Heart break and elation and a roller coaster ride

The river season has quickly pounced on me this year. I believe it’s partly due to the poor tench fishing season with results being nil. Having said that I had them worried at times.

I couldn’t wait for the season to open. I was going to fish the H.Avon for chub and barbel this summer and see what comes along. I really got stuck in a rut last year fishing just for the chub. I passed up on some really big barbel in my hunt for a 7lber. That’s not going to happen this year for sure.

So the previous night the 15th I packed the car and went to bed like a young boy waiting for Xmas day presents to come along. Mine though were big fish. I was on the fishery at 7am and there a good few anglers who were taking the opening day seriously and getting there reasonably early too.

I moved to a stretch which was much quieter. The area was one where I had seen a huge chub the previous June, there you are again chasing big chub. To be fair the river was running coloured, that peaty look which showed the rain from the previous few days was still running in from the Newforest.

I baited the swim with the normal hemp and a few pellets and sat back waiting for the tip to pull around. I couldn’t believe it nothing not a single bite.

So walked upstream over a small feeder stream to an island swim where I saw a and a good few chub on the shallow water. Again I went through the normal baiting up with hemp and pellet with a bait dropper.

I left the fish to feed for 30 mins or so and boy oh boy did they get their heads down. No sign of the barbel but there must have been 12 chub. Of course they scattered when I cast the 3 oz lead and 3 ft of braid hooklink and size 12 hook with a West Country Baits pellet on a hair rig.

No sooner than the the rod settled in the rest the chub reappeared and continued feeding. Within a minute the first chub made it’s mistake and it was fish on. I was using 1.25 T/C rod and 8lb line so not overly heavy. So the fight was good however the chub was only about 4lbs it was soon in the net.

Exactly the same process was repeated for a second and a third chub. Both of these were of a similar size. By now it was time to rest the swim for a while to listen to the England Wales game on the radio. You know the result!

I had one more small chub and then it went very quiet. The chub were spooked for sure. I cast slightly further downstream to an area where I couldn’t spot the chub. It was while the bait was here that the rod nodded once then ripped around and a barbel shot upstream and it looked to be very big. Then it shot downstream and up it came slowly again. I didn’t need to put too much pressure on it. Then it tried to get across under a tree on the far bank and pressure turned it back towards me using that powerful tail to pull against the rod and river flow. The barbel was now at my feet looking huge in the very shallow water. I was ready to lead it downstream to the net when the rod top sprang back and the hook hold failed. I’m unsure what went wrong other than I was devastated by that loss. A few choice words were said.

I tried some more for the chub however they were spooked for sure.

I had been up early in the morning and as I was fishing again tomorrow I headed home a frustrated angler. Also thunder storms and lightening were all around me. However no blanking which is good news. It looked as though the chub had just finished spawning by the raggedness of them.

So the next morning came and I wanted to try a different approach. I bought a few pints of maggots in an effort to fish for chub, there I go again chub on my mind. I headed for a known chub swim where you can float fish. It was pouring with rain from 7am onwards so difficult trotting conditions. Well after countless minnow and a few chublets and dace things were not happening.

I then baited with maggots and hemp in two different swims where I thought there would be some chub. It was after baiting up the second swim that I met Mike who was have a go float fishing. It was great to catch up with him since last year. So walking back to the first baited swim I could not see a single fish on the gravel.

I revisited the second swim, the river was coloured from the thunder storms of yesterday and I could just and only just see chub moving over the bait. I wasn’t 100% sure though. So I collected my tackle and moved everything upstream. My method was to be a swimfeeder and a short hooklink with a size 20 hook and 4lbs line.

I cast out thinking well lets see. within 2 minutes the rod lurched over and I was playing a chub. The light rod hooped over with the chub making full use of the flow. It wasn’t that big and soon about 50yds downstream I scooped it up in the net. On the scales it went 4lbs 4oz. So they are there then. This male fish squirted milt all over the place.

Then about 10 minutes later the rod was away again this time it was a bigger chub on the end pulling the rod over in an effort to reach the willow branches on the far side. Soon though it was in midstream and safe or so I thought as it came up in the water the hook pulled in the strong flow. This does happen with the heavy flow. I guess it weighed about the 5lb mark.

It looked like dark chub shapes were still over the baited area. I then caught a few minnows and some small chublets. Then all was quiet which normally means big fish have arrived or even a pike.

The rod twitched a couple times which normally means that chub are pulling at the maggots. Then bang the rod was off and a big fish tried to pull the rod end off. The fight was magnificent with the fish staying deep in the river not giving me any chance to lift it up. Not only this but it was taking me for a walk downstream. I grabbed the net and followed. Wary of the previous lost fish I didn’t put too much pressure on the hooked fish. Eventually up she came in the river in slacker water. It looked big so the clutch was slackened off again. I needn’t have worried too much as she went into the net first go. On lifting her up in the net I could see it was a special chub. I hadn’t seen a big chub since March and it’s difficult to judge size but I thought it might be a 7lber.

On the scales it was 6lbs 15oz which is pretty close to 7lbs however no cigar for me. It’s the largest I’ve had from the H.Avon and completes the configuration of 6lbers from 6lb to 6lbs 15oz. Not too disappointed it looked magnificent.

The rain had stopped at 2pm and it was turning into a decent day in more ways than one. The fishing though was not over as I landed 2 other chub both of about 4lbs and then that was it nothing! Got to say by about 6.30pm I had enough soaked but still buzzing from that huge chub I headed for home again feeling much better than the previous day after losing that barbel.

Just one note I did loose another big chub while looking at a text from my mate Andy. It took me into the trees opposite and before the line broke it turned to show me it’s huge flank and just wasn’t it impressive.

Never mind next time.

Happy days