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.

There were two carpers bivvied up on the opposite bank. They were obviously sleeping in readiness for the night session when I arrived, although their lines were out with bite alarms in place. There was also another angler in the opposite corner. During the time I was there none of them caught anything.

The slight drift created by the wind made it difficult to free-line as it pulled the line under the surface, making line indication impossible. After a while I added a self-cocking float on a sliding rig, which allowed me to cast very close to the reeds. This is a technique I’ve used previously with success. After starting off with flake I changed to luncheon meat.

At 19.30, after a good cast that landed in a small patch of open water between some reeds, I noticed the reeds moving in the vicinity of the float. High with anticipation it was not really a surprise when the float slid away. I tightened and a fish ploughed into the reeds. Applying side pressure, as I’ve done with other fish in the swim, I hoped to turn its head. However, after literally a few seconds the line broke. After the initial curse I came to the conclusion that there was either a fault in the line or it abraded something sharp. There was certainly not enough pressure being applied to snap it in a direct pull.

I didn’t really expect to get another chance after this, but there were still some reed movements so I persevered. But despite staying until 20.45 it wasn’t to be. I wished the carpers good luck and packed up.

Although I didn’t land a fish, I was sort of pleased that I had at least tempted one to bite given that nobody else seemed to be catching.