Paul, my mate, is not having much fun at the moment as he has fished the four-acre venue all through the winter with nothing to show for his efforts.

The lake is in the grounds of a home for people with disabilities and has not been fished consistently for a long time, but Paul has braved all weathers in search of one of the carp.

The lake has been closed for a while so, when it reopened, Paul invited me down for a session to try for one of the elusive six carp which live in the water.

When I arrived, Paul had two runs within half-an-hour. Both fish managed to elude capture by burying themselves in the underwater branches of a fallen tree.

The two runs tripled Paul's total of takes for the last six months, but my confidence grew quite a bit as they were feeding, but with two fish recently hooked, I did not know whether they would go back into winter mode.

I bombarded Paul with a load of questions knowing that answers such as "no-one has ever had two runs on the same day" were not making the outlook any rosier.

Knowing the facts, I decided a moveable approach was needed as the fish were moving and picking up. But in five acres it was not going to be a piece of cake. Anyway, I saw a fish splash by a fallen tree and duly went around, baited up with half a kilo of Mainline Assin-8 and retired to the bivvey for my second night.

Three o'clock in the morning, a few bleeps, and a brief struggle later, I was the proud captor of a 21lb 4oz common, which was the shape of a dinner plate. It was, without doubt, the fattest common I have ever taken, but it was in exceptional condition with a really dark grey hue to the scales.

At this time of year it is essential to be mobile, as the fish are keen to feed but are also full of energy and will move about the lake attacking pockets of natural food, which are abundant in the early spring.

It is one time of year when piling in the bait in the same spot will not draw the fish in quickly, as the carp's natural diet is at most plentiful. If you try to intercept a fish whilst moving from one area to another or cast to areas where they show themselves, something they do often around now, the patience can be worth it.

I hope Paul manages a fish from the lake soon as I do feel I was rather lucky to capture one of the beauties he has set his heart and soul on all winter, after just two nights.

Just a reminder to those juniors out there for the competitions. The response has been good so far, but I will have to ask everyone to get their entry forms in quickly as details such as coach travel, etc, have to be finalised early. I will announce a closing date soon.

Forms and details of the competition are available by contacting me on 020 8249 2421 during office hours or e-mailing tony-s@kep.on line.co.uk, or by visiting A and I Tackle, Downham Tackle, Ron Summers or The Tacklebox.