Another enjoyable afternoon at Neatishead Staithe

I was back at Neatishead staithe this afternoon. A mild (12C), overcast and windless day that was ideal for fishing. This time I was sat at the end of the staithe on the left-hand side where it joins Limekiln Dyke. I arrived about 2.30pm and there were three other fishermen on the opposite bank.

I was again using my 4 week old maggots and casters that I had last Sunday and without much effort a double red maggot was reaping rewards with some fine looking roach. I was again feeding in the casters to attract the fish. The advantage of a still day is that you can see the more sensitive bites more easily and not constantly distracted by ripples and the wind blowing your gear about.

I brought some pike gear along with me today and put out a dead bait (a sprat) on a float but without much success. I kept taking the gear out of the water because my friends, the swans, were back again (the same pair from Sunday) and we also had a visit from an otter. The first thing I saw of the otter was its tell-tale sign of a stream of bubbles rocketing towards me across the water. It carried on towards the upper reaches of Limekiln Dyke and then returned the same way and we had a good view of it on the surface of the water by the opposite bank.

I had my first good fish just after 3pm:-

This bream is 36cm or 14.2 inches which is probably in the 1.5lb range. Ten minutes later I had this super roach:-

This was about 28cm or 11 inches and came in at 12oz as I did bother to weigh it. This was all very rewarding and I was definitely having a good day. Anyway, I finished up with 12 roach, 2 bream and one small perch. Oh, and the ring on the swan's leg was numbered 4BYU for any of you birders out there that like to keep a track of our long-necked friends!

All text and pictures copyright Duncan Hale-Sutton 2020.