the mackrel are in !!

Just been out in the boat yesterday and caught a box and a half of decent cod from 15lb to 3lb and lo and behold about a dozen mackrel which are very early round these parts (near whitby),this is usually a good sign for catching cod but they are swines for getting hooked up before you can reach the bottom for the cod ,but one the other hand they are a very tasty dinner.....

whitby on the UK's North East Coast?

Yes thats the plaice ,actually im a few miles north of whitby (saltburn ) but most anglers know of whitby,,we went out sunday just gone and caught 9 cod all about three pounds ,tons of fish about but would they hell take any bait .The ones we did land were all full of brittle stars ,the weather was a bit rainy and there was absolutely no movement on the water which is what we are blaming for the lack of fish but theres all summer to go yet.