3 Men 2 Rivers 1 Boat

Me, dad and my brother embarked on a return journey to the broads some 30years since our last visit together back when we were kids.

Our target Rivers were the Yare and Waveney aboard a 20 odd foot boat our target bream and roach and of course the pike.

Now my research told me that the large shoals of bream did come into Oulton Broad around July so our plan was to moor up and bait up large quantities of vitalin,corn and pellet, fishing would be evenings and morning and very much whenever the fish obliged,

Tactics, feeder fishing with maggot and caster, corn , bread meat and pellet - all angles covered.

Now if you have never been in charge of a boat afloat then i recommend some lessons or practice on a smaller vessel - as we found out that mooring and waiting for bridges were the most challenging.

Look paid the most part - good or bad.

Once we moored at Oulton Dyke (lucky no one at the 100m mooring which still was a disaster to do), it was bait and bream time, expectations high usually means slow sport.

Well it wasnt slow - bites were regular enough, say every 15mins at good periods and every 30mins at other times.

Bream of 4lb were common, we also had perch to 14oz, roach to 12oz oh and many eels - i think the reports of low eel populations of 5 years ago are not as a hot topic for a fisherman now as it was - every other catch was an eel, even on double corn.

best catch in 3 hours was about 40lbs - we seemed to get a flurry of bream bites and then back to roach perch and eels.

30 balls of groundbait each night gave us a 11pm to 1am flurry of bites then it slowed and in the morning the same thing - it was as if we caught the few in the swim and then nothing - all bream within 6oz of each other - but one shoal all had damage, otters, propellers? who knows.

then on the final day we decided while action was good it was repetitive so we decide on a moor in Oulton Broad, nice quite area - yes it was quiet cos the weights went into 6ft of silt.........ahhh

then it was off to find a mooring, a failed attempt meant we had to go back to our starting point, but the mooring was full - so back up stream to where we picked up the boat - problem was the water was more tidal and salty - crap fishing...
We managed to avoid a problem at the bridge where we drifted far too close to the bridge waiting for it to open, then when we moored i was on securing the rope and our approach was a little to fast we overshot - well the rope went straight thru my hands - and you guessed it - severe rope burns, 5 hours in water with a change every 20mins cos the cold water was turning warm......

anyway fishing non existent - so we ended up with only a friday eve to sun morn fishing - but good banter on the sunday evening - even though the tv on the boat did not work and we missed the Euros final.

Verdict
I would defo get some boat handling training - maybe i should buy a smaller boat
Piking time was about 24 hours in the water, live and deads  - not a touch half a mile from Oulton Broad
Bream good but could have better - large shoals not there - but if i lived local i would defo be on the Broad from the bank (for pike also)
roach and perch - potential some good sizes
eels -good to see them back but would rather catch there land locked cousins

pics - to follow