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Lovely fresh spring morning. Nothing else to report, so far.....

Well the sun is shining, and it is a beautiful venue. The birds and crays are proving a challenge, and so far the fish aren't munching either. It's still great to be here, hanging out on a social and 🎣😁. The pizza was good once the driver found us. Even better cold for breakfast (and lunch). Now if the carp would start munching that would top it off nicely.

No need for that is there? 🥴

I often see the males group up in an area just before spawning, with the bigger females moving in a couple of days to a week later. It's when you catch that female, and she is followed in by a male or two you know that they are just about ready to go. It's at that point I change species. I don't know if it's worth a couple of roach sessions on the reservoir in the next few weeks before the carp show at Redgr.... as the big known common normally comes out early April at around 42lb from the shallows. A bit of swim clearance coming Friday while other members are otherwise busy.

Good on you for putting fish welfare 1st mate, some anglers forget the Pike is a bit of a delicate fish in some ways

Looks like my pike fishing season has ended, they have started spawning and pike don't need the extra stress as they simply can't handle it. So back onto carp.

Problem is that eel numbers are down, probably down to various causes, pollution being one, and eels were apparently otters favourite food. Back in the 1980's the Wensum in summer you could see 100's on the bottom, then they started being caught with sores around the area of Hellesdon, just below the chemical factory outlet. The Broads, lakes and rivers, it was almost impossible to use maggots as a hookbait if you fished the bottom. On the Gipping I used to stand on the bridge to Sugar Beet pits and feed maggots to the silvers, what they missed, eels would pick up of the bottom, you could see them. However this lack of eels is not restricted to East Anglia, it's nationwide. Behind Barham Pits there was a pair of otters, the river was full of big chub, gudgeon, perch, roach and pike. Then an otter explosion saw more appear in the valley, so where 4 or 5 were between Ipswich and Stowmarket, 18miles, (by road) there were now at least 15 otters, and 4 were on Barham, and another 4 on Bosmere, munching everything sizeable. As I mentioned though, my syndicate is not fenced, yet has little trouble. Coots go missing in winter and we lose occasional pike, not many. I think that at night otters stalk the rushes coot hunting as they will suddenly chirp and scatter. That is also pike territory!

Seemed the perfect swim to choose

Good luck all attending

26lb 8oz at first light this morning 👌

Jack was soon back in the bivvy Sunday morning, heavy frost and ice in the edge, who can blame him.

Never any pressure, just go to enjoy, if you catch you catch, if not so what - you've had a nice time with good people and learnt something. If blanking mattered I'd never choose the venues I do. Catching is for noddies 😂

It was £10 a day when I fished it lol