2008 was regarded as an "odd" season by many but looking back over the records, it seems like we'll have to revise what we regard as "normal" in terms of fishing and conditions at Blagdon.

For a start, water levels have been very high - at top water - for nearly the past two years and while this hasn't made much difference to the start of the season, it's really changed the nature of the fishing during the second half of the year.

For a number of years, Blagdon was regarded as a "sunk line" fishery - mainly because of the depth of water that the fish tended to lie in. Couple this with what was regarded as a completely reliable evening rise and water levels that fell predictably over the course of a season and you'll see what gave rise to the pitches and tactics that we all developed over the years.

Personally, I'm not sure that we won't see a return to this. After all, one long, dry summer will see the water levels fall and the return of the back-end fishing that we all know.