Thirty new pegs have got the go-ahead from planning officers on the Wissey near Stoke Ferry.

You dread what fishing's coming to when you need planning permission to create swims on a bit of river.

I now move the motion, honourable members, to introduce some groundbait, do I have a seconder?

See what I mean – there's a condition that you can only fish between certain times.

Residents apparently feared there would be 'fishing round the clock' and anglers would be superseded by residential development.

I don't know if they mean bivvies, but no matter how much I've loved a few favourite swims over the years, I've never been tempted to up sticks and move in.

Rain's left the system looming slightly out of sorts.

The Cut Off was over the banks and full of all kinds of floating gunk when I passed it yesterday.

The Old Bedford's getting a makeover, with dredgers set to move in at Salter's Lode. This will come as a relief to those who feared letting water in off the tidal river a couple of years ago to replenish levels for abstraction would cause the drain to silt up, risking a fish kill in its lower reaches.

The Bedford does the odd big fish, but has to be one of the most vulnerable drains when it comes to surviving the vagaries of our changing climate. Dredging's going to help it a lot.

Lincolnshire's drains seem to be producing a lot more pike than ours at the moment.

Steve Rodwell will be special guest of King's Lynn PAC next Wednesday night at the Wm Burt Club, at West Winch (7.30pm). Rodders, who is one of the most successful modern-day pike anglers in the Fens, will be talking about some of his incredible catches in his inimitable style.