And behold another winter Tench

And behold another winter Tench.

Yes this time from falcon meadows along with a nice bag of roach to bread punch tactics for two club members. Young angler Jack caught a lovely bonus Tench on a difficult day and David caught a nice bag of roach on the bread punch. I could only muster up a few roach and a nice perch as the fish proved difficult to catch today and impossible the next day as the threat of snow showers and cold east winds put the fish of the feed. David's bread punch tactics worked brilliantly on the day, but the next day with clearer water and a biting east wind the fish seemed to have vanished! How do they know the snow is coming I wonder. Oh well time to tidy up the tackle box and fix those broken rod rings I guess. On the other hand it could be time to try a bit of sea fishing my be, mmm yes I think I will go sea fishing this weekend, will make a nice change and give my back a rest from the old pole fishing. Here's a picture of the Tench that Jack caught, they are getting closer Gary it must be a sign...

The story of the Tench Tart.

A lovely days fishing at Beccles today after skimmers and roach, nice and relaxing after a hectic Christmas and a chance to unwind. Well, my good friend Gary came with me today and Eric the swan man, we all were catching a good few fish and the day was sunny and pleasant but then the old story of the Tench tart came up again. It has been a long running source of friendly ribbing between me and my pal Gary who has yet to get a Tench from the river and when I catch one he calls me a Tench tart, which I don't mind at all I love catching Tench. Well today I said "if you catch a Tench mate I will give you 50.00 pounds, its in my pocket and its yours if you catch a Tench," Gary proceeded to get out his micro pellets in order to attract the skimmers, or maybe the Tench were on his mind. Any way much to our surprise young Eric called out, "hey I have got a Tench on", and so he had, a lovely Beccles Quay Tench about 5lb, "you Tart" said Gary to Eric, yes Eric you are now officially a Tench tart mate. Next I got some thing very big that kept low in the water and Gary looked at me with suspicion in his eyes, ooh it could be a Tench mate it feels like a good fish yes it might be a Tench Gary... Ahh no it is a perch about a pound I guess, "thank God for that"! said Gary, you big Tart. So another Tench Tart was born and Gary is still waiting for his river Tench but I have a feeling next year could be your lucky year Gary when you to can be the Tench tart you long to be mate. He he...my be I should start the Tench Tart Club what do you think?

Morning mist Chub and Dace.

Had good session at our Stretch at Ellingham Mill today catching dace and chub on a light stick float. It was a very cold and misty morning and the fog remained with us all day with a white blanket covering the field behind me. I threaded my line through my rod rings carefully and put on my float and hook only to cast it straight into the tree and have to start all over again. Good start mark, any way back out again and fire out a few maggots to trot through the swim. Straight away the tiny float tip dipped under the water and my first fish of the day was a small chub that weaved and dived under my rod then safely in the landing net. This was followed by several more chublets as I call them and then I started to catch some nice dace with the odd perch and roach making an appearance. By three o'clock it was getting very cold and I was ready to go home for my tea. But it was a great days fishing with about 9lb of fish good enough for me on a cold day and catching dace is always a pleasure. Here's some photos of the day for you.

Inside my tackle box. I love fishing tackle and my Tackle box is full of little gadgets and things that I cant do with out so I thought I would share some of them with you and open my fishing tackle box up to you all for a look at some of my favourite things. Number one is my collection of floats. I love floats, I cant resist buying them and have far too many but ever since I was a boy I have been fascinated by them so I'm hoping for some more in my Christmas stocking. Wagglers, Stick floats, Pole floats, Sliders, Zoomers, Quill floats there wonderful I want more!

Neat Gadgets. Nothing is better then a gadget that works well, the Seymo loop tier the disgorger with knot picker Drennen hook tier the Stotta shot pinchers the amazing slamo disgorger and the Milo loop tier and the very helpful Nisa connect adjust. What do they all do and why do I love them. Well the loop tier (top of picture) ties really neat loops for hair rigs or hook lengths and is really easy and quick to use. Below that the disgorger with the needle sharp knot picker is great for undoing wind knots in your line. The Drennen hook tier is used every day and is a must for tying small spade end hooks, Below that the Preston Stotta for putting on there brilliant stot weights is a must have and below that the must have disgorger for the bream angler the slamo disgorger will unhook bream like a dream. Below that another loop tier from Milo that is adjustable and great for hair rigs and to the left of that is the Nisa Connect adjust simply a great way of adjusting the line on you pole rigs from pole tip to float with out having to keep tying on extra line also those Korum Quick stops for hair rigged baits are just brilliant. We all have our favourite gadgets what's yours?

I could do with a spare room for my fishing gear I guess, there's pike fishing gear, sea fishing gear, river fishing gear, match fishing gear, trout fishing gear, carp fishing gear, bivvys, brollys, boiles, landing nets, keep nets, holdalls, seat boxes the list is endless and yet we never get tired of finding yet one more must have item. You know how girls like to have a collection of winter boots and there hand bags are full of make up items well I guess this is the male equivalent of must have things. Only trouble is as you get older your fishing tackle gets more and more and you have to be able to carry it all which can be a strain on the back at times but hey that's ok because I just saw this cool fishing trolley that I want for Christmas... which reminds me I must visit the tackle shop tomorrow and go fishing again. And even if I don't catch any fish at least I will have some neat gadgets to keep me amused while I'm waiting for a bite, the clever claw for instance now that's a very neat gadget but I will tell you about that another day.

2 little dace.

Yes that's all 2 little dace after an overnight frost and a blanket of fog I sat bite less for 3 hours the fish were not having any of my usual tactics and all I could catch were 2 dace.

Only to be told that further down river at our Earsham stretch my friend Colin had a lovely big bag of roach up to a 1lb just my luck sigh...its not always easy fishing is it.. still the scenery was lovely take a look at these pics I took this morning.

Christmas Match at Beccles

Was looking forward to this one and hoping the weather was going to be better this Sunday. As it turned out it was a lovely sunny day bit chilly but good weather for the day. I got there at 7am and pegged out the swims ready for the draw at 8am. I drew peg one right next to the harbour masters office John Davy good friend of John Wilson, who came along and had a chat with us all before returning to his duties as harbour master.

The match was won with just over 10lb of skimmers on peg 18 by Simon Hailey but most of us managed to catch a reasonable amount of fish some on the Waggler out in the middle some on the pole closer in. Mainly small roach with the odd skimmer or perch on single red maggot or pinkies. When the whistle blew at 2pm we headed back to the car park to receive our Christmas Fayre prizes. We give first choice to the lowest weight and the winner comes last but he gets his prize money. Sam our President did us proud with a great selection of beers wines chocs and cakes and everyone went away with something at the end of the match. Sam gave a big thank you to our old match secretary Eddie Alcock for his many years service to the club and we gave him a round of applause to show our appreciation for his hard work and service to the club.

So as Christmas time comes round again and I take a look back over the past year I have to say its been quite eventful indeed. I took over as club secretary in April shortly after putting the website together for the club and have made many new friends in the last few months. I have learned a great deal about the club and its many members and have had my share of ups and downs as I got used to being secretary and all the phone calls from interested anglers visiting the website or asking me where our waters were and how to go about fishing them. I have caught lots of fish this year too some good bags of roach and bream and learned a great deal along the way. I must say a big thank you to all of those club members who gave there support and help to us on the work party's and the committee meetings its nice to know there are those in the club who are prepared to muck in and help out when needed.

On a sadder note the sudden death of my brother in law Simon and the lass who drowned at Wainford were reminders to me of how brief our life's on earth can be as it was only 3 years ago that my other brother in law passed away from lung cancer, he called me from his hospital bed before he died and told me, if I had to forgive some one, or tell someone I loved them to do it today and to make the most of now. He was right of course, we pass this way only once and it is important that we take the time to be still and take stock of our life. What better place to do this then when we are fishing with our friends or just enjoying a quite day out in the country catching a few fish and relaxing. So what do I want for Christmas...

Another day by the river please.

Tight lines Mark.

Wind and rain, this time I was ready for it! But some fell in!

Had a great days fishing at our match this Sunday held at Marsh Farm Sternfield. I knew it was going to rain heavily so yesterday my wife and I took off to Brundal and I got my self a nice new 50inch brolly with two storm poles to be prepared for the weather. The alarm went off at 6am and I got my stuff ready and left the house with everyone still asleep. Arrived just after 7am and the day looked good, no rain just clear skies. Helped peg out the swims then drew peg 8 not a bad peg at all and set up the brolly nice and firmly with the storm poles on each side to make double sure it stayed in place. At 9.30 after some delay we got under way and it wasn't long before I caught my first skimmer on red worm followed by several more, things were looking good and I was nice and sheltered from the wind. It wasn't long however before the rain arrived followed by howling winds. My brolly shook and trembled but it held firm and despite a few strong side gust it kept me nice and dry. So back to the fishing, well bumped off a few fish which cost me 3rd place and changed down to a number 5 elastic in my pole to keep the skimmers on while I shipped my pole back. There is something about watching a float settle in your swim and then seeing it slowly go under that is quite magical, it matters not if its a carp, a Tench or a skimmer or a roach, seeing that float dip under the water has kept my interest for over 45 years now and I still love to see it. I was laying about 6inches of line on the bottom and feeding some pellets and ground bait every now and then to keep the skimmers in the swim but if I had got some chopped worms I know I would have done much better. I don't mind though it was a great days fishing and I love catching skimmers. In hindsight I got off fairly lightly today one of our lads fell in the water another got his car smacked into by a deer and two got there pole broken by the gales while others just got soaked to the skin. When the chap who fell in got himself out of the water the others told him he should use a plummet to find the depth its much easier.

Rain wind mud and slime. Thought I would do you a cartoon to show you what today was like...

Ah the joys of fishing, sitting in the pouring rain the wind howling around your ears and 13 meters of pole flapping about like an old bats bloomers! This was not going to be an easy day, I was fishing at a local commercial fishery for our 3rd Match for the Adcock Trophy and was keen to get a reasonable result. Once again the carp were tight against the far bank, right in the reeds which meant fishing as close to them as possible. Using my trusty maver pole at a full 13 meters and shipping out a light float rig with expander pellets as my chosen bait, I had to wait an hour for my first fish. By carefully lifting the bait and letting it fall slowly back through the water while using my catty to fire out 5 or 6 pellets over my float, I managed to draw the fish out of the reeds to take my bait. Bites were fast and a short line to the float was needed to connect with the carp which when hooked made straight for the reeds. All was going to plan until the wind got up and the rain lashed down even harder, with my brolly trying to escape and my maggots doing the same. Dropping my glasses into my bowl of green ground bait did not help matters and I spent the rest of the match trying to hang on to my pole as it swished around with the sudden gust of wind, whilst looking through a mushy green soup! Still I came third so I was happy enough but I must admit I was very glad when the whistle blew. Stay fishy! Mark.

The ups and downs of fishing

Well we had a great junior match on the common pond and young James Greasily braved the freezing cold weather with the others to win the match on a very cold and difficult day. I myself could not catch a thing despite all my best efforts so well done to the youngsters. However it gets worse, the next event was the second match for the Adcock Trophy and again I struggled to catch this time only one little chub while several anglers next to me packed up in favour of a hot cup of tea in the car. This was followed a few days later by a trip to Beccles in the hope of redeeming my now flagging enthusiasm but this was just as bad. Those lovely big roach that were there the other week had seemed to have vanished and I found myself scratching around for a few tiddlers in the quay. Dear oh dear, what is wrong with me have I been cursed or something? so there's a lesson in all this, never think your immune to the blank sessions it happens to us all from time to time. Never mind there's always my gold fish pond if things get desperate lol.

Beccles Roach, big and beautiful

Went to Beccles today for a session on the river and had a chat with the Veterans who fish there local matches there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Amongst them was Billy Coote who has fished with Bungay Cherry Tree club for many years, they all had good weights of roach and skimmers and I was very pleased with my catch of prime river roach to the left of the cut. I fished the stick float with double caster for some superb roach. This is with out doubt my favourite type of fishing and I feel very fortunate to have such good roach fishing on my doorstep. Setting up a 4AA wire stem stick float and coupled with my favourite 15ft Drennen float master rod and Abu closed face reel 2lb Drennen float fish line and a size 20 kamazan hook I was set for a good day. Here's a picture of the roach caught about 20lb of fish at a guess, forgot my scales again... It rained all day but when your catching roach like this who cares about the rain. The Tench was caught at Falcon Meadows while roach fishing quite a struggle on a number 5 elastic but a wonderful fish in mint condition.

Roach from Beccles and Tench from falcon Meadow

Willow lake Carp and pellet eating swans.

A freezing cold wind blowing right in my face on peg 15 but thankfully no rain and I was set up ready for the match at Willow lake near Barford. When the whistle blew I had two choices try sticking it out on the pole or swapping over to the feeder and waiting it out. Trying to control 14 meters of pole in a strong wind did not last long and out came the feeder rod in favour of a comfy fish with my arms folded waiting for the rod tip to pull round. As luck would have it my decision paid off and the tip flew round for my first carp at just over 8lb quickly followed by several more before bites started to dry up in the last hour of the match.

When the scales came round for the weigh in I had 32lb of fish in the net and had won the match. I don't know why but every time I am shivering and cold and feel like going home I seem to do well. Last time I fished railways lake just opposite behind my peg and won the match having never fished there before I did the same this time. I am not complaining mind, it just would be nice to win a match when I was really up for it instead of wishing I was home soaking in a hot tub and eating a roast chicken dinner!

Still, a good day on the old commercial fisheries but it will never replace my love for the rivers I am glad to say. And it was funny seeing my friend Eric's pellets being eaten by this swan after he had so carefully fed his pellets in the margins. LOL.

Marsh Farm skimmers

Has a good day at the match at Marsh Farm got 15lb of skimmers and enjoyed a lovely days fishing with the club.

Last time I fished this venue I did very poorly but with the aid of my trusty fishing diary I was able to rectify my mistakes and this time got it right, will almost should have brought some worms with me but you cant remember everything can you. I cant remember the last time I had a good bag of skimmers like this it was a real pleasure catching them on the pole at 13 metres using expander pellets and micro pellets for feed. The bites were very delicate and shy at times and you had to concentrate hard to spot the tiny pole float going under specially when it got windy. Took along one of our new junior members who had a nice bag of roach and looks like his going to become a keen fisherman.

10 0ut of 10 must go again...

Clearing swims and building fishing platforms.

Spent this morning clearing the swims at Falcon Meadow ready for the forthcoming match on Sunday. Club member Steve and myself set about discovering the old pallets from last year which now need replacing and managed to clear out another 5 swims with our strimmers and weed rakes, hard work but good fun. I'm pleased that club members like Steve, Jamie, Charles, Barney, Lee, Jeff, Danny, Gary and many others have all helped out this year clearing the club pit up, helping run matches, and other jobs that need doing also the work carried out at the lay-by pit by Sam our president and Stans hard work getting the team together for the nationals. It all adds up to a great club with willing members who are prepared to muck in and get things done for the benefit of everyone else. It has to be said they often go unnoticed by the majority of club members but its thanks to there efforts that we are able to keep going. So I am looking forward to fishing the match on Sunday and hoping there will be some good bags of roach coming out meanwhile if you want to help us doing some weed clearing or making some fishing platforms we would love to hear from you. If you have any pallets you don't need we could use them for fishing platforms just give me a call and let me know. Having recently lost a member of the family I would say this to all of you, make the most of each day or as I read on a car sticker the other day one life, live it. Happy fishing.

Fickle Roach

Is it just me or do roach have a special kind of magic about them? Having a session this evening again with just hemp and tares I only managed to catch 4 fish that does not bother me in the least in fact those 4 fish really got me thinking. I don't know of any other fish that makes you really think hard about what is going on under the water when your fishing for them. I started off on the pole and then decided to give it a rest and get the float rod out so I could stay in contact with the fish as they responded to my loose feed. Moved the float up a foot or two then back down a foot then down 6inches and bingo the float shot under found them at last but that only lasted 10minutes and I had lost them again. Had they dropped back down the swim? Just let my float trot down a bit further Ahh yes there they are. And so it went on until it was time to back up and I was still missing bites this is what I love about roach fishing the constant challenge of keeping in touch with the fish as they respond to your tactics and feeding pattern, too much and you risk losing them to little and they drop back its all a question of practise and fine tweaking. Its like playing hide and seek with them and I love it.

Roach at Falcon Meadows.

A really good evening session at Falcon Meadow catching some lovely conditioned roach on hemp and tares on the pole. I absolutely adore catching roach on hemp and tares it always sorts out the better fish and this evening session was perfect for it. Towards the evening the heavens opened and it rained heavily for a while but the fish just kept feeding and my new brolly kept me nice and dry. Noticed that the roach were well off the bottom today and responded well to moving the float over to one side so they took it on the drop. Lovely fat roach in mint condition what more could any fisherman want and only just up the road. Ah I feel better already and cant wait to go again. Click thumbnail for bigger image.

Vandals and signs

Most annoyed to see the signs I put up at Dunburgh have been torn down by some mindless idiots but it has been reported to the police and if caught they will be prosecuted. Apart from that it has been a very trying few weeks, a recent death in the family and my mother coming out of hospital have meant no fishing but I will be going tonight for a break with my nephew. Took a stroll down Dunburgh and had a chat with a club member fishing on his boat and catching some nice roach on red maggot. Took this panorama photo while I was down there today, such a lovely place to fish and that's were I will be this evening. Don't forget resident tickets are available and you must have a club card to fish here if you do not have a resident card.

Rivers I love them.

Fished the match at North Cove above Beccles and has an enjoyable day catching roach on the stick float most other were casting large feeder to the far bank for the bream but I cant resist fishing for roach even though I know Bream will win the match. Fishing with a 15ft float rod and watching my float trotting along is far more interesting to me. Day before was the children's Juniors match at the common pond with a good turn out of 20 Juniors good to see them all having a go in the match despite the fact that the sudden change in weather made the fishing very hard for them they all did very well.

And today it was off to Dunburgh again for a session with the roach again. My friend did very well with a nice bag of bream while I had a good bag of roach all on sweet corn trotting through with a stick float. I don't know why more people don't try the stick float it works a treat and is a great fun to use. I do use a pole as well but these days my back is a bit dodgy and I prefer to use the float rod any way. It was lovely and peaceful down there and several people walking along stopped for a chat. I must admit though I was shocked to hear about the lady who drowned at Wainford on Saturday. The river may be Beautiful but it is still a dangerous place and safety when out in a boat must be your first priority at all times I see far to many people out on boats in the summer who don't have there life jackets on and are unaware of the dangers.

In regard to the fish poaching that was taking place at Dunburgh I am happy to report that it seems to have stopped since the club has been baliffing the waters but we still need you all to keep an eye open for any one killing fish and not returning them to the waters on this section please report it to me asp if you see it taking place at Dunburgh you can call my mobile number which is in your club cards to report any incidents. Now where shall I go fishing next?

Dunburgh Delights

Went down to our new stretch of river at Dunburgh this evening and met a fellow club member fishing with a lovely old Crow Quill Avon float

These lovely old traditional floats used by the famous, Topper Haskins are fantastic to fish with very sensitive in flowing water and the ideal choice for this stretch of river. We fished for the roach using sweet corn for the better stamp of fish with a few bream bream making an appearance, there's no reason why you couldn't use a centre pin down here as the fish move quite close in to the bank. Then moved down to the Ellingham stretch to have a chat with young Eric Peak who had just landed a big fat bream, one of 8 on his evening session. He never fails to impress me with his well organised lay out of fishing gear, he must be the most tidiest angler in Suffolk. Well its my birthday today so I will be heading for the tackle shops to get myself a new umbrella ready for the match at North Cove this weekend, I bet it wont rain.

Tight lines Mark.

Roach fishing on the River Yare.

Managed to come second in the match for the Rowland cup round 2 on the Yare. Had a great day catching roach on the stick float I love this type of fishing so I was in my element and didn't mind where I came in the match to honest. Decided to set up my Drennen 15ft float master rod and used a big Preston stick float taking 3AA, I had cooked off some fresh hemp the night before and brought a couple of pints of red maggots with me which was all that was needed, can't afford to buy loads of casters and didn't have time to turn my own so made do with my maggots and hempseed. Only wish I had started off on the float straightaway as the feeder was not producing the bream as it normally would do on this stretch, its a bit of a gamble but having caught lots of bream this week I needed a change from bream slime to roach slime!

There is some thing magical about controlling a stick float along its chosen path on a big river like this and dotting it right down to spot those quick bites that roach give you. Feeding regularly with loose fed hemp and red maggots, cast out and trot down river you can almost see the roach with your float as they move down river or up again depending on the response your getting to your feeding pattern, I love it. Sorry you can have your commercial fisheries, I will always love fishing rivers first and foremost.

Lovely Chubbly.

Evening session behind the by-pass pit on the river.

Got my loaf of bread and light float set up sneaked along the bank and there they were 5 big chub close to the inside bank. Treading carefully so as not to spook them I settled behind the nettles and threw in a few pinches of bread for them. My dog thinks its a game and starts running about Max sit still! Lay down, shush!.. Are they still there? Oh yes, 3 big ones, one is taking my free offering, a gentle cast and keep my eye on the bread flake as it sinks slowly out of sight. Now I can't see it so I am watching the float, a few dips from curious roach, and again, then bam my float dives under and I strike into solid resistance! Quick don't let it get in those reeds come out come out... yes your mine and its in the net at last a lovely fat chub. Cost of bait 45 pence, 3 hours on the river, priceless.

Take your Brolly naaaa

Had a session at Dunburgh this evening and didn't take my brolly.

After catching 4 nice big slabs and a few roach the wind got up the sky got darker and the bolts of lightning lit up the sky oooh lovely I thought

Oh well my dog ran for shelter under my mates brolly and I grabbed the plastic sheet that last week had been covered in bream slime and stunk to high heaven. So there I sat like a drowned rat covered in fish slime and prayed the rain would stop which it did after a short while thank goodness. Still it gave me the idea that taking a big clean sheet of plastic might be better then a brolly if you want to travel light so long as its not covered in bream slime. Still I had some nice fish and was happy enough cant say my dog felt the same though.

Humiliating defeat at match this Sunday from young Matthew Buck who showed us all how to thrash out 30pound of carp and beat his dad Jamie lol nice one Matthew. Nice to see the junior anglers coming up the ranks and teaching us oldies a thing or two!

More Bream from Ellingham and a nice Tench. A short session today but well worth it met two new club members on the bank who had visited the website nice to know that the website is reaching more anglers enabling them to see our waters and tell me how there fishing is going.

Hope to see you on the bank some time, Happy fishing and tight lines, Mark and Max

Charity cup open match Shipmeadow

Well I didn't even bother to weigh in along with several others today my own fault for fishing it all wrong and only sussing it out in the last half hour of the match. The bream won the match again with Mark Pollard winning the match with 15lb of fish at the first peg by the cattle gate. Several large crayfish were pulled out as well the Waveney is full of the little blighters. Towards the end of the match a crack of thunder and lighting worried the pole anglers but it passed by without any trouble. I should have gone to the far bank with a waggler right from the start but stubbornly refused to give up on the feeder. Never mind it was a good day and we all had a nice days fishing on the river. I wonder if any one reading this would be interested in having mid week matches on the river sections? Drop me a line if you would be my be we could organise it for a Wednesday evening 3.00 for the match could be fun yes...

Any way here's the pictures of the days events for you. Click the thumbnails for larger image.

Club Pit night session.

Nice mild night time to get the Bivvy out.

Had a good session at the club pit set up at 6.30 and got my self ready for a night session. Fishing at the far end peg 13 I cast out my bait tight against the lily's put the rods in the rests, buzzers at the ready and made myself a beef burger and a coffee. Lovely peaceful night apart from the wretched mozzies! Why do I always forget to bring my mozzie spray. Also forgot my pillow so had a creaky neck this morning. Missed a good run at night and then while I was chatting to a fellow angler in the morning had another run, this time fish on, a nice little Tench, lovely dark fish as was the carp my friend had next peg up. Ahh happiness is a fish in the net, my hands still shaking from the excitement of the run I gently put the Tench back into the waters edge, with a flick of the tail off he went back to the watery, weedy, world he had come from. Sheer magic.

86lb of Bream from Ellingham Mill

Well I decided to go fishing at 1pm today still feeling bunged up with a cold but very glad I decided to go. Click thumbnails for larger image.

As you can see from the pictures when we got there the river was pushing through a far pace but my friend and I decided it would be worth giving it a go. I started off with a simple open feeder full of caster chopped worm and sensas "magic" ground bait an old favourite. For bait I used worm tipped off with red maggot on a size 14 kamasan B911 Barbless hook with a 5lb hook length. Casting to a nice slack area off the main flow it didn't take long for the bream to find my bait and it was a fish a chuck until I hooked into a carp which took off at the net and straightened my hook. Back out again this time with bread flake and maggot and the bream were back on again. They fight really hard in the fast flow and its great fun catching them. Its ironic isn't it but why couldn't it have been like this when I fished the same peg 3 weeks ago in a match?

Any way I had a great day and got covered in bream slime, all my fish were returned safely to the water and swam off to fight another day. Its a good idea to carry a big plastic sheet with you for taking photos of your fish then its nice and easy to slide them back to the water. So if your wanting a good days fishing Ellingham Mill should do you nicely.

Tight lines Mark.

Weed work party

Another session on the club pit with our willing weed removing work party. We had a good day got lots of weed out and cleared up a few more swims then we all sat down for a burger and a beer. Its great when club members get together and do stuff like this makes you glad to be a part of a club. Strangely we talked more about domestic problems such as the cost of a new washing machine then we did the fishing. Just goes to show that when we get together like this we can all talk about those other things in life that concern us. Many times when I go fishing I end up having a natter with other anglers about the stresses of modern living. I guess that is the reason we go fishing to get away from it all and switch off for a while.

Any way we all had a good day and the club pit swims are now less weedy and more fishable for you all. Also got shown a photo album of some of the carp that had been caught from the club pit, not something that happens every day as a lot of the guys that fish it keep there fish a close secret, but these were big fish and I can see know why the dedication and determination to catch them is there.

Due to a stinky cold I missed the match on the river Yare this Sunday but never mind there always next week to look forward to and I fancy having a crack at the river sections at Shipmeadow and Ellingham again. Also been hearing of some good catches of Chub from the Bungay common from a recent new member Dan the chub man. Ah just too much fishing and too little time.

Tight lines. Mark.

Weed, rain and willing workers, matches and dragon flies.

Had a good day at the club pit this week with the club members that turned up to help get the weed out and clear some swims. It was great to see the club members working together for the common good and we all had a good time, so much so that we are doing it again and having a barbecue as well if you want to join us see the news section for details under the weed party section.

Fished the match at Ellingham for the TSB open match trophy and scraped together 2lb 40z of chub and roachlets from peg 11 while Justin Hunt won the match with 19lb from peg 3 where I was last week! Its all down to the bream on these matches if you can get them your in with a chance we thought Julian Cobb was the winner on the day with 15lb of bream but just goes to show how quickly your fortunes can change. I had a great days fishing though the sun came out and I was entertained by dragon flies hopping around the reeds in front of me and thousands of fish fry sheltering in the margins and beautiful Suffolk scenery, what more could you want.

Well less rain might be good, but you cant have everything.

Here's some pictures of the day for you including the line up for this years NFA Division 2 team who will be fishing the Trent in September.

Why not joins us on some of our matches its a great day out with some fine anglers and were all a friendly bunch.

British weather BAH!

So disappointed, today was the date for the "Lets go fishing" coaching day for youngsters at the Common pond in Bungay and after weeks of getting it all sorted it out I woke up to hear thunder and thick grey skies with more forecast for the day. I went to pick up my sister and two keen young anglers to be greeted with bolts of lighting not good. So I decided to call the event off in the interests of safety first as we would be using carbon poles with the youngsters, and lightning and carbon don't mix.

As it turned out the thunder and rain didn't happen till 6pm and we could have got away with it but its better to be safe then sorry as they say-So we have moved the event forward to the start of the National Fishing week which will be the 21st of July 07 for your diary's. We have some great things to give to the kids that come along, free whips and floats and a big goody bag from the EA and free coaching session with NFA professional coach Derek Potter pictured here. So if you want your kids to come then this is your chance don't miss it. Book your place buy emailing me or calling me full details of the event click HERE. See you on JULY 21st.

Club Pit

Went for a walk around the club pit this afternoon pleased to hear that the lads are willing to help out with doing some weed clearing and catching some nice fish to, must admit if I didn't have to go home I would have loved to have a night session down there. Its such a lovely place to be very peaceful and the anglers down there are a friendly bunch willing to help out if your new. I like it when we all get on with each other and help each other out, that is what a club should be all about. Also saw several perch darting amongst the shoals of Rudd, such handsome fish they are. We really are lucky to have such a good relationship with the owners forged over many years of the clubs history with the family. So the weed is bad yes but the fish don't mind it that's for sure. Also had reports that some good carp have come out of the river sections all good news indeed.

I'm very glad I took up fishing such a wonderful pastime that has given me years of enjoyment. I hope your all catching some good fish and enjoying yourselves, by the way I think I spotted those ugly guys last week ;-)

Bream and more Bream.

Started the new season with lots of slimy bream on June the 15th I was at Beccles river all ready for a night session for Bream with a few friends this is our little tradition and we have met there for several years now. I felt glad to get off the commercial waters and be sitting by the river again. And there was the usual mixing of the ground bait before we cast out at 12 midnight. I love Beccles river have fished it for years and it still is one of my favourites.

Well despite our best efforts it was pretty poor after several days of heavy rain and I ended up with 6 bream to pack up at 4.30 and head home for some kip tired but happy.

The next event was the fishing match with the Bungay lads at Shipmeadow which I was really looking forward to. Got down there at 6am ready to get the pegs in and start the draw at 7am.I drew peg 3 down the bottom end near the locks pub bridge and the weather was looking good no more rain thank goodness. Decided to give the pole a rest and stuck it out on a stick float loose feeding red maggots. I ended up with 12lb of Bream for 3rd place and John Oakley at the far end did very well with 44lb of bream on the pole. It was great to be at the river again made me realize just how boring the commercial fisheries are by comparison having fished them all close season. There is some thing infinitely more satisfying about catching fish from rivers.

Here are some pics of the day for you.

Tight lines Mark.

Focus on Shipmeadow.

Today I went for a walk along the clubs Shipmeadow river sections to clear some swims ready for the river matches we will be having along this beautiful stretch of water. The river looked mysterious and inviting with deep glides and eddies amongst the reeds and Lilly's. Ah! if only it was June the 16th I thought, I could be down here after the bream shoals or searching out the roach and chub under those overhanging trees. Such a wonderful place to be. Ok so you have to lighten your load a bit and not carry a mountain of gear with you but it will be good for you of that I'm sure.

Take a look at these pictures and tell me you don't fancy being down there!

While down the stretch behind the Geldeston Locks I saw a large carp roll on the water then as it submerged thousands of bubbles gave away its presence, I know where I am going to go when the season opens again. I just love this stretch of water it is so picturesque and peaceful down there. My next door neighbours cattle were grazing in the fields behind me adding to the picture of idyllic tranquillity. By the way if any of you are thinking of fishing down there with out a proper licence and club ticket watch out as the farmer will check you out and report any one to me who is not supposed to be on his land. His dogs don't look the sort you would like to argue with.

Well I would happily spend 40.00 a year just to fish this stretch of river but we have many others just a good. I intend to do a video diary of my fishing trips down here so keep an eye on the website for details. I would like to show you all just how good the fishing is on our river stretches so go on give the commercials a rest and get back to the rivers this year for some real fishing hey.

Mark.