My anticlimactic July continues.

At least it was only 25 degrees rather than the 30 of the last 7 consecutive days. I should have known it would be tough when I tackled up and made my first cast to find I'd not threaded the top two rod rings. Sounds incredulous, but in my defence I was being attacked by early morning mosquitoes and was bitten several times in the process before running back to the car for the Deet.

There were tempting patches of feeding fish bubbles before 8am, and I was snapped up float fishing close in by something that went off like a rocket. Schoolboy error: I hadn't set the drag, and that was that. Managed an 8oz bream, a 3lb 3 mirror, and commons of 3lb 6 and 1lb before the sun drove the bites away.

With nothing happening on my rod, I had time to watch a couple of kids, and later on a viking catch many carp off the surface with dog biscuits. They seemed to manage it without the plague of water fowl that have totally scuppered my previous efforts to the point where I didn't bring any baits. With nothing happening on the bottom, I raised the float and went light for another bream, 3 roach and 34 perch of up to 8ounces, probably averaging 3oz.

With my session having to end before the cool of the evening returned, my final cast brought a 3lb mirror. 

Four carp in a day can't be that bad, but when none hit the 3.5lb mark, it can only be a little disappointing