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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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Block Fen (14)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 15.45
Weather: Bright, warm and windy.
Pond is sheltered but wind created a nuisance drift.
Swim: Pump Pond - Reed Corner.
Tackle: Drennan Barbel Specialist, Shimano Exage 4000, 12lb line, size 8 hook tied direct.
Baits: Bread flake and luncheon meat
Fish: Blank - One lost

Again I decided to grab a few hours over the Pump Pond. It’s a difficult lake and I would only ever expect one or two fish. On this occasion the wind was blowing into the opposite corner and there was little sign of reed movement. However, after a while I spotted a few knocks on the reeds indicating that fish were in residence.

Fields End (84)

Tench 3lb 14oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 15.00 (started to fish at 15.25)
Weather: Bright and warm with increasing cloud.
SW wind moderated and eased completely into the evening.
Swim: Reed End.
Tackle: 11’ Korum light feeder, Shimano 5000 reel, waggler, 8lb line, 12 hook.
Baits: Bread flake and luncheon meat.
Fish: Three carp, best 8lb 10oz, and four tench, best 3lb 14oz:

I was so shattered after last week’s all day session in the wind and sun that I decided to go to the lake for the afternoon and evening.

There was a fresh SW wind blowing so a swim in the SW bay would have been ideal, but all were taken bar one, and with that number of people concentrated in one area I decided to go to the NE corner, which was deserted. Back to the Reed End where I was last week. Glutton for punishment?

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.

Block Fen (13)

Mirror 8lb

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 15.15
Weather: Bright and warm with a breeze.
Pond is sheltered and was not affected by the wind.
Swim: Pump Pond - Reed Corner.
Tackle: Drennan Barbel Specialist, John Wilson reel, 12lb line (free-lining), size 8 hook tied direct.
Bait: Bread flake
Fish: two carp, best 8lbs

As I didn’t have a complete free day this week I thought I would try a few hours at the little pump pond at Mepal where I’ve previously had some success stalking the carp. It’s not an easy place to fish, which makes any success that much more rewarding.

Fields End (82)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 07.00 (started to fish at 07.15)
Weather: Generally bright and warm although more cloudy in the afternoon.
Light SW wind swung to S at times during the day.
Swim: Tree Corner.
Tackle: 11’6” Hardy Marksman Avon Specimen, centre pin reel, pre-loaded waggler, 8lb line, 10 hook tied direct.
14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Shimano Exage reel with 5lb line, 16 hook tied direct. Insert waggler.
Baits: Bread flake and luncheon meat.
Fish: One carp of 8lb 4oz, six crucian carp to 1lb 14oz, four roach to 14oz and a 3lb 8oz tench.

First on the lake, I tried luncheon meat down the margin. On this occasion nothing took the bait. Was this an omen?

To be fair the fishing wasn’t that bad although very few carp were caught around the lake, with the exception of Mick Nash who was doing well off the surface.

© 2025 Robert Bassett

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