we set off, and still a bit cool and breezy in the early morning at Hartlepool marina. There was a bit of swell as you might expect, but nothing a boat like 'Famous' couldn't readily take in its stride. Then later in the day under a clear blue sky, even that bit of sea fell right away. So you are less likely to loose trips over there, and can always tuck in close if conditions dictate, making it a venue to be added to our must return list, despite the initial booking coming from nothing other than pure nostalgia.