Ok, so my experiment didn't work. 3 small roach in three other venues had me cross at my lack pf skill and back at the shallows of Willows until the water warms up.

But then Saturday only saw my bad run continue. A day spent in the sun was pleasant enough, but only one bite and a face-saving 5lb 8 Common was a disappointment.

Tuesday brought the first cloudy day in a fortnight and temperatures half of last weeks 16 degrees, My first evening stint since the clock change had me changing tack from last Saturday and I stuck to the margins rather than pinging towards the island. This didn't work either until the last hour when as darkness came in, I had a fab Crucian of 2lb 14 (my p.b.), a tench of the same weight, a 7lb bream hooked mere inches from the bank, and finally, while packing up, a bonus Common of 9lb 7.

I'd have stayed longer, but I only had a torch and the beam of my smile, and it was getting pretty chilly. To cap a morale-boosting session, I saw the kingfisher (twice), had my float mouthed and spat out by a Canada goose, and packed up beneath circling bats to the sound of an owl. I love fishing.