Dorset Stillwater I 22nd April 2007.

A good way to ease out of the weekend is a nice evening session in the warm. So I head for Peg 11 to discover Nempster in residence with his old mate, so opt for a cut in the tree a bit further on which I've always wanted to fish. I catch a 1.75lb roach (with a suspicion of Abramis about it) more or less right away and this augers well. Unfortunately, I have left my mojo at home so only get 2 bites between then and 6pm and one of those when my ticket was being issued. I missed both of them, nominal sitters, by a mile.

A carp spends the afternoon working the overhanging branches on the far side of the channel and I reckon to tempt it eventually, and give it a trail of hemp to follow to my side. At 6 pm or so I get a bite that I hit and after a lively squabble bank a 5lb on the nose tench. Cracking.

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I then go into a totally 'out-of-phase' period and variously tangle line on the reel, round the rod tip and a tree, costing me a Jack Hilton Size 8 and miss about 6 bites which ought to have resulted in fish. You end up trying too hard when this happens and I did. I managed a 1lb roach, a 6 ouncer and a small tench, 2.5lb maybe and then with the light fading I missed my last bite, a sideways slider and got the large swirl of a well spooked carp I'd wanted all along. Bu88er.

In the meantime of course, Nempster and his mate banked a huge number of fish and the former had 10 tench to 5lb 2ox and at least 6 perch to 1.25lb plus other bits and bob. Fabulous bag.

Annoying, I missed more bites than I had last week and another day would have had 10 good fish. It happens…but is never a totally rewarding experience.