Lowestoft

Lowestoft, like all east coast ports, gets little publicity regards it's angling potential. Certainly, the wealth of species found on the west coast are not present here. However, the winter fishing can be good with cod the predominant species.

NOTED MARKS AND FEATURES
Most of the ground is fairly clean with little in the way of snags. The water is fairly shallow inshore, though wrecks out in deeper water have been proved to hold stocks of cod throughout the summer months, along with ling and probably pollack. Longliners work banks 40 miles off in the summer returning with cod well over 20 and 30lbs. This offshore potential has yet to be tapped by angling boats.

SPECIES
January and February give a good chance of cod over 20lbs, with numbers of smaller codling to 6lbs and double figure fish. Whiting and dabs make up the rest of the catch. March and April sees numbers of smaller codling taken with whiting moving out. Thornback rays show close inshore from May, but not in great numbers. Bass hunt the inshore sandbanks along with occasional smoothound right through the summer and early autumn. The smoothound though, are generally the smaller fish. Dogfish and mackerel, more associated with the west of Britain also put in an appearance, but again not in the same numbers. Tope are present, mainly smaller pack fish between 12 and 18lbs. These are hit and miss though.

Winter species return with the whiting stocks increasing during late August followed by the vanguard of the cod shoals during September. Dab catches can be good at this time too. The best of the cod for numbers come in November and December, though heavy shoals of sprats can push them out of reach.

TIDES AND WEATHER
The bigger spring tides tend to give the best of the cod fishing, though when after whiting and dabs it is far less critical. Smaller codling show on the neaps too.

In summer, rays require bigger tides as do the bass which tend to show over the offshore banks during the calmer spells of weather along with the smoothound.

TACKLE
Standard uptide rods and reels cover just about all circumstances here, but some anglers choose a 20lb class standard length boat rod for specific downtide fishing. Some of the further off marks suit the addition of 30lb class tackle.

Uptide leads of 6 and 8ozs with long wires will hold just about anywhere, but for downtide fishing carry some upto 1lb or 1 1/2lbs for guaranteed anchoring.

BAITS
By far the most used bait here, and therefore the most successful, is lugworm. Mainly the blow lug type which is used in multiples to get a bait at least 8ins long for cod and codling. Mackerel, cut into small strips, takes dabs and whiting. Bass, rays, and any tope hit bigger mackerel and herring baits in the summer. Both bass and smoothound go well on peeler crab which seems to get little used locally.