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Hi Both, I've been following your blog for a while Chris as I'm trying to learn about and access the Kennet. Really enjoy your reports. On rods, I have two Drennan Acolyte float rods, a 15' and a 17'. Both are wonderful rods and so far I have had no trouble with them despite much tangling with shrubbery. I have also heard of top section breakages, but for me, so far so good after two years. They have a wonderful combination of finesse and power. Despite their featherweight and ultra slim profile they seem to have "muscle" and speed in the tip section, which allows you to hit the most delicate bite. The 17' was bought for my particular style locally on the Thames, where I often stret peg. It has enough length to get just over the drop off into the main stream. If they were fly rods they would be up there with Sage and probably cost £700+. On reels Bayleaf I am a recent convert to the "pin". It certainly takes time and I still haven't perfected the casting, but my advice would be that once you get one leave the fixed spool reel at home and force yourself to persevere. My own confidence grew when I bought and Aerial style with a line guard, which stops the line blowing around in windy conditions. I've spoken to several in the know and was consistently pointed to the JW Young Purist II as good general purpose trotting reel. There are usually decent used ones on Ebay, from about £250 upwards but buyer beware. I am certain one I saw was a fake. I bought my most recent pin from Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques and John Stephenson there was really helpful. I would recommend them without hesitation. Hope that helps.

Changing swims at the very same Speen Moors this morning, I stumbled across my fishing guru, Chris, extracting his line from the branches of a tree, a most ungodlike position I have often found myself in. All retrieved, he regaled me with details of his catch for the morning thus far, pretty impressive considering I'd not even had a bite. He was kind enough to answer all my questions about tactics and methods and allowed me to watch his next few casts, which resulted in 2 of the smaller fish mentioned. but confirmed what I was doing wasn't that wrong, but there were some subtle tweaks I could make. Not wishing to make more of a nuisance of myself than I already had, I left to employ these these to cash-in at other swims. Chris, I chose swims with a glassy appearance: swapped my waggler for a loafer float attached at both ends keeping the shirt button shotting pattern: I concentrated trotting in the main flow, with some casts in nearer or further runs: I held the float back at times, I let it chug through at others: I cast downstream, and mended any bow: with a 16 hook on 4lb line, I tried red maggot, white maggot, double red, double white and one of each: I struck at every dip of the float as it tripped along the bottom: I loose fed maybe a dozen maggots very 2 mins or so down the main channel: I changed swims every 20 mins or so where nothing was happening. Nothing was happening. Not even a bite of which I could be sure wasn't just the line bumping the bottom. When Chris passed me later (soon after the nuisance 2lb trout) he was kind enough to tell me that 'swim 42' was jumping with fish, but only small ones. At the stage where I was happy to settle for a few small silvers, I thanked him profusely and ran for it. Chris, I packed up at 12 after 5 biteless hours. I am impressed and appalled to hear of your latest amazing haul. My fishing hat off to you, I honestly don't know how you do it, and I can't. Surely the chub don't know I don't have a 14ft rod nor centrepin reel? I'm left with one tiny hope that maybe you douse your maggots in hot beefy Bovril or irresistible lime marmalade maybe? I was close to throwing my gear in the water and taking up some other hobby like golf maybe, but unlike fishing, that's a pointless waste of time and anyway, there's always, always the hope that next time I go fishing... Keep up the great work and thank you for being a sport