Where To Fish In Norfolk & Suffolk

Reviewed by Chris Bishop

He’s caught sharks from South Africa, sturgeon in Canada and mahseer in India – but he still loves going piking on the broads, or trotting for chub on the Wensum. John Wilson’s Where to fish in Norfolk and Suffolk, first published in 1973, was a must-have guide to the region’s diverse rivers, drains, broads and stillwaters.

Now the Norwich-based author, broadcaster and all-round angler has brought out an updated and expanded version, which can rightly claim to be The Definitive Guide on Where to Fish.

Even the smallest farm pond rates a mention, while better-known venues like Broadland’s mighty tidal rivers are dealt with almost swim-by-swim, from source to sea. I picked up a copy of the last edition a few weeks after I moved to East Anglia five years or so ago. It was literally like having a knowledgeable mate in the glove box, as I first explored the Fens.

Now updated and expanded, with a wealth of maps and photographs, I can see it’s going to be just as important to me in seasons to come. As the list of specimen fish at the rear of the book shows, Norfolk and Suffolk still boast some of Britain’s best fishing. In fact, it was the fishing which first brought John Wilson to Norfolk, where he opened a small tackle shop in Bridewell Alley, near the centre of Norwich, in the 1970s.

From Broadland’s legacy of massive pike to Bawburgh’s recent run of record breaking bream, East Anglian anglers have plenty to inspire them. But with so much water out there knowing where to start is often half the battle. Take King’s Lynn AA’s mile after mile of Fen drains, for example – or the winding Wensum, a surprising amount of which is free or available on a day ticket. Wilson’s new book gives the low-down on just about every bit of water deep enough to drown a maggot.

Where is it, how big, how deep, what’s in there, what does it cost and what’s catching – exactly what you want to know, in other words. As well as coarse and game fisheries, The Definitive Guide also chronicles the region’s varied coastline, from the sand and salt marshes of Hunstanton and Brancaster, to the shingle beaches of Orfordness. The book is available direct from Barnwell’s of Aylsham for £ 9.95 inc postage.

The Definitive Guide on Where to Fish in Norfolk and Suffolk, by John Wilson
Barnwell’s Timescape Publishing Ltd
Penfold St
Aylsham
Norfolk NR11 6ET

e-mail mail@barnwellprint.co.uk.