Late November - present. K&A Canal.

First entry for a while so I'll have to back track a little. After November's success I had a few more sessions after those carp, all bringing blanks or snotty bream, that typically hung themselves just as it was looking prime for a bite and getting a rig back out was difficult due to the light .

I even had a couple of trips to day tickets with a mate, both renowned for being "runs waters" and drew blanks on those too. That was back in that spell of cold weather with strong bitter winds and nobody else caught while we were there in our defense. Anyway, that was enough to put the carp fishing to bed for the winter so naturally I dusted off the lure rod and ventured out for my first perching trip since early Spring.

I've fished a few short sessions since and to be honest it's been trickier than I expected. It's still unseasonably mild and I think that's delaying the congregation of bait fish. As a result the predators are still well spread so it's been a case of picking off a few here and there rather than finding definite holding areas. As if to prove a point the majority of last years hotspots have been extremely quiet, which in one way is nice as it helps keep things fresh, but is also a bit frustrating as it's making after work sessions pointless.

It's not all been bad though as I've managed 7 over 2 so far, the biggest going between 2.9 and 2.10.

The fettle of the canal has been so varied which I don't think's helping either. I had a few days leave from work last week and inevitably ended up fishing 3 of them.

The first saw the canal clearer than I've ever seen it... you could comfortably see the bottom across the whole width with polaroids and worryingly it looked devoid of fish. Where they go is a mystery to me. The day after it was equally as clear and only after a boat had gone through near dusk did we catch. A bit of rain that night saw a touch more colour and the following morning it all came together and me and a couple of mates couldn't seem to put a foot wrong, all catching 2's and numerous pike in a couple of hours fishing before the call of the pub took over.

Since then the rain has been incessant and the result is a horrifically coloured Kennet and Avon. Unsurprisingly the confidence took a plummet and the next session lasted a measly 20 minutes before I ended up in the pub once again, this time with no intention of coming back out.

A couple of pics below of 3 all caught just after that boat went through in the space of 10 minutes. A brace of 2.4 and 2.6 and the biggest one of the winter so far on his own.