This was my first fishing visit to Block Fen. It was a bright day and although there was a breeze it was not affecting the water too much as the lake is in a dip. We had some rain during the day.

On a previous 'viewing' I had decided on the Pump Pond as an ideal small water that would suit my margin fishing preferences.

However, my first visit was rather curtailed by the presence of a group of anglers that had bivvied and occupied a fair section of one bank. As the other banks offer hardly any accessible swims, options were limited.

I settled in the remaining swim on the accessible bank and started with a waggler - usual stuff. Oodles of small bubbles promised action but other than a few non-hittable bites things were very slow indeed. I suddenly realised how relatively easy a commercial water like Fields End is compared to a club venue such as this. I tried casting to the far bank and had some pulls that triggered the bite alarms but they were not positive enough to hit.

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After a distinct lack of action I thought I would try dropping a free-lined piece of flake into some reeds at one end of the pond. This end formed a reed-fringed corner that was almost inaccessible and I had seen carp breaking the surface earlier in the day. Well, on the second cast, bingo, a carp was hooked and a desperate struggle ensued to get it out of the reeds and into the net. This was successful, thanks in part to the help of a boy from the group of anglers up the bank, who had spotted the action and netted the fish for me. It was a well condition common of 6¾lb.

I next moved around to the other bank where there was a swim that was accessed from a sloping path of soft sand. It didn't look too hospitable when viewed from the other bank, but it was manageable and it allowed me to cast into the reed corner. I soon got a good run but this fish took me straight into the reeds and was lost. This is, however, a spot to re-visit.

It was now getting late so I went back to my original spot and decided to drop a piece of luncheon meat under the near bank, more in hope than expectation. But, after a while, the line tightened and I was into another fish. Another common, also in good condition, that weighed 6lb 10oz.

As this was my first visit I wasn't too disappointed by the outcome. The water is obviously harder than Fields End, but I feel it has great possibilities.