With sciatica still troubling me and gusty wind forecast I went to the Clay Pit side pond where I could park next to where I was fishing, while hoping that the more sheltered location would afford some protection against the wind. But in reality the wind became so gusty that it proved to be quite a problem. I had also done quite well on this little pond in the past so I was hoping for a bit of easy fishing. But as it turned out the fishing was as challenging as the wind!

I settled in the spot I usually fish throwing out a few maggots and pieces of sweetcorn before I set up. Starting with maggots a small perch was the first fish to break the duck. As often is the case it swallowed the hook after giving a finicky bite. Small perch, roach and rudd took maggots throughout the session so I had switched to sweetcorn to try to select better fish. Although I did revert to maggots occasionally when things seemed to go dead, this only resulting in small fish again.

Soon after my initial switch to sweetcorn I got a lift bite and was into something much better. At first I thought I had struck into a snag before it started moving. The fight was not characteristic of a tench or a carp, but more like a dead weight moving slowly around the pond. It got close to the nearside reeds and as I put pressure on the hookhold failed. It was certainly a hunk but unfortunately I'll never know what it was.

After this things went very quiet with even the small fish seemingly having stopped feeding.

With the bites having fallen off and the wind becoming an issue in terms of controlling the float, I decided to set up a simple link leger. Just a nylon stop with two 2SSG shot pinched on a line loop over the main line. I switched to Spam and after a while got a drop back bite on the cork bobbin that I was using for bite indication. And once again I was into a good fish. This time the fight was more characteristic of a tench and I was hopeful of getting it in. However, I let it get too close to the nearside reeds awhere it seemed to have swum around a solitary reed stem and snagged me. With the tension off it shed the hook and my second good fish of the day was lost.

I was now feeling quite frustrated but the fact that what I think was a tench had taken Spam encouraged me to stick at it a bit longer. And this proved to be a good decision as I didn't have to wait too long before I was into another good fish. Once again the fight didn't seem to suggest a tench or a carp and I was surprised when a large bream broke the surface. It weighed 5lb and as such was a PB for me. And it made me think whether the first fish I lost could have been an even larger bream.

I continued to have tentative bite indications on Spam but didn't connect. I decided to call it a day after what had been quite a struggle against the wind, with my unhooking mat, my plastic groundbait bowl and a gadget bag all having blown into the water at one point. But, as is traditional, I went for one last cast! And amazingly a positive lift of the bobbin resulted in a hooked fish that fought like a tench and was indeed a tench of 3½lbs. So a challenging session ended in the best way possible.