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My first trip out since consecutive blanks a week ago. After a few nights of freezing temperatures, storm Isha piled through yesterday, strewing my recycling all round the garden, but melting the ice on the lake top. It was still pretty windy, so I sat in the west corner and let it blow over my head. Knowing the water temperature to be pretty chilly, I kept it light and small, float fishing a single piece of corn on a size 18 1.5 rod lengths out. I slobbed in a walnut-sized lump of groundbait every so often and had bites from the start which allowed me to step up to a size 16. Ended up with 17 bream, 13 of which were between 1lb and 3lb 12, a couple of nice roach and a bonus 6lb 2 common. A fun day. I kept a pike rod out to the right, twitching and recasting the deadbait regularly. It remained untouched apart from one curious incident. Bringing in another bream, it found the gumption to fight, changed direction totally (probably pursued by a pike) and made for the direction of my bung. The lines inevitably crossed and which point my pike rod started to bounce. I chucked the float rod down to grab it. A large pike showed its flank and roared away, and I played it for a good 30 seconds before it dropped off/let go. Not sure quite what happened there, but as well as not catching a pike, the bream hooklink had snapped. Bah.

January 23 was a time of short mid-winter trips to Marsh Benham to plunder its chub and a great many fat trout. This year in South Wales, we sadly have no such river within 30 miles radius (well, none that are not fly fishing only or seen devoid of fish) so it's lakes for me with their inherent poor behaviour in cold weather combined with my lack of ability. 1.1 - Treoes. Scaled down on the tackle and winkled out 4 bream, the biggest of 3lb 2. 5.1 - Treoes. Having spent the cold evenings watching videos on winter lake fishing, I come armed with new tactics. I fished at length with a large bodied waggler, the vast majority of it's 5ssg capacity either side of the float, with a size 18 hook length, ready to step to to either a 16 or 14 once the bigger fish start moving in. The sun rose so low and so bright that I was blinded from the float so had to move to a less painful swim. Kept on the size 18 all day, managing 24 roach from micro-size to 4oz, 13 skimmers and a surprise 2 rudd. Oh well, unlike the Newbury lakes where the cormorants and crayfish have all but accounted for the tinies, at least it's good to see them thriving here. 12.1 - Fendrod Lake, Swansea. Another bright, sunny but chilly day, I changed venue to this 13 acre park lake. Picked a sheltered swim at the deeper end of the lake where the low sun would be hitting the water in front of me. I felt the fish might be drawn to the marginally higher water temperature as the afternoon progressed. It's also the only swim on the entire lake that drops away from the constant strolling by of the general public thus affords the relief of being able to take a shameless wee when needed. Perfectly pleasant sitting in the sunshine, emptying the bladder when required with impunity, but one rod on wafters and the other on teeny hooks with a single maggot brought no bites. 14.1 - Treoes. The second leg of Glamorgan Angling Club's annual pike matches. Most, including me had blanked on the first. 16 of us doughty anglers turned up on a Sunday morning to lovely overcast conditions after days of chill and blue sky. By the time the 9am start came, this had gone and it was hard and clear again. I'd drawn a swim on the shady bank while my compatriots opposite side removed layers and protected their eyes from the glare, I shivered. Looking at the high number of vibrant pike floats across the lake was reminiscent of a schoolboy's heavily acne'd face, but not one of them moved in the entire 6 hours. I've never come close to winning a match before, so to come equal 1st was a minor consolation! 15.1 - Hmm, with it forecast to be colder today and with a northerly wind. I think I'll find something else to do instead.

A last session of the year at my default lake. A fun trip, though thank goodness for bream. After a slow start a shoal found me, and in groups of two or three I ended up wit eleven, ten of which came in between 1lb and 4lb 4. With a bonus carp of 6lb 6 and the rain keeping off me all day, I would have settled for this before hand.

Having abandoned any further 1hr 40 minute round trips to my 'local' river which seemingly holding no fish, and my very local Port Talbot Docks mysteriously having last week closed to all further fishing, it's my usual lake again. Friday. With the frosts a few days past now I was hoping the fish will have woken up hungry. Well, they sort of had. Got a handful of roach and bream, but in heavy rain did get a bonus 13lb 6 Common. Monday. A chilly but often sunny day. I chose to sit on the north bank and cast to where the sun might be warming the water slightly. Certainly gloves were required where I sat in the shade, but as the temperature started to rise so the bites began. I had 22 bream, biggest 2lb 8 with four over the 2lb mark, plus two nice roach. I also set up a pike rod as a 'sleeper', this time with a sprat, my thinking it being more like the silvers I imagine the pike eat than my usual half mackerel. Though I twitched the bait occasionally, and dripped maggots around to being in the bait fish it sat untouched. Until 2pm when the float pulled under and the line tightened. I struck and was in. It gave a good fight, remaining unseen and regularly stripping line for a good few minutes. Finally it started to fade and revealed itself - a 9lb 10 Common carp!

My third trip to the Ely. It's my nearest coarse river and, with a stop at Bridgend to pick up maggots, took me about 50 minutes. That's too long, but I'm missing my chub fishing. We've had a clear and chilly last week that's warmed in the last couple of days with some rain and cloud giving a pleasant lift in temperature that I think makes it ripe for action. It's a lovely looking river, much like the Kennet in places with glides and overhangs - very chubby looking. Having suffered two blanks here so far, I've sharpened my technique watching every long-trotting video I could find on You Tube. So I'm pretty confident I have validated my choice of swim, loose feed strategy, depth, weight of float (4ssg) drawn beautifully off the centrepin, shot distribution and hook size to be pretty confident that if there's fishy action to be had, I should see some of it. Nope. On my fifth swim I finally get an apologetic bite and a sucked maggot, and that's the peak of the action. That's it. We're through. The Ely can poke it. That's probably around 9 hours of fishing here for a mouthed maggot and a dropped 2oz (probably) roach. Those readers who curse the presence of trout in their waters read ruefully. What I wouldn't have given for an angry-faced brownie.

With rain due and the prospect of hiding under a brolly, a lake seemed a better option than a river bank. A change of tactics though. With maggots left from Saturday, I thought I'd fish light, aiming to get the silvers going that might stimulate the pike into accepting a juicy half-mackerel dangled on a sleeper rod a few yards away near the rushes where I suspected predators might lie. Part A of the plan worked superbly, with 21 roach to 6oz (though most smaller) plus 21 bream (larger with one of 2lb 10) Needless to say, Plan B was less successful, the dead bait being ignored completely - a regular occurrence in recent weeks. With an hour to go I was approached by the bailiff who looks like Neil Warnock and has the temperament to match. 'We need to have words' he told me. Turns out that 'we don't lift fish out of the water, every fish must be netted.' I looked at my pike-sized 3ft net and pictured the one or two ounce roach that he must have seen my lift. He sensed my incredulity. 'Gravity applies to all fish. It's in the rules. Bring a smaller net next time.' He left with a 'have a good rest of your session.' Being a good boy and not wanting to risk my permit, I switched bait to corn to perhaps reduce the number of nettings to fish of a slightly larger size that wouldn't have them **** with laughter at the size of my net and didn't get another bite. Still, after two consecutive blanks it was good to boost the averages and bring a fairly sorry November's fishing to a close.

A short session on the coldest morning of the winter so far. I'd been scrutinising Google Earth and found more potential access to the heavily vegetated bankside. Over quite a walk, I found 5 swims, all allowing a good trot of a float. With the centrepin spinning nicely, and the frost starting to melt around me, it felt an idyllic venue, apart from no fish. I did bump a tiddler early on,but that was it. Hmm, that's 2/2 blanks. I'm not sure if its my ineptitude or a lack of fish, but I'll be making some more masochistic visits, i'm sure. Just a shame that it's my nearest coarse fishing river at 35 minutes from home. One thing, while under the cover of trees an enormous bird of prey flew low over the canopy, enough to cause quite a shadow as it passed. having lived in Berkshire where Red Kites outnumber sparrows, I am used to the sight of large birds, but this was huge. Would they have ospreys within 10 miles of central Cardiff?

My second trip to my local venue having been given prior permission by land manager, Dai the Worm. And a second run-less blank. As I left, the chap pole fishing for silvers a few swims away told be he'd been bitten off by pike 'at least six times'. This is a common complaint of matchmen here, so I didn't doubt it. I've been told that only live baiting works here, but that's against my personal fishing creed. Wasn't a total disappointment as I did find out that the enormous brick building on the far bank is not part of the steelworks at all, but is a cement factory. Since my trip, Dai the Worm has announced that no fishing will be allowed after 27th November. Shame.

My debut at my local water, a large expanse of water alongside the steelworks. Though I moved to Wales in July, I'd not fished it yet because of my apprehension of Dai the Worm. In order to fish it, one must obtain permission a day or two ahead from this local legend. However I'd been warned to make sure I 'only phone him when he's in a good mood' -which sounded a bit arbitrary, so I thought it best to make a personal acquaintance first and perhaps get him used to my English accent before calling out of the blue telling him I wanted to fish his docks. So the safety-in-numbers of a pike match arranged by Glamorgan Anglers seemed the idea opportunity to meet Dai in a safe environment, only he wasn't there. Never mind, 13 other anglers were, all keen to pit wits against the Esox in a bid for the Bryn Hedges trophy. Perhaps I got a bit of empathy for Dai's position in monitoring who gets in to the venue and who doesn't. We drove through both heavily secured gates into a wasteland of crumbling concrete, scrub and rusting nautical hardware. You really wouldn't want kids there or those who might have an interest in removing the vast ancient metal capstans. I was pegged opposite one of the complexes of the steelworks and with the disintegrating concrete pilings of a once active landing stage standing in my swim. I was concerned that if I hooked any self-respecting pike it would immediately head for these braid-snapping pillars. The toughness of the swim was reinforced by a submerged ledge 2 rod lengths out after which the depth plunged vertically to a depth that once handled shipping. The silver fish matchmen talk of pike being a total nuisance, grabbing sufficient roach on the wind-in to half their overall catch weights. Live bait is the only way to go, they told me, but personally I refuse to do this, feeling there is nothing more terrifying I could do to any creature than impale it on big hooks and suspend it in areas they know to be of grave danger. So half mackerel it was, both popped up off the bottom which I was assured was full of hook blunting boulders and lead trapping snags. With the temperature having dropped from double-figures to three degrees overnight and a day of bright sunshine after a week of Welsh rain, I felt it might not be the greatest day for pike fishing. And do it proved, with only three anglers catching - two small jacks and one maybe 8lbs. I certainly wasn't one of them, but at least I have a feel of the water now and a confidence to approach Dai the Worm when I surely return. If he lets me.

Three more trips to my mainstay lake while I work out what the heck I'm going to do for my winter fishing. Monday - Not a touch on pike rod, but the other brought commons of 7lb 8, 6lb 12, 6lb 9, 7lb 10 and 6lb 8 plus a 7lb 12 mirror and a single small bream. A good day. Friday - Didn't bother with the pike rig put put on prawn pieces hoping for perch. A slower day but 2 commons both of 11lb 6 and a mirror of 6lb made it a fair day. Monday - With Storm Debi blowing for Wales, the sight of heron trying to take off was the highlight of the day. Unsurprisingly, I was the only one on the lake, huddled into the west corner with the 45mph winds roaring over my head and creating surf on the far bank. The fish were largely hiding so it was a worse day than even to lose four carp mid-fight, but commons of 6lb 4 and 4lb 8 plus a single skimmer made it all worthwhile.

Autumn may bring mellow fruitfulness and waterlogged pitches, but it also brings a hit-and-miss nature to lake fishing. That's despite all the angling press telling you that the fish are desperate to fatten themselves up like turkeys for Christmas. With no rivers or canals in easy reach, I persevered with the lake I've been plundering since my arrival in summer. Friday - One pike rod (though it may still be too warm for them to really get going) and one float rod. The dead bait wasn't touched all day, and a single common of 9lbs and a 1.5lb bream represented a below-par return despite a bonus 2lb tench. Monday - Had a stinking cold so decided i'd be better off sneezing on the bank all day rather than at home in bed. Was pretty spaced out, so was almost relived only to only have my stupor disturbed by a handful of silvers. One 6oz bream came with a few mins to go where it was snapped at by a pike lying low pretty much at my feet. Typical - the dead bait had not been touched all day. I took my remaining resolve to see if I could encourage him to attack again by winding in my bored looking chunk of mackerel and swirling it around under the rod tip under the surface of the margin in front of me. Sure enough, after 30 seconds there was an eruption as the frustrated pike fell for it. A tug-of-war ensued rather than a fight, as the pike and I eyeballed each other as we both pulled for supremacy. I lowered the net in and would have scooped him up, but a combination of water resistance and my stuffy headedness made me miss at which the unhooked pike decided to let go, and slid over the top of the net and away. It was probably only 5 or 6lbs say, but I felt so rough I was glad to be spared the effort of unhooking it. In hindsight and with more faculties on-line I should have struck, but the pull of the pike made me think it was hooked.

Saturday morning didn't start as planned. My new neighbour showed me a spot where the bass hoard up on the tidal River Afan 2 hours before high tide. There I was, but the tide had already spilled over the obstacle allowing the bass to head upriver and despite spinning for an hour, I didn't get a touch. Drove on to Treoes lake instead for some calming coarse fishing. At my favourite swim I had commons of 7lb 2, 8lb 2 and 5lb 6, a lovely 12oz roach, a bonus 1lb 14 tench and a handful of bream of around half a pound. Putting one back in the water, a pike grabbed it and almost had my fingers off! Right, I said, I'm coming back on Monday with pike gear. Monday. The forecast said no rain today, so I was a little perturbed driving most of the half-hour trip to Treoes with the wipers on double-speed under an immense shower while questioning the wisdom of forgetting to pack my umbrella. It had stopped by the time I arrived and to my surprise and relief it stayed dry, though I wore my waterproofs all day to keep out the chill of the steady and unpleasant east wind. I feared this would hamper my chances of success. Put a deadbait out to my left, and a wafter out to the right, hoping to hedge my bets. The wafters proved popular, luring commons of 11lb 13, 8lb 10, 19lb 8 (my new pb!), 8lb 2 and 4lb 12 followed by a single mirror of 4lb 4. My pike float stood steadfastly untroubled all day before with 5 minutes to go, it bobbed twice and went under. For a not great pike, it fought well, performing a full-body tail walk for me before coming home at 7lbs. Unhooking it, I looked down its throat to see that while my mackerel section might have been lost in the fight, a recently consumed roach was peering up at me through dead eyes. A better day for me than it had been for him.

My first trip to a Welsh river, some 40 minutes from home which is far further than I'd normally travel, but I'd been getting severe withdrawal symptoms. And a nice river it looked too, perhaps most like Brimpton from my Berkshire Kennet days, with few accessible swims but lovely chubby overhangs. Total disaster. Having found the screw-piece had somehow been lost from the end of my landing net handle, I snapped off the last 4 inches of my (once) 15 ft Cadence rod. On my first trot through I snagged and lost float and all terminal tackle. I shallowed up a little, but still lost 3 more hooks. There was a reasonable flow, but not enough to drag even a 2SSG float from my centrepin, so I never felt I was presenting well. No bites. The only other swims available amongst the summer bankside growth were two narrower swims, to which I bombed cheese having first having the big black slug i found in the grass ignored. No bites. I'd disturbed a ruddy great cormorant from the water when I arrived, and scared it (or it's mate) into the sky when it floated down into my swim later. Altogether a very disheartening 3 hours. For some reason I rarely do well trotting despite pre-feeding my swims, holding the float back and varying the depth so it was no major surprise. The cormorant presence was enough to make me think the stock might be low and, in any case, wary to come out of their hides in daylight for fear of cormorants. That or I'm just a bit sh*t at river fishing.

1 - Treoes - A jog, a sea swim then a fish. Stop off at petrol station for a loaf of bread for bait - £2.89 for a loaf! No chance. Wafters and sweetcorn it is. Watch a guy pull out fish after fish on a pole a few swims down while my rods sit untouched. Finally though regular feeding brings them in and I end up with a very pleasing 3lb 1, 5lb 6 and 8lb 9 mirrors, commons of 8lb 3, 8lb 7, 5lb 14, 5lb 2 and 5lb 6 with a solitary small bream 2 - Half Round ponds - I thought you could do with a change, so made my way to Swansea conscious that the tench might be sleepy and unlike Treoes, no bream to make up the weight. It was a fair guess. I'd managed to purchase a fair price loaf, but not a sausage on it all morning. The only bites come from coots that dive to pick up my bait before at last, after 4 hours and my time ending the rod tip bent right round hard. I struck, the hook getting immediately snagged to the bottom and the line inevitably snaps. Can a snag really give such a strong bite?! My first Welsh coarse fishing blank. 3 - Treoes - an evening session in late summer sunshine. Fish the margins for commons of 9lb 4, 7lb 4, 11ln 10 and 10lbs. They all fought like mentalists.

Call me predictable, but with this mixed lake fishing so well, and no river within 30 mins drive, I stuck to what i know Monday - Took my neighbour Glyn who has introduced me to sea fishing. I'd emailed the club the night before asking if it was OK, but having had no response, and Glyn content to sit alongside me watching,assist with the netting and take the pictures, I couldn't see it would do much harm. A slow morning though, with seven bream between 8oz and 3lbs and two commons of 7lb 10 and 8lb 10. Still, as a misanthropic, anti-social solitary angler, it was nice to have someone with me. |Home o find an email from the club saying no guests under any circumstances. Oops. Sorry Glyn, no more trips. Tuesday evening - the day before Storm Agnes came to blow Wales away and with a harvest moon due to rise, I sensed the fish might be up for it. They were too and were happy to take bread all evening. Bream of 1lb 3, 12 oz, 1lb 4 Commons of 8lb 8, 6lb 2, 7lb 12, 5lb 2, 5lb 6, 5lb 7, 6lb 8. Mirror of 8lb 12. Tench of 2lb 8. Great fun. Friday - a chillier start which maybe contributed to little sign of moving fish all morning. A single carp of 5lb 6 and two lost during the fight. Four bream, one of 1lb 14 and another of 3lb. One fight with what I presumed was a decent pike scared the life out of me when, unseen and headed towards netting range, the line pinged and the water shot an 8oz bream less its throat and much of one flank which must have been grabbed by a pike on taking my bait.

A return to Bridgend to pick up my session from few days ago and 'starling-gate'. As usual, it took a while to get going, but once the fish had cottoned on there was food to be had, they started to come. Had commons of 6lb 2 & 9lb 4 plus some beautiful mirrors of 5lb 15, 4lb 5 and 12lb. The usual tench/roach did not turn up at all nor even the bream until successive casts brought slabs of 8oz, 2lb 2 and 2lb 10. The day was marked by the sighting of a buzzard - my first bird of prey since leaving Kite-filled Berkshire in July, as well as the regular appearance of the resident heron and kingfisher pairing throughout the day. The act of packing up was handicapped by the arrival of a particularly vicious shower, the only one of the day, that had my gear from dry to thoroughly soaked through in less than 10 mins.

After the soaking at yesterday's match (see last post) I repacked my still soggy stuff in the still soggy car and made the 30 minutes drive to Treoes lake, Bridgend. I'd just sat down after making my first cast when the mobile rang and saw it was Jo. My first inclination was to think 'Sh*t, I must have left my sandwiches at home,' but no - a starling had entered the house, and being terrified of the close company of birds, Jo was now in panicked self isolation in the front room and desperate for the loo, while the bird had full access to the remainder of the house. I had to pack up and make the return journey to bravely face the foe and open a window, thus saving my poor petrified wife and thus allowing her to complete her ablutions. It's too far to drive back, so maybe another session, another day. And no - I'm not counting it as a blank.

My debut at the Wharf for a match held by Glamorgan Anglers Club. Never having been to Cardiff (apart from watching Chelsea at Ninian Park in the '80s and two recent trips to Ikea) my knowledge of the area was minimal. I demonstrated this by arriving in plenty of time, but with no one else parked I phoned the organiser to discover I was in the wrong car park. Some general directional instructions were givenand a panicked race around the local roads (observing the new Welsh speed limit of 20mph, of course) and I just about arrived in time for the draw, but this was a harbinger of what was to follow. I'd kept my fishing umbrella in the car upon realising it was all concrete banking. But with 5 minutes to go of our hours preparation the rain started, proper wet Welsh rain and I knew I had to make to improvision with the brolly else it night be a very long 6 hours. I got back from the long walk to collect it having sacrificed the first 5 minutes of the match. My first cast, with umbrella pole pinched between my knees, generated a massive birds nest on the spool. Having pulled over 20 hands of line out to clear it, inevitably winding it back brought a major knot I'd been fearing, so had to be broken and the feeder retrieved slowly by hand. Having tackled up again, the rain dripping of the edge of the brolly on me with my every move, my second cast cracked-off. I finally made a cast, and winding it in to pump out more bait for the promised shoals of big, hungry bream, found the hook link had tangled with my in-line rig so I retackled for a third time, switching to a paternoster. All retied, I wound in the slack to prepare to cast to find that the main line was somehow broken and while the reel-end line got tangled around the spool, the feeder, hook, swivel and stops plopped irretrievably into the depths just 3ft from the bank. Half hour in, I'd had made one cast with a tangled rig, lost two feeders and associated terminal tackle and my maggots were now damp and climbing out of their box. I decided that the fish gods wanted me to float fish, so I float fished. With the brolly perching precariously over me, and liable to swing ungainly with the merest change in wind speed or direction, it was a little awkward to say the least, and nothing surprised me more than when I quite quickly got a bite and suddenly there was a 2oz roach in the keep net. At least I wouldn't blank. The remaining time was a case of trying to stay as unsoaked as possible while ensuring the brolly did not blow into the water yet keeping one hand free to hold the rod. In this Heath-Robinson way I managed another 9 roach (between 2 and 6 ounces) and 2 perch of a similar stamp. Plenty shook themselves off the hook (I was rueing having no micro-barbed hooks) but there was one highlight in the form of an eel, maybe about a pound, which probably made up about half of my weight, if I'd been arsed to weigh it in. I'm pretty sure I'd come last, but it was still a day's fishing and a venue I'll return too.

Another trip to my fave new lake in Bridgend with a new swim to me. Only 2.5 foot deep, the temperature has been more than warm enough to keep the fish in the shallows with plenty of lilies, overhangs and sunken pondweed to keep the oxygen level up. Despite this, it was a traditionally slow slow start and I was wondering if I should have stuck to the deeper end after all. Once I'd worked out that the fish were in the even shallower margins, I ended with 3 carp, a tench, 11 bream, 6 roach and 3 rudd for around 25lb in total, so that wasn't bad, but the highlight was 3 pigeons landing on the shores of the lake opposite me, only one came short and landed in the water. It was utterly confused for a few seconds by the physical change of the world as it has always been, and sat, wings splayed, bobbing like a beachball for some seconds working on how to address the issue before trying to flap its way out. Of course all it did was generate spray and send all my fish to other sections of the lake. While its two mates looked on without offering even a coo of support, it continued this butterfly stroke -flailing on and off for a good few minutes before good fortune and a prevailing wind blew it to shore.

Two short sessions either side of the heatwave. Friday morning brought a single Mirror of 6lb and 3 small but angry tench at Half Round ponds. Apart from losing something much larger in the woods, it was a session notable or two things - A 'dedicated' carp angler was thrown off the lake for not having a 'walled' unhooking mat. I didn't either, but was excused as I was float fishing. Seemed harsh to me. The other, my first rod licence check by the EA since the 1980's. Much cooler on Monday and a fun morning at Treoes where all the fish pretty much came in 2 hours. Bread was the key, but somehow I missed more bites than I hit. A great lake - a Mirror of 5lb 13, Common of 6lb, 1- bream (3 over 1lb) 3 roach, 4 rudd and a 2lb 8oz tench. Lovely.

A fun, par day in Bridgend. Float fished Mirrors of 9lb 6 and 6lb 2, Commons of 8lb and 5lb 2, Tench of 3lb and 3lb 6 and Bream of 2lb 14, 1lb 5 and 3 half pound skimmers. All went quite for the last hour around lunch time, during which the highlight was one of the two resident kingfishers making a dive across my swim and extracting a small roach in the blink of any eye. Stunning.

Another trip to my new favourite lake. Overcast with threatened showers turned out to be an hours torrential rain which kept me hidden under my brolly unable to move and unable to see my float until past my intended packing up time. In the few hours I was there I managed for Commons of 10lb 2, 8lb 4, 7lb 14, 9lb 10*, a 3lb tench, seven skimmers up to a pound and a couple of roach. * I fought this bloomin' carp for over half an hour on 6lb line without even seeing it. It wasn't having any of it and took me all over the place never seeming to tire. Finally I got it to the surface and it didn't look anything like the huge fish I'd imagined. At 9lb 10 I don't know what it had been drinking (beyond pond water) but I'd like some. All credit to it.

A nice morning at the lake. Unusually no wind and no rain. A slow star while the swim built up then a good few hours sport. Commons of 10lb, 6lb 2, & 5lb 4, mirrors of 4lb 2 and 8lb 14. Two tench in two minutes of 2lb 4 and 1lb 15 and a smattering of skimmers, with one nudging 3lb.

With Mrs S away, I got two more weekend ventures to this active, very well kept and strangely under-fished lake. The weather wasn't set to be great throughout, so on Saturday morning I set up on the west bank for the first time, trees and prevailing wind behind me with only one other angler on the whole lake. A 5lb 2 Mirror obliged first cast after which it became a steady morning rather than the prolific one of last week. I ended up with nine Bream, most skimmers around 8-10oz with one of 3lb 4. There were also a couple of Commons of 8lb 8 and 8lb 10 (estimate - see below) and another Mirror of 8lb 3. It's a true mixed fishery, with a couple of roach to go with my first very welcome Treoes Tench of 2lb 2, 3lb 4 and 1lb 10. An enjoyable morning, the major drama coming when my new landing net handle disengaged during the process of landing one of the carp. Having laid down precariously on my front to reach down and unhook the fish in the water, it took quite a while to dredge the bottom with the remaining piece of handle to finally snag and retrieve the sunken net. Sunday afternoon started bright, and seeing it unoccupied, I plumped for the 'main' swim as the wind was lower than yesterday, and I was hoping to get away without a brolly, there being no means to ground it on the wooden staging. Much, much quieter than yesterday. I swapped techniques and baits but 'only' ended up with a Common of exactly 10lb, a Mirror of 5lb 2 and 10 skimmers. Planning on staying into dark, the rain moved in around 7 and was going nowhere, so I did, and made it home just in time for for the Antiques Roadshow.

My first trip to this large open lake set in a public park. The place is popular with walkers, but local tackle shop advice to choose a swim at the bottom of the several steep banks was good, and they strolled past 20 yards behind me leaving me blissfully alone. It did make having the occasional wee a tricky case of picking good timing. Pretty featureless on the surface, I kept my options open by having one rod near the bankside lilies and pinging the other one out into open water. I maintained this strategy and changed bait and methods regularly. In five hours I had one tap on the rod and one bite - which resulted in a rather lovely 7lb 14oz bream.