The Middle Level remains your best bet for a decent net, with roach, perch, skimmers and a few bigger bream and tench featuring in catches at both the St Germans end and around Neeps.

Loose feed over groundbait, coupled with pole, slider or feeder are all producing the goods on what's currently the most consistent drain in the area.

Predator anglers also managed a couple of zander on the drain on deadbaits over the weekend, including an 8lbs specimen from the Crooked Chimney stretch, showing they've not quite disappeared from the Fens.

Shepherd's Port is also fishing well, with Shepherd's Lake probably the pick of the bunch with method feeder or waggler edging it for the bigger carp topping 10lbs, with corn or pellet on the hook.

Roach and skimmers have been showing well downstream of the Piggeries on Ten Mile Bank, although a visiting seal got the blame for switching the better bream off over the weekend.

The going pegs are just up from the last bend before the moorings, with pole the favoured method. Further upstream, around the Wissey Mouth and St Mark's, the fishing seems more of a struggle.

The river's running clear, so maybe Sammy's not totally at fault when it comes to the dearth of bigger specimens. One long-stay angler, who puts in 48 hour sessions after the bream said it was turning into his worst season, catch-wise, on the Ouse.

It's autumn now, so a lot of people's thoughts will be turning to pike fishing. With one of the Lynn drains producing a 30 and a sprinkling of good twenties last time around, hopes are high of a few decent lumps.

One or two other waters, notably the lower Ouse, have been in the doldrums of late, with anglers struggling to find the predators. What a contrast to a few seasons back, when it was a case of wade through the jacks and hope for a double. These things run in cycles, so the only thing you can do is keep going.

The harder seasons, when fish are few and far between, make you appreciate how important it is to look out for them, particularly when it comes to good bite indication, prompt striking and having the right tools to hand to unhook and return them quickly.