First frost.

Due to other commitments this was my first trip of the new year.


Arrived at 1430 to find a few lads on, all fishing static and all struggling. I start at the top end of a line of trees and intended to work my way down over the next hour or two, but despite having given each swim a helping of mash prior to casting, nothing gave me so much as a hint on cheese paste or flake.


The frost had been heavy the night before, the second night in a row, and it was still present in some sheltered swims. The sun was up, walkers were out in their droves and with no bites to show experience told me that such busy bankside conditions were going to be a struggle. So, I decided to head to some swims off the beaten track and to try and build a swim going into dark.


The light levels had dropped with the sun dipping low on the horizon, there was far lass bank side disturbance and after a couple of handfuls of mash and a few exploratory casts I was into a fish. Nothing massive but at about 1.8, spotless and welcome.


There after I had a fish a cast for the next 5 casts, sadly they were all smaller than the first one. I stepped up the size of cheese paste to tempt a lump but the smaller fish were still smashing into it, and several bites were missed.


A further 2 fish were added, again nothing big, but 8 fish in an hour and a bit, going into dark can't be sniffed at.


Sadly weekend commitments for the next 3 weekends mean I'll probably be restricted to short midweek sessions for the rest of this month.