Frosty England and a trip to Thailand. With the rivers being trashed from all the snow melt I went Perching searching for the ever elusive “four”. It was cloudy with a northerly wind making it feel much colder than 7 degrees.

More pain in Europe and a Xmas Day double. So how did the rest of the trip go? We were struggling and running out of ideas and I’ll cover the rest in my December blog is how I left things last month.

A mixed bag of a month. I had two nights to fish and really fancied the Derwent despite the roadworks and stating I wouldn’t go back this season.

So how did the last 24 hours go? That’s where I finished last month, on the Trent at Sutton half way through my second night with one loss, an Eel and loads of Bream.

Two new sections of the Trent and blanking on the Ouse. I had three nights from 31 Aug so headed up the M1 with a loose plan to fish two or three different rivers over the three nights starting on the Trent at Long Eaton.

Biggest of the season and the ABF Challenge. What a funny or should I say normal English summer, we’d had another week of warm unsettled weather with lots of rain.

Barbel and blanking for Perch. I drove up the M1 late afternoon arriving in the carpark to find it empty which immediately lifted my spirits.

Since coming back from Spain work had taken over again and I’d not had time to go fishing, the new work pattern was impacting on my fishing but I was hoping the new season would see things improve.

I’d finished last month’s piece at the half way point of my Spring Carping trip after having landed a 50-02 Common on the last day of the April and really hoped the second half would be as good.

The biggest two shows were later this year with the first one being the Northern Angling Show. Colin was in Spain with the Catfish season already in full swing so my lovely lady Julie came along to help with the shows.

I’d taken the day of work to go to the Trent and rang Ky the bailiff to check the state of the river, he laughed and said not to bother as the weir had disappeared as the river was so high…

Getting back in the routine. February turned out to be another month that I had difficulty in getting out on the bank, my promotion at work has worked out well for everything else in my life apart from my fishing.

For the first January since my Barbel obsession took hold I didn’t fish at all, work, xmas, my lovely lady, family stuff and the bug that swept through everyone I know kept me of the bank, and the few days I did get free were scuppered by the big freeze.

Bad weather and a strange occurrence. November had been a bad month for me getting out on the bank due to work and the bad weather.

After a nine day stretch at work I had a window for a quick overnighter so arranged to meet my pal Matt Marlow for another social, this time meeting on the section of the middle Trent I’d been successful on in Oct.

Contrasts and a big new moon. I’d had a lovely surprise weekend away in Suffolk, good company and nice food and felt fully re-charged.

PB’s... I had the evening and night to myself but had work in the morning so it was down to the Ouse for a local overnighter.

A month of highs and lows. After a week of nights at work I drove up the M1 looking forward to two nights on the Derwent.

Barbel from four different rivers. After a brilliant June and eight days at work I was itching to get out fishing again.

The 16th and a Derwent PB. Last season I had decided not to go back to Fields End as it didn’t appear to hold my target of a “local” 3 pound Crucian…