I’m back down on the club lake, and this could well be my last trip before Christmas. Ideally, I’d like to give the river a go next week, or possibly target some pike, but as ever, that will depend entirely on the weather.

This session was planned as a two-night trip with a friend—very much a social—but that’s not always easy to achieve on this lake. Giving two anglers a genuine chance of a bite can be difficult here. After a good discussion the night before, we knew there would only be one other angler on the water, so we agreed to meet at 1000 hrs. That allowed us to avoid the rush-hour traffic, have a proper walk around the lake, and eventually settle into swims on adjacent banks. We were close enough that one of us could reel in and wander over for a brew without too much disruption.

Tactically, I stuck with a very similar approach to last week. I genuinely believe the lack of results then was down to the weather rather than poor decisions, and I don’t think one difficult session should be enough to put you off a method that still makes sense.

All three rods were positioned tightly to what remains of the lily pads, and I baited the area fairly heavily. One rod was left with a 24mm hardened hookbait. I’m particularly interested in understanding why so many fish on this lake seem to get caught on pop-ups. I’ve proved to myself in the past that they can be caught just as effectively on wafters—especially my preferred range—so this is something I want to continue exploring rather than blindly following convention.

Morning update in one word: pants.

The conditions overnight were absolutely spot on. Mild, cloudy, stable pressure, and a steady south-westerly wind pushing into the lake. Carp were showing everywhere. And yet—not a single bleep. Genuinely baffling.

I spent the last couple of hours turning things over in my head, wondering if the issue could be the solid bags landing too tightly in the slit. I don’t take the air out of them either, so they descend more slowly. Looking back, I’d been using mesh bags with longer hooklinks previously, so I decided it was time to make a change. I switched two rods over to mesh bags and re-rigged accordingly, just to see how the afternoon and early evening would pan out. I also tied up three fresh rigs—just in case.

By 1200 hrs, I was back from another brew with my mate, along with a decent chat about the complete lack of action. Both rods were now fishing big mesh bags loaded with Pink Pepper and Plum & N-Butyric Acid pop-ups. Next time out, I’ll definitely bring a few more options with me.

The afternoon drifted by with the odd fish showing, but nowhere near the activity of the previous day. As evening approached, I was still quietly hopeful of something happening overnight.

I was awake at 0430 hrs for no obvious reason and couldn’t get back to sleep. By 0715 hrs, I was shattered, fully awake, and resigned to the fact that another brew was the only sensible option.

At this point, I’m completely at a loss as to why I haven’t managed a single carp over the two nights. The only explanation I can come up with is the sheer volume of water that’s gone into the lake this week—it’s clearly had some impact.

This morning the lake is covered in mist. The birds are in full song, and it’s taken me right back to fishing the Bottle Pit at the Harleston Angling Complex all those years ago.

I’ll give it until around 0930 hrs before starting to pack up, aiming to be off the lake by 1030 and home for 1100 hrs. I can only hope to nick one before then. Normally, I’d back myself to do so—but at the moment, the carp simply aren’t having it.

In the end, it was another blank. My winter campaign hasn’t got off to the best start, but we’ll keep at it, learn from it, and get things dialled in.

Until next time,
Richard

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