MAY is an exciting time to be an angler. The lakes and rivers are looking as vibrant as they ever will, and few anglers could fail to find optimism amid such beauty. And, less poetically, the fishing at this time of year is really on the up.

Trout and tench anglers are among the happiest. For the former, the imminent mayfly hatches promise to stir the largest, canniest trout. For the latter, these final weeks before spawning see the tincas at their largest weights.

And carp anglers? Well, we are enjoying the warmer nights, the hazy mornings and fish which have lost their torpid winter indifference.

Right now, the carp are big and they are catchable, and recent events on the Water Park confirm it to be so – though it would be indiscreet of me to say more than that.

I walked round a new water last week. I won’t identify it here as there is a strict no-publicity rule in place, but you can take it from me that its carp will be a considerable preoccupation for me in the coming months.

I suspect, in fact, that I’ll be smitten with them for a few years to come. The syndicate boss was my host, and he went to great lengths to explain to me – someone with scant knowledge of the science that goes into successful fisheries – the careful management of the water.

A great deal of thought has gone into landscaping, water quality, fish stocks, anti-predation measures and creating healthy sustainable food chains for the various creatures that – if you’ll excuse a little anthropomorphism – call it home. I’ll really enjoy watching it flourish.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I attended the Barbel Society Annual Show, having once again been asked to perform Master of Ceremony duties, and there too I found optimism.

Speakers included John Bailey, who can now consider himself genuinely famous after the success of his last TV series. John spoke of the cormorant problem in Norfolk, but he had an answer palatable to the large audience; spend more time on the bank. Much more. Apparently, it scares them off.

So I’ll be back at the new water this week, and for many more weeks to come, rod-in-hand, chasing carp and scaring away the cormorants as I do so. It’s the least I can do. I recommend you do the same.

Catch reports: jon_s_berry@yahoo.co.uk

Twitter: @jonberrywriter

Website: www.jon-berry.net