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.

The main problem, for me at least, was that the ‘holiday’ season has arrived, and there was a considerable amount of loud talking. How it is that people can hold conversations that can be heard clearly over 100 yards away completely amazes me. Add to this a noisy neighbour to the right, who was casting two feeder rods with mortar bomb consequences, thumping around on the platform and talking loudly to himself every time something went wrong.

Even my ‘quiet’ evening period was thwarted. A couple a chaps arrived and positioned themselves either side of me. They then struck up a continuous conversation while distance casting for surface feeding carp. All this noise and their continual standing and casting I think put paid to any self-respecting carp feeding in the margin.

For the record, here’s the catch. There were also a few small roach and one small perch that I didn’t record.

08.30 - Roach - 10oz - luncheon meat
09.00 - Roach - 11oz - luncheon meat
09.45 - Roach - 14oz - luncheon meat
10.15 - Crucian - 1lb 14oz - flake
11.25 - Crucian - 1lb 10oz - flake
11.55 - Crucian - 1lb 6oz - flake
12.05 - Crucian - 1lb 10oz - flake
14.30 - Tench - 3lb 8oz - luncheon meat

At this point I had to re-tackle. The smoothness of my new Shimano Exage reel was demonstrated when I forgot to re-engage the anti-reverse, resulting in a massive tangle as the reel spun on the next strike.

15.55 - Roach - 13oz - luncheon meat
16.55 - Crucian - 1lb 11oz - flake

Changed to my Hardy Marksman Avon for margin fishing.

18.10 - Golden Orfe(?) - 10oz - luncheon meat
19.05 - Crucian 1lb 14oz - flake
19.15 - Mirror - 8lb 4oz - luncheon meat.

I did, as you can see, extract one carp at the last knockings.

Not a bad day, but having fished through the tail end of the winter and on occasions having the lake to myself, I’m afraid I found today’s experience a long way from the idyll that my fishing craves.