Anglers braved icy weather to compete in the tenth District of Easington Open Sea Angling Competition.
But the ice and snow took its toll on the entry with only 385 anglers casting off - less than half the usual turnout.
Brian Hughes, from Seaham, caught a 14lb cod which landed him the £2,000 first prize.
Second prize went to Ian Bellfield, from Sunderland, who received £1,000 for his 9lb catch.
A share of the prize money also went to another Seaham angler, Gus McGee, for weighing in the heaviest bag of fish with a 15lb total catch.
A spokesperson for the competition said: "Even though some anglers were put off by the unpleasant weather, the conditions turned out to be ideal for producing fish and we saw 30 people at the weigh-in with a total of 46 fish being caught, so overall the day was a great success.''
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