So after a number of not particularly successful sessions, mainly on the river, and having had a car crash on the way to my last river trip I needed a confidence building fishing session, otherwise I was in danger of giving it up over the cold months. Last year Was my first full year of fishing and with some enthusiasm I fished through rain, sleet, snow and ice but I could se this winter being different if I didn’t get a confidence booster….

So I headed up to Blythe Waters, run by British Waterways, nr Solihull. I have fished there a few times, one session I had 9 tench none of them small, but I have also had an 8 hour session with only a handful of little fish so nothing was guaranteed. After the half term week looking after the kids this Friday was going to be relaxing, even if the brolly went up and down a few times…

One of the reasons I like Blythe Waters is the lack of rules, so if a method isn’t working I’m not stuck with it. I can also park the car near to the lake so I don’t mind carrying nearly all the fishing gear I own.

I fished a carp rod with running bolt rig, with hair rigged pineapple boilies and PVA bags of halibut pellets and a float rod with maggots (and some casters which had turned.

I tried the casters and to my surprise they worked really well, even though my loosefed casters floated. Roach, Bream and a chub on the float. I also managed a couple of perch and a 4lb carp on maggots on the float.

On the carp rod I had a number of runs which amounted to nothing but my bait placement got better and by 5pm when I had to go, I had 9lb mirror and and 8lb common carp in the net. Nothing massive but I broke the jinx and I am straining at the bit.

On Sunday afternoon I took a walk round a lake very close to me with some big fish, ad cheap too. Watched a man take a 2lb+ crucian on the pole so I can’t wait to get on there