On a river mission - chub and barbel

Monday the 27th, Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th of February

With the end of the river season fast approaching and my work as a self employed gardener picking up fast as it always does at this time of year the urge to get out fishing is growing ever stronger and its time to pull out the stops and go for it.

On Monday afternoon when work was finished I wanted to get a perch session in but fancied a new area, in fact a new stretch of river Soar to me altogether, I had bought the ticket at the start of the season but had never wet a line down there and thought I'd give it a go. I found a cracking looking nearside overhanging tree, the only one in sight in fact, and when I flicked out the swan shot link it took enough time to settle to tell me that the depth was just right too. In went the usual droppers full of maggot and chopped worm and I settled back to watch the tip. I only had two and a half hours before dark but thats not a worry to me especially when perching, every minute closer to dusk raises my confidence and I wasn't surprised to see the tip start to show small indications after an hours wait. Another half hour and the tip banged round properly but it was never going to be a perch the bite was just too jagged and violent, up popped a six ounce chub to confirm the fact. That was the signal for his mates to join in and I was molested by them constantly until I packed up, ravenous little gits!

On Tuesday I had in mind some chubbing on another bit of the Soar, in fact none other than the scene of the smashed rod episode of the other week, revenge will be mine! The river is lovely along this stretch, really narrow and intimate which is just my cup of tea.

On arrival in went half a dozen lumps of stinky cheese paste, none other than Harrods stilton in that batch, very posh! I fished the swim from downstream to lessen resistance to a biting fish which is always my preffered way if possible, making the fish pull against swan shot, line pressure and rod top isn't ideal when you can simply sit ten yards down the bank and create a situation where the slightest pull on the rig sends the weights trundling off in the current.

An hour in and the quiver went from curved to straight in a fraction of a second with me striking and winding at the same time to take in the slack, I finally connected with the fish right under the rod tip and it rolled almost immediately and showed that it was of the whiskered variety rather than the expected chub, this was going to be fun on 4lb line. Off back upstream it went at warp speed and I let go of the reel handle, just feathering the back of the rotor to keep pressure on, a few more minutes of similar antics and in the net it went, not big at maybe 6lb's or so but very welcome and great fun. One more missed bite followed just before dark but that was the end of the action.

Wednesday saw me back in the same swim by 3.30pm but despite getting quite a number of knocks a positive bite never materialised. Just downstream is a swim that always holds chub, very shallow and with a big willow lining the far side with a mass of tangled branches along the entire length. I thought I'd have a little break and go and catch one from there on the bread while giving the first spot a rest. I spent a few minutes flicking in bits of flake before sending the first cast against the branches with a bow of line let out to allow the rig to trundle along with the flow. I sat on the grass waiting for the inevitable but not for long, bang went the tip and I was in for a few seconds before the chub found a branch and cut me off. With the swim being so shallow I thought that was probably my chance gone but I had another couple of rounds of bread next to me so thought I'd give it one more cast. The same happened again, just after the rig had settled round went the tip and a chub headed at lightening speed towards the tree with me running back into the field trying to persuade it that it wasn't to be, I actually rolled the fish over right in amongst the woodwork before pulling it clear. Drama over and in the net she went, about 4lb odd in size but much bigger in entertainment value and on unhooking it what was sitting in its mouth but the hook I'd just lost, well that obviously spooked it then didn't it, greedy devil! I went back to the other swim and sat it out until an hour after dark without so much as a twitch.