Feeling a bit cheated by my need to leave early on Wednesday (the 9th) I returned on Friday to the reed-corner swim. Now I've said this before but this time I mean it - I am not going to fish this swim again because I just lose too many fish!

It had been a chilly night and a mist hung over the water as I arrived.

It was bright with high broken cloud and, while there was no wind, a NE was forecast. The reed-corner is sheltered from the NE wind and the day actually turned out to be very warm for those out of the wind. Those in the wind were complaining of the cold!

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I started with a free line using the barbel rod and 12lb line with a small 'stick' indicator. I soon had a 2lb 10oz common carp in the net. There were no more takes on the free line so I changed to a waggler set up, which I had upped to 6lb line on my new compact float rod. After a small roach to kick things off I had four crucians between 08.30 and 10.00, ranging from 1lb 6oz to 1lb 12oz. I then lost a bigger fish that darted from the right of the swim into the dense reeds on the left, just as one had done the on Wednesday.

Things then went absolutely dead until 15.15 when I had another crucian. A lovely fish of 1lb 14oz, after which things went dead again. It had become very hot and the lake was packed, a combination that I think was putting the fish off. It seemed that everybody that arrived spent five minutes banging in bank sticks or whatever; this cannot be good for us margin fishers. At 17.20 yet another fish darted from the right to be lost in the reeds on the left - you perhaps see why this swim is losing its attraction. While it produces the bites the loss rate is just unacceptable.

I packed away the float rod and decided to finish out the day using the heavier free-lining rod. Just before 18.00, I got a solid run and hooked a fish that went off like a train. After quite a tussle I got it in only to find it was an 8lb common that was hooked in the pelvic fin. Although it was foul-hooked it was a beautiful fish.

I lost another two fish, one after a bit of a tussle in the reeds while I just felt the other one before it rejected the hook. I finished the day with a 3¾lb mirror just after 19.00.

I must not go back to the reed-corner swim.