Blimey, what a scorcher. I was hot and bothered by 9am and deeply regretting not choosing one of the shady swims on the east bank.

My tactics, unless you can tell me otherwise, I believed were sound:

(i)  Method feeder into open water where I had seen bubble patches, until the first carp appeared cruising under the surface, when I'd switch to:
(ii) a bomb from with a length of floating line long enough to suspend a hook about 6 inches under the surface, concealed within, a hair-rigged pop-up clothed in a large piece of breadflake. (True surface fishing I've found too stressful due to the persistent attentions of those horrid birds).

What could go wrong? 

(i) brought a single 4oz skimmer while (ii) caught nothing. One carp swam absolutely past my offering and wasn't bothered. It was just so hot. I changed swim to take advantage of a 4ft patch of shade from an overhanging branch and swapped again to (iii) float-fished maggot less than a rod length out. In a fun hour, this brought 10 feisty perch (a couple around 6 oz), a roach, a rudd and a 6oz skimmer.  The the temp now approaching 30 degrees, I gave up for the shade of the Greenham Mill runoff.

In an hour, I was blessed with 13 bleak, a roach, a knap hand of minnow and a rather peeved-looking 8oz brownie. When you've used all your Factor 50 and not had a bite in 5 hours at Willows, to catch anything makes you feel like Captain Ahab.