After a week of frozen water, things looked great on Friday evening as I left the lake after a day’s work. The water had unfrozen, temperatures were high and I was sure the fish would be anxious to get on the feed.

However, waking on Saturday morning I heard an unfamiliar and unwelcome howling from outside: the wind. From nowhere a vicious northerly had picked up and was sweeping through the valley below my new apartment. That wasn’t the most encouraging sign, given my plans to hit the lake early and tempt a few fish out.

I waited till lunchtime to see if the weather would change for the better, but alas no luck. However, stir-crazy, I set out in the car to give it a go anyway. This time I set myself up on Papillon Bleu. Set below ‘Vert’ (where I last fished), the two lakes share a dam wall although there is a 15ft drop between the two. It was at the base of this dam wall that I decided to fish today, hoping that the shelter and exposure to the sunshine might have drawn the fish into the overhanging trees that lined the bank.

Adopting my usual approach, one rod was fished with a pva bag of pellet and baited with pop-up corn, whilst the other was on a boilie and stringer. Safely tucked out of the wind I watched and waited for some sign of fish…and waited.

The lake felt cold and fishless as the wind swirled through the valley on it’s journey, bringing water temperatures plummeting down. Indeed, it took several hours before I saw my first fish - a fair lump throwing itself clear of the water a good 200 yards away. After a walk to see if a move would improve my fortunes I decided to stay put and see out the session tucked away in my little corner.

With only one line bite to show for my efforts I packed the gear into the back of the car and pondered the blank session. In the end, as I drove out past Papillon Vert and Papillon Rouge and took in the gorgeous scenery, I came to the considered conclusion that a blank in these surrounding is better than an afternoon in front of the PC

Stumble it!