Unbelievable, this English weather just continues to amaze me and the week starting July 5th must have been one of the wettest in years. The strong south west wind may have been a plus in fishing terms but with night time temperatures dropping into single figures along with daytime struggling to reach mid teens it really was a week to do the decorating and that’s exactly what I did. I did manage to get out a couple of times, the first was on Monday evening to try a new area on the river for eels but fishing a couple of hours into darkness produced just one bite on the prawns, a four pound chub.

Thursday afternoon brightened up so I took father to Yateley, Pumphouse in the hope of a few tench, but only one showed to my rod, which was stalked in the adjoining Horseshoe Lake. What I’m hearing is that catch reports are like the weather, extremely poor and patchy. Looking on the bright side, the decorating’s looking good and not far of completion and during the week I did manage to compile two magazine articles which at least frees up some time to go and fish how and where I want.

The week starting Saturday 12^th July looks as unsettled as the last. The only advantage this week is that it looks to be a bit drier. My angling week started on Sunday and a visit to Eversley to pre-bait for the crucians was made. My sights are set on a four-pound plus crucian and if it’s going to be done then the next three weeks will be a key time as the lake I’m targeting normally sees the fish spawn late July, early August. Is it me or has their been very little fish spawning activity going on this year.

My pre-bait comprises of Hemp and Hali Crush Groundbait laced with 8mm S-Pellets, Super Scent Boosted Tutti-Frutti Corn and Natural Hemp Seed.

Tuesday I’m on the River Loddon trying to bag myself a barbel for the camera. Conditions were bright blue cloudless skies, 25 degrees with a stiff southwesterly, what a difference, yet tomorrow rain forecasted! Any barbel will do, and eventually a four-pounder grabbed my 13mm Sonubaits hard pellet, a great result on a hard day.

An angler that I spoke to told how he lost his rod due to a fish in a weir pool. Being a scuba diver, he returned a retrieved his rod but only after coming face to face with a huge pike!Another lead that needs following up!

Returning from the river I managed to get down the Crucian Lake and deposit more pre-bait in my Thursday night haunt and as I’m dropping the bait in a great big crucian rolled to my right. Wednesday saw another opportunity to get more bait in my swim so after babysitting I dropped a couple of kilos of Super Scent hemp plus a little corn in my spots. The evening looking after the kids was more of an effort especially after a call telling me that the rudd were having it at Frensham, dam, the things I do for friends! Thursday morning I’m of down to Weymouth for a meeting with CEFAS, all to do with my ECHO contact and then to the Crucian Lake…roll on Thursday night. The visit to CEFAS took far longer than expected, but what an interesting place to visit.

Managing to get to the lake for 7-30pm things take a turn for the worst as I’d only grabbed bits of tackle, and when you do this it normally means forgetting something. Today it was groundbait to mould around the lead. It’s a long story but after managing to get my hands on some 8mm pellets (far bigger than what l would have liked) l scolded them and managed to make a sticky mix that would hold around the leads. I also had left my mobile phone on show in the car so had to walk back and forward to the car numerous times before casting out at 9-30pm.

Things then got better as after no more than fifteen seconds the bobbin hit the ground, startled I looked for the responsible birds but none were about. The indicator lifted again and then the penny dropped a fish was on and after a nerve wracking couple of minutes a 4lbs 1oz crucian lay in the net, a fish I had been after for almost four years! If I never caught another fish that night then so be it and that’s exactly what I did, although I did loose a big carp.

The crucian fell to a snowman rig, scaled down using one grain of Tutti Fruiti Super Scent Corn tipped with a cut down piece of yellow artificial to counter balance and a 1.5oz Inline Dung Lead. This was fished over some Super Scent Hemp that I spodded on arrival. The hooklink was four inches of Grand Match Fluorocarbon with a size 12-barbed hook carrying a short hair.

The Winning Rig