With no gardening work to be done after yesterday's rain and gales, another bonus fish was to be had. Again, I'd have preferred running water given this weekends close season, but with 40mph winds due, I wimped out for the sheltered banks of a lake. I had my freedom of Dobsons, choosing a new swim for me on the north east bank where I could cast towards the island. My beautiful solitude was broken by a courting couple of Canada geese, who jumped off the island into my swim to perform their ablutions for 15 minutes, repeatedly flapping their wings hard on the water, then treading water when rising to shake them dry. The commotion they made was even stronger than the chop on the surface from the wind. I wondered if the carp would tolerate this as a natural environmental disturbance, or whether it was sending them to the opposite end of the lake.

My conclusion was probably the latter until early afternoon when the bobbin popped and in came a very welcome, very pretty 8lb 4 oz Common. It wasn't the greatest fight to be honest, my employing the same, steady heave then wind tactic I'd used earlier to drag in the large branch I'd snagged on the bottom. I'd played about with pop-ups and pellets on the method feeder, and this, my only bite, came from a cast I'd freaked right up to the island bank. 

With an hour to go, I moved the short distance to Warwicks' for some light tiddler bashing. After four tiny roach from forty four missed bites in the first ten mins, I went heavier with sweetcorn and later a worm. Nothing on either in 30 mins, I went back to single caster/maggot and found all the small fish had gone. I did see an amazing rainbow, however, and was happy/amazed to return home without the umbrella being needed once.