I thought I'd save you yet more of the same thing by condensing the last three trips into one post.

My plans to migrate to the rivers/canals for winter were delayed for a further week as (1) my Tuesday afternoon slot takes my only evening slot and I just feel more comfortable fishing lakes than the crayfish-filled rivers in the dark and (2) the forecast for Friday and Saturday were billed as being very wet, and I felt hiding under a brolly was slightly less uncomfortable lakeside.

Tuesday - A skimmer and 3 x commons - 6lb 10, 7lb 12 and 5lb 5 on three different baits The final two being on a star-lited float in the margins on the centrepin were particularly exciting.

Friday - with strong winds, rain, but an air pressure of less than 1,000mb, I hoped the carp would be throwing themselves on the bank. And so it proved in the morning at least, with commons of 8lb 5, 4lb 8, 8lb 8 and 8lb 2 supplemented by mirrors of 6lb and 5lb 6 during on/off torrential rains. However, no matter what I tried, the afternoon brought nothing but mercifully fairer weather and the obligatory skimmer.

Saturday - I spent the first hour sitting in the car as the rain lashed the windscreen before venturing out. The same surface chop as yesterday, but for the first four hours I couldn't buy a bite. To prevent the possibility of a blank, I set up my light float rod and from the first cast, had 13 roach to 6 ounces, 5 rudd, 3 bream and a perch. With half an hour to go, the float sank again an this time it was a proper fish. Ponderous at first, when the coin dropped it fought very hard and took all of those final 30 minutes to land. It came in at only 8lb 5, but my knots and forearms had passed the test and salvaged the day. Hurrah!