Well, this change of clocks is going to take some getting used to! This is the first season I’ve fished so late into the year, and so it came as a bit of a shock when i arrived at the lake last night in complete darkness.

There was a light breeze blowing perfectly towards the small bay I fished last week, so I decided to drop into the same swim and try my luck. With visibility limited, I decided on dropping one rod into the margins to the spot where i had my fish last week, but a little further out towards deeper water due to the drastically lower temperature. This rod was baited with the proven Ocean Fresh Red Shrimp and Garlic boillie, with just 10 freebies. The second rod was cast to the margin on the opposite side of the swim, and baited with 2 tiger nuts, and a small handfull of freebies. You’ll notice that I again avoided the pellet and hemp approach to try defeat the crayfish.

Sadly this time it seems the approach didn’t pay off, as all I had to disturb me once the wind had dropped completely was a couple of single beeps from crays. It was however, a beautiful clear, moonlit night and despite the cold, an absolute pleasure to be out on the bank.

One thing that is starting to concern me though, is that with the considerable bulk of winter squarely in front of me, my overnight sessions are reduced to simply turning up and casting to known spots . I think i need to work out some way that I can increase my ‘participation’, because at the moment i don’t feel overly involved in the fishing process. Any suggestions?

Anyway, the morning frost was beautiful - and the real bonus? Once i’d gotten home, showered and ready for work, the car was already defrosted

Stumble it!