EDP report 30/12/15

As the year draws to a close theres a distinct lack of quality fish in the reports. There was a clonker of 18lb caught along the dirty wall at Aldeburgh, that fish aside, I've barely seen another reported in match or pleasure reports. Boat anglers have fared little better, and it seems that you have to go as far north as the Humber or as far south as the Thames for some halfway consistent sport. Whiting and flats continue to dominate catches though i notice the better whiting seem to be thinning out a bit.

Holt SAC held an open match at Salthouse last Sunday, dabs and whiting making up the bulk of the fish caught, it was a length match and Paul Harrison made the trip up from Aldeburgh worthwhile with 1015cm. Paul Carter was second with 973cm and Mike Watts third with 862cm. Club result had Mike in top spot followed by Tony Thomas with 810cm and John Neave third with 785cm. Theres not much in the weather to signal any sort of change in the sport for us, the forecast dominated by the storms so badly affecting the northwest, i think we'll be looking to spring now unless something shifts this warm and replaces it with cooler northern air flow.

EDP report 23/12/15

Theres a change in the air as there have been less whiting in recent reports, especially in the south. To balance that i haven't seen many more codling reported either but perhaps if food shoals are on the move the codling wont be too far behind. Unseasonably warm weather looks set to see the year out, i know cod prefer colder seas to spawn, though warmer weather may keep the food active in the intertidal zone giving us a chance still. It normal gets a bit tougher as we head into January and February often due to frosts on tide exposed beaches, those frosts feel a way off yet.

Whiting and flats are still plentiful off the shingle. Holt SAC fished a midweek match at the old high, Charlie Needham wining with 19lb 7oz. 2ounces off in second was Henry Randell with Tony Thomas in third with 17lb 4oz. They fished they're Christmas fayre open at the weekend and the fish obliged again. Suffolk raider John Smith taking top spot with 16lb 9oz. Matt Frost was second with 15lb 11oz with Pete Simmons third with an ounce shy of 15lb. Hopefully there'll be a few more better fish caught over the festive break, good luck and seasons best wishes from me.

EDP report 16/12/15

There are still lent of fish being caught on the regions beaches, though there’s a distinct lack of codling. The only places I’ve seen more than an odd fish reported have been those old haunts that tend to hold a few, the rough ground marks and the feature pegs. Outside of these areas and your chances reduce significantly it seems. You don’t have to go too far off to find a few though with the Thames and the Humber both producing reasonable sport with some good fish in the Humber particularly. The last week has been dominated by local matches, the Fishes for Wishes Pakefield match reported separately, a cracking result for a great cause.

In the south of the patch Aldeburgh hosted the latest East Anglian teams of five match, Dean’s Tackle won it with 32 points and a three way tie for second all with 30 points between Breakaway Tackle, I Catch and Aldeburgh. Really well supported this series and very professionally run. Holt SAC hosted the combined North Norfolk Sea League and Lloyd Durham Shield at Cley last weekend. Individuals on the day had Mike Watts in first with 5lb 8oz, Richard Jacobs in second with 5lb 2oz and Henry Randell third with 5lb 1oz. Teams on the day saw Henry’s Team Maver tied for first with Avenue Angling on 6 points with Team Kipper third on 13 points. It’s hard to see a change in the sport and I expect whiting and flats to dominate now, traditionally the whiting head off around now but it feels like they’ll hang around in this unseasonably warm weather. I think if we haven’t seen a few codling return over Christmas then we’ll be looking to a run in spring, or putting some mileage in to fish the Humber!

EDP report 9/12/15

A few more fish this week if you are prepared to put a bit of effort into finding them. Rough ground marks in the north and east have produced a few fish and there are still odd fish showing in the deeper water in the south, though getting through the whiting can be challenging. I saw some cracking whiting catches just after the the rough up last week, eastern beaches produced some belters and there have been plenty in match catches. Catching up with Holt SAC results they fished Cley on the 2nd and found the dabs and whiting in feeding mood. Charlie Needham took pole with 10lb 3oz with Tony Thomas second with 9lb 10z, Jake Cooper third with 8lb 7oz, respectable card weights. They also fished for the Cockaday cup ay Walcott last weekend and the dabs and whiting showed again. Keith Morley winning with 7lb 13oz and Tony second again with 6lb 3oz. Paul Tovell was third with 4lb 9oz. I think only six anglers fished but between them carded a respectable 27lb.

Lots of south and west in the forecast this week which I don’t think will change the pattern, there might be a few more in the far south if there’s any east with the south. Building tides and fishing at night increase the prospects further though whting are still likely to dominate catches. I always think between the run up to Christmas is the best chance of a proper cod, though we’ll need something to turn them away from the sprats and whiting.

EDP report 2/12/15

The rough weather stirred things up but the better fish didn’t seem to respond and it’s the ubiquitous whiting that have dominated catches since. Friends fished Pakefield last week in the hope of finding a codling but had to settle with whiting, and lots of them. There have been few matches due to the large opens in Kent and the NSL finals in Eastbourne, but those fishing our beaches have found little beyond the whiting and flatfish. Boat anglers are having similar difficulties in locating better fish, the sprat and whiting shoals accepted as being the cause for the lack of cod feeding on the beaches.

It happens pretty much every year, codling above about 3lb much prefer to feed on the protein rich sprats and whiting rather than grubbing around the beaches for worms and crustaceans, quite a lot of the better codling caught so far have been caught after they’ve taken a hooked whiting. The only hope is that the codling turn back to the food on the beaches as soon as the shoals move on or the weather breaks the shoals up. The far south of the region may get a bit of a stir up this week as there’s little other than southwest in the forecast, the best chances will be in the far south, hopefully weed will not be too much of an issue above Yarmouth.