Angling

A wealth of silver at Thorpe Abbotts lake

Smaller commercials have been providing the best sport, with Thorpe Abbotts upper lake providing nice bags of silver fish dominated by healthy 1lb skimmers.

On the farthest bank not far out off the ledge, bread punch has packed in up to 20lb of crucians.

Carp ticket members there have had some thumping specimens too off the point. The lower lake has had chub to 4lb talking baits on the drop and plenty of rudd to maggot. Fishing within 6ft of the bank close to willows where they hang around has been the top method and there have plenty of tench to 2lb showing as well.

Wrentham's Field Farm with its variety of small pools to choose from has plenty of shelter and loads of rudd that feed on the surface, providing great entertainment for young anglers in the recent holiday period. It does not stop there, though, for in the House Pond 16-year-old Aubrey Wright from Lowestoft landed landed four roach all over 1lb 8oz, fishing sweetcorn in the edge. The largest one was 2lb 2oz.

It has been the boys on bikes that have had the best of the fishing around Bungay, with 13-year-old Luke Friday taking a lovely 3lb perch from the Common Pond on his roamings.

Enthusiastic Matthew Buck caught rudd and roach at a variety of venues.

Well practiced in patience with the pellet and pole was his 10-year-old brother Stephen Buck from Earsham. He used this to good effect to take two bream and win the Earsham AC Junior Match held at Nigel Bales' Ellingham Fishery with 3lb 1oz.

The river maintained its water clarity up to the weekend and being able to see the bottom at six feet still made the going on the Upper River hard in the middle of the day.

Quality roach in the late afternoon have produced some cracking fishing for an hour or so on the dark caster at the Falcon Meadow and on the Free Stow Fen at Earsham. Dace have been feeding more consistently wherever a bit more flow can be found over shallower water.

Beccles meanwhile opened up the Quay for the winter season, but results were patchy, with the fish far from being shoaled up for the winter there yet.

Not far away in the main river some fantastic roach bags have been taken and Bungay builder Charlie Balaam took a caster pole catch of prime fish that bottomed out a pair of scales with a hefty thump at 32lb. Swims between the bridges may be at a premium but the shoals appears to move up and down 100 yards on the tide.