2pm - 4.30pm

Very mild day, and a few days leave left so took a few hours to go perching. Went to a tree swim on the canal where a friend bagged up a few days ago using the pole. Had thought the colour would have dropped out sufficiently to make jigging a plastic worm a good option, aiming for my first perch on a plastic. But the canal was more coloured than I expected so I decided to try lobworm on a straight lead, with maggots sprayed over the top. But I would use a long-drop bobbin, which I have had recommended on A.N. as having less resistance than a quiver tip, so if I caught that would be a first.

3 nice perch to 1.5 pounds. Nothing compared to the bag of my friend a couple of days before, but the bobbin worked well and gave me confidence to try it again. But I had to agree with friend that the pole would have been better - less splash, more precise presentation, tighter feeding. Despite this I'm not rushing out to get a pole, other than my cheap but heavy telescopic affair. Next time I think I'll float fish, even though I'll probably get caught up trying to get the float close enough to the snaggy tree.