A strange evening, my first Tuesday evening after the clocks went back. I'd intended to do some evening chub fishing on the river, but with strong winds and yet more heavy rain due, I felt an evening huddled under the brolly would be a slightly less uncomfortable than roving the banks.

Naturally, I was the only one on the lake as I was blown down the bank. With the two-rod winter allowance now in place, I cast one to the island, the other along in the margins. I made friends with a mallard who was to be my companion, for the whole evening, it's heart set on munching my method mix I'd imagine rather than being mates, before the main rain started. There was distant thunder too before suddenly the clouds parted and a bright first quarter moon appeared from nowhere and illuminated the whole lake. Beautiful. Even the wind dropped for a few minutes during which time the margin rod was virtually pulled in by a fair fighting 6lb 8 common. Nothing for a further 45 minutes, apart from hooting owls and the occasional passing satellite before a good take on the island rod. Odd - though I'd cast 30 yards or so out, a fish immediately surfaced and started splashing on the surface just a rod length or two out. Had something picked up the bait and swum undetected toward me? No - but the flapping fish in front of me had somehow got my line wrapped around a fin. I netted it, a 5lb 2 common, then reeled in, half expecting another fish on the end, but no. I've no idea how the carp had tangled itself on what was a taut line, but hey ho, I wasn't complaining.

A 5lb 4 common followed later on by more traditional means, and I packed up at 8 thinking three fish to be a pretty good return in the conditions. I started winding in the island rod to find some resistance on the end. This was strange as there is little if any debris in the lake, but I wound the weight in until 10 yards from the bank when it started moving back the other way pretty quickly. Turned out to be a 6lb 2 mirror.