With pike fishing rarely catered for by general commercial fisheries, pursuers of esox have been turning their attentions to the rivers. The same old system of long walks has paid off for those seeking lone larger specimens with the bottom of Suffolk County AAA's Bungay Common holding the best form record over recent years.

With pike fishing rarely catered for by general commercial fisheries, pursuers of esox have been turning their attentions to the rivers.

The same old system of long walks has paid off for those seeking lone larger specimens with the bottom of Suffolk County AAA's Bungay Common holding the best form record over recent years.

There are, however, vast areas of the Waveney which never see a bait presented to predators with any regularity at all.

One or two of these wander in locations on the Harleston Wortwell and District AC reaches of flatland marshes and lone craggy willows.

The walk upstream from Mendham Bridge produces an astonishing variety of swims ranging from the shallower narrow necks whose ends the chub favour, out into quite wide open bays off corners with good depths. Above and below Needham Mill is another seldom visited area.

At both these places roach find a shoaling spot and the pike are not far away.

The jacks have provided most of the sport this week with anything up to eight fish in an outing taken from the club's water. The club allows livebaiting under their rule 11 for baits up to 8oz; as do the Fleece AC.

Bungay Cherry Tree, however, prohibit the use. Therefore according to which ever club one is affiliated to, the situation for their use on the common is, at the very least, a little woolly with Suffolk county general rules harder to locate than the scarlet pimpernel.

Best untroubled bet for a morning's or afternoon's short piking session is still the mile from Beccles Quay down to the swims below the pink house while the roach continue to head up towards the quay and protected town stretch as winter sets in.

With a variety of twitched and spun rubber and metal lures this week the Edwards brothers from Luton, on their holiday hire-craft, took a maximum of 29 fish in a day between them and racked up a week's total of 134 fish; running upstream as far as Geldeston Locks where their best fish of 29lb 11oz came from.

Don't ignore the prospects of big perch showing up though as the brothers took eight fish over 2lb with several knocking 3lb.

Roach fishing has been finicky on most venues but the density of fish in the quay ensured plenty of bites on the pole and double-figure bags for match anglers until the heavy frost knocked things back for a few days.

These frosts have heightened water clarity and seen better bites at the end of the day on still waters.

Likewise late in the day has been best in conjunction with the top of the water on most tidals.

Nicholas Everret Park at Oulton Broad has plenty of roach present.