8.30-10pm. What on earth to do on the evening of a hot bright day? I couldn't better Rusty's recent idea of trying for Carp on the top, though not being quite as perverse as him I went to the 2 lakes nearby that are supposed to have carp in them! I first looked at the bigger lake, but there was no sign of activity, so I tried the smaller easier one.

I then realised I had left some of my tackle behind, so had to go back home and didn't start till 8.30pm. It was amazing - the carp were very active. It was immediately clear that only the most outstanding display of bad angling could result in not catching any fish.........

Then the difficulties started. I had tied a couple of hair rigs, planning to glue 2 dog pellets together on each, but had forgotten the glue. Still, there was one tied with a 6 year old biscuit attached, so I tried that. 3 takes, but pulled out of their mouths, so I decided the hair was too long. I messed about with various adaptations but without the proper gear, and by this time the loose feed had drifted in right under my feet, and there were great mouths wide open sucking in food just 2 feet from the bank. They didn't seem in the least bit bothered by the strange creature sitting on the bank with a long stick in his hands. It was like enormous chicks in a nest wanting a worm from mum, so I took off the controller and tried dapping the biscuit wherever the carp were - it was almost a case of trying to lower it into their mouths! The problem was attaching the biscuit to the hook. I had half soaked some biscuits, and managed to nick the hook through the soft stuff at the edge, but a couple of times they managed to suck the bait of the hook.

It was so amazing I really wasn't that bothered whether I actually caught one, but then, while I was looking down at something the reel screamed and I assumed that a carp had hooked itself - an ideal end to the evening. Alas, it was foul hooked in the tail, and took an age to land, and seemed to spook the others. Time to go home.

A great evening - frustrating, enjoyable, idiotic - but great. The moon was high in the sky and it was quite bright still when I went home at 10pm. A lovely scene, and I was thankful to be an angler.