On Sunday I walked along the stretch with Mrs S and friends on the way to a Bank Holiday beer at Hungerford. There were several sets of delicious looking feeding bubbles that had me desperate to return minus wife and plus rod ASAP. That chance came the next day, with a few pinched hours in the afternoon.

The feeding bubbles, naturally, weren't there today; but I've rarely found that Avington fishes well in the sunshine. I think maggots or casters would have improved my chances, and certainly a lobworm or two when the perch started bothering the surface roach. Having bumped several fish, I thought that four roach to 4oz was to be my lot, but I did manage a surprisingly feisty 1lb 4oz bream to make it sort of seem as worthwhile as it had been fun.