Skipper: Richard Ward
Back in the 80’s the angling charter job was really only a seasonal thing and so I decided to gain some experience on the commercial side of things and worked aboard a few trawlers and netting boats, thus gathering even more information about the sea.
35 years down the line the knowledge of the wrecks and grounds we have off Whitby are second to none as some of the pictures of “Big catches” and individual “Big Fish” show in the Gallery section of this site.
I am a fanatical angler myself and am often seen having a go. My idea is “If your skipper is trying hard himself then there is a very good chance that you’re in the right place. If he’s sat on his arse in the wheelhouse all day… then who knows?!” Should anyone require assistance on the boat then I will be there like a shot. If anyone should require advise PLEASE don’t be afraid to ask. It’s free and available any time, on the boat, on the telephone (between 8a.m and 8pm) and here on the site. (A bit of good advise) Very often a lot of the fish don’t need gaffing and when well hooked can simply and steadily be lifted over the side by grabbing hold of your trace line. DON’T try and crane them aboard using your rod as this is a highly dangerous occupation! If your fish need the gaff then we’ll be there. If it has been a slow day and I have caught a few fish myself I very often give them to those who haven’t done so well cos I’m a kind hearted sort of chap! I am also a big disbeliever on “The further you go the bigger the fish get” theory. My theory is that you never know where you’re going to get the big one. All the winning “Angling Festival” fish we’ve caught over the years (and there have been a good few as shown in the Gallery section) have come within 30 miles of Whitby, and a lot of them were actually inside 10 miles!
Even the National record cod of over 58lbs from Whitby was caught inside 30 miles and there was even a cod over 50lbs caught in a commercial boats nets within 2 miles, yes 2 miles of Whitby pier ends!!!!!! I think this puts paid to the idea that you have to travel a hundred miles or more to find the big one.
The so called “offshore option” advertised on some boats these days is fine if you don’t mind steaming (for days!) and paying for sleeping for half of your trip. When you look at the statistics for the best fish Whitby has produced over the years, you soon realise that the big fella might just be sat on the doorstep.
Over the last few years our better catches of cod over all have been within 12 miles of Whitby.
However the wrecks around the 20 mile have also produced some good bags of fish and all on 10 and 12 hour trips.
One of the good things about having the speed is that if the fishing is a bit slow on the inside we can be working the wrecks and ground offside within the hour if the conditions are good.
