THE weather last week was very settled and this has allowed us to get out and give our anglers some fantastic sport with a super mix of cod and thornbacks.

There has been a big influx of codling into our estuaries with 50-60 caught some days, these fish are mainly 2-4 lb with occasional better fish, most falling to a squid and lug combo.

There has been a steady improvement with the thornbacks showing up inshore with a lot of the smaller males returning, the bigger spawning females will return within the next few weeks.

The best baits for the thornbacks are squid, rag, crab, mackerel and anything fishy.

Offshore is similar with plenty of codling and thornbacks although the dogfish will soon start to appear.

There is always a chance of a double figure cod in the next few weeks before they move off.

The piers and beach marks are producing codling, whiting and odd thornbacks on the big spring tides with the prime time mid-flood to mid-ebb.

There are good numbers of codling, whiting and a few thornbacks in the Blackwater Estuary, these fish mainly feed on the big spring tides and drop out on the neap tides.

Prospects are superb, the codling should be with us for the next four weeks with increasing numbers of thornbacks and the odd bass starting to show.