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Horrible mate, dirty, smelly, times have moved on imo. As Kev said, propane/butane mix is the one👍

You can use any stove inside the bivvy mate it warms everything up - key is to leave lots of ventilation, maybe letter box the door, people do use bivvy heaters - I borrowed my mates it was ace putting it on to warm your hands back up after a fish or something but the dangers are obvious, don't leave unattended, well ventilated and don't fall asleep with anything on. There is a candle and tin style heater that will make a significant difference. I generally don't bother but there are options. I use gas - has to be a propane/butane mix for winter and in the morning it still will be a bit poor with a low flame - which is why people put them in their sleeping bags as mentioned. I found my mates antics with his Coleman a bit scary, - he put me right off lol But in the right hands I'm sure they work perfectly. If you mean will the bites be morning/evening? December and beyond I've found late morning through to late afternoon to be the time on a few venues I can think of. Autumn seems more evening and early morning - but everywhere has the potential to be completely different. December I also had spells of bites again between 11pm and 1am so 2 feeding windows then nothing until 11 the next morning. On a lake we fished years back from Dec onwards we wouldn't have to get there until 10am - bites were generally from 2pm until 4pm then we went home - doing nights was almost pointless.

Not coffee... it'll make you pee more as its an emetic, tea or chocolate is good, but soup is more warming for longer... take a flask of soup, loads of food flasks about so a chunky soup with bread and butter is a warming meal, pots of porridge are also good warmers with a slow energy release... you can buy the pots in tescos ets... get the ones you just add water to, boil up the kettle pour in the water leave for a minute and stir... good warming brekky (or dinner if you prefer)

Tips for keeping warm... Eliminate gaps... gaps cause draughts, tuck joggers into socks, wear long sleeved tee shirts pulled down to the wrists, wear a scarf or neck warmer, and a good hat... the Trapper style is very good at keeping your head warm, and Neoprene gloves will keep hands warm, if you don't like gloves buy a Muff, and put a hand warmer in... brill at keeping hands toasty

on a slightly lighter note for this thread my old next door neighbour was ex-BBC and worked in the costume department and would regale us with tales of working on this show. we would rib the hell out of him for this and not because of the politics but because trying to claim fame as wolfie smiths dresser did not really require much effort in the outfit choice. he sadly passed in 2004 (my neighbour not wolfie) but will forever be remembered as the man that suggested jeans and a t-shirt as the uniform of choice for Tooting Popular Front.... politics and religion are never dull subjects and all seriousness aside having worked in a closed shop and also non union places i support everyones right to either strike or not but thats why we have this system whether broken or not. i for one will always support power for the people and freedom for tooting in loving memory of Roger Reece the costume designer extraordinaire

Hell yeah, I'm all about enjoyment, fishing is a treat and I like to eat and drink well, a tiny stove and food bag is as essential. I take a flask on the boats but its nowhere near as good and neither is cold sandwiches tbh Tony the Bluebell owner wrote that good hot food and drink and being warm make you fish more effectively and I've always thought he is dead right.

Best post so far. Ian.