Angling
The River Wensum is one of the major angling rivers in East Anglia. The river water quality is top-class, and habitat previously lost through over-dredging and canalisation (straightening the river and installing man-made banks) is being recreated through restoration projects and sensitive management.
We have produced a leaflet called ‘Where to fish in the Wensum Valley’ which provides a complete list of river and still water fisheries, with details on contacts and where permits are / are not required.
For example the Wensum Valley is full of flooded gravel pits. They are mainly managed for angling, either being run or leased by fishing clubs. A large proportion of the banks of the River Wensum is also owned or leased by angling clubs.
Informal access to the river is available for angling at Norwich, Fakenham, Ringland Bridge and Drayton Green Lanes, i.e. permits are not required from an angling club. Here, children as well as adults can make use of the river for angling.
Wheelchair-friendly fishing platforms where no permits are required are located just upstream of Fakenham Mill and along the banks at Train Wood, Norwich (woodland behind Halford’s superstore on Barker Street). Access to the Wood is from the Marriott’s Way hard-surfaced path. The riverside path through Train Wood may become overgrown in summer and muddy in the winter.
‘Where to fish in the Wensum Valley’ leaflets can be found in local tackle shops, libraries and tourist information centres, or contact us for a copy.
Please remember that you always need a rod licence, regardless of where you are fishing. These can be obtained from the Environment Agency.
Norfolk Anglers Conservation Association
(NACA). 
NACA campaigns for and works to promote a clean and healthy aquatic environment in which all forms of wildlife can thrive and prosper. It has carried out habitat creation and river restoration work on the River Wensum at Sparham and Costessey.