Did a little trip down to the Valley Lake at Fryerning earlier this week. The fish weren’t too hard to find and after setting up in the pouring rain (don’t you just HATE that!) I managed to get a few bites.

Eight fish came my way topped by a long old mirror of just over 29lbs.

I had to do the pictures of that one with the camera set up in the bivvy doorway as it was raining so hard!

Spectrum fluorocarbon played a big part and coupled with Mimicry LastMeter end tackle I was able to keep things nicely blended in which is vital when dealing with wary, small water carp.

Bait was Sticky Krill crumb and hemp, little and often rather than piling it in.

This is a hard time of year so generally try to avoid heavy baiting and remember that if you try and make your hook bait look like a hook bait then you may well struggle!