But this Sunday was a scorcher and having got some new baits to try out from Innate Baits, I was super keen to get out on the bank. The only option was a sneaky overnighter as there were plans for the whole weekend and I need to be back home by 8am for work the following morning, a local venue was needed.

I've fished Windmill Fishery 3 times in the past and being around 15 minutes up the road (and most importantly, on a route that Bristol Water don't appear to be (yet) destroying with road works...) it fitted the bill. It's not the most picturesque water but it's slowly coming into it's own and with fish reported to 20lb with a couple of bonus 30lb (if you believe the website!) there's always a chance of getting a fish on the bank

So after a beaut afternoon in the park with the family, I loaded up the car and arrived at the fishery around 5.30...

...to find the lake completely empty! So many of the waters around Bristol are rammed pretty much all the time so it was a result to find I had the pick of the swims. Even with the choice of the whole lake, I decided to set up in the swim I've fished in on my previous visits. It's a cracker as it commands the canal running between the two bowls, open water in front of you and an island to the right.

The first job was to find some spots to fish. The first one was 12 wraps in front of me, right in the middle between the bank and the island. There's a slightly deeper spot there that I've had fish from before and it's a good spot to start. The second spot was in a margin bay on the island to the right, 7 and 3/4 wraps out. And the 3rd spot was to the left in the canal, again a spot I've had fish from. Although you can only use two rods, I always think it's worth having 3 spots baited so you can toggle between them depending on when you get bites.

With the weather being as it was and the fact we were at the end of a weekend (so the lake had possibly seen some bait?) I decided to go light on the spodding: 7 over the long range spot and 3 on both the short range areas.

I've really got into solid bag fishing of late so both rods went out with a bag filled with 'pimped pellets' and a Blueberry boilie on the hair. The pellets are a bit special having had a mix of various oils, powders and liquids soaking into them for a week... They smelt amazing, really carpy!

In the past, I've not had an early run on the lake and this session was no different. It wasn't until around 8.30pm once I'd set up the bivvy, got dinner on and sat back to enjoy the sunset that the bobbin on the right hand rod shot up to the blank! Initially, the fish didn't take any line and seemed to be attempting to head round the island point at the far end of the lake... However, once I'd bent into the fish it slowly began coming towards me and a short fight later there was a plump carp in the net.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any footage of the fish as my video camera decided to stop recording. I've no idea why, it's the 2nd time it's done it to me and it's bloody annoying! So you'll have to take my word for the fact it was a common of around 16lb, which is the average size for the fish in the lake.

After the fish was slipped back, I had to have a bit of a rethink about the longer range spot as I had some new neighbours. They'd set up pretty much directly opposite me and were non too keen on me casting into their 'area' (I spose it was closer to them than me but then they weren't here when I arrived?!) With the light falling, I decided to bring the rod shorter into the bay but stick with the same bolie. I fancied a change on the left hand rod though and put that out with one of the new tuna washed out pink popups. They smell and look perfect: a good tuna 'hum', almost white/pink and 10mm in size. Both went out with a bag of pimped pellets and I set about getting to bed.

The next run came at pretty much 2am on the nose and I managed to get this one on film, even though in the rush to get out of the bivvy I forgot my head torch and nearly ended up in the water trying to land the fish ;) A mirror this time, again around the 16lb mark.

As I was up, I decided to redo both rods. As the right hand rod came in minus a bait, I decided to put both out on the washed out tuna popups. I don't think there are crays or nuisance fish in the lake but I have suffered from missing baits in the past... Maybe I need to look at bite indication? Very strange...

Luckily it didn't take me long to get back to sleep and I woke up at 5am to a stunning sunrise.... and a bite! This time on the right hand rod, again on the pink popups. This fish was slightly smaller than the other two, a common of around 14lb but it gave me quite a run around the lake, probably one of the best fights I've had from a Windmill carp. This one was slipped back and I crashed out yet again.

I was up at 7am to pack down (the new bivvy is brilliant!) and was on the road by twenty past, back home by 7.45am and at my desk by 9am. A pretty much a perfect quick overnight session!

Although spring has kinda sprung, it's still quite cold and even the runs waters are having their off days. So rather than head somewhere with monsters I opted to head somewhere smaller and (hopefully) easier.

I joined the Keynsham Angling Association back in October as they control part of the Avon and I my winter mission was to catch Pike. They don't have a lot of still waters but one that I was keen to have a go at is Century Ponds over near Keynsham.

It's quite a small venue consisting of 2 ponds set in the farm land in Stockwood Vale. I'd been over for a looksee last summer and it really reminded me of the venues I used to fish as a kid. There are loads of small carp to stalk in the margins of the slightly larger Island Pond and some slightly bigger fish to go at in the smaller Old Pond.

So the venue was set! My amazing partner granted me a full day freedom pass (ain't she great!) so I left around 6.30am to arrive at 7am. It was a beaut morning and the drive took no time. It's a bit of a bone shaking drive down a farm track to the ponds but once I'd negotiated the pot holes and got a glance of the empty car park I realised I had the whole place to myself - result!

I did have a bit of a plan in mind based on my reccy the previous summer. Back then, the margin cover was great with long reeds and lily pads covering the Old Pond and with it having the bigger fish in it, I'd decided to head to one of the margin spots for the morning with an idea of relocating to the easier Island Pond in the afternoon for some stalking once the weather had turned up.

Well, that was my plan... as it turned out, the margin cover was all gone! By the looks of it, some fairly hefty landscaping had been done and all the reeds have been cut back and piled up on the bank. The lily pads to had gone but you could see the tangled stalks growing back under the surface (a snag nightmare). It was a bit of a pause for thought but in the end I decided to opt for the swim I'd originally planned for, slap bang in the middle of the far bank.

Bait wise I'd decided to keep it very simple: a spod mix of pellets, sweetcorn and groundbait that could be balled into the margins and a small selection of hookbaits, namely sweetcorn and small washed out popups (that've been soaking in tigernut goo).

So the rods went out left and right in the margins with different baits on each, both in PVA bags of pellets with a handful of spod mix over the top and I sat back to watch the water. After about 20 mins, the bobbin raised to the blank on the right hand rod and came to a stop. Interesting... liner?

After the 1st hour or so on the bank, something dawned on me... I was sat in possibly the coldest part of the lake! The sun had come up behind the hills and was flooding across the lake but due to the steep incline the entire bank was in shade.

This time of year, as the weather and the water warms up, the fish start to move into the shallower areas. I already knew that the margin spot to the my right was looking good as I'd had a liner but further to the right of the reed bed was an area that had been in the sun for a good hour. I had a quick plumb and it was only around 4ft deep, perfect for bait.

So time for a move. I headed round to peg 14 which was almost opposite where I was previously fishing. The swim's winning feature was that it had a gap in the tree's that would allow me to cast right into the spot I'd found with an overhead chuck. Due to the chod on the bottom from the cut back reeds I decided to switch to a white Innate Baits popup that I'd had soaking in Tigernut Goo for a couple of weeks. They've gone a great washed out yellow colour and look great fished in a bag of pellets over the top of particles.

As the action had been non-existent and I was now backing onto the smaller (and easier?!) island lake, I decided to chuck a method rod out and see what I could find. I had loads of liners but no takers, my suspicion being that smaller fish were just bashing the method but there was nothing big enough to get the double sweetcorn bait in their mouths...

Back on the other lake, I decided to try a more traditional match bait and chucked out a cube of luncheon meat to a margin spot I'd been baiting with a couple of handfuls of pellets and corn. The rig had been in the water for all of 10 seconds before the rod tip swung round! Unfortunately, the fish managed to drop the hook but it was good to get a bite so quickly.

Things went a bit quiet for a while after that. I kept dropping in on prebaited spots on the island lake but nothing was taking. Then out of the blue, the popup rod on the old lake sprang to life! This time, the fish shot straight into the reeds and the line instantly locked up... I kept the pressure on but after a while it became apparent the fish had managed to get rid of the hook. The rod went back on the rests for 5 minutes, just to be sure but in the end I had to pull for a break. Luckily, the line snapped on the not meaning no trailing line in the water and I got the back lead, tubing and tail rubber back.

After than loss, I decided to concentrate my efforts back on the old lake but this fishing 'locked up', sitting on the rods in case one went. The left hand rod went back on the same far margin spot with a new popup and the left hand went out mid water with a stack of 3 real sweetcorn grains.

To be honest, I dropped off to sleep! The weather had really warmed up and it was nice to just sit in the spring sunshine and chill for a bit.

Around 3ish the balif came round and let me know that he'd be turning the pump that was directly behind me on. The lakes had apparently been suffering from overgrowing weed and lilies so he was going to add a blue dye to the water. Apparently the dye cuts the UV down in the water meaning the plants won't grow as fast!

As it caused quite a bit of commotion in and around the swims I was fishing, I decided to head down to the top end of the lake and fish two swims that backed onto each other. Over the last couple of hours of the session, I had two small carp out of the old lake and two out of the island lake. Nothing massive, all under 10lb but lots of fun.

So all in all, a good day! I think once the weather stabilises a bit and we move into summer proper, both lakes will offer a decent challenge for day sessions. I'm really looking forward to the lilies and reeds growing up in the old lake as I think they'll give the margin cover that I love fishing in. The idea of sneaking round the overgrown areas, dropping in handfuls of pellets and dropping a rig in to catch wary carp really appeals.

From what I've been told, there are some decent fish to the size of 25lb+ in the old lake so I'm thinking one of those beauties maybe one of my summer targets this season.

A real stress buster! Grab yaself a bag of mixers and head up to Bitterwell Lake, you won't be disappointed ;)

http://www.bitterwellfishery.co.uk/

The day started well, we left on time and after some satnav fun (google maps inventing roads as we drove) we arrived at pretty much bang on 7am - well done us! The lake was pretty busy already, a lot of people having done overnighters on Saturday and the road bank was crowded. However the dam wall and far bank was fairy quiet, so we headed round and found a row of 3 likely looking swims.

There wasn't a ripple on the water and it was immediately apparent why Shearwater is sinonoumous with zig rigs: the surface was black with carp! They we cruising around in the morning sun just below the surface in packs of 3 and 4's and the scene looked perfect for a bite in the early morning light.

So the gear came out of the car, each of us jumped into a swim and excitedly started setting up. As zigs were the order of the day for me, the 1st job was to get an idea of how deep it was out in front of us. The margins are incredibly shallow and a shelf around 2 rod lengths out marked where the water deepened off. Rather than use a marker float, I chucked out a zig float. I'd experimented with a home made version last summer up at Bitterwell Lake and although the concept was sound, the reality was a tangly mess of hooklinks, weights and floats...

So for this trip, I'd invested in a Nash Zig Float my thinking being it'd be better than my home made version! The added bonus is that you can use it as a marker float and after a couple of casts, I reckoned the water was around 12ft at 9 to 10 wraps out. Pretty much perfect, an easy range and nothing too long on the other rods that would be fished with traditional long zig hooklinks.

The next job was to get a sloppy spod mix on the go, something I've been itching to try out for ages. There's loads of info online with different suggestions of what you should use but in then end I went with:

• 6 handfuls of particles
• 3 handfuls of hemp
• 3 handfuls of dog mixers
• 1/2 a box of cheerios
• 2 handfuls of mixed pellets
• 1 tin of sweetcorn and the juice
• 1/2 a bag of porridge oats
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 1 tin of rice pudding
• enough lake water to make the whole lot into a sloppy mix!

What a concoction?! The idea was that this would produce a good 'cloud' in the water and various bait items on the surface and though out the water column which would hopefully keep the fish in my area. Now everyone suggests using a spomb so you don't loose loads of the mix on the cast and that's what I started with. But for some reason, I just can't get the hang of them... Maybe it's my spomb, maybe its the way I'm casting, maybe it's just spombs but with 4 of the first 5 casts resulting in me dragging a full unopened spomb across the water (which of course sent most of the fishing heading for cover...) I decided to switch to a regular spod. This was much better and 10 spod loads went out to my zig marker float with little of no spillage (I did discover a line of mix up my back and on my cap later though!).

Bait wise I had red, yellow, white and black foam which had been soaking in a sweeter for a week or so. My plan was to chop and change the colours until the carp told me what they wanted. I had two zigs tied ready tied at 11ft and 7ft so they went out a 1/2 a rod length either side of the zig float and then that rod went out with an actual hooklink on it and I sat back waiting for the bites to roll in...

And nothing happened... And after quite a while longer, nothing still had happened. What was up?! There were fish all over me, the hookbaits where in the right spot, I kept topping the area up with the spod rod and when I checked from a high vantage point at the top of the swim, the 'cloud' was there and fish were cruising in and out of it...

The 1st problem was the zig float. The hooklink had tangled and was a complete mess. It took me quite a lot of experimenting but I eventually found that a length of around 3ft and a stiff antitangle sleeve on the quicklink resulted in a lot less tangles. Rob and Luke (who'd both had fish by now!) also suggested that my hooks were too big so i went down from a size 8 to a size 10 and rather than hair rigging the foam, I went through the centre with half the shank of the hook proud.

And finally after an hour or so of mucking around and wondering if this zig fishing was for me, the rod ripped off! Takes on zigs are usually one of two things: a couple of bleeps as the fish moves in an arc around the lead or an absolute screamer as the fish realises it's hooked and heads off at full steam. This was the latter and the fish took me on a long run straight out into the lake!

Luckily Rob came around to give me a hand landing the fish. Due to the steep nature of the banks, the shallow water out in front and the long hooklinks it would've been a tough task to get the fish in the net but after a short fight and an helping hand my 1st Shearwater carp was sat in the net - happy days! Nothing massive, I'd guestimated it around 12lb or so but it meant I was off the mark.

I'd love to say the flood gates opened but the fishing continued to be tough, which was crazy as we had so many fish on us. I guess they do see a lot of pressure and with it being a weekend, the fish were being very cagey. But I stuck at it and with a steady stream of bait going in via the spod and a lot of perseverance with the zig float I managed to pick up 15 or so fish including 2 bream (who knew bream would take zigs?!).

After the frustrating start, I decided not film the session wanted to apply all my concentration to fishing. However, Luke did get some pics of his fish and put a video together:

All in all, a good days fishing! I'm desperate to go down for another session, this time for maybe 24 hours during the weekas I'm sure with a bit more time and less pressure you could really bag up at Shearwater. I've also been keeping an eye on the Facebook page and some much bigger fish have been coming out which is something to aim at.

This time I went armed with a plan: the advice I'd been given was to bait heavily and fish a rod tight to the reeds and a 2nd a rod length off the reeds on the far margin with a 3rd rod fishing as 'chuck it and see'. I was also going 'large', using 20mm custom boilies from Innate Baits and size 6 hooks (which still seem massive to me!).

And the plan paid off!

Massive thanks to Innate Baits, the custom 'signature' boilies really did the business.