I heard of some decent roach coming from the canal, but the bad news was that the weather was forecast to be clear and sunny. Still, there was hope as it was also meant to be foggy, clearing slowly in places. I figured the roach would like the fog, so did something almost unheard of for me - got up early!

Actually my wife's alarm normally goes off at 6.30am, but my normal response is to groan and sink into a kind of pseudo dream world where I am dictator of the world, and think of all the humungous penalties I will prescribe for anyone who gets up earlier than 7.30am. Today was different, however, though by the time I had cleared the ice from the car it was 7am. I was astonished to see loads of other cars on the road - mostly burglars, no doubt, returning from unsuccesful 'visits'. It can't be easy picking locks when they are all iced up - it was hard enough getting into the car!

When I got to the canal I was amazed at the number of fish topping. Mostly small, but with one or two decent fish that could well have been roach - in fact I suspect they all were. I took an age tackling up, as a result of cold fingers. And the bad news was - no fog! I caught one 4oz roach on bread, but then the bites stopped - and I realised that there were no longer any fish topping. I concluded that it was a case of 'good light stops play'.

So I went home to bacon and egg, and decided to come back at dusk - if only to see if there were the same number of fish topping. The answer was - almost none. Why on earth should that be? Anyway I decided to fish maggot with groundbait feeder (so as not to attract the perch). The reason for ledgering was that I find it easier as dusk draws on. Loads of finicky taps which turned out to be very small roach, and then I caught a half pounder. Might not seem much, but I was really pleased. It's a swim that has always defeated me, and I felt that it would give me confidence to catch a monster as soon as we have a mild cloudy Monday!