Last Saturday saw competitors from across the Guardian readership area lining the North Beach at Hornsea for the annual Guardian invitation beach match.

The weather which saw the thermometer never reach above freezing all day, dropped even further with the onset of darkness and thick patchy fog, this coupled with a northerly surf crashing on to the beach made almost perfect conditions for Cod and Whiting. It's just a pity the fish didn't know this and bites were few and far between with the majority being small dabs and flounders with the occasional whiting thrown in for good measure.

All the whiting seemed to be of a similar stamp with the events winner Colin Roscoe of Treeton weighing in a whiting of 1lb 8oz and joint second John Hunt of Rhodesia and Roger Stocks a mere ounce behind on 1lb 7oz.

A special mention must go to Worksop youngster Shaun Whitworth who is a pupil at St Johns school and at just seven years old, stuck out in conditions that saw some hardened veterans leave the beach early due to the intense cold. Shaun unfortunately did not manage to get amongst the fish on this occasion but was applauded for his determination and dedication to see the six hour event out to the (very) bitter end and he was rewarded for his efforts with the Ray Mallendar commerative junior trophy and a tackle voucher.

Some of the contestants opted to stay overnight rather than face the long drive home and they were all unaminous in recommending the Albert and Victoria Guest House whose proprietor Graham Hird is himself an avid fisherman and caters for fishing parties and is will to arrange bait etc for guests.

On the theme of sea baits which can be notoriously hard to come by sometimes, it is worth noting that Ken Ward sports has started to stock a range of frozen gulley lug and other baits which will prove invaluable for those unplanned, impromptu sessions at this time of the year.


Good fishing to you all

Roger Stocks