Blanking; I'm in good company!

It has been quite heartening to watch some of Alan Blair's recent Urban Banx underwater footage of how carp are able to feed over a very tight area of bait, yet avoid picking up his rig. This just reinforces some of the other underwater imagery, that Danny Fairbrass and the Korda Team, had produced a couple of years ago. These anglers are light years in front of me, carp angling wise, yet seeing their rigs being picked up and rejected, without any indication on the alarms, is rather reassuring during my current run of biteless sessions.
I was back out again, Saturday evening, same outcome - I blanked and not a bleep from the Sirens. I didn't stay late, and had packed up before 20.45 hrs, yet this is when the fun started. Head torch required for the tackle down process, I was able to examine the two spots. One remained untouched, so it didn't require a Mensa IQ to deduce that I hadn't been done over, the second however, had been visited and there was a rather sad-looking (badly deformed mouth) Tench feeding on my baited spot. Scanning around, there was a decent carp (a twenty possibly?) lurking at the back of the swim and then, all of a sudden, there it was - the big fish just drifted out from under my feet and melted away beyond the beam of my head torch. It's moments like this that define the emotions of angling, as a hobby, and exactly why I set myself these challenges. Had that fish been feeding on my baited spot, or just arrived? I'll never know, but that's not an issue. What's important is that it's still in the area and I am, therefore, in with a shout if I can remained focused. As I walked off, I checked another baited spot on which I have yet to cast a line, there were two carp feeding on a gravel run, one of which would beat my PB. This 2018 project is providing a fantastic test of my thought processes, yet also defines my very being - what I'm all about as an angler and the enjoyment I derive, from simply being outdoors, watching the natural world go about its' daily routine!
Didn't get to cast a bait on Sunday, having promised Bev that we'd attempt to get the bungalow back into some kind of liveable state and so it proved. I still got down to the drain and introduced a bit more bait, prior to me getting out after work on Monday. I'm not introducing huge amounts of free offerings, just a couple of handfuls on each spot, attempting to keep the fish accustomed to finding food in the vicinity. Four spots were prepared, although I didn't see any signs of the carp whilst I was getting the bait in. I did locate a decent fish, as I walked off, but it was well away from my target area and so not of more than passing interest. I'd carried my camera kit, in the hope of a Whinchat or Wheatear being present - nothing doing so I grabbed a few shots of the munga and what it looks like on the bed of these tap water clear drains.

Munga - my party mix plus halved 15mm boilies (through a Korda Kutter) ready to go.

Quite a lot of surface glare, I don't own a polaroid filter, and the water movement doesn't really
help my cause. The swim is nearly six feet deep and the freebies stand out like beacons. It's
no real surprise that the majority of fish activity is noted as the light starts to fade away.

There are exciting adventures ahead for Bev and me, so I've got just two, or three, more opportunities to visit the drains before this project gets put on hold for a while.
All the previous stuff was written before my Monday sojourn; what follows will bring you bang up to date! Work was negotiated, without to much grief, and I was able to get on my way prior to 16.30 hrs. In no great hurry to get started, I had a wander around the favoured area looking for signs, anything that might provide a spark of inspiration, something to go at. I eventually baited four swims, settling for a very familiar spot, one rod, and a completely new swim for the other. The distance between these two spots probably 15 m, at most! By positioning myself back from the drain, very slightly, I was confident that I would be able to get to the rods quickly, yet not be so close as to alert any fish to my presence. Traps set, I sat back and awaited events, it being now 18.15 hrs. A young Wheatear was flicking about on the field opposite and eventually came close enough for me to grab a shot, with the long lens, absolutely pristine in the late evening light. A couple of Kingfishers came flashing past, their piercing calls alerting me to their rapid approach. With the clock ticking past 19.15 hrs, the light levels started to fall away and I got myself ready for the main event. No, not catching a carp but, instead, the nightly swim pass by an adult Beaver. Tucked down in the bankside vegetation, I could see the bow wave as it powered towards me. Camera settings were ISO 1600 1/340th sec and thus the images weren't as sharp as I'd like, but I did manage one that is rather pleasing.

Immature Wheatear in the late evening sunshine

I'm coming through! An adult European Beaver ploughing through my swim

Darkness fell and a second Beaver came through the swim, this individual one of the "kits" from the 2018 breeding season - it was very slight in comparison to the earlier adult. Golden Plover and Lapwing were calling out on the marsh when this evening ambience was broken by the scream of a Nash Siren R3 and the clicking of the ratchet on my Matt Hayes Centrepin. Bloody Hell - a fish!
Sadly not the one that I seek but a beautiful example all the same. A stunning little linear mirror came grudgingly to the landing net and ended a fantastic evening session out on the flatlands. I'm back out before Friday, that's a definite!

Under 9 lbs, but size isn't everything when they look this good?