Chasing Chub in the Jaws of the Wind.

 For this weekend I had solid plans to finally after many years get myself on the mighty tidal Trent, all week I had been getting little bits and bobs organised with one eye firmly on the weekend......then came that storm we were warned about. Having not factored the aftermath in my plans I was facing a dilemma, shall I go or not? considering the preparation already put in the decision was tough but my gut told me to bail out, which it has to be said isn't me as I'd fish through a hurricane if I knew there was a good chance of big fish, which there would have been too, but to go on a near 400 mile round trip for it to be a disaster was too greater risk to take.

An aggressive Crow harassing a Buzzard.

 Instead I planned to go on more familiar territory.......Chub it was, but never going to threaten any PB's. However sometimes it's just good to catch, the conditions faced with today it seemed as if just getting the float to run in a straight line would be a challenge in itself.

 Challenge accepted, half an hour of flicking maggots out in the main run I decided to get fishing and the sport was fairly instant as a number of small Chub slipped safely into the net but not before a thick set chevin of exactly 5lb, I somehow neglected to pack the keepnet which is very unalike me, so all of my catch was going to head straight back into the shoal, knowing this I had to keep the feed going in to maintain their attention and ignoring the fact their mates were getting a good tug. I have recently found some very interesting results in my Chub fishing seeing as I've targeted them a lot more than I usually would.

 The interesting results are that I found some of the Chub have been approx 22-24 inches in length which should put them at an average weight of 5.4 to 6.4 and on various rivers I have noticed differences of more than a pound! whether this is down to genetics, feeding, available food, shoal density (competition) and/or angling pressure. Exactly what the reasons are it's clear some Chub are in a much better condition than others, this was bought to my attention today more so than previous. I landed a Chub which weighed 4.14 and was exactly 23.5 inches in length but it's stomach sank in rather than the typical portly appearance of a winter Chub, yet others that were caught today were in a good condition, one of the other Chub that I managed weighed a very pleasing 5lb 5oz which measured 22.4 inch, I never usually measure fish as I personally think it's extremely anal' but for this instance it's really got me thinking what the reasons are for the poor condition of some fish.

I'm happier than I look!

 The "5.5" I landed which turned out to be the best of the day was very wide across the chest/back and was fairly solid but again I felt there was plenty more space to fill into, I "think" I inclusively fish this area so the premise of being pressured is out of the window, so it's making me think in a bit of detail as to what is going on down under the surface of the rivers I fish and indeed all across the country. Chub across the country seem to be on the whole down in weight, whether these factors are different from that I'm experiencing closer to home is hard to tell but there may be a connection. One for the experts possibly as I'm certainly not one!, just at catching them :)

Below is a not so accurate gauge for size to weight ratio as this doesn't take into condition of girth and depth as I know this can vary massively from fish to fish. But my 5.5 today measured 22.4 inches which falls almost perfectly into that line of thinking, where as the 4.14 measured 23.5 inches which would put that around the 6 - 6.4 mark, by looking at the frame of the Chub (length wise) in good condition that Chub could reach that milestone.

25 ins - 6lb 8 oz
24 ins - 6lb 4oz
23 ins - 6lb
22 ins - 5lb 5oz
21 ins - 4lb 10 oz
20 ins - 4lb 4oz
19 ins - 3lb 8oz
18 ins - 3lb 4oz
17 ins - 2lb 12 oz
16 ins - 2lb 5oz

 As the day progressed the wind got increasing stronger and even managed to blow a 400g block of my finest cheesepaste into the river, never did see it again and that's been growing mould for months, when you have to cover your nose when opening the bag you know it's good, so to lose it having only pinching off one piece was bit of a bummer, serves me right for leaving a near half a kilo slab of cheese out for the wind to blow away.......that twisted my melon somewhat.

2 Toads in a hole.

 Two o'clock came and I'd had my fun, hometime and dry out all the gear. twelve Chub including two "fives" is a good trip and had that been the offer at the beginning I would have taken it.