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The day after my last trip to Speen Moors, two bones in my instep started hurting. By the days end, I could barely put my foot to the floor. Not wanting a trip to casualty for an 8-hour wait plus possible Omicron exposure, I did the typically male thing and left it to get better on its own. What could go wrong? Well nothing really, as over the next couple of days while the pain didn't really subside, the swelling didn't spread and a bite-like head appeared in the area. I reckon something particularly insectular and angry must have sneaked into my boot and taken vengeance through my sock. By Wednesday, while I was still walking like a pirate, the pain was just starting to ease, though I could not have survived a working day's gardening with it. So I recuperated, by resting it by the swim by the car park at Willows. I fished far, short, thick and fine, but didn't get a single bite all day. For fishing Friday, I had Dixon's Mere to myself. I managed to miss 2 pike runs on mackerel (mercifully no crayfish here), and had no bites whatsover on feeder/floated maggot. Today, Sunday, was the Newbury Angling Association's Xmas Match. Around 20 anglers braved the cold wind to eat bacon rolls at Bellwood before moving out to fish their choice of lake, river or canal. With my gait more a limp than a hobble now, I was still not quite ready for a tackle-laden yomp, so stayed at Bellwood. For 4-hours I almost froze in the wind, but avoided the dreaded hat trick of blanks with two perch on a cage feeder, both pushing the scales at, say, around 1-ounce each. Come final whistle, I didn't bother claiming them, but as anglers returned to HQ, it appeared that everyone on the canal had blanked, though there was talk of a large perch lost. One angler weighed in 14 ounces at Bellwood, while a 4lb chub came out of the river. So whilst this isn't a classified result, it could well be that my mighty Percas may have been enough to claim 4th prize, but I didn't have the nerve to claim it.

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1500 - 0500 Cool clear night - down to 7ºC by dawn. 3 Carp; 12lb 11oz, 7lb 9oz, 4lb 6oz. 2 Perch. I last took my brother, Colin, fishing on 26/1/91 - when he caught a brace of 13lb pike from the Kennet at Padworth - so was somewhat surprised to be asked at a family gathering last Christmas to come fishing with me again - ' I'll take you carp fishing' I says - expecting to hear no more about it! But he was serious so a plan was hatched to get him a carp on the bank! A plan that very nearly back-fired as an hour or so into darkness the carp started spawning scuppering my claims that we'd do really well after the light went! We had a few liners during the night and apart from a 6lber for Col that was the only fish caught in darkness- we packed up as soon as it got light to leave the fish in peace and slept for an hour or so in our cars before it was a respectable time to arrive home! Thankfully my bruv had preceded his night time fish with a very muscular common caught on one of my light float rods which gave him a merry run around and took an age to get in - and at 7lb 14oz was just 2 oz shy of the stamp of fish I'd promised we'd get so he went home more than happy! All my fish came to float fished maggot in the hours before dusk (twas secretly trying for one of the lakes elusive crucians).

Willows lake, Thatcham 0530 - 0930 Overcast, clearing to bright sunshine for last hour. 5 Carp; 12lb 9oz, 11lb 2oz, 8lb 11oz, 7lb 2oz, 6lb 13oz. Another forlorn crucian hunt - but at least at this venue there are some 'easy' carp (too easy!! ) to amuse. 2 smaller fish on float tackle - bigger 3 on floating crust in the margins (ie within 1m of the bank!) Biggest one:

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0500 Warm overcast night - lovely night to be out! 4 Carp; 6lb 5oz, 6lb 14oz, 7lb 12oz, 13lb 9oz. 5 Tench - best 2lb 7oz and all the others C2lb±2oz. 1 Crucian; 3lb 3oz. ½doz+ perch - all small. Nice to see some tench in Willows - bin many years since I've had this many in a session. All fish fell to lift method tactics less than a rod length out - with simple maggots as bait - did also bring a feeder rod but it stayed in the quiver all night. Snaffling one of the lake's big elusive crucians is always the target here - so extremely pleased to get one! Most fish caught before midnight except for 3 of the carp including the bigger one which took an absolute age to get in on a 4lb bottom!

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0600 Warm night, quite breezy at times - temps no lower than 14ºC 4 Carp - biggest 8lb 11oz. Slow, fruitless night after this lake's big, elusive crucians. Float fished, so when the float did go under there was some 'interesting action' on light-ish tackle - but not really what I came here for!

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0600 Cool clear night down to 7ºC at dawn and very misty and damp with dew. 9 Tench: All over a pound with 3 fish over 2lb. 7 Carp biggest 2, 12lb 2oz & 8lb 15oz all the others between 3½ - 6½lb. 1 Crucian 2lb 2oz. 4 perch. A return to the swim of a fortnight ago hoping for - and getting - a similar return for what will probably be my last overnighter of the summer. As before, started off float fishing maggot but the micro perch were in residence nailing the bait before the float even settled - so a switch to meat was swiftly called for which they ignored. Really pleased to snaffle another of the lake's elusive crucians. Hopefully the tincas will put on a bit of weight in the coming seasons......

Willows Lake - Thatcham 2000 - 0500 Warm (min 16ºC), overcast and drizzly most of the night especially early on. 8 Carp; biggest 18lb 5oz - all the rest between 5¾lb - 9¼lb. 1 Tench - circa 1lb and a skimmer. A night of 2 halves - started float fishing the margins targetting the lake's rare but large crucians - and sure enough had crucians rolling in my swim repeatedly as it got dark - so hopes were high! Alas the carp kept getting to the bait first and when I didn't connect with a fish that went screaming off it was the wrong species. Still - my first tench from here in yonks - think a few must have been stocked in the winter. By midnight I'd had enough of trying (and sometimes failing) to bully carp in on inappropriate tackle so it was out with the feeder rod. First up was a lovely large mirror - which at over 18lb is my biggest from this lake in 37 years of fishing it! First light and the rain had stopped so it was off for a couple of hours kip and a late breakfast!