Thanks Andy! I know exactly what you mean, once mending the line is hardwired in to the brain you can't remove it. Its something I learnt to do when I was about ten without really ever being shown or reading about it. I was getting really frustrated trying to get a float to go where i wanted it (on the far bank of a fairly narrow small trib of the thames) with the seven foot spinning rod i was using at the time. Then for a birthday present, I got given a hollow glass 10 foot float rod (seemed enormous at the time) and hey presto! I could suddenly keep the line in a pretty straight line behind the float by lifting and mending. Though truth be told, it was probably the hours i'd spent trying and failing to do the same thing with the shorter rod that had actually taught me what I should be doing. On this recent trip, I actually missed a couple of absolutely sailaway bites because i was so pleased with myself for running the float where i wanted it and was enjoying looking at it so much!
Geoff, it was pretty low and most definitely clear. Bit bright during the middle of the day too, though what has really puzzled me is the fact that it didn't switch on again in the early evening on the Friday - which was just a bit bizzare given how frantically the chub had fed during the morning spells. Still, i guess its these little mysteries that keep us coming back for more. I will make sure I let you know how we get on with the next trip in a few weeks time!