Angling
An Attleborough pensioner reeled in two magnificent pike against all the odds to beat the weekend freeze-up. Retired construction engineer Richard Wingfield, a predator angler for most of his adult life, fished herring bait in the Besthorpe Lake complex to tempt a bumper brace that weighed in at 25lb 6oz and 24lb 4oz.
Blackdyke Trout Fishery 07525 730447: Restocking took place last week with some more hard fighting fish. The introduction certainly stirred up the older resident fish with some excellent sport and everyone taking their limit bags.
SEA FISHING: Sport hasn't improved over the last week and fish seem to be at a premium on all the region's beaches. Aside from a few dabs and whiting, the fishing has been incredibly tough.
WEST & THE FENS: Things are looking up at last, though there haven't been many out on the banks of late. A slight increase in temperatures (allegedly) has got the roach feeding again on the Ouse at Ten Mile Bank.
WAVENEY VALLEY: It has been back to the 'fish very tightly shoaled' scenario again on the river away from the tidal stretches. Sit in the right place and a stone of fish climb up your rod gulping down anything offered to them.
The Norwich and District Anglers Association are poised to launch a new recruitment drive for young members that would guarantee the future of Norfolk's top angling body to the second half of the century.
Open and club match results and fixtures.
There have been some quite phenomenal match catches following the welcome thaw. A stunning midweek haul of skimmer bream totalling 44lb 1oz was heaved out of the River Waveney's Cut at Beccles by Norwich rod Tony Gibbons and that was a new venue record for the Norfolk and Suffolk Veterans club.
WEST NORFOLK AND FENS: A swirl almost right under the rods caught the corner of my eye. I peered around a bush and saw an unmistakable whiskered head bobbing up and down. An otter, not a pike, gave me my most memorable moment of the season so far when it surfaced in the margins barely a rod length from me.
WAVENEY VALLEY: Harleston, Wortwell and District AC's Silver Fish Open was a complete sell-out, although the winning weight was poor by local star Rodney Finch's normal standards.