Over the last 10 days fishing at the barrage I have more blank sessions than ones with fish. Indeed, my last 3 evenings there have been devoid of any carpy action at all. However, before I get ahead of myself, there are two more fish to report. Following a trip to bait the spot with pellet, hemp and boilie on Sunday evening, I returned on Monday evening to have one fish of 11lbs. More remarkable though, was that the session brought three runs, the most I have had in a single sitting at the lake. Unfortunately two of these were dropped: one immediately after picking up the rod, and the other, sickeningly, after a huge run from a very big fish.

We were lucky enough to have some very experienced anglers down fishing our Etangs des Papillons lakes, and so I was able to pick their brains for a little advice - with longer hairs being their suggestion to ensure a hookhold just a bit further back in the carp’s mouth.

I returned the next night with rigs re-tied, an waited patiently for a repeat of the previous night’s sport. Strangely nothing arrived at all and the bobbins remained motionless. Now that we have passed mid-summer’s day, the time at which my rods are reeled in each night is sadly coming ever closer. It was at 22:16, 60 seconds before the rods were due in, that I got my one and only run of the session, resulting in this gorgeous, dark scaley mirror around the 16lb mark - well hooked, in the middle of the bottom lip.

The next day i rushed to get through all my work early and down to the lakes as the weather was well and truly on the turn. After a long period of hot and dry weather, the skies had darkened with cloud and the humidity had turned to a damp drizzle. The pressure had dropped a few millibars on the barometer and I was eagerly anticipating some frantic action. However, it was not to be: I blanked without so much as a bream!

I had to wait a few days for my next session due to work and other commitments, and when it did arrive I was in the company of a non-fishing friend from the UK who had come to visit. We had baited with pellet and boilie the night before, and from the moment the rods hit the water there were bream present, battering the baits. This frantic action kept Adrian amused, as he landed a couple of nice bream, I also managed another whopping rudd well over the 1lb mark. As the wind died down and the midges came out, I expected a carp to come along for certain, but alas, nothing.

The following night I baited up on the way to the airport to return Ady to the UK, and fished the next evening. This time there weren’t so many bream and rudd about, but equally no carp showed themselves either. Troubling times indeed, and after 3 blanks my confidence had taken a bit of a knock. Time for a modified approach…

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