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Harris Lake - Marsh Farm Fishery Nr Godalming. 1730 - 0500 Warm overcast night - lovely night to be out - in shirtsleeves til the early hours. Pity then that at 5am the heavens opened, accompanied by an impressive electrical storm - so a hasty retreat was beat to the car - for some much needed kip! 10 crucians all over 1lb with half over 2 - biggest 2lb 15oz. 6 Tench - all over 3lb - best 4lb 3oz. A doz or so perch, roach and rudd. After the frustration on the barbel front it was nice to get my fix of crucians and tench. We had talked about moving to Johnston's at first light - but the weather put paid to that and I rather welcomed an excuse for a bit of kip in the car. Paul continued fishing in the rain - picking up crucians galore on the feeder. As my last visit - most of my fish fell to chopped prawn while Paul picked up a lot of fish on good old bread flake. The view from Paul's brolly... ( I was fast asleep in his car at the time - and anyways only cads use buzzers for crucians!) A pic of my 2-15 - Paul has done an excellent job photoshopping out the massive rip in the crotch of my fishing trousers! http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae125/Chris_Plumb/Crucian2lb15oz_zps2728b25b.jpg

Marsh Farm. Nr Godalming 1530 - 1100 1530 - 0500 - Harris 0530 - 1100 - Johnsons Warm and sunny - pleasant enough night until dawn when it got misty coating EVERYTHING in a very heavy dew. 22 Tench; Only 2 under 3lb with 10 over 4. Best 3 - 5lb 11oz, 5lb 7oz, 5lb 4oz. 2 Crucians; 2lb 13oz & 1lb 10oz. 4 perch, 3 rudd and 3 roach. A re-run of the opening day session (though we fished different pegs on Harris and Johnsons)and this time the fish had read the script! Action pretty continuous from around 8 o'clock on Harris lake and 20 of the tench and the smaller crucian was from here. Nearly all my fish on chopped prawn. First light saw us move to Johnsons in search primarily of bigger crucians - something we both managed - Paul getting a 2lb 14oz fish while I weighed in with one an ounce lighter. My biggest tinca was also from here - as was Paul's who also managed a 5lb fish. Picture Gallery Paul gets all arty... Misty Morn A big 2 each. A trio of 5lbers...

Marsh Farm - nr Godalming 2000 - 1030 (2000 - 0500 Harris, 0530 - 1030 Johnstons) Over cast with a chilly northerly breeze. Min 12ºC (though max wasn't much more!) 4 Crucians, biggest 1lb 14oz, 5 perch - all 'net-ers' though the biggest was barely a pound, 1 rudd. Start the season on a 'easy' tench and crucian venue - then switch to a new water after bagging up all night - what could possibly go wrong!!! Well a chilly north wind for a start - whatever was the reason bites were VERY hard to come by. Paul managed 4 fish - a rudd and 2lb crucian and a couple of tench after we moved - all my fish came from Harris. Ho hum ! Some pics to follow (though not of any fish!) The fishing was frenetic (not!) Lovely looking lake...

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm Fishery, Nr Godalming 1830 - 0900 Warm, balmy night under a full moon. 14 Crucians, 7 over 2lb, best 2 - 2lb 14oz & 2lb 10oz (smallest 1lb 7oz!). 14 Tench - all bar one over 3lb, best 5lb exactly. 2 Roach - a tiddler and a fish of 1lb 2oz, 6 rudd - all small and 2 perch ditto. Well I think I've got those 2 species out of my system for another summer - simply cracking session which started with 4X2lb+ crucians in 4 casts! Paul got off to a slow start and for awhile it looked like I'd win the unofficial numbers match - but my swim went quiet at 0430 and a late flurry on the feeder saw him over the line with 16 crucians and 19 tench (I think that's right???) and whilst he only had a couple of 2lb crucians his best tinca went 5oz shy of 6lb. All my fish on the float - as always, with meat or maggot catching all my fish from a swim that I've never fished before but had my eye on since our last trip. Paul also dropped into a new swim - mainly to be sociable - and near enough to supply copious mugs of tea throughout the night (and partake of our now traditional breakfast fayre!). A couple of piccies of the biggest of each species....

Marsh Farm Fishery, Nr Godalming 1830 - 1100 Hot and Sultry start - car thermo was reading 34ºC when we pulled into the car park. Dawn greeted us with heavy showers and rumbles of thunder - though the cloud cover was good for the fishing! 15 Tench; 9 over 4lbs including 2,5s - biggest 5lb 4oz. 10 Crucians, 5 over 2lb - best 3 went 2lb 14oz and 2 at 2lb 12oz, 5 Roach and 5 Rudd. Thank goodness for Marsh Farm! After a dismal July (angling wise) it was very nice to get my string pulled by my two favourite summer species. Slow start after a very hot day I didn't start to catch regularly until after 0130 - but the heavy cloud cover in the morning kept the fish feeding well after breakfast was taken! Paul had an identical haul of tench and whilst his biggest was also 5 something, he also had a lot in the 2lb bracket - he did however thrash me on the crucian front - landing no fewer than 23 - with 7 over 2lb and a top weight identical to mine at 2-14. Most of my fish fell to float fished meat - Paul caught on a more eclectic range of baits - paste, meat and fake corn with a few fish falling to the feeder. A couple of pics - one of my 5lb tincas. Paul's biggest Crucian

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm Fishery, Nr Godalming. 1530 - 0930 Overcast and muggy becoming cooler am. (And DRY despite the forecasts for days beforehand forecasting rain!) 14 Tench; 7 over 4lb, best 3 - 6lb 2oz, 5lb 7oz, 5lb 5oz. 6 Crucians; 3lb 1oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 3oz*, 2lb 1oz*, 1lb 15oz, 1lb 10oz. 4 Roach - 3 over 1lb (!) best 1lb 6oz. 3 Rudd - all 10-12oz. 3rd time Paul and I have done a night here and this cracking session was following on from last season's successful experiment which also copied the same pattern of not a lot happening until it got dark and then steady action during the night. Though all the roach and rudd were caught within the first couple of hours of arriving; a rather unexpected and very pleasant 'Welcome to Marsh Farm'! The feeding switched was flicked around 2230 - and the fish came out in 'bursts' through out the night - often 2 or 3 in quick succession followed by up to an hour staring at a stationary float. There were some notable differences to previous trips - one was bait de jour. Last time out we eeked out a precious few prawns between the 2 of us as bait (they were meant to be Paul's lunch) - as that was all we could catch on - so this time we came armed with tonnes of them - so of course - I didn't get a bite to them - and Paul hardly any better. Nearly all my fish came to good old maggot (I had 4 tench on meat - the only exceptions). Fished float fishing the margins lift method (as per usual!) I think all of Paul's float caught fish also fell to maggot or meat - and he also had a lot of tench on corn - though these were caught ledgering out by the island (the cad!) Another curiosity was in the difference of catch returns - Paul ended with 10 tench and 10 crucians - but the vast majority of his tench (8 I think) fell to the ledger rod - his float rig caught mainly crucians - whereas my float approach - some 20m away in the next swim - using the same tactics (and bait) produced mainly tench. *These 2, 2lb crucians were shamelessly poached from Paul's swim. We were packing up and I was chatting to Paul in his peg and looked into the water to see a group of crucians right close to the bank in no more than a foot of water mopping up some bait that Paul had thrown away. Watching them, they would scoot in, feed for around 20 seconds and then leave - to return a minute later to repeat the process. Simply waiting for them to return and lower a bait in front of your chosen fish resulted in an instant take - 1st time I've ever 'stalked' crucians! Paul wasn't too amused though! All in all a great night's fishing - though the lack of any breakfast (the onsite tackle shop have stopped selling bacon butties ) was a bit of a let down. Plumby's stove will be packed for our next trip here! A couple of the roach... Crucians - my 3... Paul's biggest (2½) Tench - my 6 and a 5½ for Paul.

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm - Godalming AS 1400 - 0930 Hot and sunny. Night was clear and felt quite cool by dawn with a mega heavy dew! Gorgeous night to be out fishing under the Perseids! 14 Tench; Biggest 3, 5lb 13oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz. All the rest in the '3lb class' save 2 which were smaller. 7 Crucians - all over 1lb (though a couple by not much!) biggest 2lb 5oz. 2 roach, 1 rudd & a perch. A really lovely session which came to life at 2130 as it got dark - had hardly a touch in the previous 7 hours in the heat (hardly surprising!) Nearly all fish taken on Paul's lunch!!! Prawns - a handful of which he threw in a tupperware at the last minute before leaving home - but which eventually went to the fish! Paul had 13 tench - though nothing bigger than the 3lb brigade and 12 crucians with 3, 2lbers to 2lb 12oz - ALL being caught with said lunch (we cut them up into 4mm chunks). Certainly a bait we'll bring here again! Saw a lot of meteors - especially in the first part of the night before the moon rose. Sunrise. My Biggest Tench (of the session) Paul's best Crucian of the trip.

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Godalming 1430 - 0930 Warm and with sunny spells. Quite breezy at times (as it ALWAYS is here - must be the windiest place in Surrey!) 16 Tench; 5 over 4lb, biggest 5lb 2oz, all the rest between 2½ - 3½lb, 11 Roach, 4 over 1lb - biggest 1lb 8oz! , 1 Perch, 1lb 9oz (on float fished meat at midnight), 6 Rudd. A cunning plan that was hatched a year ago. The day started with me popping over to the tackle shop for GAS exchange books (and key) which allowed us access beyond the normal Day Ticket restrictions. Just as well too, as I caught 15 of my tench during the hours of darkness. Paul had an even better day (or rather night) after a slow start - fewer tench than me but he did have crucians show up in the morning accounting for a dozen with around ½ of them over 2lb - me 2 swims down had not a hint of them - in fact for the last couple of hours I couldn't buy a bite on float fished maggot whilst Paul was getting crucians at a fish a chuck (well nearly! ). We both couldn't believe the size of the roach we were catching - Paul had 3 over a lb and like me had more which were close - he also had a 2lb perch - on ledgered corn/worm cocktail... A tench at dawn - pic of my 5lber. Pauls biggest Crucian (2lb 13oz) A tench heads for the lillies - my only 'daylight' tinca. A Surrey dawn Pleasing in appearance - even more pleasing in disappearance (H T Sheringham)

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm Fishery - Nr Godalming 0700 - 1900 Bright but mainly overcast with some sunny intervals particularly around the middle of the day. Temps upto 17ºC. WT 16ºC. Quite breezy at first (isn't it always here!) 20 roach & rudd and 3 perch - and that er was it!!! Bit of an epic fail!! Paul and I were after some late summer/early autumn crucians but we didn't have a sniff of one all day - despite a total of 48 rod hours and countless (well 11! ) different baits and tactics. I spurned my only 2 chances of something decent, once when I lost a fish due to a folded maggot over the hook point and once when my float shot under and my 1¾lb hook length instantly parted. I thought I'd set my clutch light enough - I thought wrong! Both lost fish almost certainly tench. Paul didn't even have the encouragement of a bite from anything decent - though had the added frustrations of fish occaisionally rolling in his swim! Some pics - of a nice sun rise and a hot air balloon to follow (well I haven't got any fish to show off!)

Marsh Farm Fishery, Nr Goldalming (Harris Lake) 0730 - 1900 Cool, calm and overcast with light rain all afternoon from 1300. Max 16ºC 14 Tench; Biggest 3 - 6lb 2oz, 5lb 9oz & 4lb 9oz with the vast majority being around the 3¼lb mark (only 1 under 3lb). 4 Crucians; 2lb 3oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 13oz. 1½doz 'bits' - mainly roach with a couple of rudd, perch and even a gudgeon! A very enjoyable day's angling - our 'annual' visit here postponed from June when we bottled it due to a poor weather forecast - a shrewd move given what we caught! Made a very nice change to fish this place in a flat calm - always been blowing a hoolie when we've come in the past. Paul had a very similar return - eventually. After a slow start, 2 swim moves - including a spell on Richardsons - he ended up with some nice fish in the last 3 hours - including a cracking crucian of 3lb 6oz - (equalling his PB for the 3rd time). I should point out though that Paul caught the vast majority of his fish on the method feeder - the cad - so of course they don't count!! I spent the whole time in the same swim on Harris - got off to a cracking start with the 6lb tinca and a 2lb cru in the first hour and thereafter caught steadily throughout the day - particularly in the afternoon after it started raining - the lower light levels appeared to bring them back on the feed after a bit of a lull late morning. All my fish caught float fishing in the margins - with 4mm or 6mm pellet. Most of Paul's fish fell to worm or worm/caster cocktail. Some Pics... My best tinca. 1st Crucian of the morning. My best Crucian of the day. Paul's 3lber. Yellow tench - caught by Paul.

Marsh Farm 0730 - 1800 Bright and sunny with a stiff NE breeze - one day I'll get to fish this place when it isn't blowing a hooley!!! Was nice sat out in the sun - though really quite chilly when I moved to a swim in the shade! 2 Crucians - both circa 1lb, 8 rudd, 1 roach, perch & gudgeon. A nice social start to the season in the company of Paul & Alan. I would like to blame my lack of fish on the conditions - though that doesn't cut any ice with my 2 friends who both had ½doz crucians each - with 3 of Paul's going over 3lb. For me it was day of 'might have been' - 3 times in quick succession in mid-afternoon I had good fish on only for each time the fish to get off - with a maggot folded over the point of the hook the culprit for my mis-fortune - eventually after several swim moves I wangled out a couple - alas they were the smaller brethern to Paul's giants! Picture of one of Paul's 3's below...

Marsh Farm, Godalming 0815 - 1930 Warm with bright sunshine. Max 23ºC 5 Crucians - best 1lb3oz, 2 Tench - best 3lb, 1 doz Roach & Rudd (best roach 1lb 5oz), 1½doz perch, all small except for 1 just shy of a lb, 1 gudgeon. A 'social' start to the season in the company of Alan and Paul. Alan and I 'toughed' it out on Harris all day in the hope (forlorn in my case, though Alan had 3, 2lbers) of a monster Crucian. Paul wimped out and moved to Richardson after a couple of hours and bagged up on loads of tench and bream in the 2-4lb bracket. I had an early, tantalising glimpse of a very big crucian floundering in the surface at the end of my line - out of netting range. Alas the hooked pulled and I didn't get a second chance! Poo!

Marsh Farm 0730 - 1930 Sunny, becoming cloudy and breezy. Temp 10ºC -> 20º -> 16ºC. 5 Crucians (1lb 13oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 2<1lb), 4 Tench (1½lb - 4lb 11oz), 3 Bream (1½ - 2½lb), 2 Roach (best 1lb 2oz), 2 Perch, a dozen+ Rudd. Started on Harris and struggled all morning for bites (even using maggot) though did manage the bigger of the crucians from here. Paul started on Richardsons and faired much better so I joined him in the afternoon - just to see my float move occasionally! Most fish on 6mm S-Pellet, float fished TIGHT to the margins - lift method.

Marsh Farm - Harris Lake 0730 - 1730 Dry but breezy - becoming VERY breezy. 13 Crucians (smallest 2lb 6oz, 4 over 3lb - biggest 3lb 3oz) 1 tench (small) 1½ doz Roach and Rudd. Fished 4mm pellet or single red maggot - most of the Crucians fell to pellet. Wind made bite detection a nightmare - would have had a significantly bigger haul without it. Ended up fishing very tight to the bank in 18inches of water (fish were there though!) Paul had 5 Cruey's - with a PB of 3lb 6oz.