A couple of short afternoon sessions and another 7lb chub. 15th 6lb plus chub of the season

Having stayed in Fordingbridge for a week it gave me an opportunity to fish a few short afternoon sessions on the Hampshire Avon. The weather had been extremely rainy over the last week of October. Hardly a day passed without some heavy rain showers and on some occasions it would rain for a whole morning. The river had risen and at times was very coloured. The rain fall in the New Forest area would bring in the mud from the various streams.

I fished one afternoon after talking with Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley in the morning. He was fishing plenty of swims with worm and later for barbel. I headed off to a swim that I had been fishing both float and feeder fishing for chub. The main benefit was that the minnows were not present in any numbers whilst maggot fishing in other swims were murdering them. I arrived to find some colour in the water but was float fishable. However there was a blustery downstream wind that made line and float control almost useless. So it was the feeder rod for me. However the river had risen to .7m in the last few days due to the rain and combined with the debris coming down in the flow I had to use a heavier feeder than I wanted to. I had my first bite within the first 15 minutes of the 2 hr session.and this take straightened the hook again. The rod bucked and buckled in the rod rest so perhaps I needed to fish with the free spool on. I had one more positive bite and landed a small chub of about 4lbs. At least no blanking. Then mysteriously the river coloured up again meaning the chub couldn’t spot the maggots. I had a few line bites but no more proper bites.

I didn’t fish the next afternoon as there was an opportunity to walk around Mudeford when the sun shone in the afternoon.

It then rained the following morning not heavy rain but that fine misty rain that drenched everything. I knew it wouldn’t increase the river height significantly and sure enough it had retreated down to .6m and that 10cm lowering would make a huge difference. I arrived knowing I had about 2hrs fishing time after picking up some more maggots in Ringwood. I pulted out a few maggots unsure as to float or feeder fish. The wind though had made up my mind due to being downstream one once again. I started to tackle the feeder rod up together. I could hold out with a 70g feeder and there was little debris coming down in the flow. By the time I had everything sorted the sky’s darkened and it poured with rain for about 20 minutes. Luckily I had bought my umbrella with me and sheltered under it until the rain stopped. As soon as I cast out the rod top rattled a few times and indicated that chub were present. It was a pleasant afternoon with geese flying and honking overhead. The rod continued to have plucks and pulls from chub picking the maggots up or liners. Suddenly the rod leaped into life and a chub was on. I kept the rod low to ovoid the chub snagging me in the far willows as I walked backwards and downstream. Once the chub is in midstream it’s game over and I can lead them downstream to a slack area at my feet where it’s easy to net them. This was a perfect looking chub. I thought it would be about 4lbs 8oz and on the scales 4lbs 10oz. So no blanking.

I pulted out a few more maggots way upstream hoping to pull the chub up into the area where the feeder was landing. I soon had the feeder out again “on the money” as they say. Soon the rod top was nodding around where chub were investigating the area and maggots. Soon the rod flew over again with an angry chub trying it’s best to reach the far bank willows. The rod and clutch did it’s job as I followed the normal process of keeping the rod low and walking backwards and downstream pulling the chub into midstream. This one was slightly smaller and was about 4lbs. I have had plenty of these 4lber this year so there might be a strong year class coming through.

Slipping them back upstream from my angling position doesn’t effect the chub that remain in the swim. So that was one hour after arriving so I had about the same time remaining. The sun sets at about 4.50pm and with the cloud around it would be dark soon after that. I recast once more with my confidence high as the last hour is normally ” happy hour”. I wondered whether the clarity of about 2-3ft would have an impact on this. I needn’t have worried as soon the chub were back into the swim brushing the line and plucking at the maggots and feeder. The rod bucked and buckled in the rests again as a chub was hooked. This fish didn’t head for the willows but stayed deep in midstream. I didn’t need to move backwards but just lead the chub downstream to the slack water bay. The chub had other ideas. It just wanted to head downstream and in the powerful flow it was winning. I couldn’t land it further downstream as there was a huge bramble bust that I just couldn’t get by. There was no choice other than to hold tight and guide it into as slack water as I could. It wasn’t easy as I couldn’t make out how deep it was in the river. Too much pressure and the hook would ping out. The rod took on an alarming curve I dare not use the clutch and give line as I thought I wouldn’t be able to guide the chub up through the faster nearside current further downstream. The chub stayed deep and I just held it there in the current time was on my side I could wait until it tired. Eventually sure enough it tired and I was able to guide the chub into the slacker water at my feet. It came up to the surface and it looked a decent chub. As it went into the folds of the net it looked a huge chub. Thick short and extremely wide at the shoulders. As I carried the net up to rest the fish in the river I thought it looked similar to the 7lb 2oz chub I had 3 weeks previous. Sure enough that’s what it turned out to be at 7lbs 1oz.

So after all the photo and video stuff time was running out. Looking at the hook it had opened out a little where I had put so much pressure on the chub and prevented it from going downstream further. The Drennan super specialist hooks are the only ones I really trust to hold out in these circumstances. So I retied another size 18 onto the short hooklink. Time was running out and I reckon when I can’t see the reel line in daylight then it’s time to pack up and head home. Well I could still make this out.

Soon I had the next and final chub of the day at 5lbs 10oz and a beautiful looker with not a scale out of place. I didn’t take any photo’s or video as it was getting darker. Who would have thought 10 years or so ago I wouldn’t be taking photos of a chub that size. So that’s my 15th chub over 6lbs for the season.

Think I will probably leave the swim alone for now. I don’t like recaptures. Perhaps I will start trying for one of my other target for the season and that’s a 1lb dace. Well anything near that weight will do nicely.