I am struggling to get anything but liners.

I am fishing a pit that is uniform in depth at around 24 feet with few features.  The margins slope from nothing to this depth within 10 to 15 yards.

There is a plateux of 4 to 6 feet in the northeast corner which can be reached from a couple of swims with a cast of around 40 yards.  This drops off into 12 feet and weed.

I have fished the margins with only terrapins to show for my efforts.

Last year I managed 4 Bream to three pounds fishing a small rise to 18 feet at a distance of 50 yards with groundbait feeder and maggot hookbait.

Since this march I have fished six different swims using either a groundbait, pellet, particle, pre bait and via feeder only.

It is doing my head in.

So far I have tried:

Helicopter, inline and running maggot feeder. 

Method feeder (pellet and mix) and groundbait feeder.

Leadcore, tubing and no leader rigs.

Mono, braid and stiff links. 

Back lead no back lead.     

Drop offs, rises (I haven't found any bars) and plateaus.

As you can see I have tried.

The reason I keep fishing it is that I have seen spawning fish and they are plentiful.

I have seen pictuers of Pike to 26lb, Carp to 28lb and Catfish to 5 feet long (German angler).

There are fish in there.

On the odd accasion they can be seen rolling and this is what has me hooked, on my first outing the biggest Tench I have seen (bare in mind my pb is only 4lb) rolled 10 feet from my float and I was snapped off on the light tackle moments later.

Now my point is this.

Am I the only one?

Tommo - don't panic mate, I think these easterly and north-easterly winds are killing the pits at the moment despite the temperatures.

I've just sent a PM to someone stating this before I saw your post. In the last week I've done three sessions on two very different pits (200+ acres and 35 acres) and I described it as being like fishing the Gobi Desert.

Like yourself, I tried everything in my armoury and, to put it bluntly, I fished my b*ll*cks off but it didn't make a toss of difference.

Going to give the pits a rest for a week or so until the winds change around.

I plan to go and do some 'proper' fishing at the end of the week to get and catch some bludi fish!

Thank the Lord it isn't just me.

Cheers Lark.

Your not the only one mate.

Me and a couple of mates joined a lake in the bedfordshire area last year,although we havn't put loads of time in,none of us can get to grips with the place.

As you say we know the fish are in there and some good uns to,another member a few weeks back had two thirties on the matt at the same time.we have tried allsorts of different tactics but to no avail. And it only gets harder in summer being choked up with weed.

i'm determined to have one out thou. Just keep plugging away and im sure it will happen in the end,thats what i keep telling myself anyway.

I've tried a slider at two rod lengths with nothing to show.

The locals use a crude method feeder and launch it.  I know the benefits of doing what they do but they are not very successful and really seem to have a bait in the water as an excuse to have a beer and a mother's meeting.

Perseverance is the only way.

Ask the German local what he was doing.  They have a strange knack of using crude tactics (by our standards) and catching.  I suspect that the fish are in the band of warmer water at mid depth somewhere.  Try a static rod on a zig rig and then also fish a sliding waggler and see if that helps

Haven't tried up in the water.

I'll give it a go on sunday along with the feeder to the end of the marginal slope with a particle approach.

Like I said Tommo, don't panic. None of our pits are giving up anything so far.

They're clear of weed and look perfect - but nobody's told the tench and bream!

I don't think any method is better over another at the moment - like I said, they're just not right yet.

Thanks for the advice and support.

They are in there.

I have to log off now do don't be offended at no replies.

 I'll keep you posted.

Well I have just baited up a swim with a pellet and groundbait mix for the morning.

One line at 25 yards where there is a drop off from 16 to 18' and the other to 12' by some overhanging trees.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Well I'm back from another session on my nemesis water.

It was with mixed feelings that I saw my first tench out of the water upon my arrival.  One of the local anglers was cleaning an imaculate fish which would have been around three pounds.

They are catchable and they are feeding.

Unfortunately I left my float gear at home so it was with twin rods on buzzers.

Absolutely naff all on the groundbait feeder on the deep line, however an absolutely screaming take on the method feeder in shallower water.

I'd love to tell you that I have broken this seasons duck but alas it wasn't to be and I was scuppered on the strike by a drifting branch.

It may have been raining but the air under my brolly was blue.

That was the only action for the seven hours.  However it has rekindled the fire and I reckon it is just one of those waters that is going to take patience.  Especially if any caught are for the pot.

On that note something really has to be done back home about fish going to the pot.

I don't understand the mentality, I can if the waters are managed but I recently found out that the fish stocks are only topped up every couple of years and that is only if there is a club with funds running the water.  It can't be sustainable.  Can it?

That's pretty much it.

Apparently it is law over here (Germany) to kill all fish caught.  Through the grapevine I heard that it was some crazy Green Party law to discourage fishing for sport and that the process of catching a fish inflicted so much stress that it is more humane to kill them all once caught than release them.

It is not all gloom and doom.  On the lake in question there are some new breed guys that carp fish.  Unfortunately Pike and Zander seem to get the short straw all year round.