At last! The good old days are back with a 17.5lb cod off the beach at Aldborough.

That’s HUGE by anyone’s standards and it’s not a one-off. You’ve told us about regularly catching 12 pounders all up the east coast, and bagging 4-5 pounders off the pier. As one angler told us, big bait is catching big fish.

But keep it quiet. We don’t want the trawlers coming in and scooping up our fish. There should be a restriction to give the fish - and the sports anglers - a chance. When there are restrictions on catches left right and centre, it seems the most obvious move to make to preserve the fish stocks and a retail angling industry that is an important part of the UK economy.

In the meantime, keep fishing with big bait and keep telling us about it. We’d love to publish your photos here too.

What a week!

We’ve had a great first week. Lots of people coming in, lots of compliments on how the shop looks - thank you for those - and lots of suggestions from you about what you’d like to buy. And thank you for your support and encouragement. We really appreciate it.

We’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you think ought to be in stock and we’ll try to get it in as a regular line. Or if it’s a special order, we can get it for you in a couple of days, provided it’s in stock with our suppliers.

It’s getting closer and the early bird gets a discount. Buy your tickets by post from us,
or call into the shop. With £25,000 prize money, you’d be mad not to.

Is it going to be a cold winter, with wind from the north and east? We hope so, as on the east coast, as that’s when the cod will be in.

Cod like cold winters to chase away their predators to warmer waters, leaving their eggs and fry to grow in peace. And when the wind stirs up the water, the cod have plenty to feed on.

For best results for cod, whether you’re fishing from the shore or boat, come and talk to us. We’ll recommend the best bait, rigs and gear. And pray for bad weather!

Sounds ridiculous we know, but it has been put forward in a Government White Paper.
This isn’t something we should be complacent about – it has been introduced in
Portugal and sea angling has dropped off significantly. Don’t let it happen here -
write to your MP. If you don’t know who represents you, check it out at http:/www.parliament.uk.

If you open any of the fishing magazines, a mail order catalogue will fall out and you’ll find a good many pages devoted to mail order sales. As a tackle shop owner, I should be spitting feathers and crying foul.

But, I like looking at them too. And I have bought from them – before Harry’s of Bridlington was up and running, of course!

What we have to do as tackle shop owners is to learn from what they do well. They display stock logically and attractively. They describe the rods, reels and bits well, giving us a hint of the huge fish we might catch using them. They are open usually longer than we are – often 24/7 with internet shopping. Then there’s the prices, often but not always competitive. Plus, there’s no miserable, cumudgeonly so-and-so to deal with.

But what do we miss out on using mail order? In my opinion, a whole lot. Firstly, we know the fishing inside out in our local area. We can tell you what works, and make sure you catch fish rather than a cold.  You can tell us what you’d like to buy and we’ll move heaven and earth to source it for you. We’re happy to talk through what you need, recommending something that is best for you, not what’s on promotion this week. We’re here, delivering high quality fresh bait when you need it.

A friend who owns a huge restaurant chain made me laugh recently. He said there’s an old saying that a man who can’t smile shouldn’t open a shop. I agree totally. So you’ll find a genuine Yorkshire welcome here.

Next time you’re thinking of ordering over the phone, or online, give us a call or drop in. We might just shake up your expectations.

This blog is one angler’s view of our world of fishing. I’ll be talking about what you tell me are your favourite marks, baits and rigs. I’ll also share some of my top tips. And we’ll celebrate the best catches.

If you email your fishing questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. And if I don’t know, I’ll find someone in the clubs, boats or pier who does. It’s a way of keeping in touch – our own local fishing magazine.

Good to have you along.

Steve