Neatishead Staithe continues to fish well in winter

Now that the cold days of January are upon us, fishing for 'silvers' becomes more difficult at a lot of locations on the broads. The fish tend to gather in the creeks and narrows rather than in the open waters, or at least, that appears to be my experience. I have, over the last few months, been continuing to fish at Neatishead Staithe over the winter and I always seem to catch something down there.

I was down there on Monday as it was a nice sort of day; cold but sunny and little wind. At first it seemed quite pleasant in the sunshine but as the sun dropped it did become quite chilly. I reckon temperatures were only 4 or 5C. Fishing with a float and maggots in the middle of the staithe, the first fish I caught was a stonker:-

This 11.5 inch fish looks like a rudd by the colour of its fins and the somewhat upturned mouth, but from the position of its dorsal, pelvic and anal fins I think this is a roach x rudd hybrid. I would guess that this fish weighs between 1lb 2oz and 1lb 4oz. It was certainly a thick-set fish. I caught a similar looking fish late in the day on the 4th November last year:-

This 9 inch fish is not as big and has a more golden appearance. From the layout of its fins I again think this is another roach x rudd hybrid! For comparison, here is a roach that I caught on the 8th November:-

This 10inch fish is, I am pretty sure, a pure roach. As is this 9.5 inch one caught on the same day:-

I think my 11.5inch roach x rudd hybrid is probably an open water (rather than inland lake) personal best for me in the roach-rudd arena.

To end my January day I did a bit of pike fishing too. I have done this before Christmas at this staithe and I caught about a 7 or 8 pounder but I didn't get a picture. The pike are numerous around the dyke and, as you sit by the water, you often see a big swirl as they chase some smaller prey. Occasionally, you get a glimpse of a big tail. I have spoken to fishermen who are pulling out up to 12 pounders and, reportedly (!), there is a 30 pounder lurking in a pool a bit further up the main channel up towards the village. This day I decided to be a bit proactive and trawled a bait round the margins of the dyke up towards the dead end. I had left it up there and had not long sat down in my seat again when I noticed that my float had disappeared and I pulled in this jack:-

This fish is about 24 inches in length and probably weighs 3 to 4lb, so a nice way to end the day.