Still been chasing perch and some chub and pike fishing

The last week has been a little of this and that. The housing project is almost complete and I’ll be pleased when everyone has moved and my bank balance looks healthy again.

On the fishing front I did a little more with the perch and my local fishery. I saw a chap catch a couple of mid 2lbers in a very short session on maggot and small hook and float tackle. I had a couple once again to prawn however not large ones.

I pike fished the Bristol Avon near me one afternoon with little success. The river was still up and coloured. One thing that happened in the weir near where I was fishing was that a poor chap in a kayak drowned the previous day. There were plenty of camera’s and reporters around filming the grim news. There were 4 people with individual kayaks and I understand the chap who drowned was the only person not wearing a life jacket. I’m not even going to state the obvious but if he had one he would be alive today so very sad news indeed.

The next morning I met Lloyd who had been patiently waiting for me to take him pike fishing. However with the bug I had over Xmas and the housing project I had very little time. Today though I had 2 hours free in the morning to help him with the setup of his tackle and rigs. The river was still high and the colour present. Not ideal.

We found a nice looking slack and fished for those two hours without a touch. Last thing was to walk upstream to find more likely looking places. I left him at 11am to continue with my day. It was great to hear from him  and see a photo of a pike he caught later in the day. Not a huge fish however success for him. so I was well pleased.

Then a day later I had promised my friend Graham who had just moved from South Wales down to the Dorset area that I would show him around the Dorset Stour  little so that he could start fishing for the large chub. The weather though had been very unkind to us, rain had come the two nights previous and the rivers looked to be up and swollen again. I was up at 5am and driving down the Throop section of the Stour. I wandered the banks and found the river was too high for float fishing but still clear enough for perhaps a chub. I then traveled back to Ringwood to look at the Avon near there this too was swollen and flooded and none of the slacks were fishable.

So I met Graham at 9am, he was so impressed I had done my home work so early in the day. We ended up fishing Throop. Under cloudless skies we looked around and I showed him the spots and swims that have produced good chub for me and others. Time went so fast and we didn’t fish until quite late. I wasn’t going to fish saying that he could hook any chub on the feeder rig. We were using two rods with swimfeeders and short hooklinks.

After losing one eel and landing dace and roach things didn’t look too good and with one hour left of daylight Graham thought he would go to the dark side and use one of his carp boilies on one rod. So he returned to the car to get his bait while I continued fishing the feeder. I have complete confidence in this rig where as he doesn’t. Don’t worry he will change his mind I’m sure. Anyhow just as he came back from the car park and across the field the rod hooped over and sure enough I was playing a chub. It didn’t feel very large and it tangled around the other line. Graham came to the rescue and bit through the other rods line and I was back into contact with the chub, still adament that it wasn’t too big. So we were both surprised when it came into view. It looked a good size.

Sure enough on the scales it was 6lbs 4oz and a very beautiful chub.

6lbs 4oz

So I think the boilies were ignored and we continued with the maggots however that was going to be it for the day.

I felt sorry for Graham that I nicked his fish. However he didn’t do bad in November when he fished with me on the H.Avon he had two 5lbers and a 6lbs 4oz chub which all beat his pb.

Graham and his 6lbs 4oz chub

Then I had one more day guiding on the Bristol Avon which although was looking great the fish were not feeding, that is the chub. I had taken Luke to a very productive stretch that produces plenty of chub.

However the chub just didn’t play ball. Now we were on the feeder and maggot approach and also trotting. However as it Luke’s first time trotting the high water made this very difficult, so most of the time we stuck it out with the feeder.

We caught steadily throughout the day, a few small chub and plenty of dace. Nothing of any size though. 4 other anglers were also having great difficulty in finding feeding chub. These guys were using bread and cheese paste. So a very strange day indeed.

Normally one or the other methods produces the goods.

Think it’s the Stour and Avon for me this week conditions look to be great. Lets hope the chub gods are with me.