Bream Fishing, Riverside Road, River Wensum - Michael Woods

This entry was posted on 4th March, 2014

After a couple of weeks away from the bank, due to the terrible wind and rain we have been getting, I was really happy to see that the forecast for this Sunday was mild, dry and sunny and at last, without the 50mph + winds we have been getting in Norfolk. To be fair here in Norfolk we have been lucky compared to the rest of the UK and all the poor people who have had there homes flooded, of course the fishing on Rivers and Commercial venues have been negatively affected as well to say the least.

On Saturday I had spoken at length with Wayne Anderson (2013 King of the Yare Champion) in Angling Direct Norwich who confirmed that the Rivers were fishing really well for Bream with plenty of colour running through as a result of the extra water and constant rain we have had in recent weeks. He mentioned that Thorpe Green, Bramerton and Riverside were fishing well and I did have a look at Thorpe Green and it was indeed running through like hot chocolate!

After stocking up with bait Saturday I was up and out the door by 8am on Sunday. I wanted to leave earlier to meet Wayne at Riverside but with just getting over a cold it was hard to do so. Wayne was going to be fishing Riverside if a club from London were not there but he decided to go straight to Thorpe Green were I met him. He had been fishing from just after 7am and had 7 big Bream in the keepnet already!

Dusty Kiddell who I used to match fish with for Brundall Angling Centre was further upstream in the slip way swim and had 5 slabs so the fish were there but they were both agreeing that the fishing had completely dried up and no one was getting bites with the sun on the water. The trouble with Thorpe Green during the day is that the water is so shallow so even if the water is coloured up fishing during the day can be hard work as the fish shy away.

Due to this the three of us headed to Riverside Road and set up the gear downstream of the Gym as the club from London were not there. Wayne set up in a swim which had been the winning peg in the previous match with Dusty and myself to the left. This is only the 2nd time I have fished along here so I knew I was against stiff competition against two of Norfolk's best match anglers, as per the others I fished an all out feeder attack for Bream.



Wayne and Dusty were both fishing pretty much instantly as they had rods and ground bait ready to go and after about ten minutes Wayne already had a good slab on the feeder so things were looking up! Dusty also had a Bream on the feeder quickly but Wayne seemed to be pulling them in non stop!! I was so keen to fish that even as I was still mixing the ground bait I was casting the feeder out nicking some of Dusty's ground bait ! This worked and I had 4 good Bream in quick succession much to the annoyance of Dusty as he was still on his first fish!

Tactics for me were a standard running feeder rig with a size 18 Kamasan hook with ground bait being a mixture of  Sensas Lake 3000 mixed with Mosella Brasem I was using casters, maggots and chopped worm. I did try corn a few times but didn't even have a touch on it at all which was strange. It seemed ever double dead red maggot or worm head was the bait the fish wanted.

I was getting the Bream but was struggling to keep them biting constantly as the fish seemed to be moving around. I tried the usual tactics of casting slightly further or shorter and changing hook lengths which seemed to pick some extra fish up. Dusty was having a similar situation and seemed to have some Bream whilst I sat bite less and vice versa which was interesting.



However Wayne really was the star of the show and whatever he was doing was working well and he seemed to have his rod bent over landing a Bream every time I looked across. It was a fantastic session a little breezy at times but with the sun out and the Bream which were a good sized in perfect condition it really was a fantastic river session without doubt my favourite style of fishing it's just a pity the closed season is 3 weekends away now.

By the end of the session at 5pm we were all happy with how the fishing went overall. For me it was impressive to watch Wayne in action without doubt he is one of the best river anglers In Norfolk and probably across the UK. He did go through with me after we packed away a number of tips which I have never considered and really would make a huge difference. I don't like holding information back on the blog but out of respect to Wayne I can't put them to print but his type of thinking shows why he is getting the results gets.



Also I have to say that despite a negative view of fishing Riverside Road it was a great atmosphere all day and quiet apart from the odd runner and dog walker with some parents and kids enjoying seeing some fish coming out. It would be great for the council to encourage angling along here with dedicated anglers parking and encouragement to fish when the matches are not running.

So the catch results were as follows:

Wayne 30 x Bream to 7lbs - Over 100lb of fish (+ he had 7 at Thorpe Green)

Myself 13 x Bream to 7lbs - Over 50lb of fish (didn't fish Thorpe Green)

Dusty 9 x Bream to 7lbs - Over 40lb of fish (+ he had 5 at Thorpe Green)

Absolutely fantastic fishing for this time of year and in total in 6 hours fishing between the three of us that's 64 bream from both venues to 220lb + of fish in total, unbelievable !!!!! This is thanks to the coloured conditions and some good angling and I look forward to getting out again hopefully 3 or 4 more times before the season ends on the 15th March.

Tight Lines, Michael.

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Tackle Box Nisa Feeders Kamasan Hooks Sensas Lake 3000 Sensas Brasem CG Dendrobeana Worms