Following a week of hot weather that put fish off their feed and had most fisheries overworking their aerators, Bridge Pool at Hunstrete came up with plenty of big fish and weights.

The three lakes at Hunstrete are run by Bathampton AA, who have recently become one of only 11 clubs to be awarded a Clubmark Accreditation by Sport England.

Unlike some fisheries, that rely on matches to fill empty pegs, Bathampton waters are so popular that invariably an angler has to get up early in the morning to get the peg of his choice.

Aarriving at the lake the sun was hot, the lake was calm and, except for the occasional splash from surface feeders, not a fish could be seen cruising the upper layers.

Disabled peg 16 appeared to be the place to catch most fish in the early stages, and Steve Elliott was quickly catching his seventh carp of the day – a fighting-fit six-pounder.

Within seconds of his next put-in his float buried and he was battling his eighth – a superbly conditioned 12-8-0 common.

Elliott is a very experienced match angler who, after spending years on the match circuit, prefers to spend his time pleasure fishing.

He said: "I prefer fishing on my own. I can leave home at a convenient time and fish as long as I want.

"If it rains or I don't catch many fish then I either move to another peg or pack up and go home."

Elliott, who has been a Bathampton AA member for five years, chose to fish disabled peg 16 because on the previous Saturday he had caught well over 100lb of fish – including an 18-pounder.

At the start, the Bath-based angler set up three rigs. The main one was to be fished tight into the island margins at 12.5 metres. He fished a size 13 hollow elastic, a 0.18 line set at 3' deep and an 8mm pellet, banded to a size 16 hook.

His second rig was plumbed to fish at full depth, beneath overhanging branches in his left lakeside margin, and he set up a pellet waggler – just in case everything else failed.

He said: "I cupped in an initial half cup of pellet into both swims and caught from my first put-in at 12.5 metres. Bites and fish came regularly from the start so I had no need to use the other.

"I had plenty of foul hookers and during the six-hour session lost more fish than I netted."

Elliott's total catch was 11 carp, at an estimated weight of 80lb.

Disabled peg 11 came up with three quality carp for 17-year-old Stuart Adams, from Bath.

The apprentice car mechanic, who also prefers pleasure fishing to match fishing, fished an 8mm banded pellet shallow beneath a waggler and close to island margins off disabled peg 11, and caught carp to almost 5lb.

He said: "I was taught to fish by Keith Pope, who is a qualified Bathampton AA coach.

"I have been fishing for about three years and join in every coaching day, which is held at least once a month, and spend every other Saturday fishing either Bridge Pool of Withy Pool."

Hunstrete is a Bathampton AA water and open to members only. For details go to www.bathampton.org.