Turned Out Nice Again!

At the beginning of September, we went to Norfolk for a week and stayed at Grove Farm Barns, near Wroxham. A lake and a large pond were nearby, and guests could fish for free. As the large pond was nearer, I decided to fish there.

My first session was on a nice, quiet Sunday afternoon with just one other angler who'd been fishing since mid-morning on sweetcorn, without much luck. I set up my old 10' float rod and Allcock Delmatic reel with a small waggler float.

After throwing in some red maggots, my float was bobbing before slowly sinking under the surface. My first four casts resulted in Gudgeon and then some fin-perfect Roach. Shortly after, I hooked into something a little bigger, and after nearly losing my intended catch in the reeds, I slipped my landing net under an interesting-looking small Carp.

I spoke with a few anglers who'd fished the pond before. They told me Carp weigh up to the mid-teens in the pond and although I didn't catch any of the larger Carp, the fish I did catch were in excellent condition. My next session was in the early morning, and as I approached the pond, I could hear the fish topping.

I'd already set up my 12' Daiwa Gamma rod, which I bought for a tenner from a charity shop. This I paired with my Intrepid Super Twin reel and a small quill float. Once again it wasn't long before the Gudgeon started feeding and then the Roach came along, followed by the smaller Carp.

My final session was late afternoon to early evening, and my previous catch pattern continued: Gudgeon, Roach and then the Carp. Another lovely, quiet time spent bathed in the late summer sunshine.

We also spent some time boating on The Broads, cruising on a Mississippi-style steamboat. Another afternoon, we hired a small boat from Wroxham, and passed Heronby, a large house previously owned by George Formby.

Later in the week we spent the day looking round Norwich, and I found Bridewell Alley, where John Wilson had his Tackle Den. I'm hoping to go back to Norfolk again next year and hopefully fish one of the rivers and Broads.

We had a great week, with good weather, good food, wine and, of course, some great fishing.