Turnbull snaps up first Whitby Sea Anglers Association League win of 2026
Darlington’s Davey Turnbull earned man of the match at the first Whitby Sea Anglers Association match of 2026.
Over the past week we have had an icy blast of strong Northerlies, mountainous seas, and heavy disruptive snowfall.
Sunday night’s match kicked off the new year with 8-12ft Northerly swell on a fast-ebbing tide.
There were 17-22mph NWesterly winds, -4°C (before wind chill) were cuttingly cold, and wet fingers soon became painful whilst baiting-up.
Match started 90 minutes after HWater, water was thick with colour, and members were hopeful of a decent catch.
Crystal clear skies, a very bright Wolf moon emerged over the clouded horizon at 7pm.
Disappointment soon set-in, heavy surging, the bright moon and a fast-ebbing tide, the fish were either not there, or not feeding.
Fish bites were surprisingly non-existent for the first hour, and did not inspire any enthusiasm for some to stick it out, deciding the best options were to move and try marks further afield.
At the scales, of the 10 fishing just seven had a weigh-in of 12 codlings.
Man of the Match was Turnbull with 5lb 10½oz (2), his best 4lb 7oz took Heaviest Fish of the night setting the bar for January’s Monthly Sweeps.
Turnbull fished the Amble Open during the day and finished fourth overall, reporting he lost a potential match-winning fish.
On December 29 Cloughton Rocks hosted 70 anglers at their Festive Sweepstake.
Congratulations to WSAA member Rob ‘Tink’ Taylor who won the event with seven codlings for 20lb 14oz.
Top 5 Leaderboard: 1st Brian Harland - 153 fish 116lb 14oz, 2nd Dave Ward - 131 fish 84lb 7oz, 3rd Dave Perrett - 78 fish 78lb 15oz, 4th Peter Horbury - 53 fish 61lb 5oz, 5th Davey Turnbull - 18 fish 57lb 9oz.