Last Sunday, after the rain crashing against the bedroom window rudely woke me at 8am, I took my hangover and New Years jadedness to the match on the K&A.

Remarkably the rain held off for the rest of the day after yesterdays deluge had left the water the colour and texture of mulligatawny soup.  I started on the quivertip but after a biteless first hour, I switched to a 6m pole and fished the middle channel on a light float. I had many bites, missed a lot, bumped many, but landed maybe 20 roach, 15 bleak and a teeny but gorgeous gudgeon. The highlight was a 1lb 4oz perch who tugged the elastic and had my heart a flutter until i landed it. This brought me to a grand total of 3lb 3oz, a small return, but a pleasurable day. Most of the other contestants scored between 5 and 7lbs cementing my understanding that my skills remain below par though hopefully I'm starting to close the gap.

Walking the banks of various waters this evening (Wednesday) I was reminded of what wonderful looking waters the NAA has, even under a Mordor sky. Shout out to Barry, who had enjoyed a stonking day when I met him bankside and recognised me as responsible for this blog. Well fished, Barry.