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Diary of an average angler

Who favours traditional methods & baits

fisherman

This diary dates back to a holiday in 2003 when I think the urge to get back into fishing took off. From around 2007 the trips became more frequent with 2010/11 probably being the peak of activity.
Things again pick up in 2020 - a sort of rebirth!

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Fields End (89)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 09.30 (started to fish at 10.00)
Weather: Bright and sunny. Reasonably mild.
Very light SE/S/SW breeze.
Swim: Tree Corner.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Shimano Exage reel with 5lb line,
16 hook on 5lb flourocarbon. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn and luncheon meat
Fish: One carp of 2lbs, an ide and a couple of roach

Today was full of promise. Very mild for late October and no troublesome wind. However, nobody told the fish!

I arrived a bit later than usual so may have missed an early bonus fish or two. I had decided to go for roach with the hope that a tench or carp may turn up.

Sweetcorn was the chosen bait, with luncheon meat in reserve. I may have tried maggot but the shop was closed when I arrived. I was feeding small pellets.

Fields End (88)

Leather 9lb 4oz

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 07.15 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Overcast with some light drizzle on occasions.
Light E wind swung to SE later in the day.
Swim: Tree Corner.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Shimano Exage reel with 5lb line, 12 hook tied direct. Insert waggler.
Baits: Lunchion meat
Fish: Three carp, best fish 9¼lb, two tench and a roach.

Various things have conspired to keep me away from fishing over the past few weeks, so it was good to get back to the bank side.

It was quiet at the lake with probably only about five people there at any time during the day. I had the tree corner to myself. While the relatively mild period prevailed it wasn’t the best of days, although the overcast conditions should have helped the fishing. It was calm when I arrived but the easterly breeze proved a bit irksome later in the day.

Fields End (87)

Tench 2lb 8oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 10.45
Weather: Warm and bright with southerly breeze.
The breeze freshened and was a bit of a nuisance.
Swim: Reed Corner
Tackle: 13ft FishTec multi float rod, centre pin, 8lb line, 14 hook.
Bait: Luncheon meat
Fish: Five carp, best fish 8lb 6oz, and a tench.

After a bit of a down-beat trip to Fields End in June I thought I would see if things had quietened down a bit now that it’s September. Charlie, the owner, feigned not recognising me when I arrived. I explained that I liked it when things were quieter and that he would probably see a bit more of me into autumn/winter. He gave me a fridge magnet with their details on it, the reason being that he had used one of my photos as the background. A little bit of fame.

The Clay Pit (3)

The Clay pit

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 13.00
Weather: Clearing after heavy rain during the morning.
Breeze freshened once rain had stopped. Bright afternoon.
Swim: Main lake. First bay on SW bank.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Shimano Exage reel with 5lb line, 16 hook on 5lb fluorocarbon link. Insert waggler.
Bait: Sweetcorn
Fish: A few roach.

My neighbour’s father was house-sitting while they were away and I had suggested a day’s fishing. We originally planned to go to Stamford but a morning of heavy rain, and an uncertain outlook, modified our plans. Instead we went to a local pit, which is much closer. In the event, after a little more rain the afternoon brightened with a freshening breeze and it was quite pleasant.

Fields End (83)

Crucian 2lb 4oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 07.00 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Bright, warm and sunny later.
Light S wind became troublesome in the afternoon.
Swim: Reed End.
Tackle: 11’ Korum light feeder, Shimano 5000 reel, waggler, 8lb line, 14/12 hook.
Drennan Barbel Specialist, Shimano Exage 4000 reel, 12lb line, 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake and luncheon meat.
Fish: Three carp, best 10½lbs, six crucians, best 2lbs 4oz, a tench of 3lb 3oz and a 1lb roach.

Because of bank holidays and other things to do it’s been a couple of weeks or more since I’ve been fishing .

The forecast for a southerly wind made swim choice difficult. The south bank is somewhat featureless so I opted for the reed end swim in the north east corner. Things started well enough. With a light breeze conditions were perfect.

Fields End (86)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 15.00 (started to fish at 15.30)
Weather: Blustery and overcast. The westerly wind only moderated slightly into the evening.
Swim: SE Reed Corner / Tree Corner.
Tackle: 11’6” Hardy Marksman, Mitchell 301 reel, waggler, 8lb line, 10 hook.
Bait: Bread flake, crust, luncheon meat.
Fish: Two carp, best 6½lb and small roach.

I thought I would grab a few hours as I hadn’t been over the lake for over a month. There was only one van in the car park when I arrived, which was encouraging, but the caravan/camp site was full. This was borne out once I got to the bank, there being very few vacant swims. I thought I would try the reeds in the SE corner. It’s the shallowest part of the lake and with the levels down this year following the exceptionally dry spring, it was very shallow indeed.

© 2025 Robert Bassett

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