8th March.

After a failed session last Saturday, I was once making my familiar way down to the Frimley complex. I’d gone down last Saturday, hyped up and ready to go with some new ideas – only to find the entire venue frozen up solid. I walked round most of all four lakes and could see via my eyes and a spot of tentative ‘testing the ice with my boot’, that it was a no go situation. A quick chat with a couple of bailiffs who had just woken up with their rods locked solid in the ice, and that was enough for me – I lumped the gear back to the train station feeling gutted that I couldn’t try out my new rigs, and was back in bed with the soon to be wife…. things weren’t all that bad then ;)

Anyway, the next session seemed far more promising from the outset. I’d been tracking the weather for a few days and could see that a spot of mild weather and low pressure was coming up – this was a chance not to be missed, so I set about planning the day session down there. Due to work commitments, Ricky couldn’t make the trip – but as always, we would be in close communication via the trusty old dog and bone! Must rack up a fortune when one of us is fishing and the other isn’t – constantly phoning and texting each other for updates and info!

I arrived at the complex via the ever reliable South West Trains – after hacking off all the commuters by wedging myself and my gear in the last available space on the train! The short walk from the station left me sweating like a horse as I got to Pit 2 – a sure sign that the temperature was on the up and up. I quick scout around and the swim was chosen and secured. I could sense impending rain in the air and so quickly stuck my Dave Lane STI shelter up – so quick and easy to do. Next up was the rods – already made up, so I got my set up ready. Doing a bit of research recently had thrown me into the path of Mr Maylin’s trust mag-aliner rig. Ive only ever used the Korda maggot clips before, so was quite keen to give this rig a go. He cleaned up on Pit 3 last year with it, so I just had to get it out there. Two rods were heaved out, both with chunky PVA stockings attached, chock-full of those little wriggly sods. One was cast to a known gravel spot about 40 yards out and the other was placed in an extremely juicy looking marginal spot. I couldn’t have felt more confident about the session and settled down to a cup of the black stuff. That’s coffee in case any of you think i’m an alcoholic!

One of the bailiffs popped in for a chat and was as friendly as always – he even recognised me from this site, which is always nice. He wished me luck and said the conditions were pukka – which just fuelled my anticipation of a run. And so I waited…. The morning came and went, without so much as a carp’s fart rippling the surface. Nothing moving anywhere on the parts of the lake I could see. I’d adopted the tactic of constantly trickling a small amount of maggots into the various areas of the swim to keep my options open. I had 4 spots baited up and on the hour I changed my non-marginal rod to each of these spots in the hope of catching the carp in the act of wolfing up my maggots. As predicted, just before midday, the heavens opened. And boy did they open – it chucked it down. I was warm and toasty however even though there was a small river running underneath my chair cos the swim was on a slight slope! As usual, my old Frimley friend Mr Robin came to play and after feeding him about half a pint of maggots, I’m sure he’ll be eligible for Celebrity Fat Club this year! That bird definitely likes his food!

But, following suit from my last few sessions, it wasn’t to be. I had a few knocks on my gravel spot rod over the course of the day and later on, had a slight pick-up on the same rod, but on a different spot, which didn’t amount to anything. I was getting concerned that it just wasn’t gonna come right for me again, and true to form, the session ended with no action. My good mate Austin came down for a chinwag and I had a good old natter with the Steven’s brothers over the course of the day – so although I’d not connected with any of the lakes specimens, I’d still enjoyed myself. I packed up in the heavy rain (always a pleasure – cheers Mother Nature!) and slinked home with my tail between my legs, ready and waiting for the next time. Just to ease the pain of not catching anything, the mighty Gooners managed to eek through in the Champions League – at least there were some winners out there that day.