(1) Tuesday pm, had another 2 hours to waste my time tossing a lure around, despite the persistent rain throughout. You can't say I'm not keen. The water below the bridge was thick with run-off from the fields, whereas above the lock it is gin-clear through lack of boat traffic, but neither proved conducive, as I didn't get a touch (again). Lure fishing always looks so easy on YouTube. The occasional explosion of bleak suggested the perch were about, but I couldn't tempt them no matter how many times I changed lure, depth or retrieval rate.

(2) Wednesday pm. More rain, so hid under the brolly at Willows. A nice afternoon's mixed fishing with a Mirror of 8lb 8, a surprise tench of 2lb 9. bream of 5lb and finishing with 2 x Commons on 7lb 6 and 5lb 6. That was more like it.

(3) Friday. No rain, but the gentle breeze was bitter. Nothing from first light except having to watch lovey-dovey grebes necking in my swim, as well as regular shameless duck gang-bangs putting me right off my bite detection. Then a million black gnats hatched and insisted on swarming over my head. But finally, at 2pm, two Commons of 6lb 9 and a stonking 14lb 2 arrived within 5 minutes of each other and suddenly it wasn't a bad day after all. The fun died down again, but there was still time for a 7lb 8-er to make it a hattrick.