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Living off my old age pension limits my purchasing power but not my imagination. I use a home made barrow which is very easy to pull because of its large wheels, is preloaded at home, fits snugly into a VW Golf without packing/unpacking and makes a handy fishing station at the swim. Larger items simply strap on top. ----- and it has NEVER tipped over.

This was the moment I decided I needed to get better organised 😁

This may well have been posted before , but for those that havnt seen this and are looking to buy new line , you may find this useful . http://www.tacklebox.co.uk/pdfs/line_tests_issue11d.pdf

Travelling light...

Sometimes you just have to improvise 😎

So I've finally scanned the rest of the pictures from my list in my opening post. So I'll continue with that winter. After catching "Sandy" from my back up swim I went back in there the following friday and I recall not seeing anything so moved to my main swim on the Saturday. Once again that night was very quiet so after packing up I put all remaining bait out on the 3 spots. I recall the long range forecast and it had a proper wet and windy one coming in the following weekend. I was back down again on the Wednesday and I gave it 1kg of boilie on each rod and half a bucket of hemp per spot as well. So the following Friday arrived and I got down my usual time for a friday. True to the forecast and it was certainly a strong wind , very mild and a bit wet. On arrival I saw a fish show about 150yds up the lake. My main swim was bang centre of the bottom bank right at the bottom of the lake and from there I could see 85% of the lake from my swim. The only part I couldn't see was the car park bay. So being encouraged by the sighting and the wind howling I was quite confident. I certainly heard a few crashing out, the wind carrying the sound to me so I wasn't entirely sure how close they were. Seeing that the wind was properly howling now the loose weed that was on the surface around the lake through decay or from being uprooted was blowing into my lines as I'm right on the end of the big south westerly. Back then my Neville alarms were continually beeping through the weed as the wheel would rock back and forth with each wave. 10-30 that evening and the right hand rods single beeps turned into a one noter. Picking the rod up and I recall being flat rodded instantly and the clutch spinning which was done up quite tight due to the odd weed beds that were still around. The fish was feeling heavy and with its power it gave me a proper scrap. To my right was Reed bed which the fish headed for once I got it closer in. Luckily all the weed that had blown down formed a raft before the reed bed and once the fish found that and got covered in weed it stopped fighting. With that ,steady pressure applied and I scooped the lot up. Even with a net full of weed the tail was curved up the side of the net, holy **** this must be a long fish. Get my head torch and peel away the weed and there lying in my net is " the long linear " also known as "Bernie's linear". So I weigh the fish and it's a new PB for me so I sack the fish and go to see my mate. Being the time of year and the big wind the oxygen levels should be high so my mate suggested to sack the fish up until morning. I wasn't so keen but by this time it was near on midnight as I'd cast back out , had a cuppa etc before going to see my mate. I didn't sleep a wink that night worrying about the fish, constantly checking it, making sure it's up right and gills moving etc. As soon as there was a hint of light coming I told my mate to come round. So pictures done and a new PB, catching "Sandy"a couple of weekend's before my poor season was slowly getting better. The rest of the weekend past without a bite. I did see the odd fish but that was it. A few more blank weekends followed this fish. Mid December though and another big wind was forecast. So pre-baiting continued through rain or shine , blanking or catching, the bait would still go in no matter what. This particular weekend I saw fish on the friday again but no joy. The Saturday was to see the wind pick up even more. To the point that I didnt sleep for one minute due to fearing that my bivvy would either be blown away or the tree next to my bivvy would blow over. My Neville alarms were continually beeping , driving me mad so I decided as I wouldn't be getting any sleep I turned them off. Around 3 or 4am the wind eased off just slightly and I crashed out. I was awaken by a phone call, one of the lads up on the back of the wind was calling me. "Hello " I said, all he said was " thank god for that, you're alive". No word of a lie the wind being in my face was that hairy through the night my mate was genuinely concerned for my safety. Phone down and the next thing I hear is my bobbin smacking the butt of my right hand rod. I'd forgot my alarms were off. Pick up the rod expecting the fish to be out to my right and the line pings up through the water and starts heading on a 45degree angle to my left, what the hell. Anyway this is just a solid and unbelievably heavy lump. No line being taken just very slowly moving towards me. A mate further round the lake sees me and comes to see me. Slow steady pressure and all we see is a weed bed the size of my bivvy coming towards me and my line going into the middle of it. Weed bed in the margin and my mate is tearing at the weed bed. All of a sudden a rod length behind the weed bed and from the depths a right kipper swirls on the surface. The line pulls tight as the fish makes a lunge. This weed bed is so big and so entangled my line just isn't coming out of it so I play this fish with my rod top to the weed. I get the fish back in and just within netting range, it rolls on top, its "paw print " and looking huge. Lower the net and it makes one last lunge and with it the line parts at the weed bed. #### absolutely gutted. I had caught this fish before in my first year on there at 32lb but it was most certainly a lot bigger, last out at 39lb so being winter it certainly looked 40 but I'd never know, or would I? ..... to be cont'

We've all been there at some point lol.

I can guarantee you one thing ....... you’ll definitely end up below Liverpool 🔥YNWA🔥

On the Prawn theme wonder if you could use crab sticks.... when I went cod fishing we would use them if we ran of razor fish.

Mind you perhaps the biggest and most significant saving has been my own! A new eating plan and exercise has resulted in a near 2 stone weight loss!

My last session before lockdown. 😢

Do you pay road tax for it .... oops it’s electric lol

Well there you are , Tree , it's unanimous then . 😁

So yesterday I managed to scan some more pictures from the list in my opening thread. So I'll do write ups on these captures. So I'll go back to the end of October. My mate who's bait I was on had bailed out and also the other fella on the bait. Now One thing my mate had told me earlier in the season was that fish loved robin red and especially in the winter ( I know everyone knows that fish love robin red but in a milk protein, I'd not even considered that). So as I was now on my own on the bait I decided to tweak it a bit. We had been on a strawberry flavour that my mate had sourced, it was used to flavour ice cream so was a very thin liquid and it leaked out exceptionally well. But to this and as winter was approaching I added Robin red, bergamot essential oil and addit digest. Now I already had 10kg knocked up in plain milk and then rolled another 10kg in the robin red. Now I had actually been baiting 2 swims for a while, one where I had my good session and another that was a marginal spot further back up the lake that would be a fall back swim incase I couldn't get into my prime spot. Now the last weekend in October I managed a 30lb 06oz mirror from my main baited swim. Sadly the following weekend I couldn't get in there so fished my back up swim. So I'd set up on the friday by 4-30/5pm. My bivvy was set right back due to the main spot being a marginal spot. I'd deposited a few handfuls of chops over the spot and a dumbell wafter hookbait. I recall it being bang on 7pm as one rolled right over my margin spot. Now I should add this spot although only a a couple of rod lengths out next to a Reed bed is 9ft deep. A mate popped round to see me and I'd said I seen one. As we chatted quietly another rolled, followed by another and another. By 10pm we had witnessed over 20 fish roll, I was pulling my hair out. Was it tangled, was the additional bits to the bait too much. Loads going through my head. Now to cut a long story short, that weekend I had a total of 37 shows over that one spot. I recast 3 times, each time the rig came back spot on. I packed up scratching my head. Back down on the following Wednesday for my usual baiting session. 2kg of red milk in my main baited swim plus some particle as the tufties had started to appear and I wanted something there if or when the fish visited. My back up swim though I gave it a gallon of red maggots thinking the fish were hitting the last of the naturals and I intended on getting back in there on the friday. The friday comes and I manage to get the fall back swim. I set up and deposit half a gallon of red maggots on the marginal spot. Whilst I let that settle i head to my main swim and deposit 3kg of red milk in there (1kg per spot). Back to my swim and 4 fake maggots on a blow back rig are lowered on to the spot. Once again 7pm and the first show. I'm really confident. By 10-30 and a few lines the doubts are coming in. But I know the rig is lowered spot on. I hit the sack about 11 but i can't sleep, the odd fish rolling keeping me awake thinking it will go any minute. It was about 2am I think and I crash out, proper deep sleep after a hard week at work etc. And you know what's coming, im woke by a faint alarm sound. Thinking it can't be mine as not loud enough I then hear the bobbin smack the butt with incredible force. That has me out the bag and the margin rod is ripping. I get to the rod and notice my jack plug has fallen from my taped up alarm so no sounder box but luckily the fish had gone to open water. This fish beats me up for about 5mins before I get it to the surface and notice a nice linear roll over, I know which fish it is as I had it in my first season on there. . I net the fish and sure enough it's a fish known as Sandy. On the scales and 40lb 06oz I'm not complaining, its down a 1lb from my previous capture. The rest of the session went by without so much as a beep but I'd take what I had very happily. I don't really like repeat captures but they are part and parcel I'm afraid, especially as I'm not a stalker so can't pick and choose the fish. The 30lb 06oz mirror from the end of October. "Single scale" Sandy at 40lb 06oz.

I feel for you mate it's them cheap barrrow's. Mine clasped shortly after this photo. 😥