Wintry weather brings scant rewards for coastal anglers
SEA FISHING: The weather has made it tough on the region's beaches.
Just getting to some venues has been a trial and there's no guarantee the fish will oblige.
The north and east coasts have been wild at times, though it looks fishy when the wind eases.
There have been a few whiting and flats along the shingle with a few small codling in the rough ground under the cliffs at Weybourne.
Cromer and the east Norfolk beaches have been a little quieter with just whiting, flats and the occasional school bass. There have been a few small codling at Trimingham. Night fishing in a fining sea will help your chances.
Yarmouth's beaches have produced mainly flats and whiting, though there have been a few small codling at the wreck at Gorleston and at Hopton.
There's a lot of beach missing at Hopton, due I'm sure mostly to recent winds, though the beach doesn't seem to build back so quickly since the outer harbour went in.
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Though it's difficult to fish over high water due to the lack of beach, there have been a few small codling in Hopton bay from both the beach and kayaks.
Corton and Lowestoft north beach have produced a few small ones among the whiting and flats and rumours abound of a few proper ones from Pakefield and Kessingland.
Boat anglers have had mixed fortunes, Paul Kerry fished aboard a friend's boat last week off Lowestoft, both of them boating fish to 8�lb, a different story a few days later though with a solitary two-pounder to show for their efforts.
The pier at Southwold has yielded a few better fish with one lucky rod managing a couple of 2lb and a beauty of 9lb 5oz along with whiting and dabs.
It's that time of the year when the humble dab is usually in its best nick and I've heard of a few 'sprat dabs' touching a pound.
Aldeburgh and Orford have been quiet aside from whiting and flats. A recent boat match won with a codling of 2lb 9oz for Richard Greeves off Orford was relatively poor form considering the venue.
There's little inspiration in the weather forecast, except maybe for east Norfolk. A north-westerly should put a nice surf on there and, hopefully, encourage a few to feed.