and then it was off to another favourite estate lake for one last try for a carp. This trip saw seven of us on the bank, including a rare appearance by CBTR co-founder Andrew Walsh, who although suffering from a crappy cold still managed to remember to bring rods and not golf clubs. We were joined by my nephew Neil and his mate Dean who left their barbel swims on the middle Trent for a day out in Oxfordshire.

The lake holds quite a head of carp, many of them in the twenties. Last season Neil had two mirrors in the low twenties and earlier this season I did my pb three times over two sessions with mirrors up to 23. We went with anticipation, all using two rods and baits ranging from the ubiquitous halibut pellet to maggot and worm. Andrew fished pop up paracetamol over lem-sip groundbait and Steve’s behaviour showed signs of excessive use of hemp. That said, he was the only one to catch a carp all day and he did miss another – deservedly so, as it came as he was mocking Jaks’ pva stocking tree decoration in the next swim;

Jak and Tom had a couple of bream in the afternoon, and a tench a piece at dusk. I blanked completely. Again. But you know what, it was a brilliant day. We got to share the lake with an Osprey. I’d never seen one before. Apparently they get one around this time every year, staying just a couple of days, enough to get a bellyful of roach, fuel for the journey to Africa. This year it has been there for three weeks already. It was really something else.

So, apart from the odd pike session, we’ll be on the rivers for the next few months. In fact Steve and I have just had a bit of success with barbel and I had great few hours roach fishing on the Trent at the weekend. I’ll post some pics later. (JB)