Hampshire Avon and a new PB chub 6lbs 14oz

Having not fished the H.Avon since the beginning of September due to guiding days plus a couple of holidays to Turkey and Boavista boy was I looking forward to fishing down there again. My mate Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley had been fishing it and landing some cracking chub to 6lbs 5oz. So a quick phone call to him and we made arrangements to meet early in the morning.

Now I’m still like a kid when it comes to fishing I get so excited that it’s difficult to sleep the night before. I guess when this disappears then that’s the time to pack up fishing.

So silly me got the timing all wrong and rather than getting there at 7am it was nearer 7.30. Andy was already fishing.

The weather was to be set fair for the day with some drizzle then strong winds coming in later in the day with rain. So we both opted to float fish for chub.

The swim I fished had some reeds on the far bank with some slack water which just screamed out chub. It wasn’t particularly deep only about 4-ft deep however there was a crease that looked perfect.

I kept feeding the line whilst tackling up the gear. This is so important to get the chub chasing the red maggots around. The setup was the normal 15ft Hardy float rod and 6lb main line. The float bulk shot was weighted right under it with some no 4 on the line further down to ensure the maggots floated down realistically in the current and flow.

First cast produced a very small chub of a few inches long, followed by another one.

The next trot down saw the float bury under and the rod took on a big curve as the chub powered off downstream in the current. The hooklink was 4lb line and size 20 Drennan super specialist hook.

I hadn’t landed a chub for a long time on light tackle so I was cautious to say the least. The flow under my rod was very fast so I needed to land the thing way downstream in slack water. It wasn’t the largest chub but at just 4lbs had the heart thumping. It’s always nice to get one under your belt.

Andy phoned to say that he hadn’t had a bite and was moving. I thought I was in with a shout of a few more. When the next trot down the float shot under again I thought here is another one. However it was only a small grayling.

Still it was fantastic to be on the river again.

I kept the feed going in and soon again the float shot under and the rod hooped over and this fish shot upstream leaping out of the water several times. I was luck the line held and zip he was off again this time downstream leaping once more. I had no control over this fish. Certainly no chub.

I moved downstream again where I thought I could net it. However the fish had other idea’s and continued to leap from the water. I seriously didn’t think I was going to land the thing. The water would erupt several more times as it jumped clear. Slowly the fish tired and into the net it went. It was a spent male something. I didn’t know but it was thin and weighed about 5lbs or so. Later it was identified as a male salmon grilse that would be ready to spawn soon,and what a kype on it.

This was the last fish from the swim as the wind speed was increasing and float control was getting more difficult. As I moved downstream to the car I tried a few more swims, however with the river level at 0.51 m and summer level being 0.47 you can tell much needed rain is required.

I phoned Andy to see how he was doing. He had a couple which was good. I jumped into the car and drove 1 mile upstream to a banker swim.

As I arrived I was greeted by a chap call Pete Wilson who had only contacted me the day before. Now those knowing Pete he is an artist who does pencil drawings of the top drawer range. We had a chat and he was going to roll some meat for a start. We lamented that the river still had some colour which was not helpful for spotting weed. So we wished each other success and went our different ways.

I arrived to find a slack in the normal place where the chub layup. Willows branches  on the far bank  indicated that the level was down a good foot or more. Not good!

However not deterred I bait dropped 1 pint of maggots and the same of hemp into the area I normally fish. I could just make out the gravel where it was put and normally you see the chub on the feed. Nothing showed though.

I normally cast out every 10 minutes for so to keep the feed going in. After 30 minutes of minnow activity nothing showed where-as just down stream a chub swirled on the surface. It was only a matter of time before they would arrive. The next 30 minutes resulted in a grayling of about 10oz and a salmon parr. Once again another chub swirled downstream.

I didn’t need a third invitation I moved downstream and put out 1 pint of maggots and hemp. I then wandered off to look at other swims while the chub found the bait.

30 minutes later I was casting the 50g black cap feeder out with two maggots on a size 20 Drennan super specialist hook. 4lb hooklink and 6lb main line is the business end of the tackle. Now I can’t say enough about the rod I use. It’s a Korum 12ft 2 piece river quiver rod with a 1oz tip. This rod is fantastic value of money at under £50. In fact I have two of them thats how much I like them.

I didn’t have long to wait before the rod tip bounced around a few times indicating that chub were present. Quite often it’s tails knocking the line or the chub knocking the feeder.

The cast is to an area where the flow just picks up after the slack on the far bank.

The next cast saw the rod tip bounce a few times and as I lifted the rod it hooped over and the chub was on. It tried to get into the willow branches but failed. These rods do have some back bone to them.

I tried to play it out in the slacker water, however under my feet was the fastest flowing part of the river and once they get here then it’s a case of following them downstream until you can net them. This is about 70 yds downstream.

It turned out to be a small chub of about 4lbs. So at least the move proved to be a good one.

I always put the fish back away from the swim.

So a recast saw a repeat banging of the rod tip and then over it went again. These chub do know where those branches are and always head in that direction. The rod did the business and this time I managed to keep the fish in the slacker water, however trying to land it under my bank still means another walk downstream. This one was a little better at 4lbs 10oz.

The clouds parted a few times allowing the sun to shine. But it was just a glimpse or two as the drizzle kept returning.

Out went the feeder again this time just slightly upstream. I like fishing this way as the chub do pull the feeder back downstream when hooked and there is little if any resistance. You just watch the line trundle downstream and lift into the fish.

Sure enough after a couple of tail bangs on the line as I call them the rod lifted back sure enough the game plan had worked the line drifted downstream and I lifted into another chub. Wow this was 3 chub in the first hour since moving. Again this one was about 4lbs. These are great fish but not the bigger ones I wanted.

It must of been about 2pm when the tip was off again. This time the chub nearly made it to the willow branches and was obviously a much better fish. It stayed low in the river and kept pulling really hard. The good news was that it was in the slacker part of the river, where quite frankly it could stay. Because it was in the deeper water I couldn’t judge it’s size. Sometimes the 5lbers fight harder than the 6lbers. I walked downstream keeping the chub in the slacker part of the river. Then I caught sight of a good chub on the other end. Now a size 20 hook is likely to ping out when put under too much pressure so it’s squeaky bum time. Off she went in the fast current and I could do nothing else but follow. I always leave the landing net downstream and I collected this as I followed the chub. Luckily for me the chub found a small slack downstream and in the net she went straight away. On lifting it out I thought defo a 6lber. When I opened the net to take the tiny hook out I thought here is something special. One the scales it indicated 7lbs 6oz. I then weighed the sling and it was 8oz. I weighed it again and 7lbs 6oz. So I settled for 6lbs 14oz.

I quickly put it in a sack and phoned Andy who came straight up to photo it for me.

 

 

Was I pleased just a little so as it was a new H.Avon PB for me. My all time chub is a Dorset Stour fish of 7lbs 12oz.

I have been chasing a 7lb H.Avon fish for 7 years and this is the nearest I have come. My previous best was 6lbs 13oz and that has stood for a good 4 years.

So after all these chub I decided to top up the swim with more maggots and hemp and help Andy move to his new swim.

As Andy tackled up I kept firing in maggots via a pult. Sure enough within 30 minutes Andy had caught 2 chub and I was getting fed up being a gillie and baiter up person. I wished him luck and returned to my swim.

Soon the rod tip was being bumped by chub again. I bounced off two chub. Then had 4 more as the afternoon drew to a close and darkness approached.  Three of them being about 4 lbs and one of 5lbs. So a great afternoon for me.

9 chub in total which is great going.

I was packing away my tackle when Andy came up and had 8 for the day with the largest going 5lbs.

It was getting darker by the minute, however Andy got out his pike gear and had a few casts in 3 slacks and had 2 pike in 15 minutes. The largest was a double however very long. It just goes to show it’s the shadow or silhouette of the fish against the lighter sky that does the trick. What a fantastic 15 minutes of sport at the right time of the day. Something I have learned today.

Happy days