It’s Monday morning everyone is back at work. The lake is empty and half frozen.

After a couple of laps around the frosty white banks I notice some fizzing in front of a swim known as the Feathers. The swim is about 12 feet deep and silty. The fish have been known to hold up here in the colder months.

I arrive in the swim and get the rods off the barrow. The first is fished with a safety clip, black silt combi link, size 10 Big T with two grains of Sonubaits Scopex flavoured corn. Once on the spot it’s followed with about 10 spods of maggots and a small handful of corn mixed in.  The next is fished the same but fished on its own about 15 yards off the baited area.

The rest of the day is uneventful, but later that evening I received a few liners and just after dark a fish crashed on the money. This stopped as it got darker and the temperature dropped. I retire to the sleeping bag and hope I’m woken sometime soon.

I wake at first light (thanks to the birds). I’m putting the kettle on when I get a liner on the single hookbait rod, No birds anywhere near the spots so I sit by the rods for a bit. All stays quiet so I return to the brolly to finish the tea, when the other rod over the maggots pulls up tight and slowly begins to take line from the spool. I pick up the rod and bend in to what seems like a good fish.  It doesn’t fight too much but uses its weight and stays deep, thankfully this doesn’t last too long and a good size common is in the bag. She went 30.04 on the scales and went straight back after a few pictures.

Any fish in these conditions is a great result and with only 24 hours to do it in made it all the more sweeter.

Keep at it and tight lines.