Sunday 25th November

Well, what a rough night! It was quite calm when I went to bed, but at 4am the wind woke me sounding like a lorry driving through the wall! Thankfully, the weather was not as bad for us in Cambridge as many other parts of the country.

The wind seemed pretty much strait down the lake, so nowhere was going to escape it with the exception of peg 42, where it was pretty calm. My hand went in the bag and came out with 66, which is usually a decent year-round peg just on the end of the island. When I put my box down and sat for a minute I was quite pleased, as the lake kinks slightly back here, meaning the wind was for the most part rushing past me further across the lake.

I could comfortably plumb up to 10m (the occasional gust still affected me there, but for the most part it was okay), so I had a pole line here, and then one at 8m to my left (downwind) down the nearside slope using the same rig. Depth was about 5ft, and a .4gr NG Decker held stable here. This rig was finished off with a .14 hook-link and a size 16 B611, and matched to Preston 13h. Despite the wind, it was quite warm and I've found that carp do largely tend to feed in those conditions. To fish the island the 10ft Carbonactive Mini Carp came out, and my plan was to fish the bomb with either corn or bread in multiple grains/punches. I also soaked-up a few micro's to try a pellet cone if the fish needed some feed.

With very little to set up I was ready well before the off, and with the rain clouds long gone and the sun coming out it wasn't too bad. With the whistle I fed a few grains of hemp and corn at 10m, while the down wind line was fed more positively, with the idea that I'd not top it up and just see what happened. A grain of corn was hair-rigged and cast a meter or so short of the island where the depth was about 3ft, and I waited....

Two hours later I was still waiting! I'd topped the 10m line up with four grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp every half an hour, and I'd tried different multiples of corn and punched bread, exploring along the island and dropping down the shelf looking for signs. I hadn't seen one!

Odd carp had been caught - pegs 64, 48 and 44 I'd seen catch one each, so it was time to try the pole lines. With no sign on any of those I went back on the bomb. Cast dead in front of me and much tighter to the island in about 2ft of water I had a very slow deliberate liner. I left it, and it never developed. It was the only sign of a bite I had on the tip all day.

Out of desperation I got last weeks maggots out, and fishing them on the hook at 10m I winkled out a few roach to save the blank! I only really gave it twenty minutes or so before I switched back to corn, which got me a bonus 3oz roach as opposed to the twenty to the pound ones I was getting on maggot.

I never saw another sign of a carp in my swim all day, and was long packed up before the scales even started to weigh in! The two windward end pegs (pegs 53 and 62) were first and second on the day with a little over 24lb top, and just under 24lb second. There were a few low double figure weights and a few people like me that were carp-less and didn't weigh.

Next week is the fishery Fur and Feather, and typically the weather is looking on turning very cold by the end of next week. Hopefully we can just avoid a freeze-over (my ice breaker is ready mind), but beyond that I don't think we're going to get away with it. I know the weather forecasters often get it wrong, but it seems that when predicting an Arctic blast they don't!

Sunday November 18th

After a few weeks on the old lake I was looking forward to going back on to the new lake. The only downside looked to be be the weather again, as per last week the relatively mild weather during the week lead to clear sky's Saturday night and quite a sharp frost on Sunday morning.

I fancied a higher number draw, so when number 2 came out in my hand I feared the worse! Basically, my peg for the day was a twenty meter square right off the main lake by the car park (the tip of the bay is visible in the pic), although I did have an island chuck with the bomb (only as peg 3 wasn't in - it would be a a bit close otherwise). There's always fish in that area of the lake in the evenings as they often get fed there after matches and during the week, but with it being the first match in a month on the lake, with the cold and everyone having to walk past my peg optimism was low!

I set up a rig for the margin to my right in case any fish came back in to the bay, one for 13m towards the open water plus my bomb rod with a variety of hook-links to try different baits.

To cut a long and very boring story short, I had one carp about 4lb and five little perch. The carp came to the bomb and bread, dropped fairly short of the island about two hours in to the match. I didn't actually see the tip go round either, as somebody walked up the bank behind me, and when they asked how I'd got on I replied looking round to them (something along the lines of a four lettered word, followed by sayin I was bite-less) and when I looked back the tip was round a foot! I never had another liner or twitch on the tip, and the perch fell to maggot fished in the edge.

Peg 5 won with 48lb of carp on punch, so the fish that normally inhabit my little bay looked to have headed that way! Just 12lb was second from peg 7, and peg 11 was third with 11lb. A few other people had just the one carp like me, and some had none. It's fair to say it wasn't the day I was looking forward too as the winter "aqua bingo" begins!

Sunday November 11th

I have to admit the weather had me a little worried about the fishing on the morning, as what seemed just a chilly morning in my back garden turned in to a progressively harder frost the nearer to the venue we got! The day was supposed to be pleasant enough, but after three or four mild days and nights I did wonder what effect it would have.

Walking around before the start I could see that the colour had dropped out a touch from last week, but I was a little unsure of where I wanted to draw, although with the pegs around the back of the island being missed out I skill fully managed to avoid any of the four end-pegs the gap created! I was happy enough with peg 44, as at least with the remains of the large lilly bed in the peg I had some cover to fish to.

I put up three rigs for the day, although in the end I never picked up the shallow rig that I put up. What I expected to be my main catching rig would cover me for two areas of the swim - for 6m near to the lilly's, and for 13m at the bottom of the slope up to the small island. That slope is very un-even, else I would have fished up it slightly to cover more depths. This rig was a 4x14 Preston Chianti (with the cane tip replaced by a plastic one), with a .14 hook-link to a size 16 B611, and matched to Preston 13h elastic. Depth on both areas was the same to within a inch, at around 5ft. The last rig was for 6m to my left in the edge. The float was a 4x12 Chianti, again with plastic tip, while the terminal gear was the same too. Depth here was about 3ft.

On the whistle the margin and the 6m line both had a pinch of hemp and corn, while the longer line would be built up from drip-fed corn and and odd grain of hemp. Form peg 42 to my left was in to fish instantly, and had three before I had my first bite about half an hour in. I'd had odd liners, and the fish (a small common about 2lb) was hooked in the pectoral fin.

After that fish the liners faded away in my swim, and while peg 42 to my left was catching, so was everybody on the opposite bank that I could see. They were all basking in pleasant sunshine, while mocking those of us on the other bank who were all still sat with coats on!

After an hour I had my first look near the lilly's but had no joy. I tried the margin and had an odd knock but they seemed from small fish. I tried maggot out long which bought me a 1oz roach strait away, so carried on plugging away on corn. The two pegs to my right were fairing no better than me, so I elected to just plug away and hope some fish would turn up. Meanwhile, I had to get up and get my neck gaiter as I was feeling a bit chilled. Peg 70 opposite was sitting in a t-shirt!

With a little over two hours to go I was nine carp behind peg 42 to my left, while end peg 72 on the opposite bank wasn't catching fast, but their fish were much bigger. I dropped in near the lilly's and had my first bite there, and a small ghostie gave a lively account of it's self. Topping up with just two grains of corn carp number three fell soon after, again only around 2.5lb. That fish however decided to run in to the lilly's instead of away, and caused a bit of a disturbance that led to no bite on the next drop.

Back out long and two fish fell in quick succession, and they were about 3lb a piece. Again though, after two fish the swim went off. I topped it up with a small pinch of bait and tried in the edge. I did miss a bite here on corn, but nothing followed after.

With an hour to go I dropped back in near the lilly's, and was away instantly! This time the swim kept going and for the last hour I had a steady run of bites on corn. The fish weren't big, but from five fish with an hour to go I finished on fourteen carp. I was topping up with just two grains of corn each time, and never missed a bite until the very last minute! I'd over taken peg 42 in terms of numbers of fish too, as their peg had faded in the last ninety minutes, although I suspected peg 72 opposite would have more weight. They had less fish, but much bigger!

At the weigh in peg 42 put 36lb odd on to the scales - it was going to be close! My fish totalled up to 37-8 and gave me the lead for a little while, until the first end peg on the other bank (peg 62) put 39-1 on the scales! If only I hadn't missed that last bite! The were a few 20lb weights on that bank until we got to peg 72 on the end who put a couple of ounces over 40lb on the scales - less than 3lb more than me! Doh!

While being so close but so far, I'm not sure there was a lot else I could have done really - I never lost a fish. It was just the usual story for that peg - plenty of fish, but smaller. Both pegs that beat me were end pegs on the much warmer bank so I suppose to make the frame (and over take peg 42 after being nine carp behind at one point) wasn't a bad, but I guess when you're only one fish away from winning it's easy to look at a missed bite last chuck and think "if only!"

I think next week is back on the new lake after a few matches in a on the old lake, so the fishing will be a bit different. With no matches having been on there for a month there's nothing to go on too. Hopefully, it fishes okay!

Sunday November 4th

Well, I have to say as the week pressed on the weather forecast for Sunday looked less and less promising! While there is always the hope they'd get it wrong (which we all know happens!), it delivered just as promised - the rain started at about the moment I first went out in to the back garden at 6.30am, and never really stopped until after I got home. Yes, that is a brolly in the picture, as even I didn't fancy a day in that cold rain!

Last week the pegs to draw on the old lake had been around the island, and when peg 66 stuck to my hand I was pretty pleased. It's a decent year round peg to be honest anyway. I did notice however that the water there was clearer than last week, plus the wind was a different direction pushing what leaves there was up to the car park end of the lake. Was it going to be a case of should have been here last week?

I decided on three areas to target in the swim - across to the island, fishing at about 15m which dropped me down the slope a touch in to not quite 3ft of water. I also had a line at 5m, and then plumbed up with the same rig until I found the same depth on the slope up to the other side, which was nicely at 13m. Depth here was not quite 5ft. Simple rigs too - a 4x12 Preston Chianti on the island rig, and a 4x14 of the same on the deep rig! Both had the cane tip removed and a plastic one put in. Line was .15 to a .14 hook-link and size 16 B611's, while lakky was Preston 13h. I did put up a third rig in case the wind made the light Chianti impossible to present in the deep water, using a NG Decker, but the peg was pretty well sheltered - thankfully! In the end, I never picked up stand-by rig.

At the off the deep lines had a pinch of hemp and corn fed on to them - a bit more on to the throwaway 5m line which I expect to not be a viable target line for much longer as the cold comes in. I then went across on a 4mm expander pellet, with a small cad-pot on the pole which contained a little crumb and a few 3mm pellets. I was off the mark pretty quick but only with small 1oz roach which produced more missed bites than anything else. Odd carp were getting caught, including one on the peg to my left which won last week.

A grain of corn proved harder for the roach to nab, and the bites slowed for long enough that about twenty-five minutes in my first carp fell, a small common of about 2lb. In the next half an hour I managed to add three more of the same size to the net, all to corn - steady, if not spectacular! However, as tends to happen from lines on the far bank here it died after the initial run of fish. I do feel the rain may not have helped as it went from just wet to an icy monsoon!

I left the far line after perhaps twenty minutes without a bite, having a few drops over the 13m line to see if they'd dropped down the shelf. I had a liner here which led to me plugging away there a bit longer than I may have. A missed bite was followed by a small roach on corn, so I topped it up and went back across.

The rain had eased a touch now, but the indications I could get from across seemed to be from small fish. A switch back to pellet put a roach in the net, before a change back to corn saw me nab a small 12oz mirror before the swim went quiet again

With no more knocks across I had a drop in again at 13m, and again an occasional liner led me to plug away there, hoping the drip fed corn via the small pot would encourage them to feed. I couldn't see the pegs nearer the car park in the open water, but from what others were saying I knew they were catching, and quite well by the sounds of it!

On the half-way mark of the match I decided it was worth a drop on the 5m line, and it was a worth while effort as the float slipped away pretty quickly and gave me a common of about 3lb, but unsurprisingly no more followed. A drop on to the 13m line also gave me a quick fish, again about 3lb.

The quick burst of fish was followed by a lull, so I gambled on re-feeding both lines in the deeper water with the pot. A quick drop across just led to knocks from roach again so I didn't give it too long before coming back in to the deeper water at 13m with perhaps ninety minutes to go.

Two missed bites led me to fiddle with the shotting, moving it all down in to a tighter bulk to make it more positive. I knew two pegs were catching well, but third place looked a wide open possibility. The change worked as three small carp all around 10oz fell - not quite what I wanted, but better than catching roach! With just under an hour left I gambled on feeding it again as the bites faded (rather than just drip feeding with a pole mounted pot).

Resting the 13m line I dropped in at 5m, and the throwaway line gave me a quick bonus in the form of a chunky common that perhaps nudged 5lb, but again no more followed. Back on the 13m line and I started to put a run of fish together - I wasn't bagging, but I was getting an odd bite and putting a steady run of carp in the net. I did lose exact count, but I finished the match with about eleven "proper" carp plus the pasties I'd had. With a few minutes to go bites were fading again so without the time to rest and re-feed I spent the last part at 5m looking for another bonus. I did get a liner, but no proper bite.

It was clear that pegs 42 and 70 would be first and second (42 is perhaps THE form peg at the moment, framing in the last four or five matches even when the island pegs have been good), but nobody else was admitting to more than seven or eight carp. The late flurry had indeed given me third place with 40-15, with peg 42 putting 75lb odd on the scales and peg 70 putting 69lb on. Not bad weights, or days fishing given the weather, but I do have the task of drying out nearly everything now during the week!

Sunday October 28th

Sorry about the delay in posting this week, I had problems with the internet at home which are thankfully sorted now!

I was quite surprised when I walked round the old lake that it still held a decent colour with the cold snap we'd endured on the previous two days. I fancied the island pegs to be the pick, as not only was the water more coloured but the leaves that have started to fall in numbers were around the island too. Not enough to disrupt a days fishing, but enough to encourage the carp to be under them looking for some grub!

I didn't manage to get one of those pegs, instead drawing peg 46 in the open water. I don't mind the peg in all honesty as you've got options on it. I opted for a pretty simple approach - three rigs to cover two lines in the open water (one at 13m, one at 5m and a shallow rig), plus a margin rig to fish to my right just short of the sleeper on peg 47. With the cold now here all my rigs were on .15 line to .13 hook-links, finished with size 20 Fox Series 2's, and all matched to Preston 13h lakky. Both the open water rigs featured .4gr NG Deckers in a little over 6ft of water, while the margin rig had a 4x12 Preston Somo which I've fitted a plastic tip in to. Depth was about 3ft here. Last up was the shallow rig in case I saw cruising fish. This was a 4x10 Preston PB2 set about two foot deep.

On the whistle I fed a small pinch of hemp and around thirty grains of corn at 5m, while the margin got the same plus four cubes of meat. I was going to build up the long line by drip feeding corn and the odd grain of hemp via a small Cad-Pot on the pole.

It didn't take long to get odd signs of fish, and pretty much everyone I could see had a carp before the twenty minutes or so it took me to catch my first - a small common of about 2.5lb. In fact, peg 64 had got off to a flyer and had three! With odd indications I was sure that my long line would come good later, so I tried my best to ignore those who were catching to features. When my second carp fell about fifteen minutes later (smaller than the first though) I thought the bites would stay regular, but the swim died a death on me.

An hour and a half in and with no more fish and just two missed bites to show it was looking as if I'd got it wrong - most people were catching odd fish and everyone bar one person I could see had more than me. With the fish appearing to be eating it looked that my drip feeding three or four grains of corn wasn't right. I decided to gamble on potting in about twenty grains of corn and a reasonable pinch of hemp long, and leave it for five minutes while I had a quick drop in at 5m.

It didn't take long to get a response at 5m and two fish around 3lb a piece fell quickly - it looked like the slightly heavier feeding had worked there! I topped up the short line and left it as while the indications were still there they'd gone iffy - it was still early for that line!

Going back out long and bites were a little more forthcoming. I missed the first two, so changed the shotting around, closing the bulk right up and moving it so it started no more than ten inches from the hook. This worked and three fish fell pretty quickly, with them seemingly responding well to the hit of bait, plus I was now feeding five or six grains of corn after every fish. The worrying thing was the stamp of the fish as they were all small. I could see pegs 64 and 66 catching well, and their fish looked bigger than mine which all seemed around 2.5lb. When my eighth carp fell my fears allayed a touch as it was a good chunky common of about 5lb, and I thought I had it sussed. I was wrong, and the bites just ceased!

I took the risk of topping up while I tried in the edge. With nothing there showing I took a gamble in the edge too. With the onset of the cold I'd started to clear my bait freezer, and had taken a pint and a half of dead maggots out of it, plus some frozen groundbait left overs. I potted two pots of the crumb in, with a decent amount of the dead maggots too. Nothing ventured and all that!

Dropping in in on the 5m line I hooked what felt a better fish almost instantly but it came adrift after a minute or two. I have to say, I'm not sure it wasn't foul hooked. A small common of about a pound fell after that, and going out long produced nothing at all - not even a liner. A look in the edge and I could see a mud cloud over the groundbait. Rather excitedly, I put a bunch of dead maggots on the hook and laid the rig in. A couple of liners followed and I was ready for the bite when it came.... from a 3oz roach! I tried a grain of corn and had a liner on this before it faded, so I re-potted with groundbait and maggots and left it.

Dropping out long and I had an instant bite and put another small carp in the net, but no more bites or indications followed. I could get signs of fish at 5m so plugged away there hoping to make it work, but all I managed was a couple more small carp and a host of knocks and liners, which no matter what I tried (away from the feed, depth and shotting changes and changing feed amounts) I couldn't find a way of hitting more of them.

I finished the match on twelve carp, but the stamp had been small. My total of 37-11 was good enough only for seventh on the day. Peg 64 won with just over 60lb, with peg 66 pushing them close with 58lb. However, 43lb was good enough for third, so frustratingly I wasn't that far away! I expected the day to be much harder than it was, and perhaps started too negatively. That said, although I had a flurry of fish when I upped the feed, it didn't last long before the peg died a death. The last part of the match at 5m was frustrating too, as there were plainly some fish present. Perhaps a change of rig may have worked there, with the conditions good perhaps a thinner bodied lighter float would have given less resistance and turned a few of those nudged in to proper bites? On the last match on the lake the heavier rig was better at 5m, but the water is colder and a little clearer, so perhaps while they were there, they were reluctant feeders. It's something to think about anyway!

Sunday 21st October

Well, no frost yesterday morning to report! The weather was quite pleasant for the last few days and I was optimistic that the fishing would be quite decent...

As per usual, I took a place quite late in the draw queue, and had mixed feelings when peg 20 came out in my grasp - I've not drawn it lately, but in the past it's been a very good peg. However, it's recent form hasn't been that great, and the last match showed the fish were starting to group-up in the late 20's and in to the 30' - their usual winter haunts. The peg doesn't have great winter form!

It was noticeable as I pushed my shuttle round the lake that the colour had started to drop out of the water, and the lake was a fair bit clearer than it had been a fortnight ago. I had three rigs up for the day, and the far bank one was a bit lighter than had been lately given the colour dropping out - a small NG XTM in about 22in of water in the bay at 16m slightly to my left was on .15 mainline with a .13 hook-link with a size 20 Fox Series 2. At 13m, where it had just as it started to shallow up I had about 6ft of water. The rig here was a .4gr NG Decker, with the same terminal gear as above. Lastly, I had a rig for the margin at 10m to my right. In about 3ft of water I had a small 4X12 Preston Somo which I've taken the cane tip out of and changed for a plastic one. Lines on this were .17 to .15 and a slightly bigger hook, to hopefully cope with a few margin lumps! Lakky on all three rigs was Preston 13h on a pull-bung.

At the start I fed a small pinch of pellet, meat and corn down the track and in the edge, before filling my small Toss-Pot up with half-a-dozen pellets and a pinch of crumb. I'd had two drops doing this fishing with an expander on the hook before I had a liner. I tried half a worm next chuck, which gave me a tiny perch. I'd only seen two bream caught so far, so it was slow going for everyone!

About forty minutes in to the match I saw a carp swirl on my far line as I was shipping across, so I lowered my rig down without tapping the feed out of the pot and it was away! For a few seconds at least, as what felt a good fish stayed on for just a few seconds before the rig came back with the hook-link cut in half cleanly.

The lost fish was the last sign I saw of life across for a bit. Odd carp were getting caught now, but the only bites I could get were from tiny perch on either worm or maggot across. I'd topped up the track and margins with tiny amounts after loosing that fish, and on the ninety minute mark I decided to try the track line. I started with a small cube of meat, and had a liner there. A change to a grain of corn got me a bite instantly, and I played the carp back to the top-kit when the hook pulled! It wasn't a big fish, bit I was getting the feeling it was going to be one of those days....

With that lost fish any signs of better fish died away. I'd seen the odd fish move at the extreme left of my peg, so I decided to start a new swim there on the island. With the fishing being hard I decided on a winter rig! It was a touch shallower where I'd seen the movement (and I wasn't sure it was carp), but I stuck with the 13h lakky. The rig was a small Preston PB2 set about 18in deep with a 16 B611 on a .14 hook-link. It may look strange stepping up but the hook-link was a different line (Garbo line) as opposed to the Preston Reflo Power I use for my summer fishing - it's a bit suppler, and also the Reflo is in reality .15 where as the Garbo is actually what it says on the spool.

I put a tiny Cad-Pot on the pole and started to drip odd casters there, fishing single caster on the hook. I had bites strait away doing this, mostly from dumpy roach in the 1-2oz bracket, with an odd bigger one. If I put maggot on I caught a perch! I plodded away for half an hour catching roach before it died a sudden death! Suspecting a carp may be responsible I slipped a grain of corn on, and away went the float. A very lively fight ensued, and I honestly thought I was going to lose the fish as it picked up a branch in the edge. In the end I slipped the net under a cracking looking yellow ghostie of about 8lb - a few more of those and we'd be in business!

Sadly, hooking the carp had killed the swim totally and even the perch had gone! News came round that the pegs in the late 20's and in to the 30's were catching, while I couldn't raise a bite from anywhere in my swim. It wasn't until about half an hour before the end when I had another bite, with single caster giving me a little common of about 2lb.

As a whole, the lake fished much harder than I thought it would. Peg 27 won (the peg I won the last match on that lake from) with 37lb - only four carp and one 2lb skimmer! There was a another 30lb weight and a couple of big 20's but a fair few people also did as I had done and tipped their odd fish back!

I don't really think there was a lot I could have done different, although it was frustrating losing those two fish - there just wasn't any number of fish in front of me to catch, something that may now happen with the onset of winter! Fishing the lighter rig from the off may have got me an extra fish or two, but I doubt it would have bought a framing weight. The weather looks good for the next few days, but it's due to turn cold for the weekend - I think I best have a proper rig tying session, and re-do the winter rig side of my winder tray!

Sunday October 14th

Well, we definitely had a taste of what's to come yesterday morning with a touch of ground frost, which developed in to quite a sharp looking frost as we got out of the town and to the fishery. The water on the old lake still held a fair amount of colour mind, and with the changing of the weather I really didn't know where I wanted to draw!

In the end I took my customary place late in the draw queue and dipped my hand in with just three pegs left, and out came peg 70 - that'll do, it's a good peg year round and has a few options. The peg has a small island in it, but I knew the bottom is very irregular near it, plus I couldn't get tight to it with the reeds hanging over. In the end I elected to fish the near slope at 5m, and on the slope up to the island at 13m. The depths were roughly 5ft (the far line was about 2in deeper). I put up near identical rigs for the two lines, with the only difference being a heavier .4gr NG Decker used long as it caught the breeze a touch more. Terminal gear was .17 line to a .15 hook-link and a size 16 hook, with the lakky Preston 13h. I had small tree over hanging to my right at 6m, where I had a margin rig up to fish there in 2ft of water. Float was a .2gr NG XTM, while the terminal gear was the same as the other rigs, except the lakky was Preston 15h. I did also put up a shallow rig to try, but never picked it up in the end!

On the whistle the 5m line got about a quarter of a pot of hemp and corn, and I then put just six grains of corn and a small pinch of hemp in the small Toss-Pot and went out to the long line. I had a liner pretty quick, and I started to see odd fish cruise as it got quite warm in the sun - which I was nicely sat in! Peg 42 started off like a train (they had six fish in the first hour!) while pegs 46 and 48 also had a carp early.

I'd topped up the swim for a third time with the small pot as I was getting signs of fish (I'd came back every five minutes to do so) and as I lowered the rig in the third time the float went within seconds of it settling! A lively scrap saw a small common of about 2.5lb in the net pretty quickly. By the end of the first hour I had three carp all around the same size, and each fish fell to a bait that had been worked - nothing came by sitting and waiting. As well as peg 42, pegs 46, 48 and 53 were all catching and had more than me, but I was happy to be plodding along getting bites - it's a marathon, not a sprint!

With just over an hour gone I decided that with the warm sun on my bank (it was in my eyes for the first two hours or so, and the glare meant the pic had to wait until after the match) that I'd start flicking some bait in the edge by hand, hoping that some fish would come in. I was still picking up odd fish from the long line, and again every bite was taken either as I lowered it in through the loose feed, or after lifting and dropping. Interestingly, despite there being no tow of note, my bites were coming either side of where I was feeding, lined up with a light coloured reed on the small island.

I put my sixth fish in the net dead on the two hour mark, but had no big fish with them all being 2.5/3lb fish. Peg 42 was still catching, albeit slower, and 46 was one fish ahead of me but theirs were bigger. Apart from those two the other two I could see catching had slowed and there was little to chose between us in terms of numbers, but I couldn't tell how big their fish were.

Carp number seven was the first bite I had directly over my feed, and was also the biggest fish I'd had so far at about 4lb. I was starting to miss odd bites, which I think were roach (they were topping, and the pegs opposite were catching odd ones while I plugged away on corn. It was noticeable that my bites were starting to get less frequent, so I upped the feed a little. It worked to an extent bringing me two fish in two drops (the only time that happened on that line) before fading away.

At the three hour mark I decided to top up the long line and rest it, coming in to the 5m line where I'd been feeding corn by hand. I had a fish off that line pretty instantly, but didn't get a bite in the five minutes after so decided to leave it. I had a quick try in the edge, but there were only small fish present and after a few minutes of getting little dib's I left it. As I swung the margin rig in two small bubbles came up from my 5m line, so I picked that rig up and lowered the corn down over them - I think I must have lowered the corn in to it's mouth as the float simply carried on going! After netting the 3lb'er no more bites came, so I decided to risk topping it up (just a pinch of hemp and ten grains of corn) before trying out long.

With two hours to go, peg 42 seemed to have dried up, while 46 was still catching and had probably caught them up. Most people I could see were catching now, but they'd had to wait for their bites and hadn't caught in the first half of the match. The rest seemed to have to done the swim some good, and I had another three carp from it at ten minute intervals, before it went off as though someone had flicked a switch. For the next hour I rotated the swims but couldn't raise a bite from anywhere. I decided to change the rate of feeding on my 5m line, putting half the amount in, but a little more often. I'd been in the sun most of the day (it was clouding up) so I figured my best chance of a run of fish was from there as it had warmed up. Bizarrely, the margin under the tree was carp-less, and I got bitted out when I dropped in so I discarded it!.

With twenty minutes to go I had a small 2lb common from the 5m - the only bite I had so far that hadn't come from the bait being worked. No more followed, so I had a brief try long but that had never recovered. With ten minutes to go I decided to drop in on the 5m line using the heavier rig. I adjusted the depth (I'd plumbed both areas with both the .3gr and .4gr rigs, and marked both on the top-kits) and lowered the heavier rig in. The float settled nicely, then blinked away! The lift was met with more resistance than I expected, and after a few minutes netted my best fish of the day, a common of about 5lb! With just a few minutes left I had a liner, so I lifted the float clear of the water and then slowly lowered it back down. It sat there for a few seconds before sailing away, and the lift saw planty of lakky plod out! A lively fight saw me net a ghostie mirror of about 4lb. I hoped I'd have time for one last one, but just as I lowered my rig in the whistle went.

From what I could see the other bank had fished well, while the peg to my right had caught a few late. Peg 42 was the first to weigh and they fell just shy of the 50lb mark - I figured it was close between us, but guessed I'd just pip them when asked by the angler on 72 - I figured on having about 52lb, but as I was the third from last to weigh I'd have to wait! When the scales got to me I wasn't surprised to see peg 46 comfortably in front, having a shade over 70lb. Behind that there was peg 42's 49lb odd, plus a 42lb and a 41lb with a few 30's too. Not bad considering the sharp frost in the morning! My two weighs totalled up to 51lb 14oz to give me second, and a bit of kudos for admitting to my weight near on the dot!

In the end I was happy with the second placing. I'd worked hard to keep the fish coming, and in my book that makes for an enjoyable days fishing! I'm not sure why the late rig change at 5m worked (the lighter rig behaved perfectly well in the conditions), but it's one of those things. Trying it earlier may have worked, or perhaps those fish just showed up at that time and it'd have made no difference. Who knows? Still, I'd had an enjoyable day, worked at it and caught a few fish (eighteen carp in total), while sat in quite pleasant sunshine for most of the day. Can't knock that!