What with Mark Pitchers starting his picnicking vlog on YouTube and not catching a carp much like myself on this latest session – again! I’m starting The Breakfast Club.

It is easy to join, just turn up to lake before sunrise, get set up, cast out and put the kettle on. Don’t worry about catching a carp, it’s all about good food and good choices, tea or coffee; English or continental; and in this case ketchup (red) or brown sauce!

On this occasion it was brown.

In my world it has to be brown for sausage and red for bacon – no arguments, right!

And that was the only thing that seemed to go right on the morning.

Having barrowed around to the area I had baited over the last two weekends, I got the right rod out sharpish – pop-up Baitworks etc.

For the second I leaded around with a feature lead only to snag some underwater debris and got cut off.

As I don’t have a marker/spod rod I lost the end tackle and had to start over. Once ready to go again I managed to snap my baiting needle!

I still got the boilie on and cast out and sat down to try and mend the tool. I decided the best way was to drill the other end of the handle and insert the needle. Great idea until the drill broke!

With lost terminal tackle and two broken tools it was time to have breakfast, I could not mess that up.

Now having worked at the Golden Arches when I was a student I know a thing or two about the menu and if I’d have had a slice of cheese for my sausage and egg bagel (pictured) it would have definitely put Ronald’s in the shade.

After breakfast the fishing came back into sharp focus as a common showed to my right around the corner and about 40 yards out.

I wound in the pop-up and nipped around to a swim that gave me a better cast to the show. Just as I was about to cast another carp showed to my left. My original swim gave the better angle, so back I went and cast out.

The time was now 9am and that seemed to be the end of service – no more shows and only coffee was available from the bank side kitchen.

With nothing happening I moved to the other side of the lake to another pre-baited area – the snag where I had heard them last weekend. But all was quiet and now the clock was ticking down.

As the session ended I started to think about the next trip and what would breakfast be – bacon perhaps, maybe black pudding (with ketchup) or how about smoked salmon or even kippers?

Knowing my luck this year that would be the only fish on the bank!

Tightlines and meal times.