It’s a Tuesday morning the lake is quiet 500 acres of water all to me, I just wished the weather would make a change for the better; it would certainly make me a little more confident. Still I’m thinking it could be worse the wind and rain are lashing down but I’m well protected inside the viper, the indulgence is lovely and comfortable and I’m snug as a bug with the frostbite sleeping bag and cover.

With a few whiskey coffees and a biscuit or three listening to the radio and typing this up on my new little netbook I’m very happy. I know some anglers may be tempted to go out in this but I see little point and rather save my energies when I’ve got a reasonable chance, trying to fight the elements only ends up with broken equipment and worse still personal injury. The rain starts to ease by late afternoon and decide a treat is on order for dinner and so start preparing a nice hot chicken curry with rice to be washed down with a couple of beers. It was gorgeous, I would have taken a photo by I was too hungry, it could only have been improved perhaps with a nice keema nan! Dinner over and I have some action on the rod that produced the tench the day before, indicator dropped then pulled up tight but on striking only found myself lightly snagged which upon walking along the bank became free. The 25mm was badly whittled so a fresh one was put alongside the mutant and out it went again with a small bag a chops. It must have been about 11 that night that that rod was away and this time there was no mistakening this was a carp as the rod was pulled right down as the fish made its way down the steep, deep slope, gradual pressure brought it back and it was a good scrap in the margin. First carp of the year and I was keen to get it in the net as soon as possible and finally it was and a nice mirror by the look of it. Certainly upper thirties, I sacked up and would do the photos and weighing in the morning.

It was nice to wake in the morning to perfect quietness, no wind and no rain on the bivvy, this was more like it. I prepared everything ready for the photos trying to remember how all the self take gear went together sent it was six months since I had last used it. First of all I weighed the fish it was a nice slate grey mirror of 38ib an excellent start to the session and first carp of the year. The fish behaved itself whilst I got used to the self take process again and soon it was swimming back in its home. As is the norm the fish needed to be celebrated and so a much needed beer was drunk, the sun was out , a gentle ripple on the water, I think the conditions had finally changed for the better. I re done all the rods in eager anticipation and even had a shave and cleaned my teeth what could possibly go wrong.

By lunchtime it had clouded over the sun a distant memory and it was raining hard again, oh deep joy as I was marooned in the bivvy once more. The rain didn’t let up and continued until evening and beyond, this was becoming a joke a week of rain surely it couldn’t get any worse. A quiet night, not even a bleep and I awoke about seven to a heavy mist over the lake and also something else which was white – snow! You are having a laugh I said to myself it’s only a few weeks to June and there’s snow and its freezing cold, I was not best pleased. Not much I can do about it and hopefully the carp won’t notice. Surprisingly I did see a carp or too roll over the bait so that was atleast encouraging and I was also pleasantly surprised to find the cray trap full up with crayfish so they were still feeding. It’s still cold as I’m updating this but the snow has gone and there is only a light drizzle, chances look good tonight with the fish that I have seen.

It would though be nice to see the sun sometime soon; I need to charge this computer up with some much needed solar power. It would also be nice get the solar shower up and running as it’s been a week on the bank now and I’m not exactly smelling of roses, even the wildlife is avoiding me and I don’t fancy a swim in the lake just yet, not when it’s so bloody cold.

Today’s on the bank tackle test – Nash Titan Viper

I have had a Titan bivvy since they first came out however long that may be now and the Viper was even better when it came out and perfect for my foreign excursions. It is so easy to put up and can be done in minutes, a real bonus when moving on places like the Orient with water levels dropping or rising. Were the Viper really comes into its own is against the elements, its design means it is ultra strong and resistant to even the strongest of winds, from mini hurricanes on the Orient when other bivvies have been flattened, to Raduta when it endured extreme heat to the Mistrals of Salagou to trees falling on it on the river Lot it has not let me down once.

The Viper comes with a winter skin or extreme canopy which cuts out any condensation and also keeps it 100% waterproof, reading this years rambling diary piece you will see that it has been very wet, in fact the wetish spring I can remember the water on the lake has come up 15ft in the last two and a bit weeks but not once have I had a single drop of rain leak inside. Not bad for a bivvy some four years old now and been up and against the elements for a total of around 100 weeks.

The heavy duty groundsheet is great and does the job intended, the infill panels are also useful depending on the conditions and the time of year, with a clear door should it be raining into the bivvy, or a mosquito mesh in the summer to keep some air circulating inside but stopping the pesky little things attacking you. As you can see in the photo they are adaptable to steep slopes and my good mate Mick wouldn’t be without his on out foreign travels. When I’m out in the worst of the elements that this global warming seems to be chucking at us these days I know I’m going to be safe and secure in my Viper and wouldn’t choose anything else, it is simply the best.