Heavy overnight rain had given way to sunshine by midday this week and after lunch I took the short journey to my local Jeanes Pond. The aim was to test out a softer setting on my pole elastic, but also try for an elusive tench. Well aware that more rain was due later that afternoon, I was complete with waterproofs just in case the forecasters were correct.

I walked round and set up with a lily bed to my right, mixing up liquidised bread, ground carp pellets and Haiths Spicy Red, adding enough water to form up some firm fast sinking balls of feed, which I put in to form a line along the shelf from the lilies toward my peg. I had plumbed the depth at 4 feet and set the depth of my 2 gram antenna float for the bait to rest on the bottom, with a tell tale No 4 shot nine inches from the hook to indicate bites as a lift of the antenna. Bait was to be a 7 mm punch of bread on a size 16 barbless hook.

Once the balls went in, the surface was full of small fish, despite the rapidly sinking feed. With my pole at 7 metres, I fished along the shelf and initially had to work through a wall of small rudd and roach, the good news being that the addition of another six inches of elastic added at the bung end had worked and was no longer bouncing off fish, as had been the case last week. Soon bubbles were rising from the bottom over the feed and a good rudd was testing the elastic, when it ran out toward the middle.

The roach were getting better too, dropping in over the bubbles settling  the float, before the antenna lifted for the strike.

The next roach, showed signs of a pike attack.

Even a small perch got in on the act, chasing the bread down.

The roach bites were now becoming predictable. After an initial dithering of the antenna, it would lift as the fish picked up the bait, the strike bouncing the pole elastic, then it was a case of lay over the pole and pull it back to remove the top two sections, then bringing the roach to the surface and the net.

Regular pigeon egg sized balls kept the bites coming and my keepnet was beginning to fill.

Decent rudd were now lying in wait for the 7 mm punch of bread, running off back to the middle each time.

It had been spitting with rain for ten minutes, before making up its mind with a proper downpour and I committed to putting on my waterproofs. I dislike fishing under umbrellas and I am not too fond of the restriction of waterproofs either, but needs must, especially when the fish are biting.

I mixed up extra feed, the roach throwing up more bubbles, dropping the float over the top bringing a bite every time. It was impossible to keep the small slices of bread dry for the hook and switched to rolled bread, the rain softening the bait in my tray.

Dry within my waterproof cucoon, I continued netting roach and rudd. At least it was warm.

It was good to see these decent sized rudd again. They were once a reliable feature when fishing at Jeanes Pond and fight all the way to the net.

This was my last fish of the afternoon, a quality bread punch roach. I was disappointed that I had not been able to persuade any tench, crucians, or common carp to feed, but then I’d had a busy afternoon without them.

The rain had stopped. It was time to pack up and head home before my wife sent out a search party. No sooner had I begun to pack away my pole, then down it came again