For anglers up and down the UK, there’s nothing better than when the warm weather arrives. Setting up a chair and a couple of lines across a calm lake or taking a boat out to sea for a day is always best when the sun’s out, and this summer looks set to be another scorcher. In fact, the likelihood of there being a whole bunch of hot days here is apparently great enough for the Met Office to consider naming the heat waves to raise awareness.
Naturally, it’s vital that all anglers in the UK prepare accordingly. Lots of bottles of water, some shade, high-factor sun cream, and ample food need to be as important to your days on the water as your tackle box. With that all sorted, though, it’s easy to see why angling looks to be very popular over the summer months in the North East.
Angling booming in the UK
Source: Pexels
In 2016, there were over 124,000 active anglers (fishing twice a week within the month of the survey) reported in the UK. In 2017, that number sunk to 107,600 participants, but in 2023, that number rose to a post-2016 high of 108,500. Extrapolate to just going angling once a year but at sea, and the count climbs to 800,000, with those anglers amassing over seven million days of fishing.
As it goes, the sport has only continued to grow in fame over the last several years. This is almost certainly powered by the amount of entertainment media that focuses on fishing. Local star Robson Green has made quite a collection of fishing shows, and Jeremy Wade’s River Monsters remains an entertaining and intriguing showcase of catching some of the biggest and most exotic fish in the world.
Beyond television, fishing has become the trending theme in another form of entertainment – perhaps the strangest of the sport’s successful crossovers. Among all of the new casino games available online, you’ll see fishing as the most common theme. Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, Fishin’ Frenzy, Big Mouth Fishin’, and Big Bass Floats My Boat are all reeling in the players to catch the fish cash symbols with the fishermen.
Scratching that angling itch in the North East
Source: Unsplash
In the North East, you’ll never be hard-pressed to find a great place to cast a line. If you fancy doing so by the sea, Berwick-upon-Tweed, particularly Gosswick Beach, is stellar. If the weather’s nice and calm, you can venture over towards the harbour to try to catch some mullet. Seahouses is also worth marking on your map for a fine collection of potential catches. Mackerel, pollock, and plaice have all been caught by the pier.
Remaining inland, you should turn to Durham for a grand selection of river and still-water fishing options. Watergate Fishing Lake in Murton is loaded up with tench, rudd, carp, bream, and roach, while across the five Aldin Grange Lakes, you can look to hook in roach, carp, bream, perch, and crucians. While in the North East, it’d be a shame not to go to the Angel of the North lakes, which are known to yield carp, chub, bream, roach, and tench.
Angling’s surging in popularity across the UK in many different forms, and lucky for everyone in the North East, it doesn’t take long to find an idyllic place to bait up a hook.